MJ Review: Demon Flowers: Kuruizaki no Hana

[Jason]

Title: Demon Flowers: Kuruizaki no Hana
Volume: One
Mangaka: Mizuki Hakase
Originally Serialized in: Wings (Shinshokan Publishing Co., Ltd.)
Genre: Shoujo, Fantasy, Horror, Drama
Licensed by: TokyoPop
Price: $9.99

After devouring the gods that once protected Japan, the demons discovered that some of the gods had given birth to human children with special powers. Eager to steal those powers for themselves, the demons sent assassins to kill the children. One of these assassins, Ushitora, wearies of his bloodthirsty life, but remains unable to change until he meets a special boy and betrays everything to protect him.

The first thing about Hakase’s manga which will catch your eye is her unique art style. Those familiar with her works, such as Demon Ororon, will not be surprised, but if this is your first exposure to her, then you are in for a treat. Her characters are all long legs and angular bodies, with triangular faces and sharply pointed chins. Their fashionable style and slightly gothic edge will appeal to fans of Mitsukazu Mihara and Ai Yazawa without being a copycat of either. Like them, though, Hakase doesn’t pull any punches in her depictions of violence. Her demons are bloodthirsty and not afraid to harm those who get in their way. Most panels are square or rectangular, but they are saved from repetitiveness by unique placement of the action inside. Characters peer in from a close angle or reveal only a portion of their face or body, all of which helps deepen the emotional impact of the story.

The plot is also strong, although volume one is mainly set up for future action and the introduction of the characters. The important details are made abundantly clear: the love that Ushitora’s hodgepodge family has for one another, the danger that the demons pose, and the greater danger presented by the secrets Ushitora has been keeping from his “children.” The characters are interesting more in the ways through which they interact with one another than in their unique characteristics. In fact, on some levels, they are rather stock characters—Ushitora is the cool and brooding older man; Masato, the boy he rescued, is growing up to mirror his mentor; and Nao, an orphan girl adopted into the family, is the beautiful woman-child who ties them together—but the deeper emotions between the three are very apparent. Ushitora and Masato switch from acting like father and son, to older brother and younger brother, to husband and husband (though only in an emotional sense), which moves Nao back and forth between younger sister and daughter. It’s these emotions, combined with the vivid and captivating art, which make this volume such a great read and which will leave you longing for volume two.

Reviewed by: Snow
Proofed by: wintry
Edited by: Firedog