In this world, an underbelly of demonic creatures exist creating murderous havoc on the people. Guardians of the seal are chosen to stop the evil invaders when the seal between worlds thins. The last of the Clan of the Sword are awakened. One is a girl who grew up with her memories of her past life as a guardian, a seemingly innocent girl named Takemi. Kugaya however awakens suddenly, with no knowledge of the destiny thrust upon him along with a living sword called Himuka. When his aunt is murdered brutally in front of him, he is pushed past the brink of terror and grief to fight against the denizens of evil in a secret world of the demonic.

This supernatural action horror is filled with lots of surprises, no small amount of horror and violence, and enough intrigue and action to thrill fans of shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, albeit this manga is more serious and horrific in its details. Kamunagara showcases very strong and compelling story telling and character development along with a graphic and brooding art style that is stark and appropriately disturbing at given moments. It has a lot of twists with many points of intrigue. It isn’t a straightforward tale of one against the many. Kugaya has a female ally and together they are the last of their kind who can stop the evil. This task is a duty that is unwelcome to Kugaya, to put it mildly. He finds the idea of killing horrific and this world of violence is one he does not want to be a part of. The intrigue is added to when he is suspected by the authorities for the murders that are occurring. To make matters more complicated, there is his classmate and fellow guardian Takemi, who recalls their life in their previous incarnations when they were lovers, while he has no memory of her whatsoever. Angst riddles the first volume and the plot thickens with the blood being spilled.

Bonus character index with name of the characters and brief descriptions is included in this volume.

IN SUMMARY:

Kamunagara is a supernatural horror manga series with strong story telling and an engrossing tale. Fans of Buffy and Angel will enjoy this more violent story of a chosen one sent to guard humanity from murderous and horrifying demons