Written by Hideyuki Kikuchi, Illustrated by Jun Suemi, Translated by Eugene Woodbury
DMP, 220 pp.
Rating: None

Yashakiden: The Demon Princess has some rather heavy expectations heaped upon it from the get-go. The front and back cover both contain quotes from the author proclaiming it to be his best work ever, even better than his more famous Vampire Hunter D, and that the vampires and the story will appeal to vampire fans from around the world. On one hand, it’s easy to dismiss creator hype as mere hyperbole, but the cover quotes combined with the afterward really have me thinking that Kikuchi does indeed consider this his greatest work to date (or did at the time of the book’s initial publication in 1997). So, clearly the question is: will anyone else think it’s as good as Kikuchi thinks it is?

Years ago an event known as the Devil Quake befell Shinjuku. As a result, the area has become a sort of DMZ populated by a mixture of normal humans and various supernatural beings. Now, the arrival of four ancient and powerful immortals threatens to light the fuse on the powder keg that is Shinjuku, and it’s up to two of the city’s defenders to keep that from happening. They are: the beautiful and enigmatic Setsura Aki, the greatest PI in the city, and the beautiful and enigmatic Doctor Mephisto, the best doctor in the city.

The first volume in this four-part saga follows the duo’s initial investigation into the arrival of the four immortals and touches upon their plans to make Shinjuku their new home with them as its rulers. The plot feels rather straightforward right now, and at this point there isn’t a whole lot to say about the two main characters as they both fit Kikuchi’s mysterious and cool pretty boy trope to a tee. Meanwhile, the villains are depicted as incredibly debauched, often mixing copious bloodshed with sexual pleasure in over-the-top sex scenes that are described in quite a bit of detail and run the gamut from laughably outrageous to genuinely unsettling and disturbing. On one hand, this might be a bit of a turnoff, but the way Kikuchi ties the titular princess into certain mythical figures from Earth’s past has it actually making a bit of sense.

Jun Suemi’s artwork has a rough, gritty feel to it and does a fantastic job at depicting several horrific moments in the story. The newly commissioned cover he did for the US release is probably my favorite piece of his work so far. Woodbury’s translation is pretty good, though there are a few choppy and awkward bits of text early on. By the end of the book, the story is enthralling enough that if there were any additional awkward bits they just sailed right past me. Overall, I thought it was a easy to read translation that worked nicely with the rather fast paced story.

Obviously, this will be a must read for fans of Kikuchi’s other work, but I’m not quite sure how non-fans would react to it. The plot feels fairly simple at this point, but the setting and way it all plays out makes it quite an engaging read. Still, Kikuchi’s frank use of sex, and his less-than-progressive depiction of women, could turn a lot of folks off. While I’m not positive that it’s his best work to date, I did really enjoy it, probably even more so than any of his other works that I’ve read so far. It’s not high art, but it is entertaining and I can’t wait for DMP to bring on the rest of the series.

Volume one of Yashakiden: The Demon Princess is available now.

Review copy provided by the publisher.