Arata The Legend Volume 8 cover image is courtesy of barnesandnoble.com.

Rated “T” for “Teen”

In the world of Amawakuni, humans and gods coexist.  High school freshman Arata Hinohara switches place with an Amawakuni boy also named Arata.  Hinohara is chosen to wield a Hayagami (a god in sword form) named Tsukuyo so that he can save Princess Kikuri.  Arata lives on Earth, while Arata Hinohara goes on a life-changing journey.

As Arata: The Legend, Vol. 8 begins, Hinohara has a close encounter with the swordsman Mikusa, who is really a woman.  Later, Kugura, the Shinsho who controls wind, kidnaps Rami, Mikusa’s companion.  To rescue her, Hinohara, Kotoha, Kanate, and Mikusa head towards Kugura’s palace, but only women are allowed to enter.  Who knew that Hinohara would make such a pretty girl?

THE LOWDOWN:  This eighth volume of Arata: The Legend is not smothered by the breadth of internal mythology and terminology.  The story arc involving the rescue of Rami from Kugura is like a self-contained movie or even a multi-part sitcom.  If readers can make it past the early chapters, which are steeped in the series’ primary plot, they will find a delightful comic fantasy awaiting them.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Readers looking for comic and epic fantasy in comic book form will want to try Arata: The Legend.

B+