Manga Review: Wild Butterfly

[Jason]

Title: Wild Butterfly
Mangaka: Hiroki Kusumoto
Originally Serialized In: Aqua Deep (Ookura Shuppan)
Genre: Light Yaoi, Dark Fantasy
Licensed by: June (Digital Manga)
Price: $12.95/US

The biggest shame of this collection is that it’s published under Digital Manga’s June line of yaoi, which means non-yaoi fans will probably avoid Wild Butterfly like the plague. It’s too bad because they’ll miss out on an interesting collection of stories - stories that range from historical to fantasy and only one of which has the barest hint of yaoi to it.

The title story is first, set in a Nazi Germany-like setting (though specifics are never mentioned). A young teacher’s assistant, banned from being a soldier because of a bad leg, finds his straight-line political beliefs challenged by the school’s new teacher—a decorated officer just off of the front line. Kusumoto plays with the ideas of free speech, patriotism vs. following the party line, and the costs of war. It is a gripping story that doesn’t offer a new take on those ideas, but they’re ideas worth exploring nonetheless.

Kusumoto also presents three dark fantasy tales that have overtones of Japanese history and folklore. “Senyoden: Legend of the Demon Oracle” tells about an oracle who displeased an emperor and what happens to him after he dies. In “The Strange Tale of Shiramine” a modern day teenage boy finds himself tossed back in time, stranded on a strange island with a man in exile. Neither of these tales offers happy endings or easy answers, but they make for compelling reads. The emotions of the characters are well fleshed out and believable.

The third folklore tale is “Tomuraishi: Protector of the Dead,” the story of a wanderer, going from town to town keeping those with evil intentions from raising the dead for nefarious purposes. In a new town he visits, he gets caught up in the life of a young boy who has lost his father. This story is more cheerful, offering a good amount of humor along with its darker story elements. Tomuraishi is rather reminiscent of Abel Nightroad from Trinity Blood, with the same silliness on top of a dark calling. It’s a story that is plotted well and it makes for a nice ending to the collection.

The only story that hints at yaoi is “Fangs,” a melancholy and bloody story about a vampire in love with a young man who wants him to stop drinking blood. A silly request of this young man forces the vampire into an action that will terrify them both. Their story is dark and, like many in this collection, doesn’t offer a falsely happy ending, but it is a powerful story. There really aren’t many yaoi details, other than showing the pair in bed and kissing.

What makes this anthology a must for me is the art. Kusumoto adds a lot of detail to her creations, which works perfectly with the fantasy/folklore settings. Her men are beautiful, but not unbelievably so, and she’s not afraid to draw them as hideous and scary when necessary. In “Fangs” she uses a stripped down palette of black and gray, makes her lines heavier, and gives the story an urban gothic feel. The color pages at the beginning of Wild Butterfly are beautifully rendered by Digital Manga and show that she is equally adept at doing work in full color.

If you like dark fantasy and are looking for something a little different, this is a good collection to pick up. Yaoi fans will be disappointed if they buy this as yaoi, but fans of good stories and beautiful art will be pleased, even if they don’t usually care for the genre.

Reviewer: Snow Wildsmith
Proofed and Edited By Lissa Pattillo