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TAIL OF THE MOON, VOL. 8
VIZ MEDIA
CARTOONIST: Rinko Ueda
TRANSLATION & ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
ISBN: 978-1-4215-1029-3; paperback; Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
200 pp., B&W, $8.99
Tail of the Moon, a shojo manga (girls’ comics) by Rinko Ueda, is a flavorful blend of historical fiction, soap opera romance, and ninja adventure. It is the story of Usagi, the granddaughter of the leader of a prestigious ninja village. Sandayu, frustrated by his granddaughter’s lack of progress in learning to be a ninja, sends Usagi off to young Lord Hattori Hanzo, in hopes that he will take her as his wife and make lots of ninja babies. However, Lord Hanzo doesn’t want babies; he wants a wife who is a ninja, so the sweet-natured Usagi struggles to qualify as a ninja in hopes of marrying the Hanzo.
Tail of the Moon, Vol. 8 finds Usagi and Hanzo returning from the undercover mission to Azuchi. Disguised as husband and wife, they were to discover when the ninja-hating Lord Oda Nobunaga would launch an attack on Usagi’s village, Iga, but they were unable to get an audience with him. But it’s no rest for the weary as Usagi finds herself undercover again, and this time playing husband and wife dumpling shop owners with fellow clansman, Goemon, in the capitol city. All this double identity, role-playing can be confusing… and dangerous, especially when someone in the capitol recognizes her from Azuchi.
THE LOWDOWN: Set in Japan’s past (the “Era of the Warring States”), Tail of the Moon bears more than a passing resemblance to American romance novels and daytime TV soap operas. The good-hearted Usagi navigates a world full of political and martial intrigue while dealing with a huge cast of colorful characters, all the while trying to get her man. Although creator Rinko Ueda presents Usagi as doubting her own abilities, strengths, and talents, Ueda gives her readers a resourceful young woman who is clever enough to get herself out of trouble even when her mind seems obsessed with finding a way to make Hanzo hers forever. She may not be Buffy or Lara Croft, but this spunky heroine holds her own.
POSSIBLE AUDIENCE: Tail of the Moon is part of VIZ Media’s “Shojo Beat” line of manga aimed at the female young adult (YA), but it’s a solid character drama with appeal beyond a core girl audience.
B+
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