In Taishou-era Japan, two outcasts are able to find solace in each other. One a foreign girl, alone in a foreign land. The other, a half ayakashi, shunned by both humans and ayakashi.
Before we start the review…
What’s the Japanese level?
I rate this as an advanced series. To see my reasonings for my rankings, please click here!
Who wrote this manga?
This was written by Itokawa Issei. You can check out their X here.
Info about the series
- There is one volume published in Japanese – this is a brand new series.
- There is currently no English version.
You can check out this series for yourself below.
What happens in chapter one?
In Taishou-era Japan, cities are rampant with monsters called “ayakashi”. To combat this, special army divisions comprised of capable soldiers have been dispatched throughout the country. One such soldier is the mysterious Akatsuki, who for some reason wears a fox mask while he works.
We’re first introduced to the story through our protagonist, Ameli. As a foreign-looking young woman, she’s often treated poorly by those around her. It’s so bad that the aunt she lives with laments about how Ameli should have been raised in her “home” country, rather than brought to Japan. When she goes out, the villagers make fun of her foreign looks, and some go as far as attempting to assault her.
Ameli doesn’t let this bother her, and she does her best to stay positive. She even tries to extend this positivity to those around her, going as far as attempting to treat an injured ayakashi she stumbles upon one day. It’s here that she meets the male lead—the fox mask-wearing soldier, Akatsuki.
Even after he clearly explains how dangerous ayakashi can be to her, she just shoos him away and tends to the creature.
The next day at school, she witnesses a much less cute ayakashi attacking her classmate, and rushes out to help her. The creature sets its eyes on Ameli, stating how amazing her blood smells—something that has been brought up by a few different creatures throughout the volume. Thankfully Akatsuki is able to appear once again, just in time to save her. Unfortunately, he also seems to think that she smells amazing… and bites her.
Akatsuki turns into a fox demon, causing another fight to break out now that the rest of his division has arrived. It’s explained here that Akatsuki is actually half-ayakashi, and just like Ameli, he is shunned by everyone around him. She promises to give him a place in this world, and he is able to revert to his human form safely.
My thoughts on this chapter
I LOVED THIS CHAPTER. Oh my goodness I need to buy volume one for myself. Two outcasts who were finally able to find solace in each other? How romantic??
I really enjoyed the Taisho-era setting. While the setting was fantasy, there was never a time that I was confused about what was happening! I have a feeling that things will get a little bit more complicated as the story goes on, but with the pace that it’s going at, I’m confident that I’ll be able to follow along!
In terms of characters, both of them were so amazing and unique… I really can’t give this chapter enough praise. Ameli, looking like her foreign-born mother, has to deal with racism in her everyday life. Although her hair is beautiful, because it’s a light colour, those around her see it as an eyesore. It’s little things like this that let her know that no matter how hard she tries to assimilate, she’ll probably never be fully accepted by these people.
We then have Akatsuki, who at first just seems like a mysterious soldier. While he was always kind to Ameli, he was never overly kind, nor did he seem to want to have a lingering relationship with her. It’s really not until the very end of the chapter that it’s revealed that he, like Ameli, is also being shunned by his community for something out of his control.
Seeing the two realize that the other also doesn’t have a place to belong, and promising to be that place for each other… it was just so sweet!
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