Inukami! Vol.4 by Mamizu Arisawa and Mari Matsuzawa (manga review).
Inukami are dog spirits from Japanese folklore and the ‘Inukami!’ manga series features one such spirit working alongside a teenage boy called Keita Kawahira. In this fourth volume, the two have been summoned by the butler of a wealthy family. But before they get to hear about the problem, the butler Sebastian wants solved, a mysterious girl appears and tells them to go home. Further, she tells them that death awaits if they do not leave.
The basic gist of the story is that an ancestor of the family made a pact with a Death spirit in return for wealth and prestige. But in return for that, Death would take the life of a member of the family on their 20th birthday. Complicating things is that the Death spirit will take not only the life of the girl who warned them to leave, but also the lives of any who try to protect her.
Things kick off quickly and, while there’s the usual whimsy you expect from manga, the story is a strong one. The Death spirit is a genuinely frightening antagonist, entering its victim’s dreams from a young age and too strong to defeat with the usual inukami tricks.
It’s just a shame that it doesn’t actually finish in this volume but instead gets put on pause to make space for a second, standalone story about the Inukami Academy. This story is much more lightweight and mixes comical situations with the usual shenanigans you’d expect from a teens-at-college sort of situation. But there is some meat here as well, with insight into how the bonding process between human and inukami happens and the emotions that flow between them.
For all that, though, this second story isn’t an altogether welcome change of pace and, while the artwork remains good throughout, you can’t help but feel a little short- changed. Overall, a pleasant enough addition to the ‘Inukami!’ series, but perhaps not the best value.
Neale Monks
August 2023
(pub: TOR/Seven Seas, 2009. 192 page small softcover. Price: $ 9.99 (US), $12.75 (CAN). ISBN: 978-0-7653-2391-0)
check out websites: www.tor-forge.com and www.gomanga.com
