(This review may contain spoilers).
I picked up this manga book because it looked like it might be a fun read. And although it was entertaining, I was somewhat disappointed by what I felt was a lack of depth.
I did start off liking Rin, but by the end of the first volume, I didn’t much like any of the other characters. I would have liked a bit more background on the demons, especially given Rin apparently had history with the bullies he got into a fight with at the beginning of the book… but it wasn’t very clear how he knew them.
I did like being able to learn a bit more about some of the types of demon, even though I wasn’t sure why Yukio was trying to summon them during the first class.
Speaking of Yukio… I really didn’t like him very much. I didn’t get the impression he liked Rin that much… and his mood seemed to keep swinging. While there’d been a kind of cute flashback to the two of them as children, I felt that Rin cared a lot more about Yukio than Yukio did him… even though it was implied Yukio originally wanted to help his twin.
I would have liked the opportunity to learn more about the world itself. Considering Rin was new to it all, I was quite disappointed that he wasn’t asking any questions. And the whole thing with his sword completely confused me.
I wasn’t really sure what to make of Mephisto. While I thought he was an intriguing character, I didn’t quite trust him… and even though he seemed to be trying to help Rin at times, I definitely felt he had his own agenda.
I liked the side plot involving Shiemi. It was nice to see her and Rin starting to bond a little, although I did think she came across as a stereotypical manga girl character. It was nice to see her relationship with her mother… and I had a lot of sympathy for her. Next to Rin, I felt she was the character with the most development.
I thought this first book was a nice introduction to Rin’s world, but I did empathise with him as it seemed like everyone who knew what he was didn’t trust him and wanted him to die. Considering there were only two characters I really liked in this first volume, I don’t think I’ll be reading the next any time soon.
Ink of Blood 