188-189. Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan V. 14 &15

To Nijo Castle  by Hiroshi Shiibashi
Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan (Vol. 14)

Rating: (3/5)

(US) - (Canada)

Apr. 2, 2013, viz media, 192 pgs

Age: 13+

"As Nurarihyon is attacked by hordes of angry Kyoto yokai, Rikuo and his hundred demons arrive to attempt to take down Hagoromo-Gitsune, a yokai about to give birth to a dangerous dark-arts yokai from the past! A massive battle ensues that reveals secrets of Rikuo’s family history...and puts him in some serious risk of bodily harm!"

Received a review copy from Simon & Schuster Canada.

This is a very busy volume and since the break between this and last for me it took some getting into.  Many story arcs are touched upon here both in the present and the past.  Also have some returning characters, at one point we are referred back to Volume 8!.  Foreword motion is very slight getting our characters just into the room where H-G is giving birth.  The biggest excitement comes from finally revealing what the meaning of the birth will entail.  Lots of battles and great art for the battle scenes. Still as I said a busy volume with a bit much going on.  Fortunately, I have the next in the series to read right away so will be able to continue without a break this time.

Two things this volume brings to my attention.  1) The last two pages introduce us to a novel that has been published to correspond with the series; a little investigating on my part brings to light this was published in Japan in 2009, but nothing on the horizon that it may ever be translated into English.  2) This research lead me to finding out that the manga series' final volume was published in Japan in early 2013, making the series 25 volumes long.  This is excellent news for me to know that the series does have a finite ending as those ones that never end are so frustrating.



Fragments of the Past  by Hiroshi Shiibashi
Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan (Vol. 15)

Rating: (3/5)

(US) - (Canada)

Jun. 4, 2013, viz media, 192 pgs

Age: 13+

"While the day belongs to humans, the night belongs to yokai,supernatural creatures that thrive on human fear. Caught between these worlds is Rikuo Nura. He's three-quarters human, but his grandfather is none other than Nurarihyon, the supreme commander of the Nura clan, a powerful yokai consortium. So, Rikuo is an ordinary teenager three-quarters of the time, until his yokai blood awakens. Then Rikuo transforms into the future leader of the Nura clan, leading a hundreddemons.
The yokai Hagoromo-Gitsune gives birth to the new reincarnation of Nue, also known as Abe no Seimei, ancestor to the world-killing Gokadoin clan. The fight to stop the birth lost, Rikuo and his allies must now not only stop Hagoromo from killing them, but also find a way to neutralize this new being that could signal the end of all things!"

Received a review copy from Simon & Schuster Canada.

Another very busy volume, although this time the plot sticks to a couple of arcs keeping things in better perspective than V14.  The birth and the H-G plot have become very interesting and there is some great art and scenes of H-G.  The foreshadowing of where her story is going really has me interested and she is still one of my favourite characters especially now that her character has been given depth.  There are soooo many characters in play now though that what I would *really* like at this point is a guide book that gives the low-down on everybody!  The bonus stories at the end were a little odd and I would have preferred the space have been used for the main story instead.  So a good volume for plot continuation but I'm feeling that too much is going on in the last couple of volumes to fully appreciate the story.

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