Koori no Mamono no Monogatari (Ice Demon's Tale)

Koori no Mamono no Monogatari cover image

by Lynda

Author: Sugiura Shiho
Serialized in Ichi Raci Comics
Published by Tousuisha 1996-2001

20 vols. - ongoing

Publisher's web site http://www.tosuisha.co.jp

Tousuisha is famous among boys' love publishers for publishing stories which can be characterized as very mild, as in "almost no sex." Note that Ichisuki was merged with Racish in 2001 to form Ichi Raci. For older tankoubons, you may have to look under Ichisuki or Racish.

bad monk Koori no Mamono no Monogatari (KnMnM) is set in a European-like sword and sorcery world where the dominant religion is Buddhist-like. In this world, there are humans and demons and magic. Demons are evil beings created from the dark who prey on humans and other living creatures. Because demons are not living creatures they can be killed without guilt. Or so the monks say. The monks and their temples exist to protect humans and destroy all demons. Naturally, the demons consider monks to be their mortal enemies. Temple magic and demon magic are different. The ability to use one does not mean the ability to use the other.

This story starts when Ishuca decides to visit a nearby cave, in which it is said an Ice Demon dwells. Ishuca doesn't much care about the fact that no one who goes into the cave comes out. He's dying anyway, and this is a chance for him to satisfy his curiosity. Ishuca is a trusting soul who has an unnatural lack of fear, no concern for his personal safety, and a firm belief that everyone is good, even demons. And if they aren't, well ... they only need be convinced to be good.

Blood the demon In the cave, he discovers the "Ice Demon" isn't a demon made of ice, but a demon trapped in ice. He is immediately moved to pity and concern for the poor creature trapped there, and that concern, combined with his trust and lack of fear, saves him from immediate death from the demon. Instead he spends multiple hours in the cave, finding ways to bring food, comfort, and warmth to the demon. When Ishuca's weak heart finally gives out, it is Blood, the demon, who saves him. In saving him, Blood unintentionally gives Ishuca powers greater than any demon or monk in the world.

Ishuca, once revived, believes he can no longer return home. He has no pulse so he must now be a "zombie" or an "undead". Because he admires and likes Blood, he asks if he can travel with Blood. Against his better judgement, Blood agrees. What follows is a tale of romance and adventure as Blood takes Ishuca with him to get treasure, save his old followers from an evil plot, etc.

UST At no point, up through volume 15, do either Ishuca or Blood hold hands, kiss, or declare love. Still, it's clear by the end of the second volume that the admiration and respect Ishuca has for Blood, and his deep desire to be of service to Blood, has grown into unacknowledged love. It takes a bit longer for the protective concern Blood has for Ishuca, and the tutoring he receives from him, to develop into true caring. We all know that unacknowledged tenderness increases romantic angst, so ... While the relationship is never acknowledged openly, the feelings are made crystal clear when Ishuca attempts to sacrifice himself to save Blood, and then Blood attempts to sacrifice himself to save Ishuca. The results, needless to say, are disasterous.

To go along with all the romance and angst, there is a lot of humor and comedy in KnMnM. Most of the humor pokes gentle fun at Wild and RapunzelIshuca and a good deal of it is verbal. For example, Ishuca, knowing that demons consume human spirits and flesh as food and wishing to be useful in the only way he can think of, tells Blood that if Blood ever runs out of food he can consume Ishuca. "Eat me any time you want" says Ishuca. An experienced and long lived demon, Blood immediately gets the alternate meaning and tries to answer neutrally while keeping a straight face.

KnMnM has a secondary couple of even higher romantic angst. These recurring characters have a very long side story (nearly an entire tankoubon's worth) based on the western fairy tale of Rapunzel. In this case, however, it's not a witch who steals away a baby girl, but the demon sorcerer, Wild, who steals away the boy, Rapunzel, to live in a high tower in the forest. And yes, there really is a long blonde braid to climb and a handsome prince to rescue Rapunzel.

Ishuca and Rapunzel asleep The relationship between Ishuca and Rapunzel is one of my favorites. They're a fun illustration of "the power behind the throne". While Ishuca and Rapunzel jump up and down and squeal like teenaged girls, love to play with long hair, hold pajama parties, have long heart to heart talks, and generally look like they have no say in matters of importance, the truth is they get their way with Blood and Wild on all the issues important to them. They usually manipulate their boyfriends by pleading "pleeeease" and with highly effective pleading-puppy looks. Blood and Wild grumble and are long suffering but they always give in. Just watching them interact with each other makes me laugh.

good monk

While the first several volumes are structured as serial but somewhat episodic adventures, each one builds on the next. However, the story really gets in gear by volume 12 and many of the early episodic events start to tie back in. The basics of the plot are - a demon has infiltrated the highest levels of the monks' temples in spirit form, wreaking havoc and mass murder. He tries to consolidate power in order to rebuild his own body, taking over human bodies, consuming other demons, and ultimately going after Ishuca both for Ishuca's powers and for revenge against Blood.

There are several things that make KnMnM a stand-out:

Main Characters Blood - demon, Demon Lord of the North
Ishuca - friend of Blood's
Wild - dark sorceror, Demon Lord of the East, Master of the Eastern Tower
Rapunzel - friend of Wild's
Night - subordinate of Blood when he was Demon Lord of the North
Giess - subordinate of Night
Silus - monk
Amachi - monk