Ayakashi Triangle

Ayakashi Triangle (Japanese: あやかしトライアングル, Hepburn: Ayakashi Toraianguru), sometimes abbreviated as AyaTri (あやトラ),[3][4] is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kentaro Yabuki. It has been serialized in publisher Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine since June 2020, with its individual chapters collected and published by Shueisha in two tankōbon volumes as of December 2020. The manga has been licensed for English release in North America by Viz Media, and Shueisha also simultaneously publishes the series in English and Spanish for free on the Manga Plus app and website.

Ayakashi Triangle
First volume of Ayakashi Triangle, released by Shueisha on October 2, 2020 in Japan
あやかしトライアングル
(Ayakashi Toraianguru)
Genre
Manga
Written byKentaro Yabuki
Published byShueisha
English publisher
ImprintJump Comics
MagazineWeekly Shōnen Jump
DemographicShōnen
Original runJune 15, 2020 – present
Volumes2

Ayakashi Triangle focuses on exorcist ninja Matsuri Kazamaki, as he tries to defend his childhood friend, the Ayakashi Medium Suzu Kanade, from evil spirits called ayakashi. However, during a battle to save Suzu's life, Matsuri is turned into a girl after being cursed by Shirogane, the King of Ayakashi. With Suzu's help, Matsuri must adjust to his new feminine form as they deal with both the friendly and the malicious ayakashi they encounter, as well as their growing feelings for each other, all while trying to break Matsuri's curse for him to return to his original form.

Synopsis
See also: List of Ayakashi Triangle characters

Setting

Ayakashi Triangle takes place in the same fictional universe already established in Kentaro Yabuki's previous manga series of To Love Ru and its sequel To Love Ru Darkness, with elements and characters from the manga, such as Run Elise Jewelria, making several cameo appearances throughout Ayakashi Triangle.[5]

Plot

Matsuri Kazamaki and Suzu Kanade are childhood friends who share the ability to see ayakashi (妖), spirits that are invisible to most people. While Matsuri is descendant of a line of exorcist ninja (祓忍) who protect people from evil ayakashi, Suzu is an Ayakashi Medium (妖巫女, Ayakashi Miko), a rare type of human who over-secretes life force and thus attracts many ayakashi. However, Matsuri learns Suzu's growing power will inevitably bring ayakashi to try to devour her to get more power, so he decides to protect Suzu by exorcising the evil ayakashi that approach her. Years later, on the day before the pair were to start high school, Suzu is attacked by Shirogane, the King of Ayakashi, but is saved by Matsuri. Unable to beat him, Matsuri seals away most of his powers into a scroll, but before he does, Shirogane puts a curse on Matsuri that turns him into a girl, hoping the transformation will ruin any chance he and Suzu have of becoming a couple in the future. As Suzu helps Matsuri to adjust to his new life as a girl, Shirogane plots to regain his power and devour Suzu.[6]

Production

Kentaro Yabuki's first popular series, Black Cat, was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump between July 10, 2000 and June 14, 2004.[7][8] Later, Yabuki teamed up with writer Saki Hasemi to illustrate from April 24, 2006 to August 31, 2009 the Weekly Shōnen Jump series To Love Ru,[9][10] and then its sequel To Love Ru Darkness from October 4, 2010 to March 4, 2017 in Jump Square.[11][12] Yabuki would publish the one-shot manga Reo × Leo (れお×レオ, Reo × Reo) in the 11th issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump on February 9, 2019.[13] This one-shot would serve as source of inspiration for Yabuki to create Ayakashi Triangle, as the manga incorporates elements and characters from Reo × Leo.[14] In July 2020, Yabuki said that he plans to include various "relationship triangles" in the series that go beyond just romance.[15]

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Kentaro Yabuki, Ayakashi Triangle was announced in the 27th issue of Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on June 8, 2020.[2] The manga began its serialization in Weekly Shōnen Jump in the 28th issue published on June 15, 2020.[1][2] Its chapters are collected and published by Shueisha into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was published on October 2, 2020,[16] and two volumes have been released as of December 4, 2020.[17] Ayakashi Triangle is digitally published by Viz Media on its Shonen Jump website.[18][19] Shueisha also simultaneously publishes the series in English and Spanish for free on the Manga Plus app and website.[20]

Volume list
No. Original release date Original ISBN English release date English ISBN
1 October 2, 2020[16]978-4-08-882505-2——
  1. "Matsuri, Suzu, and the Ayakashi" (祭里とすずと妖, Matsuri to Suzu to Ayakashi)
  2. "Girl Friend" (オンナトモダチ, Onna Tomodachi)
  3. "I Just Can't Accept That" (私はそれを受け入れることができません, Watashi wa Sore o Ukeireru Koto ga Dekimasen)
  4. "When You Were Young" (あなたが若い時, Anata ga Wakai Toki)
  5. "Lightning-Fast Exorcist Ninja" (神速の祓忍, Shinsoku no Harainin)
  6. "Kachofugetsu" (花鳥風月, lit. "flower-birds-wind-moon")
  7. "The Melancholy of the Ayakashi Medium" (妖巫女の憂鬱, Ayakashi Miko no Yūutsu)
2 December 4, 2020[17]978-4-08-882516-8——
  1. "Omokage Shadow" (オモカゲ, Omokage)
  2. "A Special Relationship" (トクベツな関係, Tokubetsu na Kankei)
  3. "Those Who Can See, and Those Who Can't" (視える、視えない, Mieru, Mienai)
  4. "The Shape of the Spirit" (精神の話, Seishin no Hanashi)
  5. "Garaku Utagawa" (歌川画楽, Utagawa Garaku)
  6. "A Sign of the Awakening" (覚醒の兆し, Kakusei no Kizashi)
  7. "Inside Matsuri" (まつりの中, Matsuri no Naka)
  8. "Exorcist Ninja Tool Shop" (エクソシスト忍者道具屋, Ekusoshisuto Ninja Dōgu-ya)
  9. "Her First" (初めてのひと, Hajimete no Hito)
3 March 4, 2021[21]978-4-08-882582-3——

Chapters not yet in tankōbon format

These chapters have yet to be published in a tankōbon volume.

  1. "The Enticing Boy" (魅惑的な少年, Miwaku-tekina Shōnen)
  2. "Sosuke Hinojiki the Jinyo" (日喰想介の人妖, Hinojiki Sōsuke no Jin'yō)
  3. "Matsuri Vs. Jinyo, and Then..." (まつり対 人妖、そして..., Matsuri tai Jin'yō, Soshite...)
  4. "Shirogane's Thoughts" (白銀の想い, Shirogane no Omoi)
  5. "The Spirit of Harmony" (調和の精神, Chōwa no Seishin)
  6. "The Gift of Constant Change" (絶え間ない変化の贈り物, Taema nai Henka no Okurimono)
  7. "Suzu Kanade, The King of Ayakashi" (アヤカシの王、花奏すず, Ayakashi no Ō, Kanade Suzu)
  8. "The Ayakashi's Lost Property" (アヤカシのおとしもの, Ayakashi no Otoshimono)
  9. "The Lightning-Fast Father" (電光石火の父, Denkōsekka no Chichi)
  10. "An Encounter With "Him"?" (「彼」との出会い？, `Kare' to no Deai?)
  11. "Exorcising Incense" (お香を祓う, Oka wo Harau)
  12. "Nostalgic Home" (懐かしい家, Natsukashī Ie)
  13. "Lament of the Former King of Ayakashi" (元あやかし王の嘆き, Moto Ayakashi-ō no Nageki)
  14. "Follow Garaku!" (がらくをフォロー！, Garaku o Forō!)

Vomic

A Vomic (voice comic) adaptation of Ayakashi Triangle started to be released on November 20, 2020, with episodes uploaded to Jump Comics' official YouTube channel.[22][23] The Vomic shows the manga images appearing on screen as voice actors, music and sound effects are heard. It stars both Hiromu Mineta and Yuki Kyohana as Matsuri Kazamaki (Mineta voices the character in his male form and Kyohana voices his female form), Saya Aizawa as Suzu Kanade, and both Mitsuteru Nagato and Hikaru Fujikura as Shirogane (Nagato voices Shirogane in his standard cat form while Fujikura voices his ayakashi form), among other voice actors.[22][24]

Reception

Reviewing the first two chapters of Ayakashi Triangle, The Fandom Post's Shawn Hacaga called the story "decent" but "nothing special", apart from strongly praising Kentaro Yabuki's art as "gorgeous" and "fantastic".[25][26] Hacaga also said it was fun nonetheless and admitted to being surprised by the genderswap at the end of the first.[25] Reviewing for UT Daily Beacon, Connor Holt gave the manga a rating of 3 out of 5, saying that Ayakashi Triangle is average when viewed as an ecchi manga, but fails when viewed as a romantic comedy. Holt also commented on how he prefers for the manga to continue in this direction and that it helps to differentiate Ayakashi Triangle from other series in Weekly Shōnen Jump.[27] In another review, Holt complimented on how Yabuki has managed a perfect balancing act between the manga's love triangle narrative, battle elements and ecchi overtones, saying it "gives readers an actual reason to read this manga and enjoy it as it comes into its own".[28]

Jacob Parker-Dalton of OTAQUEST praised Yabuki's art style, in addition to comparing Ayakashi Triangle with Akihisa Ikeda's Rosario + Vampire: "dumb, horny, but definitely crafted with care and attention".[29] Dalton also expressed his opinion on how Ayakashi Triangle looks like the first installment of a manga from the mid 2000s, since the series, according to him, "reuses several elements typical of that period: demons and yōkai, for one, but also shameless objectification, gender bending, and even a cute animal mascot".[29] AllYourAnime.Net's Thomas Daniell criticized the manga's developments as being "predictable", and noted that while Matsuri's genderswap at the end of the first chapter was a "fun twist", it is a cliché widely used in anime and manga. Regarding the characters, Daniell said that, albeit they are not original, Yabuki's focus on them allows the details of the manga to "drip in a bit more naturally". Daniell also highlighted the use of fan service by the series, and felt that, although it is used in part for comedic effect, its main purpose is to draw audience.[30]

See also

References
  1. 矢吹健太朗が約11年ぶりに週刊少年ジャンプ連載、新作はあやかしファンタジー. Natalie (in Japanese). June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  2. Hodgkins, Crystalyn (June 7, 2020). "Kentarō Yabuki, Ryūhei Tamura Launch New Manga in Weekly Shonen Jump Magazine in June". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  3. Llanes, Jeric (October 4, 2020). "Mangaka Musings 10/04/2020". Viz Media. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  4. Llanes, Jeric (September 27, 2020). "Mangaka Musings 09/27/2020". Viz Media. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  5. Hoss (July 5, 2020). "Comentando Ayakashi Triangle Cap 4 – Referência a To Love-ru!". Você Sabia Anime? (in Portuguese). Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  6. Rivera, Maria (June 15, 2020). "Ayakashi Triangle: the designer of To-Love Ru returns, trailer and synopsis of chapter 1". Asap Land. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  7. Yabuki, Kentaro (July 10, 2000). 黒い猫と呼ばれた男 [The Man Called Black Cat]. Weekly Shōnen Jump. Black Cat (in Japanese). Shueisha (32).
  8. Yabuki, Kentaro (June 14, 2004). 気ままな明日へ [A Carefree Tomorrow]. Weekly Shōnen Jump. Black Cat (in Japanese). Shueisha (29).
  9. 週刊少年ジャンプ 2006年 Vol. 21•22 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on February 23, 2009. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  10. Loo, Egan (August 25, 2009). "To Love-Ru, Freesia, Noramimi Manga End This Month". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  11. Loo, Egan (July 29, 2010). "To Love-Ru Spinoff Manga Series to Launch in October". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 17, 2010.
  12. Green, Scott (March 1, 2017). ""To Love-Ru Darkness" Manga Ends With Extra Chapter Planned". Crunchyroll. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
  13. Pineda, Rafael (February 8, 2019). "Shonen Jump Publishes 5 1-Shot Manga for Valentines Day". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  14. Llanes, Jeric (June 21, 2020). "Mangaka Musings 06/21/2020". Viz Media. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  15. Llanes, Jeric (July 12, 2020). "Mangaka Musings 07/12/2020". Viz Media. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  16. あやかしトライアングル 1 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  17. あやかしトライアングル 2 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  18. Dalton, Jacob (June 17, 2020). "VIZ Media Now Publishes the Entirety of Weekly Shonen Jump". OTAQUEST. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  19. Llanes, Jeric (June 14, 2020). "Shonen Jump New Chapters 06/14/2020". Viz Media. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  20. Ruisu (June 29, 2020). "Ayakashi Triangle disponible en español a través de MANGA Plus". Ramen Para Dos (in Spanish). Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  21. あやかしトライアングル 3 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  22. [Shonen Jump]"Ayakashi Triangle" Part1 [Manga dub/Motion Comic & Audio Drama] (video) (in Japanese). YouTube. November 19, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  23. Dalton, Jacob (November 24, 2020). "Ayakashi Triangle Voice Comic Adapts Multiple Chapters, Capitalizing on Success". OTAQUEST. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  24. Hoss (January 9, 2021). "Confira a versão dublada dos 3 primeiros capítulos de Ayakashi Triangle". Você Sabia Anime? (in Portuguese). Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  25. "Ayakashi Triangle Chapter #01 Manga Review". The Fandom Post. June 17, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  26. "Ayakashi Triangle Chapter #02 Manga Review". The Fandom Post. June 25, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  27. Holt, Connor (September 7, 2020). "'Weekly Shonen Jump' in: Near perfection". UT Daily Beacon. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  28. Holt, Connor (September 14, 2020). "'Weekly Shonen Jump' in: More hits than misses". UT Daily Beacon. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  29. Dalton, Jacob (June 16, 2020). "Ayakashi Triangle Chapter 1 Blasts Back to the Past – Your Manga Week #32". OTAQUEST. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  30. Daniell, Thomas (July 14, 2020). "AYAKASHI TRIANGLE 001-005 – MANGA REVIEW". AllYourAnime.Net. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
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