Writer, Artist & Cover Artist: Yumeya
Translators: Motoko Tamamuro & Jonathan Clements
Letterers: Jessica Burton & Cale Ward
Publisher: Titan Manga
Price: $12.99
Release Date: January 14, 2025
Kyoto was the capital of Japan for a thousand years. Now, it is a tourist attraction. But the shrines and graveyards of the historic city still throb with life, if not the kind all visitors expect. How does Kyoto greet its visitors? And should you accept her offer to tour its ancient sites? Grab your guidebooks, leap into Shadows Of Kyoto Vol 1, and find out!
Episode 1: The Hour Of The Ox: Story
Haruki Aono visits the Kifune Shrine. He live streams that visitors gain the power to curse others at the Hour Of The Ox. As he offers sacrifices with a leering smile, he promises to show his viewers something scary. Then, Kotone appears. As she offers to show him the heart of the ancient capital, viewers give him more positive feedback.
In this first story in Shadows Of Kyoto Vol 1, Kotone gives Haruki what he requests. Her actions shock him. Yumeya delves into an ancient practice associated with Kifune. Like the Alfred Hitchcock movie Rear Window, it reminds readers of the cost of voyeurism.
Episode 1: The Hour Of The Ox: Art
Haruki carries his phone on a selfie stick. He brings tools like a shovel and hammer to frighten his viewers. While following the ancient rituals, his manners convey disrespect. So when Kotone clutches his shoulder, Haruki jumps.
The night darkens further when Kotone reveals The Shadow Side. Near trees covered in straw effigies, Haruki wonders if Kotone is seducing him when she leans closer. But after she whispers, she bites his ear. Then Kotone shows Haruki something his viewers will never forget.
Episode 2: Breaking Off: Story
Kagimoto cannot pay his rent. So he visits a shrine. He plans to use the offerings as seed money to win more. Then Kotone offers to give Kagimoto a tour. The Yasui Konpiragu is a break-off shrine. You write a wish, crawl through a hole, and leave your wish behind. Kagimoto writes that he wants to break off with the bailiffs pursuing him.
This second story in Shadows Of Kyoto Vol 1 tackles our links with others. The Yasui Konpiragu shrine promises to help people break off old ties and establish new ones. But when people try to do the first but not the second, they distance themselves from other people and the gods who protect them.
Episode 2: Breaking Off: Art
Kotone holds Kagimoto's hand. When he squeezes through the hole, he lands on her. Kotone likes being close to him. As he leaves his note, hands reach through the wishes tacked to the shrine to clutch him. When Kagimoto later decides to sever all connections with others, a short string illustrates the inevitability of connections, whether or not they are the ones you choose.
Episode 3: The Riverbed Of Death: Story
Hina and her boyfriend visit a secluded cemetery. She longs for excitement. But when Hina lowers her top, he covers her up. He reminds her that Buddha is watching, then hurries to examine the grave markers. Yearning for the thrill of sex in this exotic place, Hina kicks over a memorial to insects.
Kotone offers to guide the couple around Nenbutsu-Ji. She shows them six Jizo statues that promise to cleanse sins. Hina does not believe in the gods and claims she has no sins. Then she remembers another time a yearning for gratification overrode her respect for others.
Episode 3: The Riverbed Of Death: Art
Kotone clings to her male visitor in this third story in Shadows Of Kyoto Vol 1. Hina fumes as the tour guide attempts to rob her of her financial security. Her boyfriend kneels amid the graves of children as Hina remembers her sins. Then night falls, her boyfriend is gone, and two boys appear with Kotone. The boys rush toward Hina. Their faces glow with adoration. Hina wraps them in her arms. But like Hina, the boys want more than an embrace.
Episode 4: The Field Of Birds: Story
Hazuki is a model friend and guardian. She looks over her classmates as they visit Kiyomizu-dera. Yuka is intrigued by this aura of perfection. The outsider discovers that Hazuki is cruel to the girls in her inner circle. While Yuka films Hazuki wielding power over her schoolmates, Kotone watches her. When Hazui notices their interaction, Kotone tells them about the balcony they stand on.
Episode 4: The Field Of Birds: Art
In this final story in Shadows Of Kyoto Vol 1, a white silhouette leaps off the balcony clutching an open umbrella. Unlike Mary Poppins, the Edo Period visitor made a wish and took an Indiana Jones-style leap of faith. Hazuki and her friends smile, except for Shiori, who they are hazing.
A shadow falls on Kotone as she smiles with the others. Corpses litter the ground below. Yuka drops the phone she secretly used to record Hazuki and her friends. Then, a transformation makes Hazuki emulate the weakness she disdained in Shiori.
Lettering
Black uppercase letters haunt dialogue and thought balloons of varying shapes and sizes. Dark revelations appear as giant white words in black balloons. Words also hover in panels. Screams rock fields with serrated edges. Translated sound effects help us hear screams and accompany scenes of body horror. Thanks to Titan Manga for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
The dead outnumber the living in Kyoto, and Kotone is our guide to their stories and lives. With a smile and perhaps a giggle, Kotone will lead you by the hand into forgotten history and traditions. Share your secrets, and she will reveal how this ancient city still speaks to people today in Shadows Of Kyoto Vol 1.
Rating 9.6/10
To look inside, see my preview of Shadows Of Kyoto Vol 1 earlier this week.
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