Yuzo Takada

This is an adorable series from the author of 3x3 Eyes. It features Meiji era supernatural hijinks. I love the matte covers and the quality of the art. Like a lot of historical series, though the people are all cartoonish, the backgrounds are detailed and realistic. I love seeing the blend of traditional Japanese culture with the new Western influences; lots of characters wear those cool period combos of traditional Japanese men's clothing with top hats or bowlers or flat caps.

The plot show more concerns the titular Shizume, a budding scientist and doctor who is possessed by supernatural creatures. Monster duels, phony faith healers, suspicious epidemics, wacky inventions, policemen in period uniform (ooh!), and the usual Meiji social upheaval abound.

This is much goofier and more supernatural than Rurouni Kenshin, but I think many RK fans would appreciate it nonetheless. show less

Overshadowed by Akira, 3x3 Eyes hasn't always gotten the reader community that it deserves. Very shounen in style and a lil "dirty" looking with the lines and colors, it might turn off manga readers who are used to the bishis, big eyes, and clean lines of today's shojo or certain shounen. The story is amazingly unique, combining Chinese, Japanese, and Indian cultures/mythologies and there are enough plot twists to keep anyone interested.

Manga with supernatural theme. I've read it in english, so there were two translation instances: editorial from japanese to english and from english to portuguese on my mind. The story is funny, but without rereading the book at the moment what comes to my mind is how weird all the nipponic demons, ghosts, gods, etc appear to a brazilian catholic frame of mind. I doubt someone of japanese culture would think it as funny as I do, and if they did it would be for different reasons.