I’m a big fan of manga serialised in Square Enix’s GFantasy. So, when it was announced that Exquisite Blood: The Heretic Onmyoji was making its way to the West, it immediately caught my interest. But is this a must-have new supernatural shonen series? Let’s take a closer look!

Our story follows Ranmaru, a boy who is half-human and half-weasel demon and lives in a small village. Unfortunately, his parents passed away a year ago, and now the rest of the villagers are keen to kick Ranmaru out because demons have a bad reputation. But being half-human means the demons won’t welcome him either, leaving our protagonist with neither side willing to take him in.

And his problems only get worse when a lone demon who is being pursued by an Onmyoji (otherwise known as sorcerers and diviners) entrusts him with a Magatama (a kind of magic store). However, the Magatama is actually a Sacred Relic, one of ten that have just been stolen from the imperial capital and are now being hunted down by the Onmyoji.

It’s not long before Ranmaru finds himself in the middle of a fight between the demon and the Onmyoji known as Fuzuki. As it stands, Fuzuki has no real interest in what happens to Ranmaru, and if he has to kill him to get to the demon, he will. And when Ranmaru accidentally fuses with the Sacred Relic during battle, Fuzuki vows to do whatever it takes to ensure its safety.

In many ways, Exquisite Blood feels like a fairly generic shonen setup. You have the stolen relics, a protagonist who gets caught up in the chaos and is forced to remain involved by circumstances outside of his control. By the end of Volume 1, it feels like we’ve only just gotten out of the initial setup, so I’m not sure what to make of the series yet. It’s not that it’s not interesting, but you’re left with the feeling that we’ve seen this all before. This admittedly is not helped by Fuzuki, who is somewhat unlikable.

In mangaka Sakura Fujimoto’s afterword, she talks about how her initial idea for the main character was a man with two-tone hair. However, after the editor told her they thought readers would enjoy the series more, the more hot guys there are, she decided to divide that character into Fuzuki and his assistant, Hakuro. But Fujimoto admits that this resulted in Fuzuki losing all his kindness and acting like a villain.

I’m hoping that as the series progresses, Fujimoto will introduce some backstory for Fuzuki that justifies his harsh attitude toward the world. At the very least, we can’t go on with Ranmaru fearing for his life every five seconds – even if Haruko does his best to protect the young boy.

Still, outside of my quibbles with Fuzuki and the setup, this is an action-packed first volume. There are several battle scenes, and they flow well throughout the book. Fujimoto has done a good job of balancing the character designs, too. Demons look ominous, which befits their reputation, but Ranmaru’s design is softer and more childlike despite being caught between human and demon. While Fuzuki, who is known for being a powerful Onmyoji, also gives off an intimidating aura, which fits his overall personality. On the whole, the art feels polished and makes for an enjoyable read.

As mentioned, Exquisite Blood: The Heretic Onmyoji Volume 1 comes to the West thanks to Square Enix and has been translated by Jan Mitsuko Crash with lettering by Dietrich Premier. The release reads well, and there are many in-depth translation notes included at the end of the volume, largely related to onmyoji. There are also colour pages at the beginning, which show off the main cast all together (a treat since it’s Fuzuki on the cover rather than Ranmaru).

The series is ongoing in Japan with 7 volumes currently available. Here in the English market, Volume 2 is scheduled to be released in early November and #3 following in February. As with many of the Square Enix titles, this is also available on Manga UP!.

Overall, Exquisite Blood: The Heretic Onmyoji is off to an entertaining enough start. For those who have read a lot of similar titles, it’s hard not to find a lot of it predictable, but there’s still enough here to be worth picking up a second volume.

A free preview can be read on the publisher’s website.

Our review copy from Square Enix Manga was supplied by Turnaround Comics (Turnaround Publisher Services).

©Square Enix / Sakura Fujimoto