4/5 stars on Goodreads
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| The Story of the Moon Waiting for the Evening by Akumi Agitogi |
This a new series by the author of My Happy Marriage, so recent that vol. 2 only came out in Japan this October. It’s set somewhere in the mountainous countryside in modern Japan, and comes with a magical reality twist.
Yashiro family has protected the area for centuries against ghosts and spirits, and communicated with gods. The members of the family can see spirits and exorcise ghosts, and the most powerful ones are possessed with a guardian spirit that gives them even more power. It’s a great, wealthy family that is run like a shogun’s clan, with the next leader decided during a years-long succession war.
High school third year Yohana Sakaki is a fringe member of Yashiro family, with no abilities and so no place in the family hierarchy. She’s lost her parents and lives with her paternal grandmother whose only goal for Yohana is to push her into the core of the Yashiro family. A chance comes when the leader organizes a party that starts the succession cycle. What Yohana wants isn’t asked. The two don’t get along.
She’s not the only fringe member there, and all the women are vying to catch the eye of the top ten important members. They’re not afraid to use dirty tactics and Yohana ends up in a pond with another girl who has no idea how she got there. The other girl instantly catches the eye and heart of the first ranked in hierarchy. Yohana is ignored, until a middle grade boy rescues her.
The event triggers something in Yohana and she’s suddenly able to see spirits. The boy, Chitose, tells her she’s a marebito, a person who’s visited the spirit realm, eaten something there, and returned. The marebito are greatly honoured and it’s the duty of the Yashiros to protect them. In a recent school trip, Yohana and the other girl, Hare, fell into a lake. Yohana had experienced something like that there, but had thought it a dream. Turns out, Hare had had the same experience. And now she’s chosen as the mate of the first ranked.
Chitose is an odd boy who looks like he’s twelve and behaves like an old man. He’s treated badly by the ranked family members, yet he has a spirit guardian and the ear of the family head. He organises Yohana to move into the Yashiro compound as an apprentice spiritualist, and since Yohana and her grandmother don’t get along, she accepts just so she has a place where she belongs. He tells her to keep her marebito status a secret, because having one around will help ranked members in the succession war and they’ll try to abduct her. Then he sets out to train her.
But Chitose has a secret too. He needs Yohana to break a curse put on him by gods.
This was a good series starter. Yohana has a sad backstory that hasn’t crushed her, and she takes into her new life fairly easily. There’s exciting action exorcising spirits, navigating the family politics, and butting heads with an annoying young man who is fourth in rank. There’s school life, and secrets to unravel. It’s a bit like an adventurer story where the underdog turns out to be the most powerful; in this case there’s two of them.
It’s nothing like My Happy Marriage, if you’re looking for something similar. There’s no clear romantic lead and at the moment it seems like it’s headed for a triangle drama. However, Hare’s backstory has similar family abuse than what Miyo goes through, her timid character is much like Miyo’s, and she’s saved by a dashing hero who will do everything to protect her. She may turn out to be the villain of the story though. I’ll definitely read more to find out where this’ll lead. It won’t be a short journey, as the succession cycle takes six years.
I received a free copy from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
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