By Leroy Douresseaux
April 5, 2009 - 07:35
Muhyo & Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation Volume 10 cover image is courtesy of barnesandnoble.com. |
Rated “T” for “Teen”
When people have ghost problems, Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation is the one they call. Toru Muhyo has achieved the highest rank in magic law, executor – someone who can perform exorcisms. Jiro “Roji” Kusano is Muhyo’s sweet-natured and accident prone assistant/sidekick.
As Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation, Vol. 10 (entitled Fate) opens, the war against Ark, the forbidden magic law group, intensifies, and Muhyo and Roji unite with the Busujima Magic Law Office to infiltrate Ark’s headquarters at The Wailing Vale. Meanwhile, Chief Investigator Page Klaus does the unthinkable in his bid to stop his old enemy, the gruesome Teeki.
THE LOWDOWN: I previously described Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation as “sort of like a manga version of DC Comics’ Hellblazer.” At this point in the series, the conspiracy at the heart of BSI’s narrative also bears more than a passing resemblance to the dark machinations at the heart of the Harry Potter novels. Creator Yoshiyuki Nishi has created a unique ghost story; part action and all horror, it is by turns imaginative and gruesome. Nishi’s quirky drawing style also adds heavy amounts of weird to this excellent chiller.
POSSIBLE AUDIENCE: Like Harry Potter, Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation is dark fantasy for all age groups.
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