Regular girl encounters the seductive and sexy world of the supernatural; sometimes she has ties to that world and is unaware. For Misao, her encounter with a world full of demons comes with a heavy price in volume 1 of Black Bird from Viz.
Misao can see spirits, usually docile, but as she turns 16 these spirits become much more aggressive towards her. Unlike others who can see spirits, Misao is very special. She is the bride of prophecy, a human who only comes around once in a long while. With a drink of her blood a demon will gain long life, a taste of her flesh the demon gains immortality and with marriage the demons clan will prosper and grow strong. Misao becomes aware of these details when attached by a bloodthirsty demon and her savior, Kyo, explains why she is being targeted Kyo is Misao’s childhood friend, returned after leaving at an early age. Not only is he back to protect Misao, he’s also back to attempt to gain her hand in marriage. Kyo is a Tengu, a demon of some stature, and he seeks to gain stature for his clan, but is that all? Kyo must overcome his base urges for Misao while protecting her from demons and rivals alike.
Kanoko Sakurakoji’s Black Bird is pretty good. The story does not feel major original, girl of prophecy, demons gain power by eating her, pretty boy demon with storied past protects her … yeah; it all feels familiar but also comfortable. While Misao is the center of attention it’s Kyo who has a deeper past, within his own clan and from rivals. Misao is just a player, a very important one, but still she learns much from Kyo and he must be the one to keep from consuming her. Supposedly demons cannot resist the blood of the bride, yet he gets by with helping her heal with a lick, read to believe. So we’ve got innocent girl, demons, good demon boy toy, a childhood past, a demon clan past … did I miss anything? Ah, the romance and relationship which is forming. As stated nothing feels special or new, it’s just done in a good manner with good humor mixed in, but not for kids.
The art screams shojo, meaning the boys are pretty, girls are innocent and slender and it feels romantic. The backgrounds are non-existent, but characters are meant to and do take center stage. Black Bird is good, but it’s in a crowded field for shojo manga, of course this does not matter as movies like Twilight will put supernatural manga in hot demand … at lest it should.
