Otogi Matsuri 1: Dark Offering

A teenaged outsider with strange new powers is Earth's only hope against a horde of demonic invaders! When high school student Yousuke Suruga accidentally breaks an ancient shinto shrine, his physical body merges with the Bow of Suzaku, an enigmatic weapon from ancient times. Yousuke's only hope lies with Ezo, the eccentric history teacher who wields the Spear of Seiryuu, another mystic weapon that, when combined with the Bow of Suzaku, may be the world's only hope against the ever-growing threat of the monster realm.

From Publishers Weekly

A demon thirsty for human blood, a young girl who can see supernatural beings and a boy who inadvertently promises his future to the god of the south—all combine to give Otogi Matsuri the speed and power of a runaway bullet train. From the first appearance of the bone-crunching "cat-spider" monster, Inoue gives notice that this adventure story is deadly serious. Its teenage heroes are enmeshed in a realm that has it in for any puny humans who get in the way of its gods and demons. Luckily for plucky high school boy protagonist Yousuke Suruga, he's been unwittingly armed with the bow of Suzaku, a weapon with phoenixlike powers. Together with Ryuuichi Ezo, who's similarly armed with the spear of Seiryuu, and Yomogi Inaga, armed with otherworldly vision, he's able to take on the cat-spider and, later, a horde of monstrous dragonflies controlled by a gigantic eyeball—leading to some amusing absurdist dialogue such as "I saw a big eyeball going down the street!" Eventually, the demons are defeated and order is restored, but tantalizing loose ends have been left dangling for the next installment, making for a good, juicy adventure with evocative graphics and great promise for part two. (May) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Author Junya Inoue began his art career designing graphics for video games. Otogi Matsuri is his first published manga work.

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