Sunday, November 23, 2008

Inukami!-Mamizu Arisawa with art by Mari Matsuzawa

Inukami!
Mamizu Arisawa with art by Mari Matsuzawa
Tor, Oct 2008, $9.99
ISBN: 0765321467

Hedonistic and selfish Kawahira Keita has shamed his famous family as the first one to fail to obtain an Inukami for him to tame; the spirit dogs scorned him as being too self centered. His grandma gives the slacker Keita some hope when she informs him there is an Inukami who selected him, but was unready at that time. He is euphoric and more so when he meets his “dog” a beautiful looking babe Yoko. They agree to a contract for him to tame her so they can battle as a team fighting evil, but he only forges his half of the deal.

He soon learns that his failure to complete the binding leaves him open to attack by demons wanting to steal his soul. Keita also finds out the hard way about his partner’s selfishness that rivals his when his disobedient dog leaves him naked in public; she is impish and considered by her peers as un-trainable. Instead of her serving him, he serves her as she punishes his transgressions, real or not. Worse another Inukami Nadeshiko is sent to train the pair on proper behavior, but that only outrages Yoko who is jealous.

This is an amusing manga fantasy that targets older teens with its innuendos and beastly humorous take on relationships (though the Inukami look human, manga style, except for their tails). The story line is a bit thin, but fun to follow as two selfish individuals star in an outrageous cross-species jocular gender war.

Harriet Klausner

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