Takeru - Opera Susanoh Sword of the Devil

This was the first manga for the illustrator, who would later go on to do manga all on her own, such as Laughing Under the Clouds. Credit to the editorial side of things: although Karakara Kemuri only illustrated Takeru, the character designs and scenarios in Takeru are like early, simplified versions of what she now often explores in her manga. So, with the benefit of hindsight, it's nice to see an artist was given an opportunity that suited her burgeoning abilities. Also, the writer for Takeru did a solid job feeding readers morsels of exposition at appropriate intervals, no awkward info dumps.This isn't a masterpiece, but instead, is a fun, summery popcorn movie kind of read. It's an action-adventure fantasy, set in a time of primordial gods, prophecies, and curses, etc. The main trio consists of a classic lineup of a mischievous guy, a good-hearted muscle dude, and a mysterious, brooding type who dons a mask when fighting. Quite refreshingly for when it was written, the people they're helping are a small, hidden forest nation with matriarchal leadership and female warriors. Although the forest nation is very hidden away, somehow a greedy empire manages to encroach, keen to get a hold of the ancient, powerful weapon that this forest nation safeguards. Yes, like I said before, a popcorn movie kind of feel. While it's not striving to be super-deep, I appreciated the morally gray characters with a range of motivations in the story. So, if you want cool art and a fun adventure story that won't take a long time to read, please consider Takeru. Finally, some administrative notes. MAL lists this as appearing in Comic Blade, a shonen. HOWEVER, it actually appeared in Comic Blade Zebel, which was a shoujo off-shoot, basically. So, if anyone looking this up on different sites spots conflicting demographic labels, that's why. The issue was probably further obscured by the fact that the prequel did in the original shonen publication, Comic Blade. This leads me to my second point: you do not need to read the prequel to enjoy Takeru. All the information needed to understand and enjoy Takeru is contained in Takeru. Finally, to any Laughing Under the Clouds fans curious, while it's not on the same level as Laughing Under the Clouds in terms of depth and complexity, I think you'll be charmed to get a glimpse of an early era Karakara Kemuri at work.