TRANS-SCRIBE: Alpi the Soul Sender vol. 1 by Rona

'In the magical world of Alpi, divine spirits are the source of all life, communities living in harmony under their protection. However, when their lives end, a terrible curse drives them to evil, and these malign spirits must be sent to the afterlife by the Soul Senders. Alpi is one such girl, talented despite her young age, and assisted by her familiar Perenai!'

The Magical Girl genre is a popular one, particularly when it comes to manga. Linked to female empowerment, stories within this genre usually feature young girls with immense magical powers that they use whilst on some kind of adventure or quest. Whilst Alpi the Soul Sender does away with one of the more popular elements of the genre, the transformation into another alter-ego, it is very much a part of the genre, one that takes a more fantastical bent.

Set in a world vastly different to our own, we're introduced to Alpi, a young girl who has the power to help purify the souls of divine spirits, huge, magical animals that bring prosperity to the world. Whilst these creatures are normally benevolent entities that live in harmony with the world and people around them, when they die their souls become corrupted, and a dark sickness starts to infect the land around them. Any who approach the dead spirits is burned by the darkness. Soul Senders, however, have the ability to withstand this dark curse, and can extract the spirits soul, sending in on to the afterlife and ending the curse.

Accompanied by the adult Perenai, who acts as her guardian and assistant, Alpi is trying to follow int he footsteps of her parents, who were also Soul Senders, using old letters that they sent to her whilst travelling the world. Having not seen them in years, and not knowing where they might be, Alpi is hoping that she might be able to find her missing parents, and is more than happy to help any divine spirits that need her skills along the way.

The first volume of the series contains four stories. The first of them, 'The Bright Soul Sender' is a nice introduction to the book and characters. In this story Alpi and Perenai arrive in a small village where a young man has recently encountered a dead divine spirit, and is suffering from the curse it left behind. Alpi helps to cure him of the curse, and then performs her ritual to help send the spirit on. There's not big dramatic moment in this story, no twist or sudden shocking moment, and it's a by the numbers soul sending. However, as it's the first story in the entire series this works perfectly, as it's introducing us to everything we need to know. Not only do we come away understanding the rules of the world, but we also get to know the lead characters a little too.

The second story 'The Lake With The Dark Purple Waters' follows a similar route, in being another story of a village that needs the help of a Soul Sender. What makes this one different from the last, however, is that this time the spirit has died in the middle of a lake. This means that Alpi cannot draw the required magic ring around it, nor can she reach it to extract its soul. Over the course of this story we see Alpi come up with solutions to these problems, as well as her determination to succeed no matter what, even when it looks like there's no way she can. This chapter gives us more of an insight into who Alpi is as a character, and teaches the reader not to underestimate her just because she's a little girl.

The third story is one that gives us a lot more background to what it means to be a Soul Sender. 'The Temple of Purification' sees Alpi and Perenai travel to a town that services various Soul Senders, with shops that can restock their supplies, blacksmiths to help maintain their tools, and a temple that allows them to purify themselves. During the other two chapters we'd seen Alpi being hurt by the curse left behind by the dead spirits, but it's here that we learn that those curses had also been getting inside her, and that her bod had been accumulating the dark energies. By going to the temple she can expel this darkness, though it's a process that causes her great pain. This story gives us a lot of insight into the workings of the Soul Senders, and shows us that it's bigger than just Alpi, with whole systems set up to help the Soul Senders and their mission. It also gives us some insight into Peranai, and how he's more than just a simple guardian/servant to Alpi, but cares deeply for the young girl under his charge.

The final story fills the last two chapters of the book, 'A Wish for the Fire Moth'. This story sees Alpi and Perenai come to a land where a divine spirit couldn't be helped in time, and nature in that area has died out. The local population have instead crafted themselves a great stone city, one fuelled by steam and heat. However, Alpi soon discovers that the city doesn't run on natural sources, but a chained and tortured divine spirit that the local lord has captured beneath the city. The divine spirit is weakening, and the city is struggling because of it. The lord demands that Alpi kill the spirit and send it soul so that a new spirit can come, one that he can once again enslave. This story feels like the first real adventure of the book, a story that has some twists and turns, and puts Alpi in the role of protagonist, able to make choices and affect the story rather than just reacting to events. It's also the darkest story in the book, and has some really great moments.

Overall, the book creates a really interesting and engaging narrative that acts as a great introduction to the series. Even before the end of the book it feels like you have a good understanding of the world, and know most of its rules. The main characters are set up well, and by the end of this volume you know their motivations, and understand why they do what they do. There's also a lot of wonder and magic to discover too, and it feels like this volume is giving us a small peek at an even more fantastical and amazing world that will be revealed in further volumes.

The art on the book is also fantastic. The cover art reflects the interior art well, and each and every panel is packed with detail. The environments are all well crafted and packed with details and stuff to find, and it feels like a fully fleshed out world. The characters are also really well done too, and characters like Alpi and Perenai come with really detailed and intricate outfits. Where the book really shines, however, is with the divine spirits, huge, mystical creatures that have amazing designs, and look like they're stepped out of the world of legend. Rona makes everything in this book look fantastic, and the level of detail and care given to each and every page is astonishing.

Whilst Alpi the Soul Sender is being marketed as a magical girl book it's also a really interesting and well done fantasy novel, one that crafts a cool new world for readers to get lost in. It's going to appeal to those who love the magical girl genre thanks to the cute but fierce hero at the centre of the story, but it will also appeal to those who may not have tried the genre much, but are fans of fantasy. Whatever it is that draws you to the book, its interesting world, amazing designs, and well crafted story are sure to entertain.