Atori Shou

Atori Shou Volume 2 Cover

The Summary:

I seem to only write about seinen manga in this thing... I'll do something lighter next time. Anyway, today I'm talking to you about Atori Shou (アトリ抄) by TASHIRO Takuya, who is... well, basically not known for anything, although he has some interesting works under his belt. I guess he just hasn't found any love with the few groups who specialize in translating seinen manga, so I'm hopefully shining some light on him. Back to the topic, in Atori Shou we follow Shiba Atori, a human/demon hybrid, as she fights to protect humanity from demons run amok as an operative of the mysterious organization known as N.U.E., all while juggling high school and friends. For people who read the youkai genre of manga (Inuyasha, Nurarihyon, Kekkaishi, etc), this has some of the standard stocks of characters reinvented in Tashiro's style, and while they're called 'diaboros' instead of demons or youkai, the terms are entirely interchangeable.

Atori is accompanied by her squirrel-like demon companion named Jiraiya, and eventually by a host of other demonic pals including, but certainly not limited to, the sword master Mitsurugi. However, it's not really the fights that make this manga any good... they're well laid out and drawn, sure, but the character interactions are fairly unique in Atori Shou. Atori specifically has a double-sided personality and lightens up considerably when she's around her friends, which allows for some dramatic scenes where she has to protect them without letting them know her identity.

Eventually the story plays out and Atori has to battle with the lords of the demon realm to protect her family and friends, and the author manages to pull off some epic large-scale melee demon fights, and character deaths are appropriately traumatizing.

Boobs = Atori (talking about a test, btw)

So it's good, then?

I think it's really good. If it wasn't for the funny characters and light school atmosphere, this story would fall apart under the weight of all the mysteries it throws at the main character, but this time it really doesn't mess with things too much. The comic relief characters are good, the artwork is really good, and the fan service is high enough for fans of service and not so blatant that normal readers can't enjoy it. Pacing is snappy, and a lot happens over the course of the 7 volume story, with little to no worthless characters or filler chapters. And while some plot points were left unresolved, none of them were left ignored, so there was a semi decent sense of completion (which is better than most). I only have two complaints (and they're related); the characters alluded to the chance of Atori being taught swordsmanship, but that section was visibly removed (I assume because the manga wasn't doing well enough to earn an 8th volume), and with the removal of the training story, it's clear that they also forced the removal of the romance that had started to form and was just left hanging there with no where to go. They made such a good couple, damn it.

Manga Facts:

• Atori Shou started in 2005 and ran for 7 volumes in MF Comics, a Media Factory magazine.
• Tashiro Takuya's only translated manga is Najica, which is one and the same with the super panty anime of the same title. It was licensed by ADV before they went bust.

Snoopy's Recommendation:

You should look into reading this manga if you're a fan of woman warrior stories or multiple worlds type action stories. The seinen element is pretty light, and it could probably have flown in a shounen magazine with just a little less demon nipples and blood, so it's not exactly overly mature, so while it's technically 'ecchi' (I hate that term), it's only going to offend the most prudish of readers. I mean, if panty glimpses ruin your day, you probably shouldn't be reading anything more mature than Daa Daa Daa, anyway.