Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, Vol. 1

It's only twenty-five volumes but this story has a lot of depth and makes sure you don't feel short changed at the end. 'Nurarihyon no Mago'/'Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan' is one of my favorite manga series, so I had to get hard copies even though I read the entire series free online before I even knew it would be released in English officially. I'll leave the detailed summaries to other reviewers and just say that the plot over the entire series is a simple coming of age/proving Rikuo (the reluctant 12 year old main character) is strong enough to be the next leader of the Nura Clan's yokai(youkai)/one hundred demon night parade (hyakki yakou) and protecting both human and yokai(youkai) with loyal subordinates helping him and higher up old-timers trying to overthrow or kill him. Overall, like I said, I loved reading this series translated by fans so I had to get the hard copies. I am disappointed on one major aspect though: typos. Major typos. A lot of words left out or just plain changed (ex: he/his). When words are recalled by a character that were spoken not five pages before an extra word or two was added that should've been there in the first place. Example: Kurotabo: "The ones who are lost are you." Awashima (a few pages later recalls what Kurotabo said): "The ones who are lost are you two." ...and then she realizes that someone else was considered lost/important. The series starts well, with decent editing, but it becomes noticeably worse by the time the characters arrive in Kyoto. The lack of editing detracts slightly, since I had to decipher a part of a conversion or two while reading. Though not horrible like many, many otherwise good books (probably due to it being a manga and being more visual) it felt like Viz said, "Let's put a team on this manga that doesn't really care much about quality so we can get it out fast." I mean, it's a manga, come on supposedly professional people in Viz! Where is the quality this series deserved? The only reason this story still gets five stars from me is that the characters and story itself has a great amount of charm that keeps me picking up a volume to read it again and again.

This manga came just as described, in pristine condition.

A great read for those who love action and storys about ghosts or yokai

I love this story

It was in good condition and it helped complete the collection of shibashi sensei work

just how my niece expected

Rikuo Nura's dad died when he was a young boy, but he does not feel the loss so acutely because he has been raised by such a large family. There is one little wrinkle, however: The Nura Clan are yokai! Yokai are supernatural beings straight out of Japanese mythological tradition, but in the present age it's not as if Rikuo can just tell his classmates about, say, his latest game of hide and seek with the Yuki-Onna (Snow Woman). Talk about embarrassment. Worse still, it turns out that his Grandpa Nurarihyon is a yokai boss, and Rikuo himself is one-fourth yokai. In this volume, Rikuo discovers his yokai heritage, and the rest of the Clan discovers that being one-fourth yokai means that Rikuo can become a leader worth following precisely one-fourth of the time. The other three-fourths of his life he is just an ordinary schoolboy who is intent upon denying his destiny as the future head of the Nura Clan. Unfortunately, he soon discovers upon starting middle school that his friends are arguably more obsessed with yokai than he is...and that he it will be awfully hard indefinitely hiding the truth from his friends. Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan is creator Hiroshi Shiibashi's first major work. He got his start in the manga business as one of Hirohiko Araki's assistants. The stylistic influence of the master upon the onetime apprentice is palatable, and the Nura shares a measure of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure's quirky yet charismatic artistic detail. This, combined with the classic Shonen Jump fantasy-action formula, has produced a surefire hit worthy of the likes of other SJ blockbusters Naruto and One Piece. The animated adaptation, also available in English adaptation, will only further cement its popularity. Some shounen manga ease into their creative rhythm gradually, with the first few volumes fumbling about trying to find that sweet spot halfway between durable momentum and renewable suspense. This is not one of those titles. Nura hits the ground at an all-out sprint, and all of the most important tropes are in place before the end of the first volume. The effect is as admirable from the standpoint of a critic as it is engrossing from the standpoint of a casual manga reader. Thus, Nura's translation/adaptation was a bit of a surprise. Most Shonen Jump titles published by Viz Media seem to have been adapted with the widest possible audience in mind. This manga, however, reads as if it has been written by fans, for fans. For example, there is a reference to "the sakura tree in our yard," and the Japanese word sakura in this context means "cherry," as in "cherry tree." There is no conceivable reason why this word should not be translated, save that many manga fans are already familiar with the word in Japanese. The jury is still out as to whether hailing the fans so brazenly is a winning strategy, but there is not the slightest doubt that this manga is sure to accumulate legions of fans. Highly recommended. -- Casey Brienza

Let me just say that it's been a few years (perhaps four or so) since I last really invested in a good manga series. When I was younger and in high school my friends and I would pass around different titles, my first ever being Ranma 1/2, and I fell in love with the Japanese and even Korean graphic novels and eventually anime. It was only the other evening when I stumbled across an episode of the anime for Nura that I decided to get the first volume and give it a shot. I was surprised by the amount of heart that this manga has, and even just in its first volume! The characters struggle with identity and the issue of family loyalty, something that I have experienced in my own life. This made Nura a very relatable character. True, the story isn't exactly realistic (many rarely are completely 100% realistic, but that's why we love them!) - Nura is a quarter Yokai, a Japanese form of demon whose main goal in life is to terrorize humans. This poses a problem since Nura's friends are all humans and like to go Yokai hunting for fun. The artwork is beautiful, and all the characters are unique and memorable. I would highly recommend this series to anyone like me who's looking for something to entertain them and also make them laugh and cry a little at the same time. Also, I'll note that I purchased the Viz Digital Edition of this manga for my Kindle Fire (1st Gen) via their free app. It was a bargain price, and takes up no clutter on my already collapsing bookcase!