#IReadsYou Review: KAKURIYO: Bed and Breakfasts for Spirits Volume 6

KAKURIYO: BED & BREAKFAST FOR SPIRITS, VOL. 6
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

MANGAKA: Waco Ioka
ORIGINAL STORY: Midori Yuma
CHARACTER DESIGNS: Laruha
TRANSLATION & ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Tomo Kimura
LETTERS: Joanna Estep
EDITOR: Pancha Diaz
ISBN: 978-1-9747-1042-3; paperback (September 2020); Rated “T” for “Teen”
152pp, B&W, $9.99 US, $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits is a Japanese shojo fantasy manga written and drawn by Waco Ioka.  It is based on Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits (also known as Afterlife Inn Cooking), a Japanese light novel series written by Midori Yūma and illustrated by Laruha.  The manga has been serialized in Enterbrain's josei manga magazine, B's Log Comic, since 2016.  VIZ Media is publishing an English-language edition of the manga as a paperback graphic novel series under its “Shojo Beat” imprint.

Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits focuses on Aoi Tsubaki, who inherited something great and terrible from her grandfather, Shiro – his ability to see the spirits known as ayakashi (yokai).  Aoi, however, also inherited Shiro's massive debt to the ayakashi, and now, she’s been kidnapped and taken to Kakuriyo (the spirit world) to settle that debt.  Kijin a.k.a. “the Ōdana,” who is an ogre and the owner of  the inn, “Tenjin-ya,” wants Aoi to marry him to settle the debts her grandfather owes him... or she can be eaten by demons.  But Aoi is determined to settle those debts on her own terms.

As Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits, Vol. 6 (Chapters 24 to 30) opens, Aoi looks forward to preparing a meal for the royal couple, Lord Nui and Lady Ritsuko.  She is overjoyed at what this could do for “Yūgao,” her little restaurant located behind Tenjin-ya.  So, Aoi will travel to the “Eastern Lands” to do some grocery shopping at a fancy imported food market.

Before she can buy a single ingredient, however, Aoi is spirited away and held captive in what seems like a giant crate.  Aoi worries that she won't gain her freedom in time to cook for the royal couple.  A good opportunity will be the least of her problems if she can't escape from the suddenly flooding prison in which she finds herself.

[This volume includes end notes.]

THE LOWDOWN:  The Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits manga has turned out to be as good as I thought it would be.  Of course, I am a sucker for shojo manga starring yokai (also known by the term “ayakashi”), and I have yet to find one I did not like.

Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits Volume 6 epitomizes the series' dual tone, being both sweet and gentle and also dark and mysterious.  Aoi is by nature a giving person whose warmth and generosity are most on display when she is cooking for and feeding even strangers who appear on her doorstep.  On the other hand, Aoi will stand up for herself and her grit and determination carry her into the unknown with the readers following her into the mystery that is Kakuriyo.

Tomo Kimura's light and sugary English adaptation also captures the series' darker moments with an engaging sense of mystery.  Joanna Estep's lettering always strikes the right tone, from the warmth of meal time to the allure of discovery and exploration.  I can't wait for the next volume.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of yokai manga will want to read the Shojo Beat series, Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits.

A
9 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Review: KAKURIYO: Bed and Breakfasts for Spirits Volume 1

KAKURIYO: BED & BREAKFAST FOR SPIRITS, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

MANGAKA: Waco Ioka
ORIGINAL STORY: Midori Yuma
CHARACTER DESIGNS: Laruha
TRANSLATION & ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Tomo Kimura
LETTERS: Joanna Estep
EDITOR: Pancha Diaz
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0372-2; paperback (January 2019); Rated “T” for “Teen”
200pp, B&W, $9.99 US, $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Afterlife Inn Cooking is a Japanese light-novel series written by Midori Yūma and illustrated by Laruha.  Wako Ioka has been producing a manga adaptation of the series for Enterbrain's josei manga magazine, B's Log Comic, since 2016.  VIZ Media has started publishing an English-language graphic novel edition of the manga under the series' English title, Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits.

Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 5) introduces a young woman named Aoi Tsubaki.  She inherited her grandfather, Shiro's ability to see the spirits known as ayakashi (yokai).  Aoi also inherited his massive debt to the ayakashi, and now, she’s been kidnapped and taken to Kakuriyo (the spirit world) to settle that debt.

Aoi's options are limited.  She can marry Kijin a.k.a. “the Ōdana, who is the ogre and the owner of “Tenjin-ya,” the inn where her grandfather incurred so much debt.  Or she can be eaten by demons.  But Aoi is determined to settle affairs on her own terms.

I was interested in reading the Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits manga after first learning about it via a VIZ Media press release.  Luckily, my VIZ media representative sent me a copy of the first volume for review.

Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits Graphic Novel Volume 1 is a delight.  Before I continue this review, however, I must admit to you, dear readers, that I am a huge fan of yokai manga.  Kakuriyo does not have prettiest art that I have ever seen in a yokai manga, nor are these most imaginative ayakashi characters I have ever come across (at least so far in the narrative).

What Kakuriyo does have is a fantastic lead in Aoi Tsubaki, a young woman who is stout and determined no matter what is against her.  Aoi has “street smarts” in the fact that she is always on the lookout for someone or some spirit that might try to harm her or to take advantage of her.  An engaging character like Aoi, who is full of curiosity, is worth following.

8.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Review: SO CUTE IT HURTS Volume 15

SO CUTE IT HURTS!!, VOL. 15
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

MANGAKA: Go Ikeyamada
TRANSLATION/ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Tomo Kimura
LETTERS: Joanna Estep
EDITOR: Pancha Diaz
ISBN: 978-1-4215-9328-9; paperback (October 2017); Rated “M” for “Mature”
192pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

So Cute It Hurts!! is a shojo manga from creator, Go Ikeyamada.  Also known as Koba Cute in Japan, VIZ Media has the license to publish an English language edition of the manga,  It released the entire manga as a 15-volume graphic novel series.

So Cute It Hurts!! focuses on a high school girl, Megumu “Mego” Kobayashi,  She has a twin brother, Mitsuru Kobayashi.  Megumu is a full-on otaku and a history nerd, while Mitsuru, the popular and successful high school jock, is terrible at history.  One day, dark-haired Mitsuru concocts the idea that he should put on a blonde wig and dress up as Megumu and attend her school, Tosho High.  Meanwhile, Megumu will wear a dark wig, dress like Mitsuru, and take his history exams.  This is not the last time the twins will switch places, especially when love is involved.

So Cute it Hurts!!, Vol. 15 (Chapters 72 to Final Chapter) opens four years after the Great Tohoku Earthquake and nearly nine years after the story began.  This is the wedding day of Megumu, now 23-years-old, and her longtime boyfriend, Aoi Sanada.  After so much tragedy, can this day be the beginning of happily-ever-after?

[This volume includes two “Bonus” stories; an interview with Go Ikeyamada; the story, “The Goddess Never Turns Back?!” and an “Afterword.”]

The So Cute it Hurts!! manga started out as “T” rated shojo-manga-cute.  The series took a surprising turn as its rating went from “T” (for Teen) to “M” (for Mature), as Megumu and Aoi became... intimate.

So Cute it Hurts!! Volume 15 is the final volume of the series, and it closes the series with a mixture of cute and grown-up.  This “cute,” however, has to do with teen characters who have made the transition into adulthood, and adult relationships and roles.  That includes parenthood and cute kids!  I often find myself having problems with final volumes, but in the final volume of So Cute it Hurts!!, creator Go Ikeyamada gives the characters the happiness they deserve

A
8 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: KAMISAMA KISS Volume 25

KAMISAMA KISS, VOL. 25
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

MANGAKA: Julietta Suzuki
TRANSLATION/ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Tomo Kimura
LETTERS: Joanna Estep
EDITOR: Pancha Diaz
ISBN: 978-1-4215-9382-1; paperback (October 2017); Rated “T” for “Teen”
208pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

LIMITED EDITON includes
Kamisama Kiss Volume 25 with a new cover
ISBN: 978-1-4215-9848-2; paperback (October 2017); Rated “T” for “Teen”
208pp, B&W, $17.99 U.S.
Kamisama Kiss: Kamistravaganza – hardcover art book – 5 x 7 1/2
Hardcover; 64pp, Color & B&W

Kamisama Kiss is a supernatural romance shojo manga from manga creator, Julietta Suzuki.  It was originally published in the Japanese shojo manga magazine, Hana to Yume.  VIZ Media began publishing Kamisama Kiss in English as a paperback graphic novel series in 2010.

The series focuses on high school student, Nanami Momozono.  She was kicked out of the apartment she shared with her father after he left town to avoid his gambling debts.  Later, Nanami saved a strange man named Mikage, so he generously offered her his home.  Nanami later discovered that Mikage had tricked her into taking his job as the tochigami (local god) of the Mikage Shrine.  To make matters worse, Nanami fell in love with her head shinshi (or familiar), Tomoe, a fox yokai who hates humans.

As Kamisama Kiss, Vol. 25 (Chapters 144 to 148 to Final Chapter) opens, Nanami prepares for her final year of high school.  She is getting ready to leave the Mikage Shrine, and she also has been accepted into a junior college.  That means rejoining the human world for good.  Tomoe is ready to become a human and leave the world of the yokai.  Obviously, Nanami and Tomoe will be together, but will they be together as husband and wife?

Kamisama Kiss Volume 25 offers a happy ending that is also bittersweet, which I had expected since I began reading this manga.  This is the end of Nanami and Tomoe's story for now, and the ending and a promised new beginning are as genuinely magical as Kamisama Kiss has ever been.  This is a graphic novel series that deserves to be reread and discovered by new readers.

In commemoration of this final volume, there is a Kamisama Kiss Volume 25 Limited Edition.  It features a cover that is different from the regular edition cover, and it comes wrapped in a bundle with a mini art book, Kamisama Kiss: Kamistravaganza.  The book includes a bonus story set a decade in the future, some full-color art, and some pencil sketches Suzuki drew for the final chapter.  In America, we call those “pencil sketches” pencil art, because they look more detailed than sketches.

A+
10 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Skip Beat: The Past is Not Past

I read Skip Beat Volume 36 and posted a review at the ComicBookBin.  Follow me on Twitter and Tumblr or at Grumble.  Support me on Patreon.

So Cute It Hurts: It Hurts to Be a Matchmaker

I read So Cute It Hurts!!, Vol. 5

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.  Follow me on Twitter and Tumblr or at Grumble.  Support me on Patreon.

Kamisama Kiss: The Shriden Maiden

I read Kamisama Kiss, Vol. 20

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.  Follow me on Twitter and Tumblr or Grumble.  Support me on Patreon.

So Cute It Hurts: Secrets Revealed

I read So Cute It Hurts!!, Vol. 3

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.  Follow me on Twitter and Tumblr or at Grumble.  Support me on Patreon.

So Cute it Hurts: A Peculiar Reaction to Girls

I read So Cute It Hurts!!, Vol. 1

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.  Follow me on Twitter and Tumblr or at Grumble.  Support me on Patreon.

Kamisama Kiss: School Trip

I read Kamisama Kiss, Vol. 18

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.  Follow me on Twitter or at Grumble.  Support me on Patreon.

Review: SO CUTE IT HURTS!! Volume 1

SO CUTE IT HURTS!!, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Go Ikeyamada
TRANSLATION/ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Tomo Kimura
LETTERS: Joanna Estep
ISBN: 978-1-4215-7985-6; paperback (June 2015); Rated “T” for “Teen”
192pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Manga creator Go Ikeyamada's debut manga was Get Love!!, which first appeared in the Japanese manga magazine, Shojo Comic, in 2002.  Her current series, So Cute It Hurts!!, is a gender-bending shojo comedy manga about a twin brother and sister who switch identities.  The series recently made its English-language debut under VIZ Media's Shojo Beat imprint.

So Cute it Hurts!!, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 5) introduces 15-year-old Megumu “Mego” Kobayashi and her twin brother, Mitsuru Kobayashi, the older of the two.  Megumu is a full-on otaku who is also a history nerd.  Mitsuru is a popular and successful high school jock, but he is terrible at history.  The dark-haired Mitsuru concocts the idea that he should put on a blonde wig and dress up as Megumu and attend her school, Tosho High.  Meanwhile, Megumu will wear a dark wig and dress like Mitsuru and take his history exams, thus causing him to get passing grades.

Sounds like a crazy idea, right?  Well, Megumu also thinks so, but is forced to go along with her brother's absurd plan.  Much to her surprise, it works, but what will she do when she finds herself smitten with one of Mitsuru's classmates?

My niece is a big fan of shonen manga like Bleach and One Piece.  Her uncle (me) loves him some shojo manga, especially love stories set in high schools.  As ridiculous as its premise is, the So Cute it Hurts!! manga is an utterly delightful read.

I think what makes So Cute it Hurts!! Volume 1 enjoyable is that it depicts love in full bloom – love that does not take into consideration gender-bending, cross-dressing, or gender.  The heart wants what the heart wants, and the young characters of this story seem willing to look at love and friendship beyond the surface and past the social mores.  So Cute it Hurts!! is a catchy title, but it does not convey this manga's numerous comic and romantic possibilities.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux - support on Patreon.


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Review: SKIP BEAT Volume 34

SKIP BEAT, VOL. 34
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Yoshiki Nakamura
TRANSLATION/ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Tomo Kimura
LETTERS: Sabrina Heep
ISBN: 978-1-4215-7743-2; paperback (April 2015); Rated “T” for “Teen”
192pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN

Skip Beat! is a shojo manga by Yoshiki Nakamura.  It was first published in Hakusensha's shōjo manga magazine, Hana to Yume, beginning in February 2002.  VIZ Media has published the series in English

Skip Beat! stars Kyoko Mogami, a sixteen year-old girl who loves her childhood friend, Shotaro “Sho” Fuwa.  She follows him to Tokyo and works hard to support him while he pursues his dream of being a top pop idol.  Sho betrays Kyoko, however, so she decides to get revenge by becoming a bigger star than Sho, who is ranked seventh among the top 20 most popular male celebrities in Japan.

As Skip Beat!, Vol. 34 (Chapters 201 to 206) opens, Kyoko is worried about “White Day,” the day boys and men give something to the girls who gave them something on Valentine's Day.  However, The President of L.M.E., the talent agency that represents her, has called Kyoko for a special meeting.  Before Kyoko can declare her feelings for the actor, Ren Tsuruga, he gives her some time off.

Kyoko heads to the island of Guam, and since fate wants what it wants, so is Ren.  Even as the two assume alternate personalities, their hearts threaten to slip their bonds.

My VIZ Media press rep sent me a copy of the Skip Beat! manga for the first time.  I always thought that Skip Beat! was some kind of sports or music manga; that's how little attention I paid to it.  After some initial feelings of disappointment, I found the premise exciting.  I hope Kyoko gets sweet revenge against the boy who betrayed her.

After reading Skip Beat! Volume 34, I can say that I wasn't particularly impressed with the basic story.  I was, however, impressed by the graphical storytelling – the way the art, lettering, and graphics tell the story.  Yoshiki Nakamura presents a visually striking story using beautiful renderings of characters and a diverse range of deformed figure and facial drawings (from super to tame).  The visual presentation makes the characters pop off the page.  I am interested in how Kyoko has evolved over 200+ chapters, and, even after one volume, I want to see how her story ends.

B

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.