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The Hunters Guild: Red Hood #1

The Hunters Guild: Red Hood, Vol. 1

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In a world where fairy tales are fact and humans live in fear of werewolves, witches, and monsters, only the Hunters Guild can keep the monsters at bay. These red-hooded fighters are anything but little, and only those able to pay a king’s ransom can afford their services, but it’s a small price to stay alive.

In an isolated hamlet lives a boy named Velou who wants nothing more than to protect his beloved neighbors from the werewolf terrorizing the town. But even the town’s mayor—its most skilled huntsman—is unable to handle the situation on his own anymore. In a desperate attempt to save his people, the mayor hires the Hunters Guild to exterminate the werewolf. But after the mayor bankrupts himself into affording the Guild’s services, Velou and the citizens are disappointed when a little girl in a red hood named Grimm shows up instead of the big, strong hunter they were expecting. Velou is skeptical of Grimm’s ability to handle the werewolf—surely the mayor has been scammed, right?! Will Velou and the hamlet ever live happily ever after?

192 pages, Paperback

First published November 4, 2021

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Yūki Kawaguchi

9 books10 followers

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5 stars
64 (17%)
4 stars
144 (38%)
3 stars
122 (32%)
2 stars
35 (9%)
1 star
11 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
Profile Image for Jen.
3,592 reviews27 followers
January 21, 2023
The artwork is ugly to me and the action scenes are hard to follow, though I am reading it on a small screen using an app, so if it was on a bigger screen or in "tree" book form it might be easier to follow. It's ugly, so I wouldn't be pressing it to my face to make it out better. I just read the dialogue and continue to where the visuals make sense, but that's just me. YMMV

I DO however like the storyline, as I don't quite know where it is going yet and I'm curious. I figured out the one twist as soon as I saw the one *spoiler* character, but that didn't bother me too much, as the "why" wasn't revealed and I hope the next few volumes give us some more into that.

This is one I am reading more for the story then for the art. I like the MCs and I can't wait to see how they do in training to join the group!

3, this has potential and I want to continue with it, stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and VIZ Media LLC for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Rebecca.
4,535 reviews69 followers
October 16, 2022
3.5 rounded up.

You all know the story of Little Red Riding Hood, and you may even know the tale of Stubbe Peter, an early werewolf. Both of those are brought together here in this title from one of Kohei Horikoshi (of My Hero Academia fame)'s former assistants - The Hunters' Guild: Red Hood is a shounen action series rooted in werewolf lore and the fairy tale known as ATU333. It's certainly a combination that makes sense - over the years, Red's story has evolved and been tinkered with to make her a much more active (and at times less active) character, and the earliest European variants make it clear that the wolf is, in fact, a werewolf. Both werewolves and LRRH also lend themselves surprisingly easily to the shounen action formula, which in this case takes Velou, a young country lad, and sets him on the path to becoming a Hunter. Naturally he first shows great ability, and just as naturally he ends up in an intense training camp, which few aspirants will come out of. The use of folklore - and one excellent last page plot twist - help this to stand on its own two feet. If you don't care for shounen action, this still may not work for you, but between the Seussian werewolf designs and the nods to various fairy tales, this is an interesting start to a series that could be a lot of fun.
Profile Image for MajesticalLion.
681 reviews62 followers
September 1, 2021
Red Hood has had a promising start. This volume promises a fairy tale epic with an already likeable main cast, and insanely well designed villains. The world built in this first volume demands your attention, and the intrigue of the series has me invested far more than I expected. The art is raw and intense, and expresses the emotion of the scene perfectly. I'll be watching how this series develops with optimism.
Profile Image for Kim.
37 reviews1 follower
June 10, 2023
Shame this series was a cancelled as it has potential.
Profile Image for Michelle Chen.
20 reviews1 follower
August 7, 2025
the art was good but it has a similar plot to demon slayer
Profile Image for Jill.
1,382 reviews26 followers
December 15, 2022
In this first volume, we follow Velou, who wants to get revenge on the werewolf that killed his family. His village is attacked by a werewolf and the mayor sends a message to the Hunter's Guild to send them a hunter to kill the werewolf. The hunter arrives and things get a little crazy. No spoilers here about what happens - but I'm very excited to read the next volume!
Profile Image for Katharine.
610 reviews11 followers
November 13, 2022
My rating was a solid 3 throughout the entire volume until the last two pages, which bumped it up to a 3.5 for me. Velou is a young boy who lives in a secluded mountain village that finds its occupants being terrorized by a werewolf. No one can seem to kill this werewolf, and more people get eaten each day. In the village's desperation to finally be free of this werewolf, the mayor hires a hunter from the famous Hunter's Guild. The art style is fine. It has a very sketchy feel to it, which is cool sometimes, but other times looks like a hastily done draft that got published as the final one. The overall designs do remind me way too much of My Hero Academia at times, but that might just be the character designs. The world designs are really cool, and that is a major plus. The plot of this is fine, but the majority of the first half of this volume is taken up by a single event. It feels like that part of the story went on forever, meanwhile, the back half of the volume's story felt like it flew by. There is a significant plot twist-esqe cliffhanger at the end, which is what makes me want to know what happens next. This is a pretty decent series starter, even though the plot feels a little weirdly paced. Minor nitpick, but I really don't understand the part of the plot blurb that says "In a world where fairy tales are fact". Asides from some characters having the names of a few fairy tale characters or their aesthetics, nothing about this screams "fairy tale retelling".
Profile Image for Phil.
844 reviews14 followers
February 15, 2022
I'm using this to review up to chapter 18, as I went into reading this after it was cancelled. The overdone reconsidering of fairy tales, done notably fresh and well.

I think it's a shame that it has such a little rating here, as the art is beautiful, the concepts top class, and the story and setting are intriguing. Only thing that kind of fell a little bit short for me was the characters, but this is part of the story, so what are you going to do?
Profile Image for Christopher Campbell.
97 reviews1 follower
December 12, 2022
Before I begin this review, I would like to thank NetGalley and Viz Media for a chance to review this title.

We’re heading into a rare category when it comes to adaptions. There have been adaptions of various subjects in the manga world, including fairy tales. Take, for example, Snow White with the Red Hair, which is loosely based on the fairy tale Snow White.
Luckily, we got a new addition in this category, The Hunters Guild: Red Riding Hood is another loosely based fairy tale.

It was written and illustrated by Yuki Kawaguchi. Our story begins with a young boy named Velou, who lives in an isolated hamlet and wants nothing more than to protect his neighbors from a werewolf that has terrorized their town. Their most skilled huntsman, the Mayor, was unable to handle the situation, so he had to hire the Hunters Guild to exterminate the werewolf. In the process, he bankrupted himself to afford their services. The town was disappointed to find that the Guild sends a small girl in a red hood named Grimm instead of a bigger hunter. Velou is skeptical of Grimm and her abilities, is there more to her than meets the eye?

The Hunters Guild: Red Hood is an interesting take on an old classic. It offers the charm of the classic story and brings readers a sense of horror and a shonen-style adventure that is filled with quirky characters and a unique way of world-building.

The first early chapters focus on Kasoka Village and Velou’s preparation to become a new Hunter and setting up the lore for this new world. The action sequences are drawn well and blended with some brief comedic moments that help keep the story enjoyable. A fun fact about the mangaka, Yuki Kawaguchi was one of Kohei Horikoshi’s assistants for My Hero Academia and is working as an assistant for Yusei Matsui.

As much as I would love to list more of what I enjoyed about this first volume, I have to be honest with the negative side of this title. With great character designs and uniquely drawn creatures, this felt more like it had a Demon Slayer premise to it. Unlike the popular shonen title, it offered readers the opportunity to enjoy and imagine a different approach to a beloved fairy tale. But at the end of the day, it is a clone of Demon Slayer.
Profile Image for Alyson Stone.
Author 4 books70 followers
December 4, 2023
Book: The Hunters Guild: Red Hood, Vol. 1
Author: Yuki Kawaguchi
Rating: 3 Out of 5 Stars

I think the bones of a good story are here, but it is just going to take time for it to get there. The first half was all about the build, but once we got through that, the second half was much stronger. I can see where this is going to go and I do think the next volume will be so much stronger.

In this one, we are in a world where there are werewolves, who prey on this village. People are trained to destroy these werewolves and hopefully keep them away. Velou lives in an isolated village that has a big werewolf problem. It is to the point were the mayor, who is trained to kill werewolves, cannot handle it on his own. Velou will stop at nothing to care for those he loves. When a hunter arrives, Velou attaches himself to her and wants to do what she can do. His training starts and he learns that this is not going to be easy. However, the will and desire to make sure that those he loves stays alive pulls him and pushes him to keep attempting to better himself.

Again, this is a great set up. I did think that it took awhile to get the world built up and to get things moving. This world is complex and I am aware in fantasy that sometimes it just takes time to get everything moving. However, once we got through all of the build up and got a look into the world, the payoff was good. The second half of the volume was so much stronger and better than the first half. I am really glad that my library had all three volumes on hand.

The artwork is messy, but I think it works for the story. The story is messy and the messy artwork captures the chaos of the battles and of what is happening. I think it does a good job and adds so much to the story. If the artwork had been done any different, it probably would have not had the same impact that it did.

I do think that this build up could be a hinderance because the series is so short. I do know why it had to happen, but I do fear that it could end up leaving things rushed. I don’t know. I guess I will just have to see how it plays out.

I am very curious to see how this plays out.
1,385 reviews44 followers
March 19, 2023
Art: 2/5 The 'werewolves' look like Gumby-shaped children's doodles, whose faces are often difficult to make sense of because of their exaggerated cartooniness. Maybe it's just me, but if I'm going to read an animal manga, I want animals that LOOK like animals instead of amorphous blobs, and if I'm reading a monster manga, I'd like the monsters to look like some effort went into their design. The Red Riding Hood character, despite wearing non-revealing clothes, is the embodiment of 'she breasted boobily down the stairs': always standing with her butt tensely stuck up and out, legs flexed into a rigid elongating pose, and her shoulders cranked back to point her large chest up at the ceiling (very uncomfortable-looking).

Story: 3/5 A standard naive-kid-joins-monster-hunters-for-hire action story. The first werewolf was pretty easy to figure out (it could only be one of two people) but younger readers who haven't seen all the standard narrative tricks yet may still be surprised.

Verdict: might appeal to middle-school or younger-teen readers, but judging by this first volume, nothing new here to attract older readers.
Profile Image for Ryan.
5,990 reviews33 followers
November 17, 2022
This graphic novel, while all over the place, at times really comes together to make an interesting story. There are characters you think you recognize but realize are completely different from what you’re expecting. Red Hood probably does have some reference to Little Red Riding Hood, since Cinderella shows up later in the book. However, these are not the fairytales you grew up with. Werewolf’s are just one of the creatures once they taste human flesh, they must be killed or your entire village is done for. A small village hires a red hood, who happens to be a cursed girl/woman who is not only good at her job but recognizes talent in others. The talent that VELOU has comes from his need to protect his village and a want of revenge. After what happens in the village, he decides to try and join the hunter’s guild. We leave off at the school and find out that one of the village citizens you thought dead is still alive. This book is a quick read and is interesting enough that I think I need book number two.
216 reviews3 followers
June 17, 2024
I was pleasantly surprised at how good the story was. I wasn't sure if it'd be the kind of fantasy that I liked, but I thoroughly enjoyed it! There was a bit of humor, plenty of action and enough fantasy elements to keep me interested throughout the volume. The story had a good flow and I wanted to know what would happen next. The artwork was also well drawn.

Initially, the main character wasn't taken seriously and underestimated by most people, but he ended up proving them wrong.

After skimming the book's blurb, once I had finished the volume, it dawned on me that it's a very loose interpretation of 'Little Red Riding Hood. (From the back cover : "But after the mayor bankrupts himself into affording the Guild's services, Velou and the citizens are disappointed when a little girl in a red hood shows up instead of the big, strong hunter they were expecting.") - A girl in a red hood, werewolves instead of a lone wolf, a hunters' guild instead of a sole hunter. I found it quite interesting, especially now that I made the connection.


I recommend this book!
Profile Image for The Book Dragon.
2,553 reviews40 followers
December 20, 2022
Werewolves, witches, vampires, and more roam the world and threaten humanity. The Hunters Guild is an organization that works to fight these monsters.

Meet Velou, a young boy growing up in a small hamlet beset by a werewolf. Running out of options, the mayor uses all his funds to hire a hunter from the guild to save the village. Meet Grimm, a small girl who resembles the fabled Red Riding Hood. Thus Velou takes his first steps toward the Hunters Guild even as mysteries swirl around his very existence.

The werewolves in this story aren't exactly what you'd expect when you think werewolf. They're like wolves crossed with eldritch abominations. But the world at large is quite imaginative and the characters are likeable. There's an element of mystery along with the hero's adventure that makes me eager to read more. Sadly, this series didn't last so I'll enjoy what there is.

This series has 3 volumes.
Profile Image for Lillian.
71 reviews
June 26, 2025
The Hunter Guild: Red Hood by Yuki Kawaguchi is a young adult horror action fantasy about a young boy named Velou who wants to protect his home town from the werewolf attacks that have been terrorizing the town. But even the mayor, who took Velou in after his parents was murdered by a werewolf, and is the most skilled huntsman cant stop it. In an attempt to save the towns people the Mayor sells everything he owns in order to higher The Hunter Guild to exterminate the threat. Instead of sending a big strong looking Hunter the Hunters Guild sent a little girl named Grimm to do the job. The towns people and Velou is skeptical, Grimm is mysterious, strong, fast, and cunning. Will Grimm be able to do the job? Can Velou help keep his town safe?
..
If you liked "Da Dan", "Witch Hat Atelier", and "Kaiju 8" then you will enjoy this manga.
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I rate the manga 5 out of 5 stars. This manga is action packed and full of mysteries. There is 3 volumes out right now. And it might me just me but this manga reminds me a bit of Fairytale.
Profile Image for Kiri.
553 reviews
October 11, 2022
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital copy of this book in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

Another reimagined fairytale, "Red Hood" hits the mark by being unique in the fact that the monsters in the story are a lot more hideous and creepy than a lot of other retellings I've read. I enjoyed the concept of the story, the twist at the end of the book, and the gorgeous art. However, I didn't really connect with the characters and the plot didn't hold enough interest personally for me to read the next volume. If you're into action, adventure, and violence then I'd recommend giving this book a read.
Profile Image for Joseph.
545 reviews11 followers
January 17, 2023
Decent, but doesn't do much to hook me. I was sad to see this one get axed so early given that it had built up a decent online following during it's short run, but also after reading the first volume I understand why this one didn't last.

The art is great, particularly all the monster designs. However, the main character felt very flat to me and in general none of the characters made me excited to learn more about them. I do respect how much this dude loves giant, buff women. Glad he was able to speak his truth into the world.

All that said, I will gladly pick up this guy's next series whenever he tries again. I feel like he's got the potential for a winner.
Profile Image for Mark Dickson.
Author 1 book7 followers
March 8, 2023
Rounded up from a 3.5.

Structurally this matches all of the other shonen manga that I’ve read. Young boy is part of small village. Young boy has broader aspirations. Young boy encounters weird creatures. Young boy wants to learn to fight.

But the bonkers fairytale flavour of this is quite appealing. There’s nothing it won’t draw from and it wants to include everything at once. It’s doing so much at a consistently ok level that it ends up being a lot of fun.

It’s also not afraid to include devastating lines such as “You suffer because you struggle” to really feed your nihilism on a Wednesday morning.
Profile Image for Reading_seas0n .
1,154 reviews20 followers
September 16, 2022
Thank you, Viz Media and NetGalley, for allowing me to review this volume honestly!

I do love it when folks rework the Grimm tales and interconnect them, and this volume gave me that. Red Hoods are hunters after werewolves, vampires and more. These creatures look super demonic while staying true to stories.
ALSO, THAT TWIST!
Profile Image for Jennifer.
2,279 reviews19 followers
October 12, 2022
I received an eARC courtesy of VIZ Media LLC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This is not my preferred read at all, but it is husband approved (and he is admittedly a much bigger manga fan than I am, so his opinion does hold weight). This book is definitely gritty.

For Libraries: For adult collections
Profile Image for Raaven💖.
913 reviews46 followers
February 14, 2023
I’m actually really liking this one so far. The art seems familiar to me but I can’t place what it’s similar too. I like the way the werewolves are designed to where they look like globs mostly and I like Grimm’s Little Red Riding Hood design. The ending has me wanting to read the second volume asap!
Profile Image for DeathReye.
190 reviews2 followers
April 5, 2023
I'm concerned for Shonen Jump when the big-hitters start ending because....this was not good.

This reads worse than fan-fiction. Characters design is extremely average, monster designs actually annoyed me.

It was not smart, witty, or quirky it was just extremely below average. Probably won't read volume 2.
43 reviews
April 13, 2023
This was an interesting read for me. I think that it wasn't exactly my favorite art style, but the story was interesting. I liked the twist of the fairy tales. I will wait to see what else before I think I can fully judge the series. I give this a 3/5. Thank you to Viz Media and NetGalley for the chance to review this manga!
Profile Image for Krysta ꕤ.
1,159 reviews1,019 followers
April 20, 2023
I liked the twists on fairytales & the lore surrounding them. the characters designs are cute, but the art within the fight scenes with the werewolves can be hard to understand at times. the twist at the end added a new layer to the story that I’m sure the future volumes will elaborate on. overall this was a fun first volume.
Profile Image for Leeann.
581 reviews17 followers
September 27, 2023
This is like fairy tail and little red riding hood combine. This is a really great manga story. I love the art and the plot as well.

I love how I was hooked from the first page but it didn't last their been a few times were I wasn't really interested or I got lost but it was still a great read and hopefully volume two will be better.
Profile Image for J-Lynn.
1,492 reviews4 followers
April 29, 2023
I bought this when it came out, but I wanted to wait until it had more in the series….. honestly, past me was a genius because that last page was such a terrible cliffhanger!?

LIKE SERIOUSLY, WHAT!? (╯°益°)╯彡┻━┻

I can’t wait to start volume 2!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews