Nabari No Ou vol.1

From the basic summary, this might sound a lot like another series. Boy ninja with a secret power sealed within him. With two teammates, a boy and a girl, one of whom has someone they've vowed to kill. And a silly teacher to mentor the three of them? Yes, Naruto. But really, that's as far as the similarities go. Miharu Rokujou has the Shinra Banshou sealed within him, a secret art that can grant one's desires, and many in Nabari (the secret world of ninjas) want that power for themselves to become Nabari no Ou (king of the hidden world). Ninja action ensues. However, Miharu doesn't want anything to do with this world, whatsoever.

A, perhaps, slightly better comparison would be Harry Potter. Ninjas (instead of wizards) exist in the modern world alongside everyone else, though normal civilians are oblivious to their existence. Miharu (Harry) is taken out of his regular life and discovers that he (well, the Shinra Banshou) is known to everybody who's a part of this secret world, and is in danger because of that.

This is an action/adventure series, but one of the things that stood out to me the most was not the action, but that it's pretty darn funny. Every chapter had at least one moment that made me laugh out loud, and the main character is the reason. To put it simply, describing Miharu as apathetic is an understatement. There's a line in the anime's opening song that says (in English) "I don't care, I don't care, I don't caaaaare", and I know exactly who they're talking about (he's Pierre!). In one scene where his teacher is making a heartfelt speech about protecting Miharu, we see Miharu's thoughts are "Sensei's words" being skewered by his "indifference". He's also a bit of a trickster, often using an uber-bishonen face to get what he wants (after which he is usually depicted with devil horns). That's one of my favorite gags, actually; Kamatani (the mangaka) knows her audience and that Miharu is fangirl-bait, so Miharu himself using that aspect of himself to his advantage is just hilariously clever. The rest of the main cast is just as entertaining, each with their own silly traits.

The actual meat of the book isn't comedy, though. I just wanted to touch upon it because it stood out to me. As for the rest, there's a good balance between the amounts of action and story (I'd say there's a bit more story than action). Considering this is a ninja story, I expected a bit more action. There is a fair amount of it at the beginning and the end, but the middle chapters are more plot and character oriented. For a first volume, it does a good job of setting up the world and planting the seeds of what's to come (in terms of villains and such), we even get an interesting revelation in the latter half of the volume. The middle section is lighthearted, but it's not all fun and games, as it takes a darker turn near the end.

Art-wise, it's solid, though not great. This is just the first volume so I'm sure it will improve as it goes on. (She could also work on making people look their age; there's one scene where Miharu's grandmother looks like she's in her 20s for goodness sake!) Most of the character designs are appealing, especially the designs involving Miharu's power. When it activates, his body is covered in kanji-like writing, and it just looks great. Some of the characters are a bit on the bishonen side, but not in an off-putting way. The action scenes all flow well and are pretty cool so far, especially near the end; in the space of one chapter all four main characters get involved in a very exciting fight, each getting a moment to shine.

The main cast all seem interesting except for one weak link: Kouichi. Miharu, Tobari (their teacher), and Raimei (samurai girl) all show signs of having a larger story to tell as the series progresses, but Kouichi is the only one who's just...there. He doesn't really have any role other than being another member of their group. Hopefully Kamatani will be able to give him an interesting role in the story.

As for extras, there's a couple of gag strips, a character profile, and a preview of volume 2. I also want to mention the physical quality of the book. I'm no expert on paper quality, but the paper felt fine, not as in "adequate" but as in "luxurious"(although that might be too strong a word for paper).

On the whole, I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would. At first, I thought it'd be a series I'd only casually read, something to read while waiting for, say, the next Bleach volume. But now here I am super excited for volume 2 in October. The long wait is understandable, though, since the volumes come out slowly in Japan as well.

I saw several episodes of the anime a while back, so I have an idea of what direction the story takes, and I remember enjoying it, and I'll probably enjoy it more in manga form as this volume showed me. This volume left me with a lot to look forward to. It looks like it will be quite an enjoyable shonen series. The concept might not sound that original, but sometimes execution matters more than originality, and this book is proof of that. This is my first Yen Press book, but it looks like I might become a regular customer, especially with some other interesting series approaching.