Sengoku Youko has some interesting ideas but nothing really hooked me, I probably wouldn’t continue with the series.
Rating ⭐️

**ARC provided by NetGalley for honest review**

Sengoku Youko, Volume 1 by Satoshi Mizukami was a action-based supernatural manga set in a historical period of Japan. There are monsters and half monsters, mostly led and controlled by questionable priests. You follow a small collection of characters with differing goals that get thrown together throughout this first volume and form a group along the way.

This volume had some interesting ideas, but I feel was a little lacking in execution (at least for an American audience). It started off rough, just dropping you into the middle of a scene with a bit of action, which isn't necessarily bad, but didn't follow through with much explanation after that. I just felt somewhat lost throughout this whole volume. The characters were introduced, but we weren't told much about them or much of their motivation for anything which was kind of annoying. It wasn't until the very end of the volume that I feel like some things were starting to get a bit explained. The art was fine though.

If any of that sounds interesting to you, please try this volume out. I have a feeling that further volumes will get better as the story and world progress, but I have no further desire to continue at this point.

Summary:

In a world where monsters exist, it seems like everyone has taken a side. Either you're a human or a monster (katawara). Unless you're Tama. She's a katawara who loves humans and, as such, has sworn to protect them. No matter what.

Then there's her stepbrother, Jinka. He's mostly human, yet he feels none of the kindness towards humans that Tama has. Together they're about to head out on a series of adventures, accompanied by a strange swordsman.

My Review:

So, I wanted to enjoy Sengoku Youko, Vol. 1. I liked the bright cover and the overall premise (gotta love a monster world!). However, I feel like the execution could have used some work. Mainly, I struggled to feel any connection to our three leading characters.

That isn't to say there's no potential here – there is. But the story is disjointed, so you must read between the lines to see some of that. Ironically, I would have liked the story better had there been fewer characters. A story following just Tama sounds way more exciting in my mind.

One of the biggest highlights of Sengoku Youko, Vol. 1, would have to be the artwork. I liked the way fights were portrayed, especially the sense of movement and depth.

Highlights:
First in a series
Fantasy Setting

Trigger Warnings:
Graphic Elements
Weird Sibling relationship

Hello everyone, we're here today to review Sengoku Youko by Satoshi Mizukami. A copy was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.

I normally build up to my final opinion but let me just say now that I loved this. Sengoku Youko is one of those titles that feels like it was precision engineered to appeal to me. It takes place during Sengoku Jidai, specifically during the tail end of the Muromachi in 1564. It has that delicious soft manga aesthetic from the 2000s ala Aria and Zatch Bell, which hits me right in the nostalgia centers. And the heroine is an adorable fox spirit spreading the glory of communism. Hell yeah comrade Tama.

As for what it's actually about, siblings Tama and Jinka are gallivanting around Japan seeking to reform society during this tumultuous period of war and strife. Tama is a Katawara, an apparition of non-human origin. Rather than being a malevolent spirit, however, she loves humans and seeks to save them through reformation by making them get jobs and take care of one another. Jinka, on the other hand, hates mankind and would rather they all die but supports Tama's efforts anyway. We love a good odd couple.

This is a stellar start to an adventure with fun characters, lots of action, and some incredible compositions. Extremely recommended.

This was a fun action title that reminded me of a lot of manga I read during the early boom period when Tokyopop reigned as a king. The action was fluid and it was fun to see the fox spirit who loves humans, and she doesn't want any of them to suffer, so stop with the crimes already! Fun twist. This volume was mostly set up, but it's a solid setup. If you like supernatural action, give this one a look!

The story just kind of jumps right into the action, a fight right off the bat. A fox spirit is involved! i always like how they're depicted. *Sigh* has to have the random naked girl for no reason thou, hate that. The story overall is okay, thou i thought one of the main characters was a girl til the "he" pronoun came up. Art style is nice as well.

This is the start of a new manga series. Youko Tama and her younger step brother, Jinka Sendou are two demon siblings who travel the country to stop the deeds of all evil doers. As with all kinds of quest adventures they gather others who are seeking courage, or justice, or vengeance, and they dispense justice to all wrong doers in their path. This is an interesting start to a new manga series with good artwork, magical powers and some great battles.

Copy provided by Tokyo Pop via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

a lot of action but the plot is all over the place confusing and with non-sense parts and too simple when compared with other mangas of the same style with more exciting stories the art was okay and sometimes quite good

Sengoku Youko was actually published already in 2008 and thus I found it slightly odd one to be translated into English now. Of course it's great to have manga set in the Muromachi Shogunate's time though, since you can never have enough of that. The world is divided into two, there are people and katawaras, these monsters. Tama loves humans, but her stepbrother Jinka not so much. These two travel the country fighting and whatnot and Tama lending her katawara power to Jinka. They are joined by a swordsman named Shinsuke, who wants to become strong and thinks these two are the key to that. The setting is quite basic and we don't get to understand anything, since the series starts without good introductions to anything. The manga is full of battles and fighting, but for what? Good question.

The art looks slightly outdated and there's hints of Hellsing in it. Mizukami can draw movement though, so points for that. Otherwise this series is quite meh, nothing out of the ordinary, but not bad per se. It's just confusing and without an aim for now.

I ended up just liking this one, but I will say that I grew more interested by the end. I’m intrigued by the story itself—particularly with the idea of the differences/similarities between the katawara and humans, the definition of humanity, and what it means to peacefully coexist with each other. I wasn’t a huge fan of the art, but it grew on me a little by the end to where I wasn’t noticing it as much. I’m not sure whether I’d read the next volume or not, but I might try to check it out.

Awesome story and great art. The art was clean and and net! It also had that nice touch of humor. Well done!

3 🌟
The manga follows two demon siblings that are going on an adventure to stop bad deeds. The manga starts off with Jinka and Tama fighting off the evil doers and they pick up a man who joins their journey. The relationship between Jinka and Tama was a bit off and that was one major aspect that made me feel a bit weird. There is action and adventure but the story plot isn't really strong but rather simple.

Thank you Tokyopop and Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for a honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

I'm mixed on this one. Something about this first volume felt somewhat aimless and disjointed. The first chapter left me more confused about the events in the world than excited about the story. The characters themselves feel like simple tropes and don't connect that well with each other. I also didn't particularly like any of the characters. They feel just a smidge too bland and trope-y for me. I got heavy InuYasha vibes from this, and not in a positive way. The end of the volume got more interesting with there being more reveals of the brothers' true motives. But not so interesting that it made me want to seek out the next volume. Also...what is going on with Tama and Jinku and their "sibling" relationship? The manga implied they're something a bit "more" than siblings, and it set off huge alarm bells. If it goes in the direction I think that it's heavily implying, this series goes straight to be "Don't Read" list. Here's hoping that it avoids that completely. The art style is fine, though not to my taste. It's a bit too simple for me. Jinku's spirit form is sort of cool, but again, it's pretty plain. I don't think I'll try reading the second volume.