[Book Review] Kojiki

Kojiki

Keith Yatsuhashi

April 19, 2013

Musa Publishing

Young Adult, Fantasy

Links:
Goodreads // Amazon

Book Info:

When eighteen-year-old Keiko Yamada’s father dies unexpectedly, he leaves behind a one way ticket to Japan, an unintelligible death poem about powerful Japanese spirits and their gigantic, beast-like Guardians, and the cryptic words: “Go to Japan in my place. Find the Gate. My camera will show you the way.”

Alone and afraid, Keiko travels to Tokyo, determined to fulfill her father’s dying wish. There, beneath glittering neon signs, her father’s death poem comes to life. Ancient spirits spring from the shadows. Chaos envelops the city, and as Keiko flees its burning streets, her guide, the beautiful Yui Akiko, makes a stunning confession--that she, Yui, is one of a handful of spirits left behind to defend the world against the most powerful among them: a once noble spirit now insane. Keiko must decide if she will honor her father’s heritage and take her rightful place among the gods.

Rating:

★★★★★

Review:

A beautifully woven tale about dragons, gods and worlds set in Japan. It will transport you into a world like no other and give you a grand adventure!

I am a huge fan of Manga (Japanese Graphic Novels) and Anime. I especially love those Anime/Manga with elaborate plot lines. I got what I wanted in Kojiki. When I started reading Kojiki, I couldn't help but imagine the characters as Anime rather than as real people. It would be awesome if this book got turned into a graphic novel or an Anime. I would love to see it be given life through images.

The beginning laid down the predicate by portraying moden-day Japan, but the author didn't waste time and immediately jumped into action when the protagonist, Keiko, got sucked into another dimension and was almost killed by a guardian. I love that there was no dilly-dallying at the beginning, and that the heroine was immediately put into test.

As I said, the story was elaborate, but in my opinion, it was too elaborate. It was like so many things were happening at once that you just don't know where to focus your attention to. It would have been better if the book was divided into parts rather than crammed into one whole book. The storyline and the key plotlines often interchanged that it got a little confusing. The flashbacks and the character backgrounds didn't help either. Also, there were too many characters involved that there was very little time to establish which character was which, and what character did what. This added to the confusion.

All in all though, this book was a grand adventure and I would recommend it to readers who are also fans of Anime, or simply those who are fans of Japan.