Kaya-chan Isn't Scary Vol. 1

カヤちゃんはコワくない [Kaya-chan wa Kowakunai] #1

by Yuritaro, 百合太郎

Are you braver than a kindergartner? Find out with this horror manga that takes place in the most unlikely of places–and don’t miss the upcoming anime!

Kaya-chan is a notorious problem child in her kindergarten, but none of the adults know her secret--till Chie-sensei is put in charge and learns of Kaya-chan’s hidden ability to see evil spirits and vanquish them with a punch! What will happen to this five-year-old who gets in trouble when she’s only trying to help?

Genres: Manga, Horror, Comics, Supernatural, Comedy, Graphic Novels, Fiction

164 pages, Paperback

First published August 8, 2022

Reviews

[Mark]

Jim Henson’s Mieruko-chan Babies!

It’s incredibly hard for me to not think like this as I start reflecting on this new series, which stars the titular Kaya as a pint-sized psychic who deals with otherworldly threats that pop up at her kindergarten.

There are some differences; notably the lack of fanservice (thank goodness) and the fact that Kaya is very capable at taking care of herself when she realizes that danger might be afoot. That is a very important proviso though.

Kaya is rather young and, even with the things she has very literally seen, that carries a certain lack of self-preservation at times, or an ability to get herself into trouble by letting her emotions get the better of her.

It’s a good conceit because it makes her sidekick, a teacher who realizes that Kaya is a protector and not a delinquent, more useful than just an audience surrogate. She keeps Kaya from getting in over her head from things she might not be aware are dangers (like strangers).

There’s also a very well seeded backstory with Kaya’s family that is alluded to heavily but remains vague enough that it will be interesting to get some real answers to it all when they choose to reveal it.

Shrinking this down to kindergarten size is a clever idea; kids are more prone to flights of fancy and vivid imaginations, so Kaya has a lot of ‘girl who cried wolf’ energy to her, something that we learn has taken a toll on her.

There’s nothing here an adult would believe and her behaviour pushes the other kids away, leaving her to fight her lonely struggle against evil. There’s a lot more gravitas to this than its bigger sibling in some ways.

It is not, however, as good. Then again, neither was Mieruko-chan at the start. One of the best reveals, however, came at the end of the latter’s first volume and it signalled that series becoming something kind of amazing.

I’m less sure that this will hit those lofty heights - the new cast member we see added at the end of the volume is less compelling, on paper, than anybody in Mieruko-chan, for example.

Still, it manages to deliver some appropriately solid chills and I like the clever use of Kaya’s age to build up its atmosphere. There’s definitely room for two stories like these and I’m not upset with this one.

3.5 stars - maybe a bit generous, but it’s a pretty reasonable start that has my interest and will hopefully pay that off in its next volume. If you’ve got room for another spooky story, one with a unique viewpoint, this isn’t a bad choice.

[Mehsi]

OH WOW! I found a gem again! This one is about a kindergarten-going girl who is also psychic. Not that anyone (well, apart for the sensei eventually) knows and thinks she is just anti-social and a tad scary. I was still happy that despite this kids still wanted to try playing with her/hang out with her. The spirits are gruesome and scary and remind me a bit of those from Mieruko-chan. I love how Kaya murders the spirits and sends them back to the hellpits they came from. XD I love that the sensei now helps her out at times or at least... tries to. But it is hard if you cannot see the danger.
I cannot WAIT till the next volume is out. I need more.

[Gabrielle Blaque/~Bhlack Benehvolence~]

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this yet, it was quick little read and I'm definitely intrigued. I'm curious and I'll be looking into more volumes to get a better idea of the story.

[Spaghett]

(read in Japanese)
An enjoyable horror/action manga about a girl who sees demons and does her best to fight them, but her ghostbusting methods are misinterpreted by most as weird pranks and bullying. It kind of has a Courage the Cowardly dog feel in terms of a somewhat comedic scenario having horrifying abominations and it was refreshing that they avoid the horror trope of nobody believing the monsters are real. Her specially-assigned teacher realizes something is up pretty soon and lets Kaya do her thing, and a lot of the comedy comes from the teacher trying to explain things to other teachers as well.

Language-wise it's a fast, breezy read. There is some special ghost/exorcism vocabulary you'll need to pick up and some of the more terse sentences can be a bit tricky but I felt like this was fairly accessible and I'm definitely ready to read more.

[Kat]

'Mieruko-chan but without the fan service' is a great descriptor, and I'm enjoying this version. this is more like a 3.5★ since the monsters are creepy but aren't SUPER scary yet....and some of the action is hard to understand. I was hoping for some cooler punching shots given the description of the volume, but when Kaya 'fights' them it's very dark and vaguely illustrated. still, I'm enjoying seeing her relationship develop with Chie-sensei, and there are some truly funny panels here!

[Donna]

Kindergartener Kaya is thought to be a problem child but she's really saving people from mean ghosts.

This is a clever idea that's fun in small bits (the swings are haunted, the park is haunted). I'm not sure how many volumes I'll stay interested but the truly creepy-looking ghosts/spirits make me willing to try another.

[Assayah]

Zbyt chaotyczna dla mnie i za bardzo powierzchowna (poza potworami nic się nie dzieje, nie wiemy nic o bohaterce). Miałam tak z ,,Dark gathering" (ta manga swoją drogą ma bardzo podobny klimat fabularnie i wizualne), a anime okazało się lepsze, więc mam nadzieję, że tu również tak będzie

[Beverly-Ann Küppers]

An sich eine sehr süße Geschichte mit netten twirks und perks aber wir reden immernoch von nem Kindergarten Kind. Und das einzige was mir leicht aufstöst ist, das kaya immer das stärkste Medium genannt wird... like why.

[Gladys Novelle]

Laughed out loud when I read that the author is a kindergarten teacher. No wonder the author knows how the children behaves as well. Are the children acting out of spite or there's something that we adults can't see? (⁠｡⁠ŏ⁠﹏⁠ŏ⁠)

Giving it a four because I need more of Kaya-chan <3

[Emma (littledollreads)]

This was fine, but something about it just wasn't quite working for me. I didn't really grasp what Kaya-chan was doing to dispel the ghosts so it was kind of hard to follow the actions of some of the pages.

[Rebecca]

3.5 rounded up.

It's Mieruko-chan in kindergarten, without the unnecessary fanservice.

[Void]

this reminds me a lot of dark gathering in a way with a child prodigy of being an exorcist, but it does have it's own charm

[Diane]

It got even better close to the end.
Loved the spooky art.

[Alex]

Cute but not one I will continue

[Jacqueline]

3.75 stars

[Kathleen]

A sort of Mob Psycho 100 for the preschool set. Of course no one is going to be as bloodthirsty about smacking down malevolent spirits as a toddler. What is UP with her mom, though?

[nando]

would not continue reading not my cup of tea but we'll done overall.

[Tyler]

not worth the 12€ i spent but not a bad story
Wont be continuing this

[Lina ♡]

The first volume was good. It has short chapters which I don't like but the story is interesting and it has a few scary pages.

[jellybean the cat :3]

yea i will be reading all of these i think lol