Review: WARRIORS OF TAO

 October is a time when we consume not just spooky stuff, but also gory, exploitative schlock as well.  This is not just true for movies, but for manga as well.

WARRIORS OF TAO (Toma), by Shinya Kuwahara.  First published in 2001 and first published in North America in 2004.

PLOT:

For Toma, it was just another day of school (and detention) until he encounters a beautiful naked girl named Itsuki.  She's on the run from something called Tao, but before she can explain further she's taken captive by the cruel and calculating Karma and the two of them are transported to the world of Tao.  It turns out that the three of them were meant to be part of a force to defend humanity, but Karma sees Toma as only a liability and would prefer him to be removed from the team permanently.

Alone in a strange new world with equally strange new powers, Toma must become a true Warrior of Tao if he wants to survive and save Itsuki.

Review: TSUKIYOMI MOON PHASE

 Sadly I've mostly come to dread vampire manga.  That's not because they are frightening, but because more often than not they are just bad like today's example.

TSUKIYOMI MOON PHASE (Tsukiyomi), by Keitaro Arima.  First published in 2000 and first published in North America in 2005.

PLOT:

Kouhei Mido is spiritually deficient.  He had spiritually sensitive parents, he can photograph ghosts by accident, but he is completely unable to sense the supernatural.  That probably explains why he wasn't disturbed when he stumbled upon a mysterious young girl in a castle while accompanying a group of ghost hunters.  The girl, named Hazuki, charms Kouhei into letting her kiss him...which really means biting him because she's a vampire who wants to turn him into her minion.  Her bite has no effect, but she still insists on following Kouhei back to Japan to find out about her past and to continue lording over him.

Review: GODCHILD

 It's once again time to look at some spooky manga, and it's been too long since we looked at a manga from the unofficial queen of spooky shojo manga: Kaori Yuki.

GODCHILD (Goddo Chairudo), by Kaori Yuki.  First published in 2001 and first published in North America in 2006.

PLOT:

Cain, the Earl of Hargroves, is a haunted man.  His ethereal good looks hide a back full of scars, a tragic past, a vast knowledge of poisons, and a keen mind.  He believes himself to be cursed, doomed to bring death to those around him and with good cause for such a belief.  All around him are poisonings, murders, psychopaths, blackmail, and many other sorts of crimes.  Only Cain can find the true culprits behind them, be they insane aristocrats, scheming servants, or strange men with ties to Cain's family and past.