Holiday Review #3: DAEMONS OF THE SHADOW REALM

 This year saw the return of many a mangaka who haven't had a new series on shelves for a number of years.  Hiromu Arakawa hasn't been away as long as some, but anytime a new series of hers comes out I have to check it out.

DAEMONS OF THE SHADOW REALM (Yomi no Tsugai), by Hiromu Arakawa.  First published in 2021 and first published in North America in 2023.

PLOT:

For Yuru, everyday was the same in his remote mountain village.  He hunts to provide food for the village, all while staying close to his twin sister Asa.  Then one day their village is attacked by soldiers and people wielding strange creatures called daemons with equally strange powers, and he learn that the Asa he knew is not all that she seems.  On that day, Yuru unseals his own daemons and begins a dangerous quest to discover the truth about the wider world, the disappearance of his parents, and Asa.

STORY:

I'm going to have to dance a little delicately around this particular review.  There's a big twist in Daemons of the Shadow Realm that happens early on, one that I don't want to spoil because doing so would lessen its impact.  The problem is that so much happens after that point that it's impossible to dig too much into the plot without spoiling everything.  If I come off as a bit vague here, that's why.

In some ways this feels like Arakawa doing her own spin on something like Chainsaw Man: a young man discovers he can wield supernatural power, is thrown into a brand new world, and is forced to fight others with similar powers simply to survive.  Yet Yuru couldn't be any more different in personality from Denji.  He's a good, upstanding kid with a sister and a community to support him (if not his parents, who fled from the village a decade prior).  Even after he leaves the village, he has his oni-like daemons Right and Left.  They not only are able to fight and track on Yuru's behalf but also can relate to his curiosity and shock about the wider world (and engage in some of the expected fish-out-of-water moments with him).  He also has Dera and Hana, handlers who are there to explain the world (and to some degree, the plot) to Yuru while engaging in some of the silly shtick you expect from supporting cast members in an Arakawa manga.

The core of the story is Yuru and Asa being The Children Who Sunder Night, a role that grants them  great (and complimentary) powers but also means they are fated to be the heralds of disaster.  Yuru has basically found himself in the midst of a larger conspiracy, complete with shady old people, paramilitary organizations, and parents that may or may not still be alive.  So far Yuru's focus is on getting answers about his immediate family, but the cliffhanger makes it clear that Yuru might not be able to avoid those larger forces for very long and that he's going to have to get the hang of his new situation if he wants to survive.

ART:

Artistically speaking, this is precisely what I would have expected from Arakawa at this point: her signature character designs (and thankfully, enough time has passed that most of them don't look like Fullmetal Alchemist characters in different costumes), her crisp, well-posed approach to action, her usual wacky SD faces when it's time to make a joke.  The action here is a little bloodier than usual and more care is spent on the backgrounds than usual, but this series is as polished as anything she's ever made.  

PRESENTATION:

A new Hiromu Arakawa manga means we get more of her omake strips (complete with her cow mascot, which remain some of the funniest ones around.  There are also some rather exquisite little layouts of Yuru's village and some of the trappings, although I suspect they'd be a lot easier to make out if they were printed in something bigger than a tankobon.

RATING:

Daemons of the Shadow Realm is a fine return to form for one of shonen manga's best, one that grabs your attention early on and never lets it go.

Plus, if more of y'all read it I can actually find people to talk about it in detail.

This series is published by Square Enix Books.  This series is ongoing in Japan with 5 volumes available.  2 volumes have been released and are currently in print.

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