So far this is one of Mayu Shinjo's more pure stories. It's not quite as smutty yet I think, the last volume will be quite a bit. This is also more along the lines of Love Celeb and Midnight Children both of which I loved, if you can't tell (haha)

Plot
Miko can't see spirits despite the fact that she's a shrine maiden, next in line to inherit her father's shrine. Because of that she's pretty damn lively when it comes a hint or whisper of spiritual activity. Then she meets the lust demon, Kagura and well, banishes him. Except rather than completely banishing him, she shrinks him into a cuter, tinier version of himself. Kagura can only survive on the passions of women, so when Miko seals him, well, he then starts going after her.

Characters
Miko: I actually think she's one of the less stupid characters in Shinjo's works. I don't mind her in the same way I don't mind Kirara as much in Love Celeb. There is one moment where I really wish I could slap Miko's face. But the event passes and the result, well, actually made me like Kagura more Lol! Miko is strong, highly averse to Kagura's perverted ways and definitely not quite as much of a pushover as the other Shinjo female protags. She's also pretty damn pure too. Even her parents are funny!

Kagura: Perverted yet strangely honest lust demon. He's also childish ang really cute in his chibi form! He also comes to love Miko very much! (One thing I like about Shinjo's mangas is that the guys do fall in love the girl pretty quickly, and afterwards will only love them, yet at the same time, I like that the girls are not under any illusions. They do acknowledge that there is a possibility that the guy won't like them.)

Setting
Contemporary Japan! As with most shoujo manga, many scenes take place at school, and some in the shrine.

Writing/Artwork
As always, beautiful. The words really convey the feelings of the characters. The artwork, I really like Shinjo's artwork, especially the guys, they just seem really beautiful in a masculine way, compared to some others (but don't ask me to name them! I can't think of any at the moment). This is also one of her mangas where the female doesn't look incredibly petite next to the guy.

Overall
So far great manga. I want to know how it ends, ignoring the obvious, I wonder how the next arc will end.

Okay this was wonderful!
Great story,funny characters and just great overall.
Even the ending had me laughing out loud, poor Miko!
And Kagura, God! This is why they say perfect boys only exist in books!
But I have to admit. I wish Miko would just realize that Kagura loved her, I mean it's obvious! But anyways great writing, beautiful art, a smexy hero and wonderful heroine, what more could you ask for! Definitely gonna read this series.

Read 3 volumes.

Pretty cute manga about a priestess who falls for an incubus. By volume 3 the situations were getting somewhat repetitive and boring. It’s a cute manga but the amount of times that Kagura was forcing himself on Miko was starting to bother me and/or give me yucky feelings. Will not continue but I know I would have loved this when I was younger.

This was a fun first volume! The art is great and the characters are super interesting. Love the chibi art of Kagura! He's so cute!

Such a good book. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes manga and romance. Definitely a great read.

Somehow adorable AND semi-smutty! (Hey, it works.)

~3-3.5/5
[Also available on my blog.]


I was hesitant to start this series when I have barely even started Ai Ore!, by the same author, but decided to get it anyway (I still plan on reading more of Ai Ore!, though, so don't worry). (Also, I now have the second volume, so I must review this one.)

This volume was just kind of average. The main character, Miko, is part of a family of demon exorcists, and she works at a shrine, but she’s the only one in her family who can’t see demons. She ends up trying to exorcise this playboy at her school, trying to protect her friend from him, and the playboy actually ends up being a very powerful demon. She turns him into this tiny little boy, about the size of a hamster, and he clings onto her because he’s now defenseless and has nowhere to go.

Miko was alright. She gets embarrassed easily, she yells a lot; right now, she’s a pretty average, typical heroine, and while I don’t think that will change much, I do hope she gets better. Or that I get to know her more/get used to her.

The playboy demon, Kagura, isn’t too bad. He’s generally domineering and the type of bad boy who makes girls blush, but the fact that he’s now stuck in a tiny hamster size body has definitely made him more vulnerable and adorable. I’m not very sure how I feel about him, though. Or the romance between him and Miko. He’s falling for her, which he’s made rather obvious, even though they don’t really know each other. I just don’t feel like I know him very well yet.

So far, this seems rather typical Mayu Shinjo: with a naïve, blushing heroine and a bad boy, dominant love interest. It was funny, and there wasn’t really any graphic sex, although there was a bit of kissing. I think Kagura is starting to take the role of the dominant male who comes in and saves his woman because she’s incapable of doing it herself (even if she has the reason that she doesn’t know how to get rid of demons by herself), which is worthy of some eye-rolling and annoyance, although I don’t think there was anything particularly overtly offensive (I could be wrong, however, so go ahead and let me know if there was something in particular in this volume), although it’s very possible there will be something in future books.

Right now, this was just average. Nothing really stuck out to me, nothing really offended me too much. I will be sticking around for a couple more volumes, hoping that it gets better. (I might end up sticking around for a lot of it, actually, because of the sex that I’m sure is to come. I’m such a sucker for that stuff. Although, to be fair, that's kind of the best part of all of Shinjo's books.)

Plot Blurb: Miko is a girl who works at her family's shrine, and they have guarded it for hundreds of years! Because of their rich history, everyone in her family has powers to see demons and ghosts and supernatural beings so they can defend the world of the living from these evil spirits. Unfortunately, Miko has never had any kind of special ability. Seizing her chance to save a crush of her best friend, Kagura, she uses a spell to banish the demon that is possessing him. And it works! Sort of... She soon realizes Kagura is a full demon and he is determined to have her undo the spell that sealed his powers.

My Reaction: So who says I can't review manga? Technically this counts as reading. Even guilty pleasures deserve critical attention!

I found this manga while perusing my local Barnes and Noble for the first volume of Kamisama Kiss (which I'm sure I will review shortly as well). The cover was a little cheeseball for me, but when I read the synopsis I was definitely on board to give this a shot. And I was delightfully surprised! What an adorable idea for a story... Miko has a tsundere tenacity about her that I particularly enjoy and Kagura is generally a good dude with just a hint of asshole to really polish off his character. It makes for a super entertaining read - their interactions are great!

The artwork was very well executed - great attention to detail and clean lines... I love the artistry in this. The little chibi-Kagura is just adorable!

In terms of the story as a whole - it's a great read with a unique approach. Kagura becomes dependent on Miko when she seals his powers and makes him chibi which forces him to really get to know her. She has to do the same as well, and through Kagura's powers, she finally finds a way to see other evil spirits and to use her training to fight against them. Of course they become much closer until they fall for each other and begin to fight the bad demons together.

This is just the kind of manga/anime I enjoy - romance and action and a ballsy heroine that kicks ass and takes names with a leading man that challenges her right back. Great option for you manga lovers out there!! I am sitting on pins and needles waiting for them to develop this one into an anime series - it will be totally worthy of it!

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