Manga Review – Twin Star Exorcist

Sousei no Onmyouji

 

I will admit that I only started reading this series after seeing a picture of the two main characters on Google Plus, and then thinking to myself, “Oh they look cool, I wonder what this is about”. I based my initiation to it on the visual appeal of the characters, and after reading the first 4 volumes available as of this review I have no regrets about that decision.

The story of Twin Star Exorcist follows a boy named Rokuro Enmado who is from a family of exorcists, but he’d rather be a singer, a soccer player or anything, but an exorcist! Rokuro is however bad at almost everything except exorcism. During a fated encounter he’s forced to own up to his own incredible potential when new arrival Benio Adashino stirs his competitive spirit,  but their rivalry gets a twist when they earn the prestigious title of “Twin Star Exorcists“— two supreme fighters fated to marry and birth the ultimate spiritual warrior!


OK so that’s mainly some “Wiki” hobla that you can find anywhere this manga is available to read, so how about we discuss what this manga is really about, and hopefully by the end of it all you’ll know if it’s the manga for you.

Starting with the story, I can say that it is very good. I always like these types of plots where they take a concept that we are familiar with in modern media, like wizards and ninja, and completely re-imagine them in a newer COOLER way. The basis behind this manga happens to be exorcists and the creatures they face, called impurities (monsters born of the wickedness in humans). The difference between this take on exorcist from the conventional way it is portrayed is that this one portrays exorcist as warriors in a never ending battle using magic, curses and all that other flashy stuff that we love in our manga/anime, not old priest guys “BLEH!”. So all in all a good start to a pretty good series. That being said I did face some detachment to some of the themes that were present in the manga.

 

Most notable of them was the age of the two main characters

Twin Star Exorcists
They’re 14 🙁

 

I would have preferred that the two main characters be 18+ or at the very least 17, like in most JRPGs and anime with mature subject matters that are brought over to the west, heck they could have left out their ages so that we didn’t have to think about it. Having them be 14 gives the manga many limitations as far as I see it. limitations that should the mangaka choose to ignore, would only serve to make the manga an unnatural read for western readers, myself included. Most western readers are quite aware that even at the age of 14 girls and boys have romantic feelings towards each other (think about all those Disney channel shows) which is all fine with me, but  where I feel it loses it’s appeal is with the idea of marriage, and having a child. By adding these two mature subjects to the fray it makes the romance between the two main characters seem some what wrong to me. This could be helped by a time skip somewhere later in the series, but as it is now I can’t find myself comfortably shipping them. 

PS: My opinion is that of a western reader and I fully understand, and respect that this manga was initially created with Japanese readers in mind.

 

Beware There is a lot of use of pentagrams

Twelve Heavenly Commanders
Twelve Heavenly Commanders

Shipping aside the rest of what is here is really good. Yes some religious readers may shy away because of the regular use of pentagrams in this manga, but for me I think it fits with this type of  setting.  A setting that you already know that I like.  I also found myself liking the art style of this manga the more I read it. The super cute characters and the well detailed art work held my attention and kept me wanted to see more.

So the art got me interested initially, and paired with the amazing story, it kept me intrigued. I really liked the possibilities that characters like the Twelve Heavenly Commanders represent as well. The image of their silhouettes in chapter seven grabbed my attention immediately, as I’m sure it will for you. I kept wondering things like how will they compare in strength to the Basara (powerful impurity), and if they will help train Rokuro and Benio. From what can been seen in the image of the twelve, most of them seem to be wearing black variants to the normal outfits the other exorcist wear, and on the covers the twins stars are also shown wearing similar outfits so I assume that they will train them at some point in the story. (Yes I’m leaving out how they get the outfits to avoid spoiling too much for you).

sousei no onmyouji

Final Verdict

This manga is fairly new in comparison to the most of other series that I’ve been reading, but so far I think it is something that will keep getting better as it progresses. The story so far is similar to early Bleach, Naruto and Fairy tail, with a Katekyo Hitman Reborn kind of art style. If any of those manga were/are of interest to you then I highly suggest picking up this one. If you’re bothered by the frequent portrayal of pentagrams in the media you consume, or if the characters age bother you, then approach this one with caution. For those that do pick it up I recommend starting it at the beginning of a weekend due to its long chapters, and very detailed art which will keep your attention for hours.

If you’d like to hear more about my thoughts about this manga, then I suggest you listen to the Buttonsmashers podcast & Hopelessly Animanic

Qudduws Campbell

That messy hair bloke: Romantic, Food lover, Gamer, Sports Fan, Manga Reader, Tech Head, Podcaster... Pretty much do a bit of everything.

2 Comments

  1. Note that the lowest age of consent in some of Japan’s municipalities and prefectures is 13. Shipping character at that age is, depending on region, understandable.
    Judging a Japanese author choice for his Japanese targeted manga with Western views is partially madness. Indeed a Western reader will be effected by this and needs to know it there, but as the targeted audience is as least understanding in the choices made, I see no reason to compromise.

  2. Hey buddy, thanks for the comment. I truly appreciate it. That being said, I feel I must clear up something. My opinion on the age of the characters and the way they are portrayed is just that, my opinion. Me feeling uncomfortable about their portrayal does not take away from how good this manga is. As mentioned in our Final Verdict section “I highly suggest picking up this one”

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