Piekło bez kwiatów #1

地獄くらやみ花もなき [Jigoku Kurayami Hana mo Naki] #1

by Ruka Todo (Illustrator), Yoru Michio, Kinga Zielezińska (Translator)

罪人が化け物に見えてしまう遠野青児は、古ぼけた洋館で相談所を営む美少年・西條皓と出会う。優れた洞察力と妖しい美貌を持つ皓のもとで、青児はなぜか助手として働くことになり――！？

Genres: Manga, Horror, Comics, Mystery, Supernatural, Fantasy, Graphic Novels

212 pages, Paperback

First published September 4, 2020

About the author

藤堂流風

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this one. It has really interesting mysteries, though they do get pretty dark. I like the characters; they have a fun dynamic so far.

Thanks to Yen Press for the arc!

[Jen (thisbeereads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

“There is No Flower in Hell”

This has all the things that I love to see! Average joe at rock bottom gets thrust into a whole new world by becoming assistant to a Sherlockian detective/demon prince and sending criminals to Hell? Check, check, check. Awesome background secretary type character? Oddly specific, but also yes. A huge foray of Japanese yokai to learn about? Check!

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I strongly suspect that the novel is going to be better - it feels like this version is missing a lot of little, but important, details.

[epilogtrzynasty · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

[alek · Rating 4 out of 5]

fajne

[julia ✪ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5⭐

[juls · Rating 5 out of 5]

detektywi i japoński folklor czyli wszystko bardzo w moim klimacie

[Amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5/5

[Susanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seiji Tohno is twenty-two and a neet living in net cafés. The loss of control of his life is because he can see people who have comitted crimes as monsters, and they’re everywhere. One day, he gets lost and finds himself in a huge mansion. He’s greeted by a beautiful youth, Shiroshi Saijou, who’s been expecting him. Seiji finds himself telling about the monsters to Shiroshi, and it turns out the younger man knows exactly what’s it about. And he needs Seiji’s skill, so he hires Seiji as his assistant.

Shiroshi appears to be a consultant who solves his clients’ supernatural mysteries, but in reality, he’s a demon who lures sinners to his mansion to pass hell’s judgement on them. First case is a woman who’s made others to kill themselves. The second is about a family who appears to be in need of an exorcism of a yaoi, but Shiroshi knows the whole family is sinners in need of judgement. But this time his not alone: his rival shows up too. The volume ends before the case is solved.

This is a good start to series, but not quite what it could be. I couldn’t help comparing it with Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki’s Conjecture, which has a similar premise and character dynamics, but which manages to be funny, comforting, and spooky at the same time. This too, is based on a light novel and the artist laments how they had to leave many details out, which is probably why the characters remain a bit vague, and it’s neither as gothic nor as funny as advertised. But the art is beautiful and the stories interesting, so I’ll continue reading.

CW for suicide.

I received a free copy from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

[Martinka · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 ★

[Karolina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Czytam mangi bo mam zastój
Super patent polecam
A manga totalnie w moim klimacie

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A spooky manga about a guy who can see people’s sins in the form of youkai. This turned very dark~ 😍


I was in a desperate need for some spooky-scary manga and well, I definitely found it with this one. At first it felt a bit like xxxHOLIC with a mysterious house, a mysterious owner, a boy who can see things/feel things. But then it turned more dark, more scary, it added a dash of Jigoku Shoujo, and I was just sold.

Before we begin: Warnings: Suicide (hanging, drugs), fake pregnancy, abuse, death.

Meet Seiji, a guy who is a neet. Who due to stress and worries gave up on studies, gave up on everything. But one day he finds a road that wasn’t there. A house that is way too fancy and shouldn’t be around. And a boy who looks pretty but who I could immediately see hid something scary. Seiji can see youkai, even more specific, people’s sins as youkai. And that is perfect for Shiroshi who is in the business of a consultation bureau. A bit like Yuuko is. Trying to help people… but it is still up to them to accept that or not. I really liked Seiji. He was an interesting MC, I love his powers though I can also imagine how frightening they are, especially when you cannot look in a mirror yourself. I had a big laugh at how eager he helped Shiroshi out when there was the prospect of food or money. Then again, given everything it may not be a funny thing, but the looks he gave and the actions he did were just so priceless. XD

Shiroshi, OH BOY, I already had a feel about this guy, but then at the end of chapter 3… I definitely hadn’t expected that one to pop out. Haha, but that makes perfect sense and that gives a bit more danger to the whole story which is perfect.

In this first volume we have 1 complete arc and one incomplete one which I am sure will continue in the next volume. The first story is about a woman who is getting threats, but is she speaking the truth? Or is there more to it. I definitely loved that first arc though it was also a bit tough to get through it as it was about suicide a lot, so be warned! It was a really interesting story and each time that you thought you knew all there is, boom another thing happened and you would be left shocked. Don’t be betrayed by appearances. The ending to this arc was very shocking.
In the second one a house possessed by a Nue, but of course there is much more going on and as the story got deeper and darker and descended more in pandemonium, I was totally invested. I needed to know who would stay and who would go. Along the way we meet a smug man named Rindou, I immediately distrusted the guy. He was just too shiny and smug. And as we learn… I was right to distrust him. Loved that next to the arc we currently we have, we also learn more about Shiroshi and what he is/what is family is.
The ending! What a way to end this first chapter. HOLY CRAP.

I love learning more about the different youkai, I knew a few already but also met some new ones. Not sure if I wanted to meet them though. XD Plus, it was interesting to learn more about different kinds, what they do, how they look, etc.. Plus, we learn a lot about hell/demons. Also interesting!

The art, I absolutely loved it! The way the author drew the characters and the youkai was just perfect and I also love the attention to the background. The cover drew me into the manga.

All in all, looking for a spooky and dark manga? Try this one!

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Paulina Wiatr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent read, quite interesting but haven’t hooked me yet

[Mishi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nie no kurwa dajcie mi tego wiecej

[Aurora · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was alright. Reminds me of Hell Girl a bit.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

「この世には嗤う鬼もいるのかもしれない。」
In questo mondo, forse, esiste anche un demone che ride.

Tōno Seiji è un neet di 22 anni e nasconde un segreto: fin da bambino, davanti ai suoi occhi alcuni esseri umani a volte si tramutano in mostri del folklore giapponese. Ma ciò che è più strano, è che solamente lui sembra vederli sotto questa forma, gli stessi interessanti pare non siano consapevoli della mutazione del loro corpo.

Terrorizzato da un incontro casuale e spiacevole con uno di questi esseri umani, Seiji fugge e, dopo essersi perso, si ritrova davanti a una sontuosa villa di stile occidentale. Accolto dal misterioso proprietario della dimora, Saijō Shiroshi, Tōno Seiji scoprirà la vera natura del suo dono: attraverso il suo occhio sinistro, in cui risiede un frammento dello Shōmakyō, mitologico specchio in grado di rivelare la vera forma degli yōkai e la loro oscura magia, è in grado di vedere i peccati nascosti delle persone sottoforma di mostri.

La vita di Seiji è destinata a cambiare drasticamente quando il giovane proprietario della villa gli proporrà una collaborazione lavorativa impossibile da rifiutare.

Chi è veramente Saijō Shiroshi? E perché, dopo aver scoperto il potere di Seiji, quest'individuo dall'indicibile bellezza gli chiederà di lavorare per lui? La risposta a entrambe le domande è da ricercare all'Inferno, il vero luogo da cui proviene Shiroshi.

Con Jigoku kurayami hana mo naki (letteralmente: Nell'oscurità dell'Inferno non ci sono fiori) siamo davanti a un dark mystery soprannaturale che tratta temi forti e spinosi, senza perdersi in tanti fronzoli inutili.

Per molti autori, il folklore giapponese è da sempre un'inesauribile fonte di ispirazione e anche in quest'opera gioca un ruolo chiave. L'idea che il peccato di una persona si manifesti sotto forma di uno yōkai è estremamente accattivante e rende interessante una storia che altrimenti avrebbe potuto rimanere una tra le tante con mostri giapponesi random al suo interno.

Il manga possiede disegni essenziali, a volte un po' spogli di fondali, ma il tratto è pulito, elegante, curato e c'è una grande attenzione ai dettagli quando si tratta di raffigurare gli yōkai. Una limpidezza del tratto che è però in grado di diventare davvero fredda e oscura, come il nostro Shiroshi, demone sovrano delle cento calamità (nel testo: 百禍の王, Hyakka no Ō.)

L'assenza di un'edizione inglese non solo del manga, ma anche della light novel omonima da cui è tratto il fumetto, dimostra che l'opera sia pressoché sconosciuta fuori dal Giappone, ed è un vero peccato. Sono convinta che una serie così particolare farebbe sicuramente presa tra gli appassionati del genere.

Chissà che in futuro non arrivi una trasposizione animata che possa fare da vera apripista alla serie. Gli anime sono un grande aiuto per far conoscere una determinata opera a un maggior numero di fruitori, soprattutto fuori dal Giappone.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating this a little higher than the novel, which is probably unfair, but is likely just due to the fact that I'm revisiting the story with knowledge of what happens, so I can spend more time dwelling on the parts I like. (Also, it hasn't reached some of the bits that annoyed me most, so we'll see how the manga handles them.)

It's a good manga adaptation; I like the art, the panels and progression are pretty clear, and I think I would be able to follow it well enough if I'd started here first. Although there was one part that wasn't conveyed all that well - the whole bit with why it's a proxy service to hell. The explanation in the manga is that hell is overrun with the dead, so they need more "tormenting devils in hell," which led to this proxy service of uncovering sins and sending people to eternal torment.

Except that doesn't make sense; if hell is crammed and understaffed, why would they want to send more people there? In the novel, it's explained better: some oni traveled back and forth between hell and the human world, ferrying sinners there. But now all their services are needed for tormenting duties, which means Shiroshi is filling in as the ferryman.

It seems like a small amount of lines to cut in the interest of space, but it's actually a really important piece that didn't make sense to me, even having read the novel - I had to pull it out and flip back to those pages to remind myself what the full story was.

Anyway, in this case, I do think the novel is the right starting point, but the manga is a nice follow up, and a good way to revisit the story. It's always fun to see more of the events come to life through illustrations - and for the most part, it really does match up to the visual images I'd formed while reading.

[Danielle R · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know there's a light novel that this is based on and reading the manga makes me more motivated to read the novel. I think there are a lot of fine details and a level of ambience that's being lost here. You can almost feel the empty spaces.

That said, Shiroshi is a very interesting figure. He's the son of one of the Kings of Hell, tasked to throw sinners into Hell in the name of winning a contest to be the next King. He's supported by Beniko, a beautiful lady implied to be a goldfish, and Seiji, a normie who got a shard of magic mirror in his eye and can now see yokai. Towards the end of the volume, we're introduced to Odoro Rindou, who is Shiroshi's rival in the contest and fellow Prince of Hell. That is a very interesting addition.

The art is quite lovely with highly-detailed backgrounds, clothing, and hair. The characters are distinct. Shiroshi always wears a traditional kimono with flowers on it and Seiji is always dressed like a slob. Beniko's dark eyes and hair stand out. The creatures are also very intricate and the ghosts are dark. However, no single panel ever knocked my socks off with its beauty.

The tales themselves are quite dark. The first dealt intimately with suicide and a woman who drove not one, but two people to hang themselves. It was hard to feel sorry for her, but there's no debating that it was a sinister tale. The second is a more family-oriented murder mystery where (again) a young woman was driven to suicide, but it's unclear why initially. The second tale was left on a cliffhanger into the second volume.

I'm curious enough to continue the manga, but I'm moving the light novel up higher in my 'Want to Read' list. 3/5

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seiji ist ein wohnungsloser, mittelloser NEET, der nach seinem letzten Onigiri keinen Ort mehr hat, wo er hingehen kann - und landet somit auf der Schwelle von Saijos Anwesen, wo er eigentlich als Sünder direkt in die Hölle sollte.
Doch das Glück ist ihm Hold (oder auch nicht), denn er kann aufgrund eines Unfalls Sünder als Yokai sehen, woraufhin Saijo ihm einen Job gibt, damit er ihm hilft Sünder zu erkennen und in die Hölle zu schicken, wenn sie es verdient haben.

Die Idee find ich spannend - vorallem weil sehr vieles noch nicht genau klar ist, z.B. warum Seiji ein Sünder sein soll. Gleichzeitig ist es ziemlich brutal und wenn man Triggerwarnings braucht, sollte man diesen Manga nicht lesen, denn der erste Fall war schon echt sehr extrem. Und wer mit liebevollem Mobben nicht umgehen kann, sollte es auch nicht lesen, denn Saijo ist zwar lieb zu Seiji, aber beleidigt ihn hier und da auch mal. Ich mags, aber naja :D viele sind ja direkt getriggert von sowas *snort*.
Dazu kommt, dass ich es toll finde, dass SEHR viel von den angesprochenen Yokais etc. vom Übersetzer erklärt werden, z.B. was für Yokais es sind und aus welchem japanischen Märchen sie stammen.
Das Ende ist übrigens mal weider ein super Cliffhanger ;D und ich liebe auch die Goldfisch-Maid, die einen höheren Stellenwert als Seiji hat.

Negativ find ich übrigens den Preis. 10€ find ich etwas sehr happig. Und das Cover ist DEUTLICH besser als der Zeichenstil im Manga selber - der ist okay, hier und da sehr schön, aber hier und da auch etwas schludrig.

Und weil ich TWs generell als spoilerish empfinde und das hasse, wenn die offen überall stehen: Selbstmord, Mobbing, Andere in den Selbstmord treiben, Mord an einem Kleinkind/Baby, vermutlicher echter Mord, Drogenkonsum

[Ya Boi Be Reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was ok but I feel like the LN is probably better. Its atmosphere can be a bit shaky and the tone can jump a bit which judging by the mangaka's note is also in the original. I'm assuming with more words it sets up much better than here where there is limited page space on weekly/monthly chapter schedule.
The concept of solving the mystery of people's hidden sins is interesting especially considering the detective hints that there is hope available and they atone. And it builds on it nicely with an opposing detective who is also a son of a different demon lord vying for Hell through whoever gets 100 victims first. The addon of the sort of aimless bumbling MC and his “I see people's true selves are yokai” adds a nice audience-insert that has space for character development and creates nice visual imagery. It's all got a solid foundation and it's good. But I do feel some is lost in translation from LN to manga. I also am unsure about how I feel about the mysteries. They get fairly long which I don't inherently mind but that twist of how they are secretly evil / sinful can make it repetitive. I get the overarching storyline of the demon prince detectives and how they are evil helps alleviate that but I worry itll get too much. The mysteries are also pretty intense with pushing people to suicide and abuse being seemingly prevalent already. It does it a bit too luridly for me.

[Paulibrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seiji, a young, recently homeless man spends his nights at internet cafe's and it is looking very down-in-the-mouth for his future. One day his last money runs out, and he aimlessly walks in to a dark alley. There stands a mansion at the end of the alley. In the mansion, by chance, he ends up signing up for a new job with an enigmatic, and extremely young, man dressed in traditional Japanese costume. This is not just any boy - evildoing is at hand and Shiroshi is running half-way 'house' between sinners and hell. And Seiji has a sixth sense for ferreting them out. A manga with clear art and easily read, with a bewitching set of characters. The first in a series. For adults, contains scenes of suicide.

[Alan D.D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ya había escuchado mucho sobre el género de detective ocultista pero nunca había leído nada, así que no sabía que esperar. En mi experiencia como novato puedo decir que me encantó de principio a fin. es una historia sólida que te atrapa desde el primer momento, junto con un arte precioso que sorprende cuando menos te lo esperas.

I'd heard a lot about the occult detective genre but had never read anything, so I didn't know what to expect. Based on my experience as a newbie, I can say I loved it from beginning to end. It's a solid story that grabs you from the start, along with beautiful art that surprises you when you least expect it.

https://tintanocturna.blogspot.com/20...

[Breanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not the kind of manga I typically read, but I've really enjoyed the art style and am interested in seeing where the story goes. I agree with some others that it seems like there may be some pieces missing from the light novel that could potentially clear up some areas of confusion I had while reading. I've been enjoying the mix of detective and monster stories and genuinely feel for our main character who has been struggling through life with the trauma of seeing people as yokai. Some big trigger warnings for suicide by various methods and emotional manipulation. I'm sure there will be more as the story progresses.

[Heather Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I definitely want to read more of this series. I picked it up for the MC seeing people as monsters. That detail gave me a sliver of a xxxHolic vibe, and I wanted to see where this story would go. It's an interesting setup, especially with the detective that is introduced in the second story and Shiroshi's nonchalance about the competition. I'm curious and I look forward to seeing what happens next.

[Mindi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a strong start for a brand new manga. I didn't realize when I picked this up that it's based on a light novel. I might have to check that out too. Regardless, I really enjoyed the story, and I'm looking forward to picking up volume 2. Any horror manga is going to catch my attention, and the premise behind this one is super fun and intriguing. I love learning about different yokai and other Japanese folklore.

[Rebecca Whaley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting

I really liked this. Interesting and creepy and I enjoyed every bit. Mysteries and yokai are all over this book and I love it. The MC ends up on the streets and he also sees strange creatures that he finds out are yokai. He ends ends up meeting a mysterious stranger who offers him a job because of what he can see. Thus begins his crazy employment. I really enjoyed this and I can't wait for the next volume.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seiji, who can see monsters, agrees to work for a man who is a proxy service for Hell.

This is an intriguing enough premise that I'm willing to give the second volume a try. It doesn't deliver much punch in the first story. Seiji is mostly clueless and tells Shiroshi what he sees ("Tiger!") and then Shiroshi takes it from there. The art is not super impressive.

[Kyrsau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful. The art is rich and gorgeous, and the characters and story is fascinating. Thematically it feels similar to several other volumes that have been coming out (like case files of jeweler Richard) and I think that it's refreshing to see more of these almost subtle mysteries. Definitely going to be grabbing the light novel as well.

[Agnieszka · Rating 4 out of 5]

To było bardzo dobre… folklor japoński, yokai i tajemnice to naprawdę dobre połączenie. Dodatkowo dynamika dwóch głównych bohaterów była przyjazna do czytania 😊 Sądzę, że dobrym określeniem dla mnie tej serii to “hidden gem”

[nocka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lubię kiedy impulsywne zakupy okazują się super decyzjami. Japoński folklor, detektywi i elementy horroru? Cudowne.