Well, that went in a direction I did not predict. This just got really interesting.
Alpi, the Soul Sender Review
5/5 stars
This will be a spoiler free review. Enjoy!
I saw this manga at the library and had to give it a try. It’s set in a world where these giant creatures help nature to do whatever it does, but then once they die their souls get stuck in their bodies and the land is cursed, as well as anyone who touches them. Our main character is a Soul Sender, who are people that help these giant creatures’ souls go to the afterlife.
All Soul Senders have to be partially immune to the curse, because otherwise they’d die after touching the creatures. But they can still get hurt by the curse. It’s just not as bad for them than it would be for anyone else. After helping a couple creatures, they have to go to a temple/shrine/whatever it’s called to get the curse removed from their bodies.
This series is super whimsical and fun, but we do see the dead creatures sometimes so watch out if that would bother you. The main character is following in her parents’ footsteps, as they were also Soul Senders. They left when she was little to do their jobs, and now she’s traveling around as a Soul Sender to try and find them. At once point, she ends up teaming up with a girl who trained with her parents, but they don’t get along right away.
It’s so rare to get books or manga that focus on creatures for some reason, so I’m glad this series is going to do that. I want to learn more about the creatures, where they come from, what kinds there are, how they behave, and if the main girl doesn’t befriend some of the living ones I’ll be really sad. I feel like they would make great friends, despite being giant wild creatures. If I lived in a fantasy world I don’t think anyone would be able to stop me from befriending the local wildlife, no matter how dangerous these creatures are.
There are only three volumes of this series out in English so far, although I think there are about six of them in total. I cannot wait to see what’s coming up next in this series.
Have a nice day/night everyone!