Nabari No Ou (Manga)

In this entry I shall be reviewing the manga of Nabari No Ou by Yuhki Kamatani. You are all warned that there might be spoilers, so read under your own discretion. Also, this is my own point of view. If you agree or not you can comment, but do not get mad at me for the way I think about the series.

I apologize if my ramblings make no sense to you. My thoughts are really all over the place, and I tried to write in a way that it is as coherent as possible.

Nabari no Ou

So after watching the amazing anime of Nabari no Ou, I knew I couldn’t pass the opportunity of reading the manga as well. The first thing I did was to find it online and read as much as I could of it (which is to say until Vol. 10).

At the beginning I had a few problems, not with the story per se, but with the drawings themselves. I am sorry to say but I liked better the animation than the mangaka’s drawings (stick figures... they are STICK figures...). After being able to overcome that (and believe me, it took a while), I was able to finally enjoy the story.

The beginning of the story in the manga is pretty much the same as the anime (if you really want to know, because I don’t want to repeat, the link to the anime review is to your right). I am happy to say that they based the anime pretty well to the manga (with their few difference here and there, but not any major ones).

I have to admit that the manga does not only enrich some of the most wonderful scenes in the anime. It makes the whole story BETTER.

Finally we get to know a little of the background story in all the characters, and we get to know them better, and answer some of the question that we might (or not) had with the anime.

We finally realize that, with Yoite, he does not have existentialist problems. His story is pretty messed up, and its no wonder to me that he ended up the way he did. It is actually a miracle that he is as nice as he is in the manga/anime. Being told that he was a shinigami (death god) since he was born, to actually be genderless, to be harmed (with a knife people...), and ignored (to the point of being non-existent) is pretty serious. No wonder it was so easy for him to learn Kira, and pretty much throw his life to the trash. It is kind of sad though that the only one who learned this was Yukimi right before Miharu “erased” Yoite’s existence. Miharu really never learned anything of the life of Yoite except some Sora’s character that one day Yoite mentioned while sleeping.

Also the whole Miharu/Yoite relationship is more developed than in the anime. You can see much more clearly how close they were to each other in the manga. The whole doubt in Miharu’s mind about making Yoite’s wish come true or not was deeply touching. Yoite trying to help Miharu even to the point that he was looking for him blind was also really touching. When they ran away from Hattori’s place Miharu’s hometown is really one of my favorite scenes in the manga. They behaved so similar to each other that it really supported my theory of them being soul mates.

Of course, unlike the anime, we won’t have a bittersweet ending with Yoite and Miharu when Yoite dies trying to protect Miharu from harm. By then it was pretty much obvious that they made each other happy just by being close (no talking was ever necessary). Yoite didn’t need to be erased anymore because he was happy to have meet people like Raikou, Yukimi, Miharu, etc. The only reason, he said, that he would need to be erased if it Miharu just can’t handle his death. Judging that by the next chapter Yoite disappeared we can conclude that indeed Miharu wasn’t able to handle his death well, and used the Shinrabanshou to “erase” his existence.

Deep deep down though Miharu really didn’t want to erase it, so the job was done kind of poorly. Miharu later on realizes that he “erased” someone’s existence, supported by Yukimi’s belief that he forgot something too, and ends up crying his eyes out. I will never forget that scene. I also can’t believe that Yoite already died, and is not even the end of the manga yet. A lot of people now are saying that Yoite has become now Yoite the cat (a cat that Yukimi adopts after the disappearance of Yoite). Other people believe that an anti-Yoite has appeared (by the appearance of a new character who seems to also be a Kira’s user, and its light-haired). I am few of the people that actually believe that Yoite is gone (GONE people), but will remain as a presence that will stop Miharu from using the Shinrabanshou again (*cries*).

He could also just be out in the world, and later on Miharu just sees him walking by.

Whatever it could become of Yoite, let us hope that the mangaka decides for something good, and it does not disappoints us with something that could have come out of a whim (yes... I am looking at YOU J.K. Rowling!)

We also come to realize that Yukimi cares a whole lot about Yoite. I mean in the anime he cares, but not enough to betray Hattori. In the manga he cares so much that he not only betrays Hattori, he also looses an arm while trying to help Miharu and Yoite escape from Kasa. The picture in the manga where Yoite and Yukimi are cooking in the kitchen is oh so cute.

Something that I am also very glad for is that the enemy is not really evil. There is no black and white in the manga. Hattori really believes that by erasing the history of the world, they could start with a clear state and there would be no more wars (never said anything about happiness). Unlike the anime, he does not hide what he intends to do with the Shinrabanshou, and (for now) was looking for the good of Miharu (didn’t reaaaaally care about Yoite) when he advised to not use the hijutsu for Yoite’s wish.

In the manga we also get to understand why, when the whole insident of Alya and looking for the kinjutsu of Daya, Kouichi hair resembled a lot white feathers. He was an owl! (a SNOW owl, please insert a HP joke here). Unlike I supposed in the beginning, Shijima and Kouichi haven’t actually had a lot of time as human beings, and actually explains why Kouichi isn’t that good of a ninja. We also learn that they shouldn’t be as trusted as we supposed at one point. They want to use the Shinrabanshou, and die once and for all.

Another good point of the manga... Raikou doesn’t die yay!!!

The best point of the manga? Are the side comics! I loved the scene when Yoite came to kidnap Miharu, and Miharu makes him wait by wanting to finish a problem from his homework before leaving (and Yoite actually agrees). Another one I loved is when Miharu and Yoite, while trying to hide between the bookcases in the academy of Alya, they got stuck, but neither of them wanted to cry for help.

Let us all just hope that the conclusion of this wonderful world of Nabari no Ou actually exceeds our expectations, and make us glad to have read it in the first place (not that I actually don’t expect that, but there have been cases in which I really regret having it read, example: Demon Diary).

I very much enjoyed the manga that I am also buying (to help support the mangaka and... you know... all the people behind it) it now that is being published in America. To be able to hug Yoite (even as a book) in my arms will be a dream come true.

Later, on another entry, I will explain why I put “erased” with the whole issue that happened to Yoite.

Till the next time!

Thanks for reading!