Rasen no Kakera [Tachibana Kaim]

Keywords:

Shoujo, reincarnation, spirits, Japanese historical fantasy

Warnings:

Shounen-Ai (mild)

Volumes:

10

Publisher:

Wings Comics (Shinshokan)

ISBN:

Volume 1: 4-403-61284-9

Volume 2: 4-403-61301-2

Volume 3: 4-403-61320-9

Volume 4: 4-403-61361-6

Volume 5: 4-403-61392-6

Volume 6: 4-403-61414-0

Volume 7: 4-403-61429-9

Volume 8: 4-403-61442-0

Volume 9: 4-403-61474-4

Volume 10: 4-403-61487-6

Overview:

Rasen no Kakera is billed as a reincarnation fantasy story, so you can imagine how confusing the mixing of past and present is. Add to the fact that two (or three, depending on how you look at things) of the characters look almost exactly alike, and you might be in for a headache.

But there are reasons for this. Once upon a time in a feudal-Japan-type world, there was a man who was half-demon, named Bishuu, the son of the most powerful demon, Garai. Bishuu didn't want to be billed as a demon and indeed spent much of his time defying and fighting against the demons. He had two young protoges, Wakyou and Sakuya.

Flash to present-day Japan, where Okino Kazuki is going to school and runs into someone who looks like his twin (except with sideburns!) He turns out to be Imaizumi Makoto, Wakyou's reincarnation, and Kazuki is Sakuya's reincarnation, and they both look just like Bishuu used to. They inherited more; Imaizumi inherited Bishuu's purple eyes (which he can hide unless he's using his powers) and Okino inherited Bishuu's voice (which he can use to chant spells.) They discover that Okino's friend, Masayuki, is Bishuu's reincarnation, inheriting Bishuu's spirit. Together, they begin to battle the demons who are appearing and seem to want to take over the human world.

Personal View:

I got this because it's by my favorite author, and haven't been disappointed. Although the art in the beginning is a bit rough, it smoothes out after a few books and is quite detailed. The story is pretty complicated, which leads to headaches (especially with all the look-alikes and the past vs present timelines) but it's pretty satisfying. Although it's not my favorite by Tachibana, it's still quite solid and substantial.

Acquired from:

Mandarake (Torrance)

See also: Nothing: A Tachibana Kaim Site

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