Ayashimon, Vol. 3

アヤシモン [Ayashimon] #3

by Yūji Kaku

When the Enma Syndicate’s chairman dies, Japan’s supernatural underworld is turned on its head, leaving gangs of ayashimon poised on the brink of war. Urara, the late chairman’s daughter, has plans to come out on top, and she’s found an unlikely ally to help make it happen—Maruo, a human who dreams of being a manga hero.

Maruo and Urara might have convinced the Todoroki Alliance to join them, but with the Enma Syndicate declaring open season on every other gang in Kabukicho, will it be enough? While Urara negotiates with the tanuki and kitsune of the Kori Hotel, Maruo must prove his worth as a manga hero by finding a way for his fists to overcome Doppo’s phantasmal flames and end the monstrous ayashimon’s reign of terror.

Genres: Manga, Action, Fantasy, Supernatural, Graphic Novels, Dark Fantasy, Shonen

192 pages, Paperback

First published August 4, 2022

About the author

Yūji Kaku ( 賀来ゆうじ, Kaku Yūji) is a Japanese mangaka.

Reviews

[Han · Rating 3 out of 5]

“…when I’m frustrated, I bury myself in manga to escape.” Oof, mood!

What would a manga be without a host club or men dressing up as women or being sealed for a century in an animal’s sack (yes I said sack)?!

For as odd as this manga is, I am disappointed that it is not continuing even with some weird plot points. The characters are very entertaining and I was growing attached (looking at you Kotton and Ten). After Hell’s paradise I will still look out for work by Yuji Kaku.

[Joseph · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mid ending to a mid series BUT the tanuki creating the giant luxury hotel out of his ballsack was incredibly inspired.

[João Carvalho · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5 ⭐️

[dzeni · Rating 5 out of 5]

the thought process behind cancelling this series needs to be studied….

[Zian B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of a 3.5 rating & I read the official English translation through an app called “MANGA Plus by SHUEISHA”.
I’m sad that this manga series got cancelled because I was really getting attached to the characters (especially Maruo) and I was very intrigued in the world-building. Despite having a rushed ending, I still greatly enjoyed the series and the specific way that it ended. While the last chapter of the series officially ended in a cliffhanger, we got a good wrap-up to that current manga arc and there was a nice setup for the potential of adding a more definite ending.

[sandra :) · Rating 2 out of 5]

ahora entiendo un poco la cancelación de la serie...
la idea es bastante original y el dibujo está muy bien, pero pasan tantas cosas en tan poco tiempo y te presentan a tantos personajes npc que no te da tiempo a asimilar nada. además, peca de contar más que mostrar y todo se desarrolla demasiado rápido.
es una pena, porque disfruté mucho —en su momento, planeo relectura para terminarlo— de Jigokuraku, del mismo autor.
espero que su próxima obra sea —y que le vaya— mejor

[Autumn · Rating 3 out of 5]

So disappointed this series got canceled. Great concept and art. This volume is great until the end. The ending gets rushed and we still don't get a satisfying conclusion to the series.

[Kasha Michiels · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fun while it lasted. Sad this one got canceled and needed to end so abruptly. 😩

[MajesticalLion · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ayashimon was a fine series. I don't love it like I did some of the others that have gotten the axe over the last two years, but even I will admit that it was far better than a lot of the stuff still in the magazine. It's a darn shame to see it go out in such a disappointing way.

[Michelle Ogden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been eagerly awaiting this volume of Ayashimon! Fast paced fun and gutsy battles galore as Maruo fights for the Urara Gang and his boss! He is the chosen fighter of Urara who is trying to find out the truth of what happened to her dad and gain control as her father's successor of the yokai in Kabuchiko. However Maruo is human, can he go toe to toe in a ritual fight with an Ayashimon, a yokai in material form?

Maruo is up for the challenge like Son Goku, he thrives on fighting and the harder the fight the more he is energized! Watch out these two are in it to win it!

[Reading_seas0n · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars
Thank you, VIZ Media & NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review volume 3 in my honest opinion.

Backstories backstories!
Ohhhhh, I like how they explained a little about Maruo's ability and gave a little context.
Training montages are always fun!

.....?????ballsack???? is all I'm going to say

[Rakesh M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a disappointing end...

Manga was seriously getting somewhere interesting. Shame it had to be cancelled.

[The Book Dragon · Rating 1 out of 5]

...Yeah, nope. I can deal with a lot of anime weirdness... like Maruo getting mystical training from the crazy immortal homeless dude that allows him to see and punch the non-physical concepts that make up an Ayashimon's being... or that this mystical training had me dusting off old memories of Ranma 1/2 ... but I draw the line at giant tanuki balls. I know, it's based in lore and it's part of tanuki mythology, but... just nope. It freaked me out in volume one and this made it worse.

So yeah, the story had potential, but never had the oomph to make it good. Then it kinda fizzled out to the point where the reader doesn't even get a final climactic battle. Just "we can win if we never give up because we're not alone!" and a standoff implying the final battle happens. Very disappointing.

This series has 3 volumes.

[Ashley (Red-Haired Ash Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Series: Ayashimon #3 (Ch. 17-25)
Rating: 4 stars - It was really good

In this final volume we see the ending of the battle between Marou and Kotton, Marou learning how to fight against fire, big changes with all the gangs, and a battle against Tamagawa and the Kori Hotels.

Like the previous volumes, I enjoyed this and the battles that happened. The Khor hotel battle against the tanuki and kitsune was very interesting and action packed. It was really great to see how far Marou has come since the first volume and how he is getting better at fighting yokai and being the right hand man of the Urara gang.

While I did enjoy this volume, I was disappointed that it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger and we will never see the ending battle against Chairman Doppo. This manga was apparently canceled so there will be no conclusion or true achievement of Urara and Marou’s goals. I do think since it had to end early, this was probably the best place for it, instead of in the middle of a battle. But it does suck that we will never see the full story.

So just be warned if you are going to read this series, it is incomplete and has a bit of a cliffhanger.

[Wafflepirates · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review*

I feel like it's not the fault of the mangaka that this series (very unfortunately) got cancelled, the consequence of that being a completely rushed and ambiguous ending. Half the volume is a training montage, for the back half to include one rather short final fight before conveniently giving the Gang the opportunity to confront the Enma boss. It's a shame that the series didn't last longer, the character development that we did get for Urara and Maruo was really good, and it would've been great to see how they evolved. For what it was, while unsatisfying, the ending wrapped things up as well as it could.

[Carolina Búho · Rating 5 out of 5]

i’m really sad that shōnen jump cancelled this manga, it was one of my favourites (just behind jujutsu kaisen). i loved the characters (specially maruō and urarara, but also ten and kotton) and the story was fun, intriguing, well-paced and had so many mysteries yet to unravel. i’d have loved to read urarara’s gang taking over kabuchinko and maruō actually defeating doppo. the “end” wasn’t bad, at least kaku yūji got to close this arc and gave somewhat of a open ending to the manga (who knows, maybe it’ll return somehow, sometime). but, well, yea, i’m really sad and kinda angry ):

[Tess · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a little torn and sad about this series, because there's just so much in there that is right up my alley, from the whole concept to the characters and the delightful weirdness. Sadly, the series got cancelled and it really shows: the plot feels messy and rushed and the ending is a plain, open cliff-hanger. So much lost potential. I did not regret reading it, but I do wish it had gotten more time to develop and I'm not sure if I'm going to keep it.

[Aly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish this series was given more of a chance to build up its characters and world, but sadly most Shonen Jump titles don’t get that chance. I just know that this could’ve been a much better series if it had even a few more volumes, but what were have right now is just “okay”. It’s not great but it’s also not bad. Worth checking out eventually if you feel like it, but I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a must read.

[Sol]

I'm really bummed that this story was cut so short, and was forced to pull off a hasty, unsatisfactory ending. There were so many beats in this volume that I could tell would have been really amazing if they had been given the proper time to pull them off tactfully. There's a really, really incredible shonen hidden within this brief series -- there just wasn't enough time. I'm gonna miss these characters.

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this series, and I really wish it hadn’t been cancelled. That being said, I can excuse the weak, obviously rushed ending as the rest of the story was strongly written. The characters were compelling and the story was very interesting, with just the right amount of humor for how serious the motivations of the main characters were.

[Adriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew this series had been canceled before even picking it up. I knew this was going to be the last volume and the story wouldn't end, but it still hurts to stop right when it reaches a point in the story where you know things are about to get real and some major revelations are coming.

So this volume is a great read, but it's also incredibly frustrating.

[Sparky · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an end to this manga, I would’ve liked to see how it turned out though but the journey to this was awesome! I loved the found family aspect with Urara, Maruo, Ten, and the rest of the characters leading up to the finale! Definitely worth checking out and reading, I enjoyed it very much!! Definitely recommend!

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

The finale of the series set up a bunch of really interesting leads and it's a shame we'll never see the payoff for them. I really hope Kaku Yūji's next work is accepted more by the Eastern audiences!!

[Levi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It felt like the mangaka was finally starting to find his footing here, you can easily spot the areas where he had to rush to wrap things up, but I’m glad he left it on a cliffhanger instead of making us see the end without the dots to connect the plot points.

[〔 ✿ 〕 · Rating 1 out of 5]

😂😂😂

[Joey's deathly tomes of death · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish there was more. This could have easily been as long as Hell's Paradise!
I'll miss these guys!!
Glad to have the 3 volumes in my Manga collection!

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a shame it was cancelled, yet another series with potential.

[Dario Boen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent read, sadly they cancelled the series

[bogo_lode · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whole series review. Pretty good for what it does with the time it has.

[Cory Alva · Rating 3 out of 5]

This really could have gone somewhere if Shonen hadn't fuckin canceled it. My thoughts and prayers for Yūji Kaku.