Hamachi is a weirdo. Everybody says so. He is the only boy in his village that is obsessed with Yokai (magical Japanese creatures). Everybody else fears the Yokai and wishes they would all leave. However, his love of Yokai is tested when after befriending a Kappa (a turtle man-thing) the Kappa steals his grandma’s soul. Now Hamachi has decided to venture into the dangerous realm of the Yokai, from which no human has ever returned.
This is a really strong start to a new comedy manga. I am a huge fan of yokai and love reading about them. The manga does a great job of introducing them to a western audience. Yokai are truly odd and strange. The legends surrounding them are often hilarious. Lick the grim licker that licks your dirty bathtub clean! EWWWW! That’s a pretty good way to get kids to clean the bathtub. The art isvery simple and some of the ink work reminds me of classic Japanese ink painting which fits with the classic stories of yokai. The humor is uniformly good and Hamachi is a likeable goofball. This isn’t anything that will change the genre and the story so far isn’t as fast paced as I’d like, but the yokai and strong humor really make this a good read for fans of comedy manga.
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