Manga Review: The Ayakashi Hunter's Tainted Bride

I hadn't heard the name Mamenosuke Fujimaru since 2015 when a friend unloaded her huge collection of Alice in the Country Of... manga volumes on me. Fujimaru is probably most well-known in the West for the sequel of Alice in the Country of Hearts known as Alice in the Country of Clover, neither of which I was too impressed with at the time. However, The Ayakashi Hunter's Tainted Bride from Fujimaru caught my eye the moment I saw the cover art - I've been a sucker for good cover art since I was a kid. And now as an adult, I'm a sucker for a mature-looking shoujo manga set in historical Japan.

Kodansha, The Ayakashi Hunter's Tainted Bride's publisher, claims that the story is "Noragami meets My Happy Marriage." While not comedic like Noragami, I'd say the historical setting is there. As for the My Happy Marriage comparison, I can see foundational similarities, but Ayakashi Hunter has even more bite when it comes to drama and conflict. The manga is an adaptation of a Japanese novel later released, written by Midori Yuma. Both versions are currently ongoing.

Despite my negative feelings about the "damsel in distress" trope, volume 1 of Ayakashi Hunter got me on board and has me thrilled for the rest of the story. The manga will be officially released by Kodansha in print on March 25th, which is coming up quickly, so should you pick up The Ayakashi Hunter's Tainted Bride? This review will contain some spoilers, but I'll warn you ahead of time.

If your entire life and future were changed for the worse in a single moment, how would handle it? Nanao, a girl with incredible spiritual power, had a wonderful future in store for her, as she was set to marry a handsome man of an esteemed family, Master Reito. When she breaks a family rule by setting foot outside a protective barrier, she is attacked and tainted by an Ayakashi, a type of Japanese yokai or ghost.

Nanao is now shunned by her entire family and Master Reito. She grows up treated as a lesser human being - her family claims she reeks of an Ayakashi. She is forced to hide her face behind a monkey mask, do chores, and never speak. After years of mistreatment, she unexpectedly becomes the wife to Lord Yako Benitsubaki, also an Ayakashi hunter, after he sees her beauty and experiences her spiritual power. There is another vital reason why Yako suddenly takes Nanao as his wife, which I'll get to later.

Nanao's past, some world-building, and Yako's proposal to her all happen within chapter one of the series, and I had yet to be sucked in after reading it. The art is highly detailed and, well, just simply beautiful to look at, but after 20 years of manga reading, that's not enough for me anymore. What draws me in is an interesting world and characters I care about, art be damned.

As for our main character, Nanao, I can't exactly say I dislike her OR like her. She's been dealt some terrible cards and has an extremely rough life, but we see this in shoujo manga a lot. The "damsel in distress" is a tired theme, and admittedly one of the reasons I wasn't so much into My Happy Marriage. I understand that stories like this can evolve into ones about overcoming trauma and moving on from the past, but it's just simply not a theme I care for. Nanao doesn't have a personality - at least not yet. Of course, this is due to her family's abuse leading her to suppress herself, but I just hope we see some meaningful character development later in the series as she, hopefully, overcomes this trauma. There's nothing more dreadful in a shoujo series than a female lead I don't care for.

Chapter two continues some interesting world-building, an element I often find lost in shoujo manga when compared to shounen manga. But there is a single component to Ayakashi Hunter that drew me in right near the end of volume 1. Prepare for spoilers in this next section.

As I finished the last chapter of volume 1 of The Ayakashi Hunter's Tainted Bride, I couldn't help but feel a bit silly as to the reason why I wanted to keep reading this series. Yako, the ayakashi hunter himself, reveals to Nanao as he bites into her neck that he is a vampire. I did not at all expect a vampire element to this story, but I was embarrassingly giddy about it. I'm a sucker (no pun intended) for vampire manga - ever since I picked up Masturi Hino's Vampire Knight in 2007, I've been locked in when it comes to vampire characters and themes.

Yako explains that Nanao's blood tastes delicious (there was an incident in chapter one that led Yako to lick Nanao's wound), and that he desired to have her by his side. Vampire stories are sexy and add layers to world-building. I'm interested in seeing how vampires work in Ayakashi Hunter, as each vampire story has its own twist on vampire lore.

I think the real draw of the series for readers will be the conflict between Yako and Reito, whom Nanao was originally supposed to marry. Not to mention Reito's wife, a disgusting and selfish woman who seems she would do anything to get her way, plays a key role in the drama too.

If you liked My Happy Marriage, or are a fan of historical Japanese settings, The Ayakashi Hunter's Tainted Bride would be a perfect addition to your collection. The print version localization is translated by Jacqueline Fung, lettered by Madeleine Jose, and edited by Tiff Joshua TJ Ferentini. Overall, the English translations stay faithful to historical Japan, and there are translation notes in the back that describe ayakashi and other things a Western audience may find confusing.

Fujimaru's art has matured a lot since her work with Alice in the Country of Clover, which to me had a sort of goofy and cartoony feel to the artwork. Even if you were to hold this series up to Ayakashi Hunter, I think it'd be difficult to notice that they have the same artist. This goes to show how Fujimaru has come in her work - from an art style more subtable for preteen audiences, to now in Ayakashi Hunter which seems to be aimed more at young adults. I was especially impressed presentation of anger in characters, and I think we'll see some unhinged facial expressions from characters throughout the series.

I'll be reading volume 2, which is currently available digitally on Kodansha's official manga app, K Manga, and will be released in print on May 27th. While the series doesn't have the most exciting characters, I'm on board for the drama, world-building, and vampires.

The Ayakashi Hunter's Tainted Bride © Mamenosuke Fujimaru, Midori Yuma/Kodansha Ltd.