Seven Deadly Shadows

Seven Deadly Shadows
Co-Authors / Illustrators
Age Range
12+
Release Date
January 28, 2020
ISBN
978-0062570819
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Seventeen-year-old Kira Fujikawa has never had it easy. She’s bullied by the popular girls in school. Her parents ignore her. And she’s also plagued with a secret: She can see yokai, the ghosts and demons that haunt the streets of Kyoto. But things accelerate from bad to worse when she learns that Shuten-doji, the demon king, will rise at the next blood moon to hunt down an ancient relic and bring the world to a catastrophic end. Not exactly skilled at fighting anything, much less the dead, Kira enlists the aid of seven powerful death gods to help her slay Shuten-doji. They include Shiro, a kitsune with boy-band looks who is more flirtatious than helpful, and O-bei, a regal demon courtier with reasons of her own for getting involved. As the confrontation with Shuten-doji draws nearer, the fate of Japan hangs in the balance. Can Kira save humankind? Or will the demon king succeed in bringing eternal darkness upon the world?

Seventeen-year-old Kira Fujikawa has never had it easy. She’s bullied by the popular girls in school. Her parents ignore her. And she’s also plagued with a secret: She can see yokai, the ghosts and demons that haunt the streets of Kyoto. But things accelerate from bad to worse when she learns that Shuten-doji, the demon king, will rise at the next blood moon to hunt down an ancient relic and bring the world to a catastrophic end. Not exactly skilled at fighting anything, much less the dead, Kira enlists the aid of seven powerful death gods to help her slay Shuten-doji. They include Shiro, a kitsune with boy-band looks who is more flirtatious than helpful, and O-bei, a regal demon courtier with reasons of her own for getting involved. As the confrontation with Shuten-doji draws nearer, the fate of Japan hangs in the balance. Can Kira save humankind? Or will the demon king succeed in bringing eternal darkness upon the world?

Editor reviews

2 reviews
Seven Deadly Shadows
(Updated: February 14, 2020)
Overall rating
 
4.0
Plot
 
N/A
Characters
 
N/A
Writing Style
 
N/A
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
Sixteen-year-old Kira Fujikawa loves helping at her family shrine. She also has a paranormal ability. She sees the not only the dead, but supernatural beings. When her beloved grandfather is killed, it's up to her to stop an ancient demon from destroying not only her family, but the world.

What worked: This is a fast-paced engaging paranormal that has a twist on the Seven Samurari with a teen girl as a reluctant heroine. Scattered throughout are Japanese mythological demons and gods. Since I'm not familiar with Japanese mythology, I was happy there was a glossary at the end.

The action is riveting from when Kira goes from being a shy Japanese schoolgirl to one that steps up to the challenge of stopping a demon. Kira shows her love of being a shrine priestess even though her own mother turned away from that calling. There's also scenes of bullying, where Kira is tormented for being an outcast at her prestigious Japanese school.

The references of kitsunes in Seven Deadly Shadows remind me of Kira Yukimura in Teen Wolf who was a Thunder kitsune-a fox yokai shapeshifter. Only in this novel, Kira is a priestess of a Shinto shrine, but does have a task of saving the world.

There's also a hint of romance between her and kitsune Shiro, who she's not sure of at first. From Shiro she learns more about her responsibilities and yes, even whether or not to trust a supernatural being. Shiro is cute, charming and it's hard not to like him.

There are many mythological creatures in this story-shinigami-Japanese version of grim reapers who reap the souls of the living. Yokai-supernatural monsters, ghosts, spirits, and demons.Jorogumo-a half-woman, half spider yokai. And of course, my favorite, nekomata-a cat yokai.

There's also hints of Sailor Moon references and lush descriptions of Kyoto and Toyoko shrines. I did Google the places to help me visualize where Kira goes to on her quest to stop a demon.

Engaging fantasy with a twist on the Seven Samurai and filled with many Japanese supernatural beings.
Good Points
Modern Day retelling of Seven Samurari set in Japan
Japanese mythology throughout
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