The Betrayal Knows My Name by Hotaru Odagiri

The Betrayal Knows My Name by Hotaru Odagiri

Story 1: Time, Set in Motion to Story 11: Scars

OT, Paranormal

Abandoned as a baby and raised in an orphanage, the kind-hearted high-schooler Yuki Sakuragi is driven by a need to find the reason for his existence. Plagued by mysterious dreams, Yuki also possesses the strange ability to read the deepest, darkest thoughts of anyone he touches. As both the dreams and his powers intensify, there appears before him a beautiful young man named "Zess," whose face tugs on Yuki's memory. He warns Yuki not to venture outside on Walpurgis Night, the eve of the blood-red moon, which invites death. But when Yuki's compassion leads him to disobey Zess's order, has Yuki carelessly thrown his life away before he's even given himself the chance to find out the very reason for it?

I’m reserving my right to not have an opinion on this yet.

The drawing is like others I’ve read in these side of the whole manga world. Most of the characters look too similar to be able to tell them apart. Though unlike most, this book is kinda limited on characters—the main ones, there are only, around, ten of them (but I’ll get to that)

It’s got that set up that’s kinda hard to follow. More so if you’re not use to this swing of things. It’s a little jumpy but at least when someone was speaking—really speaking, the bubbles showed who was saying what.

The play between the characters is good, give comic relief to a story that’s meant to be depressing, but that relief is quite stock. I’m hoping once the characters are more known, there personalities will rise up and make the banter between them all something more than what everyone else dose (I have vol 2 waiting to read, so we’ll see)

And lastly this volume was clearly two in one. The thick thing was really awkward to read for the first time, but then I like the littler ones better anyway—I’m read a multiple book before. And this one was defiantly that. Half way through there’s an end part—skit, fan corner, and when the next book started they even had a ‘last time highlight’ which I guess helped a little. And I’m even more curious for the next volume, though saying this I’m not sure how much so if I didn’t already have it ready to read.

Now, let’s get on with the story.

The main plot, I think, it kinda did seem to want to draw it all out like a soap, though there were a lot of fights, a lot of talk, something different. Which was good, it didn’t make you think it was taking forever threw the whole book, just the middle part when the author seemed to have to wait for something and didn’t want to skip a few weeks.

The plot is to kill demons, and more so keep Yuki alive because him dead means the end of the war that’s about to come upon the world, and like, really, people, it’s about Yuki, so without him the whole world is doomed. And, so, of course, he’s here now, and everyone knows about him and is after him.

There’s also something fishy going on with the head dude, but I have a feeling (and sorry if this is a spoiler, but I really don’t know) that he’s ‘betrayal’ is going to be played as something that’s you think will be a lot harsher than it truly is. I feel that when it comes to things, that it’s going to be this dude and the main enemy dude fighting, or something. That’s my feeling. Like it’s them, and they are using all they can on their side to win.

But I could be wrong—I’ve only read 2 volumes 1 volume.

But as it is the plot line is still a little vague. You have to guess if you want to step outside of the books and really think about it (like I am now) and whether that’ll change is not something I feel confident about.

But it’s most defiantly about a war between Earth and the underworld

Or more so…..

·         The Glou clan: a lineage possessing special abilities through the generations.

·         They are all reborn from there last selves when they are needed for this fight they are there.

·         Duras: the Infernus word for “demon”.

The characters that we meet threw this book

·         Yuki Sakurai

o   He’s a doe eyes (really, it’s the way you know him from two of the other characters) innocent who has the ability to ‘feel’ other people’s emotions, to see parts of their past, and to heal others (though this has a huge cost)

o   He his past life comes with some surprises—one that he used to be a she and the other….

·         Luka Crossazeria aka Zess

o   He’s a Duras who turned good for Yuki—the old Yuki, and he sees her in him, or the soul. Really it’s a little weird. And the feel like with him that there wasn’t going to be a whole lot said, the whole ‘mystery’ thing surrounding him and all

o   He has a dragon, Sodom, which comes as a cute little thing that attached to Yuki, which is cute and a little predictable all together.  

·         Tooko Murasame (her)

·         Tsukumo Mursame (him)

§  This is one of the guys in the group that look like Yuki, only kinder.

o   They are siblings, they are paired (each person has a pair that match their powers, making them together a more powerful weapon)

o   They are the first you see from the group that Yuki will go into. The guy can talk to animal, which is the cool. But that’s about all we got into it

o   The chick, the older sister, well, she’s that feisty, yell at everyone female.

·         Tasashiro Giou

o   He comes into the books claiming to be Yuki older brother and wanting to take him (which he does) to his home in Toyko.

o   This dude is the head of the group, and he’s powerful. But there is a weird variation of doubt and secrets that cover this cover which makes him just as mysterious as Luka. Only he’s hardly in the picture, and where Luka is more moody mysterious, Kanata has an evilish twist to the whole story (though I’m…weary of following it. it doesn’t sound right for evil).

·         Shikibe, his secretary

(The people at Twilight Hall)—sorry if I got these names wrong

·         Tachibana Giou, the Steward

·         Aya Kureha, (her)

·         Isuzu Fujiwara, doctor

·         Katdumi Tooma, chef

And last but not least….

·         Shuusei Usui

·         Hotsuma Renjou

o   These two are a pair.

o   Hotsuma, hates Yuki, though it’s a little shaky and there’s reasons behind it, we just don’t know them at the moments. There’s also the fact that he’s power is fire, and he’s got a temper that ties with that. So…

o   (he is also the other dude that looks like Yuki, but meaner)

o   We really didn’t learn that much about either. Only that there’s some sort of relationship there, it’s close and a little misunderstood (for us, it’s clear they understand it, and it’s more about what the other thinks, or something….) and it will be interesting to see where it goes. ‘Cause it has to right?

Anyway, that’s them, but we are just coming into the house. We are just learning more about Yuki and Luka, there hasn’t really been all that much time for anything else. It seemed once things settled, it was all the author was doing was setting up for the next volume, so….

I hope this was informative, and that you are able to conduct your own thoughts, on whether or not you would enjoy reading it. I can understand after if you’re a little hesitant because I don’t have a lot of thoughts or opinions on it in the way of liking it. It made it a little hard to highlight those great points.

But it wasn’t a bad read. It went quick even though it did drag, you weren’t completely aware of it until you looked back.

Saying this, two volumes in, 11 chapters’ stories and I’m still undecided. Though, maybe that’s ‘cause I have volume 2 to read so my mind doesn’t have to come to the conclusion straight away.

When we continues...

Welcomed into the arms of the Giou clan and the Zweilt, Yuki reaches out to his comrades even as he is drawn into their war with the darkness. But the demonic Duras continue to spread their malevolence around Yuki, and the members of his new family are not impervious either, as one of their own vanishes without a trace and yet another is cornered by a sudden ambush. In the Zweilt, Yuki may well have found the long-sought-after place he belongs, but the enemy seems intent on stealing it out of his grasp forever.
And when the shadowy figure of “Reiga,” the nemesis of the Giou, finally steps into the light, will Yuki find himself utterly alone, crushed by the weight of the truth?

available Now!

 

 

I have just finished volume 2

If you wish for a review on that please ask, otherwise I don’t see when I will, or if I’ll put one up for this book

 

Updated: 10/Feb/13

Okay, there were a few stuff-ups that I just realised with the review above.

The one that’s stuck in my head and causing me all sorts of trouble that it just shouldn’t be, is the fact that Yuki’s power is to heal, he’s the soul of the Zweilt’s, and more so he has the ability to see peoples past. What hurt them, what made them happy—just general snippets into their lives.

The next two volumes are good. They go deeper into the relationship between Shuusei and Hotsuma, which had a fully feel to it at the end of these volumes.

It’s was a lot better and had me wanting to the next and so on. Especially with the end. With the quick meeting of the two new members and the beginning of recovered memories and why Yuki didn’t have his like the other had.

So yeah, more debts in the characters. But mostly there about Hotsuma and Shuusei, which give great mention into the fact that this could be a going thing, which hopefully the next will dive into the other pairs as the series progresses. Which would be great.