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Title: Kiichi and the Magic Books Vol 3

Author: Taka Amano

Publisher:  CMX

ISBN:  9781401217570

May Contain Spoilers

Everybody is after Kiichi!  The clueless oni boy only wants to discover more about himself, but he’s having a hard time getting any answers when he has to spend most of his time running away.  Kiichi is a good kid, and he has some unpleasant lessons to learn in this volume.  The kindness of strangers comes at a price, and if he isn’t careful, his impulsiveness is going to get his friends hurt.  Can Kiichi stay one step ahead of his pursuers, and make an opportunity for himself to discover who and what he really is?

While I still think the art is clumsy and unattractive, the story is really getting interesting.  The researchers aren’t kidding around, and they are leaving no stone unturned and no resources untapped in their pursuit of Kiichi.  His cheerful personality and willingness to help others has saved his hide, because not everyone is willing to turn him over to be studied.  Friends appear in unlikely places, and help Kiichi and companions evade capture.  Before long, even Saame, the aloof Amamori, is questioning his determination to take control of the trusting young boy. 

The world of Kiichi seems rather grim, where towns are deserted unceremoniously after tragic events befall them, and the researchers carry a lot of clout.  Traveling peddlers can’t even be trusted, as Kiichi painfully discovers.  And through it all, books have the potential to turn renegade and wreak havoc on anything they encounter.  Everyone has a reason to control Kiichi, from the greedy peddler to the less than savory researchers.  Even allies, like Saame, have a hidden agenda and wish to exploit him.  How can the poor kid figure out who to trust, when it seems that nobody is worth trusting?

Even Momotaro and Hana are not immune to Kiichi and his mysterious powers.  Momotaro is getting scared because he can’t control the books anymore.  Hana seems to be benefiting from Kiichi’s presence, so there is a least one individual reaping a positive benefit from whatever magic is contained within him.  Even Saame is experiencing unexpected results when he tries to control his birds.

This volume was very fast paced as Kiichi and his friends spend the entire length running away and avoiding getting caught.  There’s an uptick in the suspense, because it is so difficult to tell friend from foe.  That goes totally against Kiichi’s open and friendly nature.  He wants to trust everyone, and he is having a hard time comprehending that there are plenty of people out there who don’t have his best interests at heart.  That’s one of the things that I find appealing about him; he was an outcast in his village, he wasn’t treated with much kindness, and yet he managed to remain a very caring individual.  His mere presence is having a very profound effect on everyone who encounters him, and so far, that has turned out to be a positive.  He has broken through Momotaro’s wall of aloofness, earned Hana’s affections, and is even starting to win over the glowering Saame. 

Even though I have some issues with the artwork, I am finding the story unique and engaging.  Kiichi’s quest is one that everyone faces; he just wants to know more about himself so he can gain some self-acceptance.  What will he discover at the end of his journey?  Will he be allowed to complete his quest, or will greed and a hunger for his power cut his travels short?  Kiichi is slowly evolving into something stronger than he was before, and like Momotaro and Mori, I’d like to be with him at the end of his search.  At only five volumes, this is an underrated series that is worth picking up.

Grade: B