Kekkaishi, Vol. 6

This series has heart and it has action. The manga and the anime both are wonderfully well written. The anime is sadly shorter than id have liked but for those wanting to know how things turn out in the end the manga will give you the closure youre looking for.

Getting back to one of my top manga of all-time, we look back at Volume 5 where we experienced the mysterious visit of Lord Uro, learned a little more about Toshimori (Yoshimori's brother,) and found our two Kekkaishi in a battle against a powerful three-team ayakashi.Story overview:---------------After defeating the ayakashi-which formed into a large owl-Tokine is tipped off to the presence of the one observing the fight. Yoshimori goes after him, but the man gets away. In the process, Yoshimori discovers that he is not a man at all, but an ayakashi hiding in a man-skin.Paranoid about the possibility of ayakashi walking around the day disguised as humans, Yoshimori suspects a new student named Gen Shishio. But the obnoxious Gen turns out to be an agent of the Shadow Organization, sent by Yoshimori's older brother (Masamori.)Meanwhile, Yoshimori's grandfather visits an acquaintance named Heisuke Matsudo, who is a seventy-year-old retired university professor that does not look seventy-years-old. They discuss the possible origin of the man-skin that Yoshimori recovered from the battle.Elsewhere, Gen's bad boy attitude does not fit in well with the two Kekkaishi, but the three of them end up working together to take down a tough ayakashi. Gen realizes he was sent to join the group because he has more in common with Yoshimori than he first thought.My thoughts:-------------Gen's character brings out more of Yoshimori's personality and it is fun to watch them interact (and butt heads.) It is also obvious that Gen has more to him than meets the eye. Good stuff.Things to consider:------------------The entrance of Gen brings in some gory depictions as he does not terminate ayakashi into nothingness like the Kekkaishis. Still, this is nothing inappropriate for thirteen-year-old boys. There are no sexual references or offensive language. So far this is one of the cleaner manga series I've seen.James D. MaxonAuthor of Traphis: A Wizard's Tale