THE DEMON ORORON, Volume 1
Mizuki Hazake
TOKYOPOP, 2004
ISBN: 1591827256
232 pages

Chiaki is, on the surface, an ordinary girl --- gangly, not particularly pretty, and self-sufficient from being orphaned at a young age. She stops to help a beautiful, wounded stranger on the street, and her life changes irrevocably --- for better or for worse is for you to decide.

Ororon, the young man she helps, sets off all of Chiaki's instincts --- he's alluring, secretive and potentially lethally dangerous. The world shifts for Chiaki: Ororon, it turns out, is the AWOL King of Hell, the top of the heap of demons who maintains his rule through devious cruelty and necessarily murderous politics. Chiaki, she discovers, is more than she knew: she's the daughter of the Archangel Michael and a human woman, full of her own tremendous, uncontrollable power. These two are the ultimate star-crossed lovers who are supposed to be warring for different sides between demons and angels. And yet...in the middle of the storm, ignoring all instincts to the contrary, the two find a fragile peace with each other. The tough part is going to be staying together with all legions of heaven and hell determined to rip them apart.

The art alone is a reason to pick up this title --- its spare pages and slinky lines make this title stand out among piles of winsome girls' manga. This is not an easy story, and the darkness and violence are brutal, but the determination of the couple to find the best parts of their natures and find a place away from the world is both romantic and tragic.

This series will definitely appeal to all you readers who love Stephenie Meyer's TWILIGHT and similar supernatural romance --- there may be warning bells going off every time these two lovers take a step closer, but in the end, it's not enough to keep them apart.

   --- Reviewed by Robin Brenner

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