Monday, July 29, 2013

Manga Mondays #159: Black Bird vol. 1 by Kanoko Sakurakouji

Manga Mondays Meme


I've been doing Manga Mondays every week since I started my blog 3 years ago. It started out as a personal feature, but I decided to turn it into a meme last year. There are quite a few people who do Manga Mondays. I don't claim by any means that I owned or created the idea of Manga Mondays - it's an obvious choice given the alliteration. I think a meme is a great way for everyone to publicize their own Manga Mondays and get a little more publicity.

The linky will be below my review.

Black Bird vol. 1 by Kanoko Sakurakouji


Summary

He loves her blood, but does her love her?!

There is a world of myth and magic that intersects ours, and only a special few can see it. Misao Harada is one such person, and she wants nothing to do with magical realms. She just wants to have a normal high school life and maybe get a boyfriend. All that changes one day when Misao is attacked by a demon. Her childhood friend Kyo suddenly returns to save her and tend to her cuts--with his tongue! It turns out Misao is the bride of prophecy, whose blood gives power to the demon clan who claims her. But most demons want to keep her power for themselves--by eating her! Now Misao is just trying to stay alive...and decide if she likes it when Kyo licks her wounds. (courtesy of Goodreads)

Review

*Warning: Potential spoilers. My manga reviews tend to be more of a summary than a review. I find it hard to review manga in the same way I do regular books.

Misao is like the elixir of life for demons. The more they devour her, the more power they gain. A taste is an energy boost. Eating her completely gives incredible power. Marrying her makes you the top dog demon.


Understandably, Misao is a hunted girl. It all started on her 16th birthday when her powers/tastiness came into effect. The volume sees Misao being attacked by one demon after another. From a guy who pretend to likes her to her best friend. Everyone is sucking up to Misao so they can devour her.

Enter Kyo, her savior. One lick of his tongue can heal the most grievous wounds and he has sworn to protect her. The problem is that he's a demon too, and he insists that she marry him so he can become the most powerful demon. Misao isn't thrilled about this, but she keeps thinking that Kyo's interest in her may not be entirely about power. He was her childhood love and he looks at her like she's more than something to eat. But he is also a very good actor, so it's hard to tell.

At some level - well, a lot of levels - Black Bird is rather silly. There are many pages where Kyo is licking Misao to save her life. This is supposed to be an Oooooooooh moment, but it often feels more Ewwwwwww to me. On the other hand, this is the first manga series I've read in months that captured me from the first volume. Even though I roll my eyes at it a bit, I'm really excited to read on.

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10 comments:

  1. I love this series it was actually one of the first ones I ever read and I agree it can be a bit silly but something about it just keeps me coming back for more(:

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  3. I know what you mean about it being silly. I remember I stopped reading it after a couple of volumes for some reason. I might get back to it soon though.

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  4. Ah this series. I think I've gotten as far as volume two or three. This is definitely not a series to be read if you are looking for something serious and deep. I love it for it's silliness and entertainment value. It's quite fun.

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  5. There definitely seems to be a bit of an oral fixation going on with this one! The licking thing would definitely have an "ew" factor for me as well, even if it's supposed to be romantic or life saving:) Looking forward to seeing what happens in Volume 2!

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  6. This series probably wouldn't make it to the top of my TBR list, but I'm glad you're enjoying it so far.

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  7. I actually really like this series. It gets more in depth later on

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  8. I've heard a lot about this series. I believe it won an award for best manga in the late 90s/early 2000s *I think*. The most common comment I read is that the series is a bit risque without showing much. I'll be interested to see what you think of the later volumes.

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  9. That's pretty much how I feel about this series haha. It encompasses a lot of things that either gross me out or pisses me off, but at the same time it's sort of addicting...

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  10. Yeah, I'd definitely put licking wounds in the "Eww" category. Ick!

    Thanks for the review!

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