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Title: Taimashin: The Red Spider Exorcist
Author: Hideyuki Kikuchi (Yashakiden: The Demon Princess), with art by Shin Yong-Gwan
Publisher: Digital Manga Publishing
Volume: Volume 2 (ongoing; see my review of volume 1 here), $9.95
Vintage: 2007 by Media Factory, INC in Japan, May 2010 by DMP
Genre: Horror, action, 16+; still has some boobs trying to pop out now and then, but the sexuality has been significantly toned down compared to volume 1

Last volume:  Megumi Ohtori found herself being chased by strange monsters, and was sent by an old lady to an otherworldly haven to ask for aid from the mysterious Akamushi Fujiwara.  Akamushi made quick work of the demons that were chasing Megumi, and then he sent her on her way, pledging to return to her side when he was needed.  Megumi, who thought the affair was only a warped dream, returned to her life and to her fiancee.  The whip-wielding Inran reappeared in order to capture or kill Megumi, but was eventually dispatched by the incredibly powerful Akamushi.

Volume 2 picks up almost immediately where volume 1 left off.  Megumi is still at the hot springs resort with her fiancee, and her parents have arrived unexpectedly.  Once they are gone, Megumi begins to have strange visions and dreams.  When her fiancee takes her shopping nearby, she finds herself surrounded by people from her past…people who have all died.  It quickly becomes apparent, and this is a big spoiler here, that Megumi herself has been dead this entire time.  But because she was asleep at the time, she hasn’t realized that she’s dead, and has been stuck in the Twilight Zone, between the living world and the afterlife.  Akamushi shows up again as Megumi is attacked, but a little gift from Inran rears its ugly head to destroy him from the inside.  Halfway through the volume, after Megumi has gone on her way, the book changes gears.  Akamushi arrives in a new town, making quite the entrance, with a new purpose.  A strange family with a strange curse has caught his attention.  This time, a high school girl named Midori Kurosawa is in trouble, bullied because her family is cursed with a strange possession called the Laughing Face.  She feels alone and cast aside, but some kind (and possibly sinister) words from Akamushi give her strength.  Is Akamushi there to save her family, or devour their power?

I was a little disappointed with this one.  I had thought it would follow the same girl throughout the series, that there was something special about her somehow, that brought attention from Inran and her goons.  Turns out she was just some random girl who got caught between worlds.  Not that I was particularly attached to her or anything, but I hadn’t realized it would be more about the journeys and battles of Akamushi.  There’s nothing wrong with that, of course.  I believe I mentioned last time that I found him interesting.  I was just thrown off by the first volume.  Disappointed doesn’t describe my feelings on the series, just that I got interested about it being a story about one thing, and it turned out to be something else.  Akamushi is still difficult to pin down.  He appeared to be helping Megumi without any immediate personal gain.  But his intentions for Midori and her family are unclear.  Is he meant to help people in need, or is he out for his own amusement?  He’s very enigmatic, but that just makes me want to read more.

Kris
kristin@comicattack.net
@girlg33k_Kris

Review copy provided by Digital Manga Publishing.