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Title: Black Bird Vol 1

Author:  Kanoko Sakurakoji

Publisher: Viz

ISBN: 9781421527642

May Contain Spoilers

Misao Harada has just learned that she has a little problem. On her sixteenth birthday, mobs of ghosts and demons suddenly descended on her, each intent on hurting her.  Turns out that if a demon drinks her blood, it will live a very long life.  If it eats her, it will gain immortality.   Demon clans are battling it out to claim her and the power of her blood.  When her childhood friend Kyo saves her from an attack, things get even more weird.  By licking her wounds, Kyo can heal her injuries!  Does Kyo have an ulterior motive for saving her?

On one hand, I liked the supernatural elements in this book, and how horror and romance were mixed together. On the other hand, I didn’t like how Misao was victimized during the entire volume, and how passive she is.  This is often a complaint that I have with shoujo romances, mainly because I don’t find it very romantic when the heroine is abused throughout the series and then falls head over heels for a guy who is so controlling and manipulative.

When they were kids, Kyo promised Misao that he would always protect her, and that he would return to save her from danger.  Then his family moved away.  Without him around, Misao didn’t have any other friends because of the gloomy aura that surrounds her.  She has the ability to see ghosts and spirits, and other people pick up on the fact that there is something creepy about her. 

Things get really scary on her 16th birthday, when she is attacked by a demon.  Her old friend Kyo appears out of nowhere to save her, and after healing her wounds by licking them, he tells Misao that he is the head of his demon clan, and he’s returned to claim her for his bride.  Gah!  Why can’t these guys be a little more romantic with their marriage proposals?  Instead of declaring his endless love, he’s just staking a claim on the power of her blood!

The tension and the danger add excitement to the plot, as various demons try to devour the unsuspecting Misao.  Kyo is, at first glance, noble and courageous, but once you learn that he’s out for Misao’s blood, too,  he loses a little of his chivalrous glow.  Sure, sure, it’s going to turn out that he’s been in love with her forever and that he’s protecting her because of how he feels about her, but right now, he just seems like the rest of the demons out for their own gain.  Eat the human, get eternal life.  Sounds about right for a demon.

I did enjoy the introduction to Black Bird, but I had to put aside my annoyance at how Misao is being set up to be used for the rest of her life.  The fact that she spends a good portion of the book covered in blood because of attempts to rob her of her life only adds to the air that she is being abused and victimized.  This series feels a little bit like Vampire Knight, where a powerful supernatural being has taken an interest in a mere mortal for reasons that aren’t quite as selfless as they appear.  The love interest is also in a position of power over the heroine, and she pretty much kowtows to his desires.  I don’t find that particularly romantic.  Still, I enjoyed Black Bird enough to want to follow along with at least the next volume.

Grade: B-