The yokai are the monsters or demons that thrive in darkness and are feared by humans. Eight-year-old Rikuo Nura is split between the two worlds as he is one quarter yokai thanks to his grandfather, who also happens to be the Supreme Commander of Nura Clan. Because he grew up surrounded by yokai, he never saw them as evil and is surprised to learn that the other students at school loath and fear them. Just as Rikuo starts to suspect the yokai are malicious, he discovers that he is next in line to inherit the title of Supreme Commander, throwing him into emotional turmoil. May contain spoilers (although I try not to)
Volume 1: One day, when his school friends are in danger, Rikuo awakens to his yokai form and leads a rescue. Since he is only a quarter yokai, he cannot maintain this form for long and once again becomes human, throwing doubt on his suitability to be Supreme Commander. Four years pass. Rikuo has not transformed again and continues to live as a human deciding to reject his yokai heritage and keeping true identity secret from his friends at school.
Volume 1: One day, when his school friends are in danger, Rikuo awakens to his yokai form and leads a rescue. Since he is only a quarter yokai, he cannot maintain this form for long and once again becomes human, throwing doubt on his suitability to be Supreme Commander. Four years pass. Rikuo has not transformed again and continues to live as a human deciding to reject his yokai heritage and keeping true identity secret from his friends at school.
Sensing Rikuo’s reluctance to take command, other more dangerous yokai have started moving in on the Nura territory, putting humans in danger, forcing Rikuo to re-examine his decision. An incident within the yokai causes Rikuo to transform once again; this time he declares his intention to become the Third Supreme Commander. The only problem is that when he returns to his human form he has no recollection of anything his yokai self has done or said.
At school, Rikuo ironically finds himself to be a member of the Kiyojuji Paranormal Patrol, made up of fellow students and whose leader Kiyotsugu, wants to prove the existence of yokai.
Volume two: Rikuo is transformed again to save his friends who were kidnapped by a rogue group of rat yokai. This time the transformation caused him to become ill, once again calling into question his viability as leader. Meanwhile the Kiyojuji Paranormal Patrol takes a spring break trip to Mt. Nejireme to meet with a yokai scholar. The trip turns out to be more than they bargained for and Rikuo's abilities are put to the test once more.Conclusion: I enjoyed the first two volumes of this series. I like the concept of Rikuo Nura ‘s character being from two worlds, which he handles in an almost Jekyll and Hyde way. At this point in the story it is difficult to predict which path he will follow, human or yokai. Perhaps he will succeed in integrating both. There a couple of other interesting characters to watch: one is Kana, the probable love interest, and the other is Yura Keikain who is a member of the Paranormal Patrol and happens to be an Onmyoji (an exorcist) who has the power to banish yokai. I will continue to follow this series to see how it progresses.
Just a quick note about the artwork: Hiroshi Shiibashi uses a brush rather than pen to ink and it produces a pleasant flowing effect making stand out from other mangas I’ve read.
Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan is published by Viz Media under the Shonen Jump label. It’s rated for teens 13 plus.