Recommendation: Nurarihyon no Mago

Since the current Weekly Shounen Jump offerings have been getting a bit stale to me, I’ve been on the look out for a new weekly shounen series. I stumbled onto Nurarihyon no Mago by pure chance. This manga has two things that are fucking awesome: Youkai and yakuza. Or, more accurately, youkai that act like yakuza.

If that didn’t just make you cream your pants then get out. Seriously, leave this post. This is not the manga for you. However, if you did suffer a pantsplosion, then clean yourself up and carry on reading. You might want to have an extra pair of clean pants handy, though.

Warning: This post contains some of the following: giant tanuki balls, yakuza, awesome grandpas, and Zen abuse. Reader discretion is advised.

Clearly Rikuo finds these color page spreads as arousing as I do.

NURARIHYON NO MAGO

「ぬらりひょんの孫」

Read Online: MangaFox

Nurarihyon no Nago (which is a bitch to type, so I’m going to call it NnM from here on out), is about Nura Rikuo, the titular “grandson of Nurarihyon”. Nurarihyon is a kind of youkai that enters people’s houses uninvited and eats their food. He is also the “Master of All Spirits” and the leader of the Hyakki Yakou (“Night Parade of a Hundred Demons”, but its really just like a big youkai gang).

Coolest. Grandpa. EVAR. Of all time.

Rikuo is in line to become the next heir to the Nurarihyon Hyakki Yakou, but there’s one problem: He’s only a quarter youkai. Actually, that’s not the only problem. He just wants to be a normal kid and have nothing to do with his youkai side. As a result, he goes out of his way at school to prove himself to be a nice guy. Basically, he cheerfully becomes everyone’s bitch. He does, however, have a few friends: his next-door neighbor, Kana, Keikain Yura, a young onmyouji-in-training (basically, a youkai-slayer) and the “Kiyo Cross Squad”, a group of friends unwillingly recruited by Kiyotsugu, a rich kid with a major boner for youkai.

This image is really just an excuse to fill the tanuki balls quota here at Seikjitsu.

To complicate matters even further, Rikuo’s one-quarter youkai blood can become active for a quarter of the night. This “Night Rikuo” is everything the Rikuo of the day isn’t: Handsome, charismatic, powerful and he wants to become the Master of All Spirits. But this manga isn’t about Rikuo’s battle with his dual-nature. Its about Rikuo’s journey, however reluctant it is, to become the leader of the Hyakki Yakou.

Itaku and Kubinashi engaged in what I can only assume is some sort of elaborate hatesex ritual.

Probably the best thing about this series, to me that is, would be the youkai characters. If you’re expecting Inuyasha-styled youkai that are just pretty boys and girls with animal ears and tails then you are shit out of luck. Shiibashi goes the more traditional route of weird-ass youkai you might find in a work by Mizuki Shigeru. The best example of this would be one of Nurarihyon’s companions, Nattou Kozou, who is basically a youkai with a tiny, child-like body and a head of nattou wrapped in straw. The sheer variety of youkai is fascinating and seeing Shiibashi’s take on some of them alone makes the series worth reading.

He's ALL yakuza, bitch.

The manga itself starts off a little slow. It has a one-shot (which might confuse some people –like it did to me—since Shiibashi changes a few things in the regular serialization) and the whole series starts off focusing more on Rikuo and his schoolmates rather than the youkai side of his life. I wouldn’t call it “filler’, but it does feel more like Shiibashi is testing the waters and getting the feel for what he wants to do with the series. By the Gyuuki Arc, the manga definitely has found its groove and starts building up to bigger and better things.

Unfortunately, I won’t have the time to cover each new NnM chapter, which is why I’m sticking to this short recommendation. However, the anime just aired and Viz is doing a simulcast on Hulu, so I’m going to try to cover that if I can.

Random Zen abuse is random.

/ 8 Commentsleave a comment /

• Vivi says:

  July 28, 2010

  Definitely going to the top of my to-read list! I love yakuza & youkai, and the artstyle is too good to pass up!

  Reply
• Bass says:

  July 28, 2010

  Yuki Onna has such enchanting eyes…..

  Reply
  • morri says:

    July 29, 2010

    Blah. I think I'm the only person around who doesn't really like Yukionna.

    However, Bass if you like her then I'm sure you'll go wild for her predecessor who appears in the Nenekirimaru Flashback chapters.

    Reply
• Kyokai says:

  July 28, 2010

  I was so excited about the anime when it got announced but it's studio DEEN and the first two episodes bored me to no end. OP and ED are awesome, though I only wake up when Nura's Youkai part wakes up. I'll definitely check out the later parts of the manga.

  Reply
• kluxorious says:

  July 28, 2010

  Nurarihyon no Mago is indeed entertaining which is exactly why I am not giving up on the anime just yet.

  Reply
  • morri says:

    July 28, 2010

    Is the anime really that bad in comparison? I’ve enjoyed it so far even though the anime has made Yura personality-less and she’s my favorite female character!

    I’m really looking forward to the Gyuuki arc and I hope it doesn’t get butchered.

    Reply
    • kluxorious says:

      July 29, 2010

      The anime wasn't bad per say but the inconsistent art kinda a turn off for me.

      Reply
• Ajanta says:

  September 7, 2010

  meh. people say the series is awesome but the anime so far (i've seen till episode 6) is kinda really boring. i hate the day rikuo guy. the supporting yokai cast is fun but hasnt done much yet. the only good parts that ive seen so far are with night rikuo.

  i trust your opinion, so im asking, does it get better? or is this just not for me?

  Reply