TheClosetP

When I first heard of Nurarihyon, I had mixed feelings which included thoughts of an Inuyasha character rip-off or Katekyo Hitman Reborn in a more mello atmosphere. Yet, Nurarihyon no Mago strays from the stereotypical Shounen manga of action after action chapters and gives accurate insight on Japanese folklore. The plot involves a young boy named Rikuo, who is 1/4 youkai and lives with a hundred other youkai demons. He is the next in line to become the heir of the Nura Clan and will lead the 100 youkai march during the night. Like all practical shounen protagonists, Rikuo does not want to be a youkai leader and wants to live life fulfilling good deeds to escape the role of instilling fear on to humans. Yet when the night comes, Rikuo transforms (literally) into a long, monochromatic hair colored youkai leader and protects his truff of rival youkai clans.

The story starts out a bit slow but takes a deeper, darker mood later on. Some of the beginning chapters are a little episodic but introduce most of the major characters. Yet the story also relies on one's knowledge of Japanese folklore or Asian art. The author manages to explain some Japanese history and insight on Buddhism yet a little slice-of-life feel. By chapter 12, the action and shounen fights start to get heated and the plot flows smoothly along into intriguing arcs. Sometimes, the ending of arcs can seem rushed if you are the type of reader who loves long, drawn out story arcs.

The art is very detailed and the imagery can blow you away. The use of black contrasts and shading add a realistic and artistic depth with a nice, fluid aesthetic.  The author's 2-page spreads will dazzle you with how much detail puts in to each, individual youkai. Each character has a distinct feature and the background also have detail. One problem one might have with this detailed work is that the author tends to cram so much in one panel.It sometimes takes me 3-minutes to get through a page to absorb all that us going on.

The characters sometimes appear to be mediocre and sometimes fall into the role of a shounen mange archetype. Rikuo quickly sheds the "I don't wanna be a youkai leader!" attitude yet still developes his understanding about why he still equates himself with humans and why is still with youkai. Rikuo's "night-form" can be pretty badass yet still have a nonchalantness that makes the character likable. The female characters are not as useless as one may think. Yuki-Onna is a good example of a badass female character who manages to be funny and adorable. Other characters, like Zen and Nurariyon, will make you chuckle too.

I'd defiantly recommend  Nurarihyon to anyone looking for a nice mello shounen manga who loves Japanese folklore. The fandom may be small, but it is a growing series that will most likely be a good title in the future.