Heaven's Will volume 1 (of one)
Satoru Takamiya
Viz (Shojo Beat), 193 pp. $8.99
Sudou Mikuzu has a very special talent--she can see ghosts. And because of this predisposition, she's become a magnet for all sorts of unwelcome monsters. Luckily for her she's just met Seto, a friendly, cross-dressing young exorcist. Sudou needs protection from all the creepy phantoms bugging her, and Seto needs to practice his exorcism skills. Consequently, the pair decides to team up and help each other. In return, Sudou promises to bake a cake every time a ghost gets zapped!
I admit this book has potential. Lots of it. For a oneshot, I would have thought this would have been turned into a series because it has so much potential. But because of being a oneshot, it seems to fall flat in the end.
Sudou is your average teen, except she can see ghosts, spirits, oni and the like. When she meets Seto, a crosdressing exorcist, a friendship is formed. He protects her while she draws spirits to him and bakes cakes. Along with their friend Kagari the vampire, they exorcise spirits!
I admit I thought this was going to be something like Ghost Whisperer or Twilight. But I was proven wrong. This has elements from them, but it is it's own story. It works out well for a oneshot. We also have a very interesting back story with Seto and how he wants to bring his sister back using his body because she died saving him.
The characters are great. They're very well designed, and have good personalities. Sudou is your average teen, but she's scared of most things, including ghosts, oni, boys, and pretty much everything she doesn't understand. Seto is a caring crossdresser who wants to bring his sister back to life by getting a "change", and Kagari is a stone-faced, monotone vampire. They're all very interesting and developed for a one-shot.
The art is great. It's very pretty and illustrates the tale well.
The publishing is good. It isn't nearly as good as Del Rey's or as bad as Tokyopop's. It's somewhere in the middle. There's a translation note here and there, but they aren't in the back. They're scattered around the book as footnotes.
Art: 4.5
Characters: 4.5
Quality: 3
Story: 3.5
Overall: 3.8. It really goes that extra mile by having a really interesting back story for Seto. I really think this could have turned into a series, because the ending isn't as satisfying as it could have been. B+.
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