Manga Review: Heaven's Will Is Short, But Not So Sweet

The December issue of Shojo Beat magazine features a sample chapter of a new release for 2009, Heaven's Will by Satoru Takamiya. While this one-shot manga won't hit the bookstores until January '09, I got a chance to take an early read at this Gothic tale, and learned that not everything that's short is always so sweet.

Mikuzu is a nervous and shy high school girl -- but then again, being able to see ghosts and demons can do that a teen. When she wanders into the neighborhood haunted house, Mikuzu meets Seto, a pretty blonde dressed in Gothic Lolita lace and Kagari, a dark and quiet guy dressed in black who glares at her with cold blue eyes. When she finds out that Seto is an exorcist and Kagari is a vampire, that's only the beginning of the revelations that this supernatural pair spring on her. And did I mention that Seto is really a boy who cross-dresses for fun? When Seto proposes that Mikuzu join them to dispel demons from the earthly plane, Mikuzu can only weakly agree.

Promising premise, nice art -- but there's something missing from this short story. Can you guess what it might be? Check out my review of Heaven's Will from Shojo Beat Manga / VIZ Media, and see this manga one-shot lives up to its billing as a "popular teen goth romance" or is stuck in plot purgatory. Also, if you're curious, check out a free online preview of a sample chapter from Heaven's Will too.

Image credit: © Satoru TAKAMIYA / Shogakukan Inc.