Kamichama Karin Chu, vol. 1

By Koge Donbo
Released in the US by Del Rey


Slugline: Eyeballs bleeding from the cuteness

The continuation of the Kamichama Karin, with a new threat facing Karin and Kazune. Karin has been having dreams in which is she needs to gather the three gods. Gods in this case means humans that wear special rings that transforms them into a god mode with special abilities, including the ability to avoid the sight of normal humans. The first of the three gods is actually Karin and Kazune's child from the future, which is a bit of a shock to Karin, since they are both in grade school (I think, the Japanese infatuation with prepubescence always screws up my expectations.) There is a seed of a threat growing now that will bloom into evil in the future, so Karin and Kazune must recruit the other two gods. One of them of course is am idol that is attending their school. By the end of the first volume all three of the gods have been found, but their opponent has already started making moves against them.

I haven't read the predecessor series, but I have read some of Koge-Donbo's other series (not here on Prosopero's Manga though), and she is a creator that focuses on the cute. Karin certainly falls into that, with expressive eyes and cute outfits. But it also makes if feel that she is not very much in charge of what is going on around her, with things just falling into her lap. Her partner, Kazune is excessively macho. Karin realizes that he is that way but still looks forward to the day that they will have the child that shows up from the future. There is also the fact that there seems to be a bridging episode from the previous series at the end of the volume rather than the beginning. It does not have a prominent label so I had to go back and make sure when things seemed all out of order. Despite being all silly and cute, the book is still rated 13+, which feels weird because of how the material is approached. I just really can't take the title very seriously and to certain extent, I don't even think it takes itself seriously, which I suspect is most of the problem I have with it.



Kamichama Karin Chu, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga

-Ferdinand