TRANS-SCRIBE: Three Exorcism Siblings Vol 1 by Shinata Harekawa

'In the mountains above Japan, Mamoru Yamaemori spends his days tending to his family shrine, fighting Tengu— monsters who feast on human flesh—and, making sure his two younger brothers will never have to pick up his mantle. Unable to escape the life forced upon him by his parents and a dark ritual involving Tengu blood, all he knows is that his existence is a curse: he is destined to die young in the service of others.

'But to fight monsters, Mamoru must dance that line between loving older brother and mindless beast – or else he risks becoming that which he is sworn to destroy.'

Three Exorcism Siblings opens with a grim image. Deep in the woods, something huge and monstrous eats the head of a child whilst another lays nearby, unconscious, with the warning that 'Deep in the mountains... Dwell the Tengu.' This is something of a dark, horrific beginning to a story that isn't as frightening as this first page would have us believe, as whilst there are indeed monsters to be found within these pages, there are also brave young warriors whose mission is to stop them.

In the mountains there lies a remote shrine, watched over by three siblings from the Yamaemori family. The youngest of them is fifteen-year-old Yu, who loves sports and doesn't really do well at his academic studies. The middle brother is Kei, a seventeen-year-old student who is almost the opposite to Yu, and is incredibly smart and studious. And looking after both of them is twenty one-year-old Mamoru. Mamoru is the first of these three siblings that we meet, and the first time we see him he's killing the monstrous Tengu with a sword, saving a child's life. As the elder sibling, he's sworn to protect the shrine and the surrounding area from the Tengu. This would lead you to think that Mamoru is going to be a grim, perhaps even haunted kid of young man; where in fact he's something of a mother hen to the others.

In a delightful twist on the expected formula, Mamoru spends much of his time cleaning the home, making dinner for his brothers, and acting like a loving parent to them. He's even unafraid to cry and show is emotions over how proud he is of his two younger brothers. He's a wonderful subversion on the warrior with a sacred duty archetype that you can't help but instantly like him.

Unfortubately, things can't stay nice and happy for our three protagonists. When his brother is in danger, Mamoru heads out into the woods to fight the monsters that are threatening his family. Whilst he manages to save Yu, he's seemingly killed in the attempt, but comes back as a Tengu-like creature himself. Somehow fighting off the full infection, Mamoru must learn to control his new abilities and find a way to use them for good, lest he turn into one of the very monsters he has sworn to destroy.

Three Exorcism Siblings has a really interesting start, with a nice mix of very relaxed, enjoyable slice of life style scenes with a family that care about each other and get along well, along with some very bloody and horrific moments that feel like they belong in a horror title. Plus, there's a load of action thrown into the mix too to keep things exciting. Shinata Harekawa does a great job at balancing all of these different tones, and gets you invested pretty early on. By the time Mamoru becomes infected by the Tengu you're already on board for this story, and you care for the siblings, even though you've barely begun the story.

This investment in making likable characters definitely keeps you on board as Harekawa spends the rest of this first volume diving into the history of this family, the mythology around the Tengu's, and this secret world of shrine protectors that exists hidden from the regular world. Like with most good Urban Fantasy books, you get small peeks of the strange and unusual before diving headfirst into the fantastical elements, and the first volume keeps racking up the stakes throughout so that by the time the first book comes to a close you're desperate to find out what happens next.

Harekawa's artwork looks fantastic, and the action and horror moments stand out as some of the best parts in the book. The very first page feels incredibly visceral, and the image of the Tengu biting a child's head off in a single bite is shocking and rendered in a way that doesn't revel in the blood and gore, but conveys the horror of the imagery well enough that it feels haunting. There are several moments like this throughout, where it almost feels like the reader is a perverse watcher, peeking in on awful, depraved events that we shouldn't be looking at. Thankfully, the action that's in the book acts like a nice palate cleanser for these moments. And the scenes in which Mamoru gets to cut down a monster with his family sword are drawn beautifully.

If you're looking for a new manga series that manages to juggle world building, likable characters, great action, and horror, then Three Exorcism Siblings is a book that you're going to want to pick up. It's a very addictive read, and if you're like me you'll end up finishing the entire thing in a single go and be ready for the next volume already.