Yōkaiden is an on-going American manga-inspired comic written and illustrated by Nina Matsumoto and published by Del Rey Manga. The story features Hamachi, a boy fascinated by the Japanese monsters called yokai. When one of these monsters steals his grandmother’s soul, he travels into their world to retrieve it. The first volume was published on November 18, 2008.
Plot
Although yokai, Japanese monsters, are feared and hunted, Hamachi believes that humans can peacefully coexist with the spirits. When Hamachi releases a kappa from one of his grandmother’s traps, it steals his grandmother’s soul. Hamachi then travels into the yokai’s world to retrieve her soul. However, he could end up trapped in the realm as well.
Production
Nina Matsumoto has already received attention for various artworks in her DeviantArt gallery. After a deal with Bongo Comics and an interview with The Toronto Star, she caught the attention of Dallas Middaugh, the associate publisher of Del Rey Manga. After learning about her web comic on her web site, he began talking to Matsumoto. Soon after, she created the initial Yōkaiden concept. Middaugh comments that the concept “was pretty much ready to go” without much change. Middaugh mentions that the protagonist Hamachi reminds him of Son Goku as he was portrayed in the original Dragon Ball series.
Matsumoto cites Shigeri Mizuki’s Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro as an inspiration.
Reception
Yōkaiden has been well received by critics. About.com’s Deb Aoki considered it to be the best “original English language manga” of 2008, commending the series for having “well-developed characters that have interesting personalities and fun chemistry with each other”. Comic Book Bin’s Leroy Douresseaux commends the artist for her artwork saying that it is “has a lively, fluid feel similar to animation, while her character and creature design is quirky.” Carlos Santos of Anime News Network felt the series has “a bold sense of line, striking visual designs and clearly defined layouts” and says that Matsumoto’s strength is in her dialogue. However, Santos believes that the series “falls short of a truly haunting atmosphere” due to the humor, which sometimes unnecessarily breaks the fourth wall. Erin Finnegan of PopCultureShock says that she “can’t stop talking about how hilarious” Yōkaiden is; she also believes it is the best OEL/World manga of 2008. Peter Gutiérrez of Firefox News says that Matsumoto’s fictional world can “delight readers of various ages without breaking a sweat” and compares it to Jeff Smith’s Bone comic series. He also comments that the supporting cast is witty, self-assured, carefully developed and memorable. However, the stoytelling seems to become less inventive when Kyumon Zaigo appears. Gutiérrez comments it is “as if Yokaiden’s becoming as humorless and conventional as he is”. He believes that Matsumoto is “so adept at banter that occasionally the pace lags as the story gets bogged down in dialogue”, but the dialogue is so effective the problem is a “nice problem to have”. Brigid Alverson from GraphicNovelReporter.com comments that Matsumoto draws the characters with an exaggerated style, bringing out the characters’ personalities and she depicts the odd creatures with imagination and flair. Alverson also says that a great deal of information is delivered “rather painlessly”. She belives that those who enjoy Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away or Pokémon will enjoy Yōkaiden.