At dawn, the crowd's song is reviewed

Sakuhiro's The Crow's Ballad at Dawn opens the House of Mist series as a love story for boys 18+.

The English translation by Yen Press of Sakuhiro's The Crow's Ballad at Dawn is the opening novel in the House of Mist/Kasumirou fantasy series, presented as a romance for boys 18+, with the next book to be released in November. Translated by Leighann Harvey and written by Byong Je Chun, the story follows Kana Akitozawa, an exhausted office worker who receives token or 3 request boxes after being granted three visits to the house of mist - a whorehouse exclusively for supernatural clients flying over a covered lake full of watermelons.

The story begins with debt, betrayal and a strange gift.

Akito is exhausted from working long hours for an unappreciated company, and has been tricked by his girlfriend into running up debts. He helps a boy sell tofu in the local park, which was repaid with three pieces of wood worth $ token .[citation needed] They are allowed three visits to the fog house where Akito discovers the beautiful tengu Suiren.

Suiren encounters Akito while running away from a difficult client, and finds himself captured by him. He is especially interested in Suiren's wings. To distract the troubled client, Akito uses one of his token to ask Suiren out for a night, but eventually they talk JUST into falling asleep.

The reunion reveals the rules of a hidden lake.

When Akito returns to the park after weeks of fruitless searching, the stress of his task increases once again and he finds lights shining through the trees. A young Tofu boy tells him that the fog house appears only briefly at sunset and around Witching Hour. This time Suiren re-plays shamisen to entertain a host of demons but slips away to meet with Akito some time later.

Suiren told Akito that one of the girls in the house had seen him when he was a child, and the owner named him after the fact that his eyes were blue-green and he channeled his power through water droplets. But as they walked alongside the lake, Suiren suddenly fell to the ground, where she was tied to it and could only fly just above the water before being pulled back up again.

They are interrupted by House of Mist staff and instructed to take care of the other guests. Akito tries to move, but suddenly loses consciousness. After being told that he will regain his powers in humanity, an agent reveals that Suiren has sacrificed the life force of the customers and used it as a nutrient to make the fountain bloom.

It is also revealed that many years ago, Suiren set the Mist House on fire and as punishment was bound to space until he could build up enough power to cause a hundred watermelon plants to bloom. The revelation left Akito utterly confused.

What does the story offer and do you feel rushed?

The one-shot works best when Suiren is visually and emotionally centered. She draws prominently, and skillfully incorporates supernatural elements in the story as well as traditional Japanese cultural elements into the plot. Akito's backstory was also important, but it was introduced with fine fragments that were more difficult to follow than necessary.

Nevertheless, Akito and his intriguing tengu dog lover make a good couple, and their way of developing love is credible. There are many obstacles to overcome if they hope to live together.

The manga is rated 18+ mature because it has many scenes that are sharp. These scenes are well drawn, and the reviewer says they feel psychological due to strong feelings between the two protagonists.

Additional information for readers of Yen Press

Leighann Harvey's translation and Byong Je Chun's spelling make this a good read for fiction. This edition includes four pages of large, useful translated notes at the end where you can explore the background to some of the names and supernatural features. Also included are two fun pages underneath the jacket on the original cover: "Behind the Scenes" and "After the Main Story". There is also an engaging coloring page full of intricate detail as well as cover art.

The Crow's Ballad at Dawn is Sakuhiro's first published English-language title, and the creator seems to have specialized in stories with surreal settings.

Where is the sequel to "House of Mist"?

The Crow's Ballad at Dawn will be released in November. For readers who are drawn into a fantasy boy love affair with its surreal twist, "The crow's ballad at dawn" is where they enter a world of hidden rules, psychological costs and rigid expectations that shape the story.