Kekkaishi, Vol. 2

by Yellow Tanabe

Book Overview

Students by day, demon hunters by night

By night, teenager Yoshimori Sumimura is a "kekkaishi"--a demon-hunter who specializes in creating magical barriers around his prey. By day, Yoshimori's got other demons to battle: an addiction to sweets and a seriously crotchety grandfather Yoshimori's pretty neighbor and childhood friend, Tokine Yukimura, is also a kekkaishi, but their families are feuding over who is the true practitioner...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1591169704
• ISBN13: 9781591169703
• Release Date: August 2005
• Publisher: Viz Media
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.1" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 14 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 9 to 12

Customer Reviews

This manga maintains its page turning appeal

When we visited Volume 1 of Kekkaishi. We learned about a High School student, Tokine, and a Junior High student, Yoshimori, and how their families are feuding. The two of them are responsible for keeping ayakashi (demon-like creatures) away from their school. Should one of these ayakashi stay in the area too long, then the buried power of the Karasumori site will envelope them and turn them into stronger and fiercer creatures. Both Tokine and Yoshimori were born with a square shaped mark called the Hoin, which proves that they were chosen to be the legitimate successors for their clan. Yoshimori sees this responsibility as a burden, but Tokine seems content with the task. And with this, we open the next book in the manga series. Story overview: The story begins with Tokine's father, who seemed like a pleasant yet uncertain man. These were her memories before his death. One that was vividly engraved into her young eyes as he coughed out his last words, "Don't ever let your guard down, okay?" As Tokine lives with her Mom and Grandmother, Yoshimori lives with his Father, Grandfather and younger brother. We learn that Yoshimori's Mom is alive, but very seldom seen. A powerful Jutsusha, she supposedly turned down an offer from a group called "The Shadow Organization." It is this very organization who sends a young girl named Yomi to stay with the Yukimuras (Tokine's family.) All isn't what it seems, and we learn that Yomi was being deceptive so that she could sneak her pet demon Yoki into the Karasumori site. Since both her and the demon were outcasts, weaklings, and looked down upon, they teamed up to form an impenetrable bond. However, when the demon becomes filled with the power of the Karasumori site, he soon casts his companion aside and lets the power overwhelm him. Yoshimori finds himself fighting against the demon, yet he holds back knowing that the creature is still important to the young girl. James D. Maxon Author of, The Cat That Made Nothing Something Again [...]

Enter the Urukai

It didn't take Yellow Tanabe long to get into the serious stuff. The second volume of his long-running manga "Kekkaishi" dives headlong into the increasingly dark politics of his barrier-magic users, and reveals just what happens when a supernatural creature gets into the school grounds. Though there's still some comic relief, Tanabe has taken his story into a much darker area. A young girl named Yomi arrives from the Urukai (no, not the race of super-orcs) to stay with Tokine's family -- and causes Tokine to think about her father's tragic death, and his last words to her. But Yomi has plans of her own -- drugging Yoshimori and trapping Tokine underground, so her vast demon Yoki can gain new power. But Tokine isn't about to give up -- especially when Yomi reveals what she thought about her father. Yoshimori manages to get into the battle, but it won't be enough when the enormous Yoki starts rapidly growing in power. But the power-charged school grounds are not just making Yoki smarter and stronger -- they're warping his mind, and turning him into a destructive monster. Then a timid girl at the high school becomes terrified of Yoshimori, believing him to be a demonic ghost-killer (she has the sixth sense, and can see ghosts and demons). When she stumbles across him and Tokine at night, she witnesses a terrifying flood of demons coming into the school... One of the lingering questions from the first volume is just where Tokine's dad and Yoshimori's mother are. We get to see them both in flashback -- specifically, a flashback of the night when Tokine's father died a horrific death right in front of her. As for his dying words, we're left to puzzle over what they meant. And after that, Tanabe ventures out into horror territory with the amiable Yomi's transformation into an ultra-dense, spiky monstrosity -- plus lots of severed limbs, blood, snaking regenerations and giant flying rocks. Fortunately he lightens up near the end (the old people are brawling with a garden hose and a barrier), and reveals a bit more about the mysterious Urukai. I'm betting they aren't trustworthy. Yomi quickly proves herself to be a pretty nasty, vicious piece of work, but Tanabe reveals enough about her sad past with Yoki for her to be a realistic character. And her loss near the end is heartbreaking. Similarly, we get some insights into Tokine and Yoshimori -- the source of Tokine's tough-girl attitude, and Yoshimori's kindness and admiration for her late father. The second volume of "Kekkaishi" is all about Yellow Tanabe overcoming the bumps and pits of a manga series' beginning, and reveals a bit more about this world of demons, adepts and barriers.