Lhe prolific master of Yokai manga, Shigeru Mizuki, gave birth to several heroes, some of whom remained little-known, their adventures having not yet reached the French-speaking public. For several years, Cornélius editions have been trying to overcome this. In the middle of 2024, sixty-one years after its release in Japan, here is finally, in the language of Molière, the first volume of a short endearing series: Akumakun, the child who spoke to demons.
An aging Faust drags himself along Japanese roads. After almost three hundred years of research, he thinks he has reached the goal of his quest: finding the chosen one to whom he can entrust his knowledge and his dream. Indeed, a legend tells that once every ten thousand years, a being capable of summoning the most powerful demons will be born. Thanks to his predisposition towards ancient writings, he could use magic to bring happiness to earth by using creatures for this purpose. Shingo Yamada is a clever boy with a passion for the occult and the supernatural, so much so that his friends nicknamed him Akuma-kun (little devil). However, he happens to be the one the doctor is looking for. The two meet and share the same dream: to create a world where everyone lives happily. However, making a deal with Mephisto is not going to be fun for Shingo and his friends.
This short series is a delight. After two short successful presentation chapters, where Faust manages to invoke the Devil and entrust the boy with Solomon’s flute before dying, the story gains in intensity with the touch of the screenwriter who loves humor. Indeed, he uses many stratagems to create moments of tension including moments that make for laughter, if only when the devil launches his powers like a character out of‘Ultraman. The summoned person tirelessly tries to get rid of Shingo, but the latter achieves his goals with difficulty. As the story progresses, the main duo is joined by strong secondary protagonists. These form so many springs to change the course of history. Moreover, during the first chapter, Shigeru Mizuki allows himself a little wink by incorporating, for a pair of panels, two of his illustrious creatures. THE otaku accustomed to his work find with pleasure the gentle, fun atmosphere full of adventure and Yokai that only this artist could produce. While allowing himself, with malice and his teasing spirit, to mock what he did not like in the society of the Thirty Glorious Years, such as inequality, distrust, modernity or even the rejection of what is different. In fact, this series can be read by a wide range of comic fans.
The mangaka’s graphic style is still as pleasant as ever. These rounded human characters, a style very fashionable in the 1960s, are sometimes endearing, sometimes grotesque depending on the evolution of the scenario. The designer enjoys inserting characters from European folklore using a very realistic style, thus generating a gap with his main characters. Of course, as usual, he delivers an impressive gallery of creatures born from his fertile imagination combined with traditional Japanese imagery.
Published from 1966, the adventures of Shingo and Mephisto finally arrive, after having been invoked by these imps from Cornelius, to the delight of fans of the brilliant and late Mizuki-sama.
By J. Vergeraud
