Feb 1, 2023
Yoru no Uta is a compilation of short stories written by Kazuhiro Fujita, known for Ushio to Tora and Karakuri Circus. Because of this, I'll be reviewing ezch story separately and rank them from worst to best so take this as several reviews in one.
#5 - Strange Ferry Tale
A guy's family has been haunted by a yokai for generations, killing them all young. When he begrudgingly goes out to get some treatment for what his family assumes is illness, they get assaulted by gangsters, but a runaway delinquent saves them only to realize in the boat that maybe the strange guy wasn't hallucinating. It's a
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very simple tale about listening to your elders and what not, but my problem is that it ends very abruptly so it isn't conveyed very well not to mention the characters feel a bit flat. The art is a bit too clean lacking almost anything that makes Fujita's art stand out like the crooked edges and exaggerated features. In a way this feels like a prototype of what would eventually become Ushio to Tora, with the sword reacting a lot like the Beast Spear. The ideas here inspiring future works is a running theme with these one-shots so expect to see this brought up.
Solid Start for his career - 6/10
#4 - Puppet Princess
This is easily the most famous one of the bunch as it got an extremely well animated and very gory OVA in the early 2000's. It tells the story of Princess Rangiku who seeks revenge against a Karakuri obsessed warlord with the help of Manajiri, a retired ninja. if you've seen the OVA, you've read the Manga version. It's packed to the brim with action, and the characters have nice interactions. If you haven't noticed, similar to Strange Ferry Tale, this story is also a prototype to what would eventually become Karakuri Circus with the concept of puppet heroes being explored much further in that. I honestly don't have much to say about it other than it's Fujita almost nailing his style, but I still recommend watching the OVA instead - 6/10
#3 - To the Merry Go Round!
A former Karateka finds a little girl in the streets begging to be taken to a merry-go-round, the guy agrees but is mistaken for a kidnapper and is chased by the police. This one is a comedy and easily one of the more entertaining ones, the cop's exaggerated rage and hysterical energymanaged to give me some chuckles especially when he yelled at the nurse in one of the most memeworthy pages to ever grace manga, meanwhile the guy and the girl's relationship is very sweet and heartwarming making you want to root for them and making the achievement of their goal genuinely satisfying. Very charming read - 7/10
#2 - Song of the Open Palm
What truly is strength? Is it the raw force of beating people up or is it our capacity to endure even the worst? When a legendary martial artist gets framed for killing a man in a martial arts competition, he spends day after day practicing even with his hands tied, he might have not realized it but even with your fists clutched there's always the light things in life to ride on them. At least that's how I think it is since it's open to interpretation, either way it works for what it is and is a highlight in this collection despite not being nearly as action packed as the others. - 8/10
#1 - Shall We Go Out At Night?
Here we go, my favorite story of this collection, a two part mystery about a detective helping a girl overcome her trauma while investigating a strange series of murder cases, said mystery feels very well executed with the clever use of foreshadowing Fujita is known for allowing you to piece it yourself, ending with a satisfying conclusion and likable main characters not to mention that unexpected fourth wall break at the very end. Just like with the previous one it was made well into Ushio to Tora's run and it's clear Fujita already mastered his craft by this point, it also seems like a prototype to the Black Museum series in the way it's told. If you only want to read one story, read this one - 8/10
In conclusion this collection is a mixed bag, some of these are just alright and others are great but all are worth reading regardless, especially if you're a fan of Fujita's work.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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