Tsugumomo – Manga Review
Any of these objects could be alive right now….
Greetings Metanorners, and welcome to our latest manga review. I know you should have been expecting Sumarii, but it’s Me….skylion! Right! Now, drop your socks and grab…….yeah…you know?
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It’s the story of a boy and his obi
It’s the story of an obi and her boy
ToRuBle is one way to think of this particular manga, it has all the handles, and they attach quite readily. Well, supernatural instead of aliens and scifi, and the male MC is quite a bit more up to the task than Rito every seems to be. Which is not to say his harem doesn’t have a way of growing out of his control. Tsugumomo is by Yoshizaku Hamada, and has elements of action, comedy, ecchi, school, supernatural, seinen I’m only going to cover the basics of the first volume of the series here. As the story has gotten to seven volumes of scanlated works, out of 13 volumes of native work, that would be quite the undertaking for an introduction. Besides, if the first volume doesn’t catch your interest, it’s unlikely the rest of it will, right?
At it’s heart, Tsugumomo is Kazuya’s story as he comes to grips with becoming his district’s exorcist. And close to his heart…and lots of other…uh…places, shall we say, is Kiriha, who in addition to being a tsukumogami silken kimono obi, is incredibly possessive of her man, ecchi to embarrassing results for him, violent to the point of calling the cops, and insanely useful and cool and is perhaps one the the best written LOLi characters just this side of Shinobu Oshino. She has sass, and an unbridled love of pudding, with a constant need for refill, but most of all perseverance, loyalty, and a strong sense of duty. Kazuya is very much her “master” seeing as how he inherited the obi from his mother, the district’s former exorcist….yes, former. But this doesn’t stop her from turning the tables on that relationship from the instant she appears on scene.
At the beginning, Kazuya Kagami wakes from a terrible recurring nightmare. He experiences a vague yet acute feeling of abandonment. In one such instance he wakes from his school desk with a start, and…..clutches the bosom of his oldest childhood friend, Chisato Chika’ishi. Ecchi, and violence ensue, with Kazuya on the receiving end of Chisato’s paper fan justice and student council lecture power; one that levels up when, tossed to the floor, and staring straight up, he gets a “peek of white”. To say that this sets the tone for the rest of the series is quite the understatement. Soon Kazuya finds his world opening up to much grander, more macabre vistas as he takes a step into the world of the supernatural. I love how this series plays with the native folk/faerie tales, fast and loose one moment, but clinging to folklore all the while, even the ecchi has some history behind it.
The supernatural center of the series rest’s on what Kiriha names “The Curse”, which is an ever shifting pattern of mana like energy that responds to human thoughts and desires. This is typically a subconscious process, and is seen as adding a polish to those that already want to go thru the efforts of wanting a wish fulfilled. Sometimes those wishes are on the light side, but for our series they concentrate on defeating the darker pull the curse brings. We get two very well played battles with Kiriha not stopping to strut her stuff and show that a silken obi is an incredibly versatile weapon. But back to the curse as a whole. Greater practitioners, like sorcerers exorcists, and even greater such as tsukumogami and even higher, the kami, can tap into the mana directly for incredible results. Tsukuomgami are granted a human life after reaching 100 years of age, but sometimes items have some emotional baggage worked into them, and under the right circumstances can become possessive of humans, and malignant in purpose. Now most of this is easily managed by local shrines and associated kami, but Kazuya’s district, has some problems it has to work out.
As the series progresses, we get to know more about this kami, Kukuri, the history of this district, what could have happened to Kazuya’s mother, supernatural battles, and a grand parade of ecchi hi-jinks, and so many furo scenes. Imagine just as many furo scenes as you want. Now add more. It is still one hundred years to early to even be a rival to the amount of bathing in this manga. And with bathing….well you get the idea, right! This is not at all a bad thing as Yoshizaku Hamada started off very skilled in depicting anatomy and has only gotten better as the chapters have developed. Yes, much of this has a great deal of near total uncensored nudity, but it does come across well blocked without to much up front. As with Kiriha, if she was just a token LOLi, I would have had only mild interest. But Hamada-sensei takes the time to develop personality of characters, background, and overall design. If the series’ handles seem like your cup of tea, then you will probably stay and partake of many cups. Just make sure that’s a new cup, any older and you might be looking at some trouble.
skylion no ecchi (NSFW)
There is quite a bit I’m leaving out. So I’ll make some short work to close it all out. Soon Kazuya and Kiriha develop a Buffy approach to things and take on a Scooby gang cast of supporting characters, with Chisato being first among equals in that respect. The first volume touches on the grander story, and lot’s of little eggs are waiting to hatch as the story develops. You start to feel for Kazuya as he takes on this mantle, with reluctance at first, with great and greater pains second. Goodness his pain. Hamada-sensei does a tremendous job balancing all the parts, with comedy always coming out on top, despite how much the ecchi and drama want to compete. This is one of the manga that I most want, most desperately want, to see adapted in the nearest possible future. Let me know how interested you are in comments, and I will see how much you like shaking this tree….I may continue to volume two.
About skylion
All around nerd that enjoys just about any anime genre. I love history, politics, public policy, the sciences, literature, arts...pretty much anything can make me geeky...except sports. Follow me @theskylion
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
I too am reading Tsugumomo and I can attest that it is one big ball of perverted supernatural fun. The ecchi moments aren’t nearly as deliberately imposed as those in TLR, so it retains an air of tasteful perversion if such a concept can exist.
That said, we shouldn’t forget that Tsugumomo provides an equally large serving of shounen-esque fighting, and also a slight hint of mystery-solving ala Hyouka. So if the ecchi doesn’t turn you away out right, definitely give this one a try.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Yes, it does get rather fighty as the story goes on…
POWUH: iLurker with 11 comments
The fact that this is digitally drawn shows because it is so friggin detailed. I’ve watched a stream of his drawing process where he goes about drawing every single wood panel lines (any other sane mangaka would’ve dumped a screentone on it and called it a day). It’s kinda hard to describe the artstyle because the characters themselves look to be simple but upon closer inspection they are quite meticulously drawn.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
Very good point bringing up the entirely digital nature of the manga. It definitely shows at times, and in a good way. I’ve not seen any of the process in video form, but iirc the mangaka likes to talk about it every once in a while in a foreword or afterword.
POWUH: iLurker with 11 comments
This is from one of the panels in Tsugumomo. As a hobbyist mangaka, I go nuts seeing that tatami being drawn, only to be covered with some whites later. Madness I tell you!
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…I enjoy his technical skill, but as I said, he really does character anatomy on another level…
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
When I was going thru the pages for possible screen shots, I was looking at them in full on a 38 inch screen. They pop like no one’s business. So fine the line and control.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
The question is: is she a legal LOLi?
Ah… now I remember where I have seen her before. One of two groups who are way behind their Lotte no Omocha does this as well.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
She is very much legal. As a tsukumogami, she has by definition been around for a long time.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Kiriha is as legal as any bolt of silk….
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Of course skylion picks a manga with a loli in it. Why don’t I see these things coming?
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
It’s not like the exit ramp doesn’t have all the attraction points listed in full. Gas. Restaurants. Lodging. LOLis….
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
But OC, then he wouldn’t live up to his title. 😉
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
I am reading this too! So far it is very entertaining and it has a lot of toloveru madness aka lots of topless nudity! Well I am only like 6 or 7 chapters in but the characters are quite entertaining to watch and I love the use of the powers as well <3
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Hey, glad to have you on board! You’re right at the point where the ecchi hi-jinks rather reach a point of no return. And yes, the power usage is quite unique and only get’s more fun when you meet more tsukomogamis and their users. Shota swords, a LOLi pillow! Great times.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Interesting manga choice. You practically can’t go wrong with a story that harbors a human x monster pairing. One of my favorite things actually. I’m inclined to checking this out.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
I’ll have you know Kiriha is a refined silk obi, not something as rude as a monster. =P
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
True enough. LOL. I’ll go with human x non-human, then.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Oh, she’s a monster alright. In all the best ways possible.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
Pfft. Now you’re just asking for it. Don’t blame me when the pinching comes.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
::roaring elephant trunk::
POWUH: iLurker with 2 comments
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