Manga Review: Is Black Bird Sexy, Sadistic or Supernatural Fun?

Since its debut in early August, Black Bird by Kanoko Sakurakoji has been getting lots of buzz from fans of supernatural shojo manga romances for a very good reason: it's got a lot of the sexy sizzle and otherworldly fantasy of today's hot literary / pop culture trend: vampires.

But here's the catch: it has got its share of bloodshed and hot inhuman hunks -- but it's not about vampires. We're not talking werewolves or zombies here either -- Black Bird features yokai: a very Japanese breed of demons, spirits and ghosts.

Yokai should be a fairly familiar concept to manga readers - wiley kitsune (fox spirits), devious kappa (water sprites), ornery oni (horned demons) and clever tengu (winged demons) have been featured in numerous stories as fearsome or funny characters. But Black Bird uses yokai to give the familiar vampire romance formula (ordinary girl meets a supernatural being who finds her irresistible) a uniquely Japanese twist.

Misao, the heroine of Black Bird has been able to see spirits, sprites and demons for years -- but now that she's turned 16, she discovers that she's a rare delicacy in the world of demons: the scent of her blood drives them mad with desire: it makes them want to drink her blood to become powerful or eat her flesh to gain eternal youth. But the ultimate prize in demon-dom is to claim Misao as a bride, to assure power and prestige to an entire demon clan.

Fortunately for Misao, her childhood sweetheart Kyo is back after a 10-year absence and this strong, dark and handsome dude is more than able to fend off hungry demons. Unfortunately for Misao, Kyo's a demon and he has set his sights on marrying Misao too.

Sounds like a juicy set-up for action and romance, right? Well, it is -- but there's also a somewhat sadistic side to Black Bird that made me slightly squeamish. See if you agree after you read my review of Black Bird Volume 1 by Kanoko Sakurakoji from Shojo Beat Manga / VIZ Media.

You can also get a taste of Black Bird by checking out this online manga preview from Shojo Beat and see why it's been on the New York Times manga bestseller top 10 list for the past three weeks, and perhaps why it earned the Shogakukan Manga Award earlier this year.

Image credit: © Kanoko SAKURAKOUJI / Shogakukan Inc.