Manga Maniac Cafe For the Geek in all of us

Title: Kekkaishi Vol 18

Author: Yellow Tanabe

Publisher: Viz

ISBN: 9781421524573

May Contain Spoilers

It must be nice being as oblivious as Yoshimori.  He is someone who accepts everyone at face value, and he rarely stops to ponder that they might have ulterior motives.  When Masamori sends Sen and Shu to spy on the kekkaishi at the Karasumori site, Yoshimori is glad to see them again.  He’s a little puzzled by Sen’s attitude, and then he starts to worry that the other boy isn’t fitting in.  But when a swarm of ayakashi butterflies descend on the school,  Yoshimori doesn’t have the time for other concerns – can he rid the school of the thousands of ghostly insects before his friends get hurt?

Just when I start liking Masamori a whole lot better than before, he has to go and launch covert operations against his own family.  Sending Sen to figure out what conditions must be fulfilled to become a legitimate heir just seems so shady.  Instead of spying on his family, why doesn’t he try the direct approach and talk to his grandfather?  A part of me wants to blame this behavior on his jealousy that Yoshimori is the family heir, but that just seems too pat an answer.  Yoshimori is also much more powerful than anyone had realized, and I think that Masamori is only now beginning to understand that.  Maybe part of his concern is fear that Yoshimori will do something really stupid and endanger the site.  Good thing Masamori doesn’t know that Yoshimori is planning to do something rash and he means to seal off the site forever.  Yeah, like that isn’t a foolish idea.

Sen is a confused kid and like Yoshimori, he’s saddled with a power that he doesn’t really want.  He has the ability to read minds, but he’s not very good at it.  With Sazanami acting as his questionable mentor, no wonder Sen is getting mixed signals about his place in the Night Troops.  Sazanami is an acknowledged traitor, but an overwhelming terror of Masamori has him changing his tune.  He has been very adamant that Sen never let anyone else know that he can read minds, and Sen has always done as Sazanami asks.  I think the older guy is really creepy, and I certainly don’t trust him.  Since Sen is quiet and doesn’t have any close friends, it’s understandable that he would welcome any attention that he receives.  You know that there is going to be a question of Sen’s loyalty, and even I wonder if he will snub the Night Troops and Masamori if Sazanami requests it of him.

I enjoyed this volume quite a bit, and was surprised by how much chaos a gabillion butterflies can cause.  The pacing is rapid and the circumstances are entertaining.  Yoshimori is my kind of guy, and even though he comes across as being a lazy slouch about, he is all business when there’s danger in the air.  He never hesitates to jump into danger to save others, and it has been fun watching him mature over the course of the series.  Kekkaishi, I adore you, and hope that you keep churning out compelling story arcs forever.

Grade:  B+