Onmyoji and Tengu Eyes Vol. 1

Author: Yoshiko Utamine
Publishers: Cross Infinite World
Age Group: teen
Genre: Shojo Mystery

Spoilers ahead

Plot

Paranormal incidents heat up when two mysterious men cross paths in Tomoe, a small town in Hiroshima with a long history of supernatural encounters. 

Misato Miyazawa is a strikingly beautiful young man with a troubled past. Born to a distinguished family of onmyoji—specialists in divination—Misato is no stranger to the occult. That’s why he jumps at the chance to join the Abnormal Disaster Unit in Tomoe’s Town Hall Crisis Management Division, a unit more commonly known as The Spirit Hunters. 

Enter Ryouji Karino, a fiery, handsome man with peculiar green and silver eyes. Working as a freelance monk and raised by a man claiming to be a tengu, Ryouji is by no means an average citizen. When he finds Misato in a sticky situation, he kindly steps in, and the mismatched pair end up living together. 

What dark mysteries will unravel before them as they attempt to confront paranormal happenings under the constraints of the government rules? 

Character Development

Misato wanted to be normal but coming from a family that’s like spirit hunter nobility made that really hard. Not only that, but he’s the son of his father’s mistress. He wasn’t treated well but realized his path was to also be a spirit hunter…just not one related to his father’s family. He is a soft spoken doormat of a person. Meeting Ryouji begins to change all of that as Ryouji accepts him and his “pet” (a name given to the spirit attached to him by Ryouji). Misato begins to accept all parts of himself, including the snake spirit attached to him. 

Ryouji looks like the epitome of an American wannabe gangster from the 90s with baggy pants and outrageous colors. He always wears sunglasses to hide his “Tengu Eyes” as he calls them. His eyes allow him to see both reality and the metaphysical (spirit) world simultaneously. Ryouji is a friendly sort that likes to help others….even if it means sacrificing his own life. At the same time, he’s a bit of a drifter taking odd jobs like bartending. He tries not to get too close to people as he’s been burned before. Ryouji doesn’t remember anything from before he was taken care of by the man claiming to be a tengu. Even though he’s a drifter, it feels more like he’s on the run. 

World-building

The world-building is contemporary with a merging of old town versus newer development in Tomoe. There are a lot of restless spirits which makes it easy for Misato to have a job. On the flip side, Ryouji works for the local real estate agency dealing with stuff as well. It’s an interesting difference in dynamic. 

The descriptors for the various locations is fabulous. It gives you enough that you can really picture everything. After all, the original concept for this series (found in the Afterward) is “Daily Life in Tomoe”. I thought that this book was a bit slow in developing until I read the afterward. If it’s supposed to be a slice-of-life story originally, then it would make sense for it to be slow. We get a lot of building relationships between Misato and his higher-ups. We learn how his department works along with some major players in town. It gives a great backdrop for a town that feels like a small village that is hiding larger secrets. 

One interesting part of the world-building is chapter five. The author doesn’t explain what is happening until the end so it can be a little confusing. From a previous chapter Misato is accidentally hit with an exorcism spell, which causes his snake to separate from him. This causes problems from Misato as they’ve become one being. So he goes in and out of consciousness between his own and the snake’s until they’re united again. From this experience, Misato begins to accept the snake as part of himself. 

Themes

While the theme for this one is a bit harder to find, I would suggest that it be finding your tribe. Misato and Ryouji have both been through a lot that makes them weary of developing deeper connections. So for both of them to find each other and begin a deep friendship is a big deal. 

Observations & Predictions

Based on the character development between Ryouji and Misato, I expect a strong friendship to form between them. We get hints of this towards the end when Misato feels like he’s been betrayed when Ryouji just disappears…at the same time an Inugami is on the loose (an inugami is a spirit of an animal—usually a dog— that’s buried to its neck, starved, and given a piece of meat just out of reach so that it can be beheaded. The dark angry spirit that’s born is forced into service to whomever would do this ritual until the spirit is powerful enough to eat the caster). 

Ryouji’s feelings are he’s become attached to the quiet housemate more than he realized. My favorite part is when he asks a question out loud to himself before facing down the Inugami (which isn’t his) during the climax and Misato answers calling him an idiot. We are left in this first novel with Ryouji crying that all his prep work to handle things alone is gone to waste because Misato’s snake eats the Inugami. 

This shows the strong bond forming between them. 

Besides seeing their relationship develop more, I would love to see their cases cross. I would also love a deeper dive into what it’s like for Ryouji when he takes on cases. We get some of this in extra stories at the end, but seeing the dichotomy and parallel from different sides would be awesome. 

I can expect more world-building from this author as they’re doing a great job with it. Though it does slow the story down (remember to keep in mind it’s supposed to be a slice-of-life). Another thing we can expect is that Misato will have to face his family again. My hope is that with help from Ryouji, he’ll have the courage to step up to the plate to do so. Ryouji has accepted him in a way that no one, not even his family has. That part should be interesting. 

Watch for a Special Edition of the Second Installment!

Recommendations

*As of currently, the publisher only works through Amazon.

More “friendship”:

The Night Beyond the Tri-cornered Window
By: Tomoko Yamishita

The Case Files of Jeweler Richard
By: Nanako Tsujimura

More Supernatural Action:

Bureau of Paranormal Investigation
By: Er Dong Shui Shou

Jujutsu Kaisen
By: Gege Akutami