Devil's Lost Soul #2

異域之鬼 [Iiki no Ki] #2

by Kaori Yuki (Drawings)

La bataille contre le grand seigneur de la terreur prend fin sans que l’un ou l’autre camp ne remporte réellement la victoire. La Confrérie du serpent de la Sagesse, dont Sakaki était un espion, tente en vain d’emprisonner les démons, mais ces derniers parviennent à s’échapper avec le baron. Les démons sont désormais lâchés sur la capitale et ils en ont après Nonoha, la fille de Garan et Wraith. Sorath, Nonoha et Wraith fuient alors à travers l’espace-temps et atterrissent dans un Tokyo moderne où ils mènent une vie de famille presque normale jusqu’au jour où un démon à la solde du roi de la terreur s’aperçoit de la particularité de Nonoha et l’enlève… La traque peut commencer.

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Supernatural, Horror, Young Adult, Comics, Shojo

176 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Kaori Yuki (由貴香織里) is a Japanese manga artist.

She debuted in 1987 with Natsufuku no Erii (Jap: 夏服のエリー) on the manga anthology Bessatsu Hana to Yume published by Hakusensha.
She is best known for her gothic manga works, such as the Earl Cain series (Jap: 伯爵カイン, Hakushaku Cain) and Angel Sanctuary (Jap: 天使禁猟区, Tenshi Kinryōku)

Her work is typically serialized in one of Hakusensha's two shōjo manga anthologies, Bessatsu Hana to Yume and Hana to Yume. In 2010, Kaori Yuki was one of many manga artists whose work would appear in the new shōjo manga anthology Aria by the publisher Kodansha on July 28, 2010.
Her doujinshi-ka name is MoonClock.

Reviews

[Mizuki]

Review for vol. 1 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

It is a rereading and the first half of the story about the characters' past is more intensive than the latter half (which takes place in the present-day Tokyo), 3.7 stars.

PS: the artwork is lovely and stylical!

[Mai]

Sotaro is my new favorite protagonist of Kaori Yuki

[Judyth]

~4/5

This series is good and gorgeous. And violent.

The first arch ends in this volume, and then the new main characters are time skipped to the present day. I think this is the first time I’ve read a Kaori Yuki book that was set in the present, digital age. The digital, internet part is definitely being taken advantage of, but it’s just neat seeing all the current-day clothing and electronics and settings in her art style. Very pretty, to be sure.

Now, Sorath, Leice, and Nonoha are living as a family. And then deaths start happening in town, and a demon is running loose. And Sorath and Leice is getting pulled in.

This series is so good. It’s messy, and death-ridden, and bad, as it should be. I’m liking the banter and relationship between the three characters, but there’s also some underlying problems between Sorath and Leice. Nonoha is a sweet girl, who’s going to be pulled into all the dark happenings.

I’m loving it. These hardbacks are a bit spendy, but gorgeous.

[Read more at my blog, Geeky Reading!]

[nidah05 (SleepDreamWrite)]

While the covers are kind of cool, the story is what drew me in. And the second volume was pretty good. Interesting so far.

[Bibliothecat]

Review for the complete series



As the sole survivor of an earthquake, Sorato is taken into the service of the Kamichika family. A strong friendship blossoms between Sorato, the Kamichika heir Garan and his fiancé Kiyora. They are bound by a promise to always remain friends and to support one another as they suffer from Baron Kamichika's tyranny. But the Baron is scheming with dark magic and his demonic companion Laith has plans of her own. Strange things happen at the Kamichika estate and Sorato knows something is wrong when he finds a girl robed as a priestess hidden in an underground cellar.

Demon from Afar has all the typical trademarks of a Kaori Yuki manga: elaborate art, macabre and twisted characters, and a plot that is so entwined and has so many things going on that it's hard to decide whether it is messy or just really smart. There are a lot more main or at least important characters than the synopsis leads to believe. I am actually surprised at how much Kaori Yuki managed to squash into this 6-volume series - there is a lot to take in and it's not much of a casual manga to quickly flick through.

With the exception of a somewhat ambiguous ending, which is addressed in the author's notes, Demon from Afar carries the plot well. There are many characters whose stories want to be told, and the length of the series also limits the page time that can be spared for each of the characters. But despite that, it is not hard to care for these characters - many of which are in a grey zone. There are many immoral acts, misplaced trust and unrequited love.

This manga also takes place in two different eras, although most is set in contemporary Japan. I started to like Sorato more in the contemporary timeline, I think the modern design simply suited him better. Laith is a much more prominent character than the first volume lets on and, despite being a fierce and treacherous character, she allows for a lot of comic relief. I liked both Garan and Kiyora and felt sorry for their fates throughout the story. The priestess girl Noera is both mysterious and adorable, I wish we had seen more of her, even though she had a strong presence. Later we are also introduced to the horned girl Nonoha. She is probably the most innocent character and is a much-needed ray of sunshine in this sinister tale.

There is not much one can say about Kaori Yuki's art other than that it is as beautiful as always. Beautifully drawn characters with a blend of traditional Japanese and European designs, great action scenes and plenty of eerie pannels and creatures. The art alone might be part of the reason why this manga is more of a slow read. The plot is dense and the pages are loaded with text and panels, it is surely not for everyone. However, it can be a very rewarding read for those who are happy to put aside their fast reads to invest some time into this series instead!

[Hannah]

...And now we've jumped the shark into the modern day, joined by Light Yamagami and a Renesmee-like eldritch abomination. Apparently Book 1 was just the prequel.

[ronja]

2,5/5 Sterne

In den Gegenwartskapiteln komme ich so viel besser zurecht! Storyline macht nun mehr Sinn und die Charaktere verwechsle ich nicht mehr.
Vielleicht lese ich weiter, vielleicht nicht. Wirklich gripping ist die Reihe bisher nicht.

[Isabella]

ok, now you lost me... not really sure about where the hell this is going anymore (and it's just the second volume! lol)

[Séverine]

On retrouve Sorath, Garan et Wraith, dans l'ultime bataille qui clôturais le tome 01 - et donc en rajoute bien sur le fait que ce n'était qu'un tome d'introduction - (J'aime avoir raison, héhé). Un saut de plusieurs années dans le futur, et nous retrouvons Sorath et Wraith, s'occupant de l'enfant de Garan. Mais une armée de démons étant à leurs trousses, ils fuient à travers l'espace temps, et se retrouve cent ans plus tard, dans un Tokyô d'aujourd'hui, où les démons sont bien plus présent qu'à l'époque...

Étant une grande habituée du style de Kaori Yuki et de son univers particulièrement trash, loin des bonnes mœurs, qu'elle ne fût pas ma surprise de voir un tome quasi-soft! En effet, en dehors de quelques meurtres, les fans de Kaori Yuki n'auront pas grand chose à se mettre sous la dent. Et pourtant! Le premier tome était tellement prometteur! Croisons les doigts pour un retour à la "normale" dans les prochains tomes...

Les habitués compareront très vite ce deuxième tome à la célèbre série Angel Sanctuary, toujours du même auteur, étant donné la présence majeure de démons, anges, et surtout de jugement divin via internet. Cependant, la comparaison s'arrête ici, étant donné que AS est une histoire d'amour (incestueuse) et DLS une histoire de règlements de comptes entre démons.

Une part du passé de Sorath nous est révélé, nous qui en attendions beaucoup étant donné le mystère qui enveloppe notre jeune ami, on commence à mettre le doigt sur certaines choses, notamment le pourquoi de son amnésie. Une affaire à suivre de ce côté là, car connaissant le style de notre mangaka, nous en saurons bien plus par la suite.

En bref, un deuxième tome en dessous de mes attentes vis-à-vis de l'univers de Kaori Yuki dans lequel elle nous a baigné dans tous ses mangas, mais l'histoire avance et paraît très prometteuse... Une affaire à suivre, donc!

[brightredglow]

Orig review - 6-16-2015 - Not quite as focused as vol 1 but I still liked it.

Current review on re-read 2-5-2017: What was I thinking when I first read this volume?! "Not quite as focused"? I have to disagree with myself after this re-read. Volume 2 starts with the fight from Vol 1 concluding with an interesting twist. It then jumps from the past of the triggering event to present day Japan. Sorath is a 'dad' to Nonoha who is the daughter of Garan and Leice. Leice is also with Sorath due to him attaining the ring. They make for an odd family unit. It still isn't clear which soul transferred into Nonoha - Noella or Kiyora - but it is clear she has a personality of her own as well with problems unique to herself. She's also one who can both sense and attract other worldly beings. When she comes into contact with a troubled young man, the story definitely picks up focus. Which is why I don't even know what I was thinking in my original review. I can't quite give it a 5 (although I am tempted as Leice's spectacular OTT wardrobe is worth a star on its own), but I would say that it is somewhere between a 4 and 5.

[Miss Susan]

in this volume sorath jumps to the future where he plays happy families with garan's half demon-daughter nonoha and the duke of hell, currently residing in the body of the woman who bore her

my name is z and i am weak to hilariously mismatched family set ups. bonus points if there are deeply screwed up undercurrents to the entire thing! kaori yuki is a woman after my own heart

i think i can see what the shape of this story will be now -- sorath and co go after the evil demons scattered across current japan -- but i am looking forward to the curveballs i am certain kaori yuki will throw at me. 3 stars

[Mizuki]

I was re-reading Iiki no Ki (Demon of the Otherworld) by Kaori Yuki the other night, and once again I noticed there's a character named Hizumi in vol. 2...

And then I remember the Hizumi I know...


It's really silly, off topic and random; but I always can't resisit posting photos of hot rockers.XD

[Ethernya]

Chronique Complète.
Un second tome qui achève de nous présenter la série. On retrouve un intrigue prenante (mais qui n'est pas sans nous laisser une sensation de déjà vu avec les autres séries de l'auteur) dont on est curieux de connaître les développement. Les personnages sont plutôt sympathique mais intriguant.

[Sarah Giffen]

So the first book was basically the prequel; the set up for the main story. I love Yuki's art as always; it is absolutely gorgeous, and I love Leice's outfits. The little girl, Nonoha, makes sense now, and I wonder how she'll bear with the world. I can't wait for the next one.

[sitting pretty on the throne]

4,5*

[Jacob]

Public library copy.

[Anna Weasley]

Ich liebe die Story! :)
Kaori Yuki hats drauf..