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Title: Momogumi Plus Senki Vol 1

Author: Eri Sakondo

Publisher:  Tokyopop

ISBN: 9781427815620

May Contain Spoilers

Yuuki Momozono is cursed. Literally.  The reincarnation of Momotaro, he was cursed by demons and is afflicted by what he calls disaster attraction disorder.  No matter where he is or what he’s doing, ill fortune is sure to find him.  When he transfers to Aitan school, he learns an awful truth; if he doesn’t defeat all of the reincarnated demons, he’ll  die on his 18th birthday! 

The premise for this series is promising, but the execution was a little uneven.  The Peach Boy from the Japanese fairy tale has been reincarnated as Momozono.  He’s battled bad luck his entire life, and it’s left him friendless and on edge.  Anything bad can, and usually does, happen to him at any moment.  Stray baseballs bash him in the head, he falls down stairs, and the people standing near him aren’t immune to his quirks of ill tidings.  So many people have been hurt by hanging around him that now the poor guy doesn’t have any friends.  That’s so sad!  And every day is a painful trial, since he doesn’t know what awful things will happen to him.

When he transfers to Aitan, it looks like he’s finally going to make some friends.  He’s approached by three students who claim to be reincarnations of Momotaro’s animal companions.  Not only that, they have some bad news for him.  All of the demons that Momotaro killed have also been reborn, and if Momozono doesn’t defeat all of them, he’ll died on his 18th birthday.  The kid never catches a break, does he?

Momozono is understandably overwhelmed with all of this new information, but he quickly resigns himself to his fate.  With his new friends, he begins to search for the demons so he can fulfill their conditions and defeat them.  I liked this, because instead of long drawn out battles, Momozono has to figure out what each condition is, and then think of a way to make the demon’s wish come true.  The story places more emphasis on comedy than on action and battles.  The pace is blistering, with continuous bursts of slapstick activity.

I think that I would like the art in Momogumi, if I could actually see it.  As it is, the drawings are so busy and overloaded with screentone and heavy inking that it’s difficult to make anything out.  There is an overabundance of shading and dark splotches everywhere and it’s suffocating.  That was disappointing, because the book is populated with lots bishies.  I think.  With everything that is crowded onto each page, I couldn’t focus on them and instead found all of the extraneous noise very distracting. 

Over all, the series shows some promise, but the art is wearying, and the pacing is exhausting.  I am enjoying the spin that Eri Sakondo is putting on the Peach Boy fable, and despite some reservations, I am curious enough to want to see how Momozono breaks his curse.

Grade: C+

Review copy provided by Tokyopop