Kekkaishi, Vols. 1-9

By Yellow Tanabe
Published by Viz

I have a challenge for all you Shonen Jump readers: pick up a copy of Kekkaishi. I dare you not to like it!

You see, Kekkaishi is every bit as entertaining as Viz’s most popular shonen series with its blend of action, humor, horror, and folklore. Kekkaishi has already found a considerable audience in Japan, with sixteen volumes in print, an anime adaptation currently airing on YTV, and a videogame scheduled for release at the end of this month. (A little off-topic: blogger John Jakala thinks Kekkaishi would make a smashing Nintendo game: “I can already see how the three-stage process of deploying kekkai would translate well to a video game version requiring an elaborate button sequence to trap and destroy demons,” he opines. More on those awesome barrier-forming abilities in a minute.) Kekkaishi continues to be serialized in the pages of Shonen Sunday—the same publication carrying InuYasha, by the way—and nabbed a 2007 Shogakukan Award for Best Shonen Series, as have such titles as YuYu Hakusho (1994), Hikaru no Go (2000), InuYasha (2002), Full Metal Alchemist (2004), and Bleach (2005).

The premise of Kekkaishi is simple: Yoshimori Sumimura, a seemingly unremarkable fourteen-year-old boy, is a kekkaishi, or barrier-master. When he isn’t consuming unhealthy amounts of coffee-flavored milk, dozing off in class, or baking architecturally magnificent cakes (one of his pet obsessions), he’s patrolling the grounds of his school, which sits atop the Karasumori, a locus of magical energy that proves irresistible to ayakashi (demons) looking to augment their power. Yoshimori traps unwanted visitors within cube-shaped barriers, then vaporizes them, barrier and all. Joining him on patrol are his sixteen-year-old neighbor Tokine Yukimura—a more disciplined kekkaishi whom Yoshimori secretly adores—and a small complement of demons that includes two dog spirits, Madarao and Hakubi, and a half-human, half-ayakashi, Gen Shishio. Further complicating matters are the families themselves: the Sumimuras and Yukimuras detest one another. Though their clans have been tasked with protecting the Karasumori for nearly 500 years, the oldest generation carries on an energetic feud, making it difficult for Yoshimori and Tokine to work together harmoniously. In short, Kekkaishi reads like an entertaining mash-up of Bleach, InuYasha, and Romeo and Juliet. (Or maybe Romeo Must Die. Take your pick.)

Each volume unfurls at a brisk clip, in part because Tanabe doesn’t feel the need to explain the entire mythology of the Karasumori site in a single, undigestible prologue. Nor does she resort to the kind of lazy, expository dialogue found in many shonen series with complicated backstories. (You know the kind: “As you know, Tokine, we’ve been combating ayakashi together for almost a year, and our faithful demon dog sidekicks have played an indispensable role in helping us rid the site of ayakashi. Don’t you think, childhood friend and neighbor of mine?”) Instead, Tanabe reveals details about the Karasumori site’s past gradually as she introduces new characters and confronts her principal cast members with new demonic challenges. In fact, the kekkaishis’ greatest adversaries—the Kokuburo, a group of powerful demons whose plan for world domination involves taking over the Karasumori site—don’t even appear in the first volume of the series.

What makes Kekkaishi such a joy to read is Yellow Tanabe’s consummate skill as both an illustrator and storyteller. Her artwork is clean and attractive, with bold lines and nicely composed pictures. Though her character designs are immensely appealing—and seem ready-made for the inevitable assortment of lunchboxes, t-shirts, shijikis, and coffee milk drinks that the series will inspire—it’s her action sequences that really shine. Kekkaishi is one of the few shonen series where the fight scenes are (a) dynamic (b) thrilling (c) easy to follow (d) essential to the plot and (e) just the right length. There’s also a wonderful sense of play in Tanabe’s combat. Yoshimori and Tokine use kekkaishi not only as traps, but also as aerial stepping-stones that allow them to pursue demons mid-air. There’s another appealing—and slyly didactic—aspect to these fight scenes as well. Though Yoshimori possesses greater spiritual powers than Tokine, it’s Tokine who frequently saves the day. Why? Well, she practices creating barriers with the same diligence as she does her homework. Yoshimori, on the other hand, struggles to master his powers, sometimes embarking on marathon training sessions and other times neglecting to practice at all.

Kekkaishi offers readers more modest pleasures as well. Tanabe creates a colorful cast of supporting characters that include Yoshimori and Tokine’s sparring grandparents, who prove surprisingly spry for a couple of sexagenarians; Yoshimori’s father, who reminds me of James Dean’s apron-clad dad in Rebel Without a Cause; Masahiko Tsukijigaoka, a genial ghost who was a baker in life; Heisuke Matsudo, a nattily-dressed friend of Yoshimori’s grandfather with a specialty in weird science; and Mamezo, the grouchy guardian spirit of the Karasumori site who looks a bit like Kermit the Frog on a bender. After nine volumes, Tanabe’s villains are a less colorful and distinctive bunch than, say, Naraku’s various incarnations, but I find that refreshing. For once the hero—and pals—are as vivid and appealing as the bad guys without having sordid or complicated backstories. (Gen is the notable exception.) The only false note is Yoshimori’s older brother, Masamori. Tanabe hasn’t quite decided what to do with this character: has Masamori infiltrated the Shadow Organziation to protect the Karasumori site, or to promote his own agenda? Is he a genuine rival of Yoshimori, or is he actually a protective older sibling? Beats me.

I also enjoy Kekkaishi’s omake. I confess that I don’t usually read the sidebars or gag strips in most manga for reasons that David Welsh so aptly summarized in a memorable blog entry:

The content is generally pretty repetitive. They’re working really hard, and they’re sorry they’re behind on their fan mail. This volume isn’t as good as they’d have liked, but they’re trying, and reader support keeps them going. They wish they had a kitty. That sort of thing.

Tanabe’s gag strips steer clear of the usual bowing and scraping before the fandom. Instead, she depicts herself as a slightly tubby penguin with a perpetual scowl and an implacable panda for an editor. Not much happens in a typical strip, but the back-and-forth between penguin and panda is amusing and, for anyone who’s ever been on the receiving end of editorial criticism, all too true.

I confess that I’d been a little disappointed in volumes seven and eight. I found the fight scenes tedious and felt Tanabe had fumbled a bit in her depiction of Tokine, who went from being an appealing, competent character to a mere tag-along. But volume nine is a splendid return to form. Tanabe introduces us to two new characters: Reizo, a playful polar bear demon, and Atora, the sensei who helped tame the ayakashi within Gen. (Atora, like Tokine, is the kind of heroine who will appeal to male and female readers alike, with her mix of sass, smarts, and athleticism.) Tanabe cross-cuts between several storylines, fleshing out the Kokoburo’s motives for capturing the Karasumori, staging some ecological intrigue at the Colorless Marsh, and revealing that Yoshimori’s dad has skills far beyond vacuuming and making bento lunches. The myriad storylines converge into two climatic showdowns, one between a Kokoburo assassin and Heisuke—who has learned too much about the demons’ plan to infiltrate the human world—and one between Gen and ayakashi Kaguro—who bestows a troublesome gift on Gen. Along the way, we’re treated to some great sight gags, several thrilling action sequences, and some quieter, character-building moments.

Volumes 1–9 of Kekkaishi are available now; volume 10 will be released in August. (N.B. A review for volume 10 is posted in the 8/1/07 Weekly Recon column. Click here to read; scroll past the shipping list.) The anime series has yet to be licensed for the American market, but stay tuned—my guess is that Kekkaishi will soon join the adult swim line-up, introducing it to the wider audience it so richly deserves.

This review was based on a complementary copy provided by the publisher.