Tomo Maeda

The tragic past of Shikimi continues on...

I'm afraid any more I could say about the story would be spoilerish, other than it has to do with demons and death, much like the other books of the series thus far.

I'm rather missing the lighter moments that were more noticeable in the first couple volumes although the dramatic angst here has its own appeal. Since I've come this far, and it seems as though Shikimi's prolonged flashback is nearing an end, I'll have to check out the next volume as well.… (plus d'informations)

When Taki agrees to fulfill his father's debt to a church by working off what is owed, little does he realize that his work will require him to act as a combination of Cinderella and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (or zombie slayer in this case). During the day Taki is required to clean for and wait hand and foot on the silver haired, silver eyed priest, Shikimi. During the night he is handed a sword for the purpose of lopping off the heads of the newly risen demon possessed. If that job description doesn't seem complicated enough things get a little more strange when Shikimi informs Taki his job includes killing him in the future. Throw in the cutest demon dog you'll ever see and it adds up to one interesting little manga.

This was a great series beginning. A campy little supernatural tale with a very slightly serious bent and very interesting characters. I'm really looking forward to reading more.… (plus d'informations)

This manga is actually an anthology of three increasingly shorter stories by manga-ka Tomo Maeda. The title tale, Beyond My Touch, tells the tale of popular, but now dead, high schooler Mamoru Takayama, whose only regret and reason for his spirit's continued haunting on Earth is that he never got to kiss his sullen, anti-social (yet quite cute) classmate, Mizuno. So now that Takayama has passed on he's determined to realize his desire and decides to haunt Mizuno until he gets it. Despite their very opposite personalities Mizuno soon comes to appreciate Takayama's chipper demeanor and caring presence, but will giving into Takayama's last wish cause the ghost to leave him behind for eternity? The second story, Cool Lips, is another popular, perky bishonen gets involved with introverted, shy classmate story (only this time the're both alive) and it is a case of opposites attract....eventually. The last and shortest tale is called Recipe and involves childhood friends, the flan caramel loving Minoru and the determined/angsty Takashi who is wants nothing more than to bake something Minoru will find delicious. A couple little psychological twists make this a more interesting tale than it sounds.

Although I thought all three stories were cute, none were overwhelmingly memorable. The characters, although pleasant to look at, all sort of resembled each other. From the final manga-ka's note at the end it seems as though it was her publisher's idea to do a BL (boys-love) type of story and she just wasn't completely certain what to do with the idea, which may be why the stories seem to fall just a little flat.

All three stories were very innocent and non-offensive and would be good for younger teens and up who aren't put off by light-hearted, same sex romances.… (plus d'informations)