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Ballad of a Shinigami #1
死神的歌謠 1
她的身影，有如冬雪般潔白無瑕。
她的心靈，有如春風般溫暖和煦。
少女從昏迷中醒來，發現自己成為一名死神。
雖為死神，卻擁有純白的外貌，因此被同伴們稱作「異類」。而她手中那把巨大的灰色鐮刀，正是掌管死亡的象徵──少女的使命是取走人類的性命。這名掌管死亡的使者，與黑貓丹尼爾一同奪取人類的魂魄。
掌管死亡的少女，與形形色色的人相遇又別離，
留下一段段，悲傷又溫柔的故事。
她的心靈，有如春風般溫暖和煦。
少女從昏迷中醒來，發現自己成為一名死神。
雖為死神，卻擁有純白的外貌，因此被同伴們稱作「異類」。而她手中那把巨大的灰色鐮刀，正是掌管死亡的象徵──少女的使命是取走人類的性命。這名掌管死亡的使者，與黑貓丹尼爾一同奪取人類的魂魄。
掌管死亡的少女，與形形色色的人相遇又別離，
留下一段段，悲傷又溫柔的故事。
280 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 17, 2018
In [modern] Japanese mythology, a Shinigami is a god or spirit of death, whose sole purpose is to guide the soul of the dead to
Yomi
, neither Heaven nor Hell, but more like limbo, where the souls live on in gloomy perpetuity.*
In Ballad of a Shinigami, Shinigami A #100100, or MoMo for short, a white Shinigami, and her familiar, Daniel, a black cat with bat like wings, crosses paths with people who seek death.
Volume one of the manga reads like an anthology in which the reader meets a few unhappy souls who wishes to find peace in death, or who fears that death has marked them for the reaping and that all hope is lost.
While a shinigami should not interfere with the lives of the living, but only serve as a guide for those who have died, this is not always the case with MoMo.
Instead, MoMo sometimes talks to those who see her (seeing a Shinigami would suggest that one's death is imminent), and offers wise words of advice or delivers messages from dead to living or vice versa.
I found Ballad of a Shinigami very cute, well drawn and sweet. I don't see myself continuing on reading the manga as I don't normally go for anything "heavy on the love" aspect, which I think that BoaS seems to be, but I would recommend it for those who enjoy cute manga with plenty of sentimentality.
* I might've gone down a rabbit hole when trying to be as "correct" as possible in my review. In reality, this has little bearing on the actual review.
In Ballad of a Shinigami, Shinigami A #100100, or MoMo for short, a white Shinigami, and her familiar, Daniel, a black cat with bat like wings, crosses paths with people who seek death.
Volume one of the manga reads like an anthology in which the reader meets a few unhappy souls who wishes to find peace in death, or who fears that death has marked them for the reaping and that all hope is lost.
While a shinigami should not interfere with the lives of the living, but only serve as a guide for those who have died, this is not always the case with MoMo.
Instead, MoMo sometimes talks to those who see her (seeing a Shinigami would suggest that one's death is imminent), and offers wise words of advice or delivers messages from dead to living or vice versa.
I found Ballad of a Shinigami very cute, well drawn and sweet. I don't see myself continuing on reading the manga as I don't normally go for anything "heavy on the love" aspect, which I think that BoaS seems to be, but I would recommend it for those who enjoy cute manga with plenty of sentimentality.
* I might've gone down a rabbit hole when trying to be as "correct" as possible in my review. In reality, this has little bearing on the actual review.
March 29, 2016
Shinigamis are a benign force. They are not (supposed to be) the cause of a person's death, they don't decide who lives or dies. That's all up to the Powers That Be. But even for a Shinigami Momo is different. She wears all white and spends too much time with the people who's souls she is meant to help. She becomes involves in their lives, often warning the soon to be deceased so they can make peace in this world and leave it without regrets.
Which is kind of a big no-no.
Other then the fact this is about Shinigami and has a talking cat, these are short vignettes of ordinary people's lives. In this first volume Momo is the sole reason that the stories are connected at all. They are melancholy stories for the most part as well. The first story "A Trace of Light: I Feel the Light" is about a high schooler who has pretty much given up on the world. He doesn't care anymore. He has a bitterness and rage within him, towards his father who never seemed to have time for him, towards the world at large for making it so hard on its children.
Momo helps him, in the end though, giving to the son his father's last message.
The second story "Your Voice: Echo" is about a young boy and his friend. Still in elementary school, they're made fun of by their classmates for always hanging out together. "Are you dating?" is sneered and joked about. The truth was the boy and the girl had adopted a kitten together and every day after school they went to take care of him. Except the taunts and teasing gets to the boy finally and he doesn't go with the girl one day. And it leads to a sadness he can't handle.
The third story "The Flower of Wounds: Low Blood Pressure" is about a guy who is always ill, with horrible nightmares and can see the supernatural and a classmate who has her own demons to fight. Like the first story the guy has an apathetic view of life--he just wants it all to stop and give him peace. He sees Momo and her cat, but not because he will die. And Momo decides to help him.
The last story "Watch the Sky/Ballad for Innocence: Momo" is a sad, sort of creepy tale. Down on Earth Momo sees a little girl all by herself in a room filled with toys, but in a house empty of people. Slowly the story unfolds that the girl is waiting for 'Daddy' and had been waiting. The situation is so odd, so weird, that Momo feels compelled to tell the little girl the truth, but in the end did she make the right choice?
The stories are thoughtful, sometimes digressing and ending things abruptly. This isn't a matter of the translation being at fault though, I've seen both the anime and the drama based around this series. Its just the way the narrative is. Its a little dreamy. Seven Seas did a great job--offering a lot of extra sections that help the reader understand the obvious Japanese references and culture in the book.
I hope this volume will get re-released (its currently out of print), because of think this series is a good one. Plus we learned only a little bit about Momo and from what I saw in the Drama the world she inhabits is far too complex to leave us hanging.
Which is kind of a big no-no.
Other then the fact this is about Shinigami and has a talking cat, these are short vignettes of ordinary people's lives. In this first volume Momo is the sole reason that the stories are connected at all. They are melancholy stories for the most part as well. The first story "A Trace of Light: I Feel the Light" is about a high schooler who has pretty much given up on the world. He doesn't care anymore. He has a bitterness and rage within him, towards his father who never seemed to have time for him, towards the world at large for making it so hard on its children.
Momo helps him, in the end though, giving to the son his father's last message.
The second story "Your Voice: Echo" is about a young boy and his friend. Still in elementary school, they're made fun of by their classmates for always hanging out together. "Are you dating?" is sneered and joked about. The truth was the boy and the girl had adopted a kitten together and every day after school they went to take care of him. Except the taunts and teasing gets to the boy finally and he doesn't go with the girl one day. And it leads to a sadness he can't handle.
The third story "The Flower of Wounds: Low Blood Pressure" is about a guy who is always ill, with horrible nightmares and can see the supernatural and a classmate who has her own demons to fight. Like the first story the guy has an apathetic view of life--he just wants it all to stop and give him peace. He sees Momo and her cat, but not because he will die. And Momo decides to help him.
The last story "Watch the Sky/Ballad for Innocence: Momo" is a sad, sort of creepy tale. Down on Earth Momo sees a little girl all by herself in a room filled with toys, but in a house empty of people. Slowly the story unfolds that the girl is waiting for 'Daddy' and had been waiting. The situation is so odd, so weird, that Momo feels compelled to tell the little girl the truth, but in the end did she make the right choice?
The stories are thoughtful, sometimes digressing and ending things abruptly. This isn't a matter of the translation being at fault though, I've seen both the anime and the drama based around this series. Its just the way the narrative is. Its a little dreamy. Seven Seas did a great job--offering a lot of extra sections that help the reader understand the obvious Japanese references and culture in the book.
I hope this volume will get re-released (its currently out of print), because of think this series is a good one. Plus we learned only a little bit about Momo and from what I saw in the Drama the world she inhabits is far too complex to leave us hanging.
January 3, 2011
Don't pick it up. Don't encourage it. A light novel picked up by Seven Seas, this thing is awful. It reads like mediocre fanfiction--bad word choice, awkward phrasing, making an effort to avoid using the word "said"...it's not bad enough to be funny, only bad enough to be bad.
You feel like whoever is writing Momo can't entirely decide on her character, and her winged-kitty companion Daniel just can't stay in character at all. I don't know if the problem lies in the translation or in the original Japanese, but there is absolutely no reason for anyone to want this.
You feel like whoever is writing Momo can't entirely decide on her character, and her winged-kitty companion Daniel just can't stay in character at all. I don't know if the problem lies in the translation or in the original Japanese, but there is absolutely no reason for anyone to want this.
December 15, 2022
De nuevo, no recuerdo haya leido el 2° vol entonces solo subo este.
October 6, 2016
Eh.
This was a collection of stories with Momo appearing in all of them.
And.....it wasn't that great? I wasn't that engaged and the style to the writing didn't work for me. The conversations between characters seemed stilted.
Not gonna bother tracking down the second book.
This was a collection of stories with Momo appearing in all of them.
And.....it wasn't that great? I wasn't that engaged and the style to the writing didn't work for me. The conversations between characters seemed stilted.
Not gonna bother tracking down the second book.
April 14, 2013
The first book of a twelve-volume set that is based on a the concept that Momo, a shinigami or a Japanese death god, walks the earth and watches the humans live their lives. Daniel, Momo's feline familiar, often chastizes Momo for meddling in the affairs of the humans to enact better resolutions to the difficulties they have (or had) in life.
Aimed at the middle to high school level of readers, each episode in a volume are self-contained, though there are a few stories that end up overlapping. The stories are elegant in their simplicity, speak with poignancy, and are very life-affirming.
Aimed at the middle to high school level of readers, each episode in a volume are self-contained, though there are a few stories that end up overlapping. The stories are elegant in their simplicity, speak with poignancy, and are very life-affirming.
June 11, 2009
It took me way too long to read this. I like this author and enjoyed the "graffiti" at the end of the book. The book is divided into 4 short stories around the central character, Momo. The first story I didn't really enjoy, due to character development. The second story was even worse and took me the longest to read. The third was the best. I wish the whole book was about those characters. The fourth wasn't really a story as much as it was background info about Momo and Daniel. I'll get the second volume when I'm good and ready.
October 7, 2007
The story's about Momo,god of death.Although other gods of death are all black,she's white. Momo's cute,kind and always help people by encouraging or make them realize what's the most precious thing they should protect.
You'll learn many thing from this novel.
The most exciting thing in this novel is In last chapters of all this book series are gradually reveal Momo's life such as Momo's lifestyle,how she become god of death.
You'll learn many thing from this novel.
The most exciting thing in this novel is In last chapters of all this book series are gradually reveal Momo's life such as Momo's lifestyle,how she become god of death.
December 14, 2008
I really liked this book, even though it almost made me cry at points. It really teaches you what's important in life, and to preserve it, rather than waste it.
My favorite story was the third one, because it ended happily.
Every main character in this book has had some kind of tragedy happen to them, and they have to overcome it.
It's a very interesting book, and it earned my respect of 5 stars, and advancing on.
My favorite story was the third one, because it ended happily.
Every main character in this book has had some kind of tragedy happen to them, and they have to overcome it.
It's a very interesting book, and it earned my respect of 5 stars, and advancing on.
December 29, 2008
This book is amazing! I found myself staying up late just to finish a small part of this book (and I mean small. This book is broken down to, I think, 5 or 6 stories). It's a very intelligent book that really gets people thinking about what life and death really is without being cliche-ish! Pick this one up now >:D ~Akia [12/28/2009]
October 5, 2007
It can make me cry and make me smile.I like this book.
January 27, 2009
how to think in many way.>>in the darkness probably have a light.
Read
October 16, 2009its good
May 11, 2013
loved it wonderful book !
September 29, 2015
amazing
August 6, 2015
Loved it!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews