Daemons of the Shadow Realm, Vol. 1 by Hiromu Arakawa
Series Name: Daemons of the Shadow Realm
Genres: Action, Adventure, Supernatural
Intended Age Group: Older Teen
Publisher: Square Enix
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-64609-186-7
Rating: 5/5
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Description from the Book
Ancient Daemons awaken to fight a new battle in an age-old war!!
In a remote mountain village under the watchful eyes of two stone guardians, the young Yuru contentedly lives off the land while staying close to the only family he has left – Asa, his precious twin sister. Asa, meanwhile, carries out a mysterious “duty” on behalf of the village while locked in a cage. Why is Asa a prisoner? And what other secrets does Yuru’s otherwise idyllic home hide?
Personal & Info
I don’t have reviews of it on here, yet, but Fullmetal Alchemist is one of my all time favorite anime and manga. This series is fairly new by the same creator. That’s all I need to be willing to try it. I’m going into this with only the information from the back of volume one.
Characters
Yuru is the older male twin of the two main characters. He has great hunting skills, and helpful nature.
Asa is the younger female twin of the two main characters. She’s Yuru’s younger sister, and little is known about her from this volume alone. All we really know is that she is powerful and she might be on the wrong side of a conflict.
Ryuu Tadera, who goes by Dera, is a seer. This means he can see Daemons. He is half of the Higashi Village retainer pair, and he acts as supply runner and liaison. He often brings medicine and other helpful things to the isolated mountain village.
Hana Danno is Dera’s partner, the other half of the Higashi Village retainer pair. She’s also a seer, but she’s never been to the village. When Dera goes up to the village, she usually waits somewhere outside as his transportation.
Gabby appears to be a good friend of Asa’s. She apparently doesn’t mind pain, and her Daemons are a set of teeth.
Jin Kagemori appears to be a higher rank up in some kind of organization. His Daemons appear to be themed around angler fish.
Various Daemons are also characters. I don’t know which ones are important enough to list, nor do I want to spoil too much by describing them in any further detail. The most important are probably Left and Right. You’ll understand that more if you read the book.
Story & Thoughts
Going into this, I had no idea what to expect. The description is vague and even potentially sounds dull. I put my trust in Hiromu Arakawa in hopes it would be worth reading, and she did not let me down. The description only really covers the introduction portion of the book. Things quickly escalate and change from there. One second it’s a peaceful isolated village expressing to the reader how they struggle for resources and to find work, and the next, people are getting their throats slit or just entirely sliced in half.
The village is quickly left behind as Yuru is forced into the modern world. The story is serious, but makes time for funny moments. Yuru knows nothing of the world outside the village, so there are amusing interactions as he adjusts to culture shock. Everything he sees awes and amazes him. I wasn’t expecting the story to go into the modern world, but so far I don’t mind.
I love the concept of the Daemons and their bonds with people. It’s cool they come in pairs. No two sets are the same. And speaking of Gabby’s teeth, I never would have thought a disembodied set of teeth could be cute.
The series has a similar vibe to Fullmetal Alchemist in all the right ways. There’s action, supernatural aspects, adventure, bloody violent ruthlessness, and comic relief. I devoured this volume and loved every minute of it. It has a bit of a tense cliffhanger at the end, so I’m glad I already have volume two. This book is a nice strong start to a new series, and I really hope it stays good.