Black Bird

Black Bird is a manga series that follows the life of schoolgirl Misao, who can see supernatural beings such as demons and such. After she turns sixteen, she is frightened to learn that now these beings are hunting her and seek to kill her.  A childhood friend Kyo, comes to rescue time and time again.  Surprisingly, Kyo is also a demon and Misao learns she is known and the Bride of Prophecy, a rare and coveted being.  Kyo is the one who needs to protect her from the blood-thirsty demons who wish to feast on her blood and become more powerful. 

This is a relatively shorter series, about 12 volumes I believe, but it reads rather quickly as I have found with most manga series.  The artwork in this is beautiful and I found myself wanting to cos-play as Misao.  The story follows the artwork in the beauty and fine crafted story-telling skills.  It held my attention throughout all the volumes and makes me want to watch the anime series/drama if there is one, I haven't looked.  I found the story and plot to be very interesting and wanted more when the series came to an end.  It was unique in that it wasn't vampires needed her blood or needing her blood to sustain themselves, but rather to gain power over one another.  Also in that it was only her blood that could do this rather than any person that they would come across.

If you enjoy manga series, or are looking for something a little different than novels, I would suggest checking out not only this series but other manga series.  This one particularly is great for those who enjoy the supernatural and demon type of stories.  I give this series as a whole a rating of 3 stars.



Sakura Hime by Arina Tanemura

This past weekend was Pittsburgh's anime convention: Tekkoshoken (Tekko for short).  It is a convention dedicated to the art and culture of Japan primarily anime and manga.  So in the spirit of the past weekend this post is one of my favorite manga series: Sakura Hime.  Sakura is the grandaughter of a moon princess who slayed demons with her blade: Blood Cherry Blossom.  The young woman has been forbidden from looking at the moon her entire life, one night she looks up and sees a demon attacking her thus beginning an epic battle for her life and those she loves.  There are 12 books in this series and each one is just as riveting as the last.  Each volume picks right back up where the last one left off, so it is easy to remember what happened in the previous volumes. 

Sakura is a strong female character as she develops into the person she is destined to be.  There is a lot of action packed into each short volume.  I would love to see this one in bigger volumes like I seen with Alice In The Country Hearts where each big volume has three smaller volumes inside. One it saves space on the book shelf and it curbs the anxiety while waiting for the next installment.  The artwork in this series is simply beautiful and well detailed.  No two characters look a like and they all have their own facial expressions which radiates their personalities.  I would love to see this series in an anime format and really see the characters come to life.

Since I began reading the series I fell instantly in love with Sakura.  I mean how can you not look at her beauty and grace that exudes from the page.  She is not a whiny character that complains about her destiny, but embraces it with dignity and grace of a true princess.  I unfortunately have not gotten the chance to complete the series, so I don't know what happens in the end, yet.  But I do know from my research on the series that it is heartbreaking and a series that evokes emotions from the readers.

I truly give this series a 5 out of 5, there isn't a thing I would change about Tanemura's work.  She created a beautiful character for girls to look up to and respect.  I would love to cosplay her at a convention one day, but that will come in time I guess.