Her Majesty's Dog
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Her Majesty's Dog | |
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天使じゃない (Joō-sama no Inu) |
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Genre | Romance |
Manga: > | |
Author | Mick Takeuchi |
Publisher | Go! Comi |
Demographic | Shōjo |
Volumes | 11 |
Her Majesty's Dog (天使じゃない Joō-sama no Inu?) is a manga series by Mick Takeuchi. The manga is serialized in America by Go! Comi. As of 1 June 2008, the ninth volume of Her Majesty's Dog is being sold in the UK and America. It is an 11 volume series. As of present, it has not been made into an anime, nor has Her Majesty's Dog been rumoured to be made into one.
Contents |
[edit] Series summary
Her Majesty's Dog follows the life of Manatsukai Amane and her Koma-oni, Hyoue. Through her command over names, they both solve supernatural troubles of both the living and the dead. However, problems seem to arise as Amane's family try to make her return to the village she came from, even to the point where they try to sever the bond between her and Hyoue. Hyoue also must struggle with his forbidden feelings for his master.
[edit] Characters
- Amane Kamori
- The eldest child of the Kamori family of kotodama tsukai and the heir to its power, Amane is a “Manatsukai,” a powerful medium that can control anyone or anything by knowing its true name. She originates from a remote village in rural Japan, isolated from the ‘modern’ world. But, on strict regulations from her family, if she doesn’t reveal her true identity to anyone, she and her koma-oni, Hyoue, are allowed to move away from her village and to a busy city life in Tokyo. But this proves to be a difficult task when Amane is constantly besieged by restless ghosts. Because she is not used to technology (like a mobile phone) and has a lack of social graces, she becomes the misfit on campus at her new school which she and Hyoue have transferred too, and is often portrayed by other students as having an ice queen demeanour. What frustrates her jealous classmates even more is her close, albeit, strange relationship with fellow transfer student Hyoue, who are always kissing in public, despite them not being girlfriend and boyfriend. They have no idea that Hyoue is actually her guardian, and that her kiss fuels the demon in him. Amane is very naïve, but extremely kind to all those around her. She is engaged to her cousin, Hayato, and on her return to the village, she is to marry him. Even though at first she sees her relationship with Hyoue as purely business, her feelings begin to alter as time progresses, especially in Volume 8 and 9. The only ones who know the truth about her powers and Hyoue's true form are best friend Takako, her cousin Hayato and later, Aoi.
- Hyoue Inugami
- Hyoue appears to be just a normal teenage boy which all the girls have a crush on, but in reality, his human body is just a disguise because actually, he is Amane’s Koma-oni, her guardian demon. His true form is that of a fiery lion beast and he’s a lot older than he looks, he is actually 500 years older. He draws energy from Amane’s life-force through a kiss until Volume 6 when he touches her instead due to his feelings for her being erased. Like a faithful dog, he stays by Amane’s side, though he doesn’t always abide her commands. Popularity comes easily for Hyoue, as his good looks earn him a lot of female admires. Hyoue shows no interest towards them, however, for the only one he loves is Amane, despite her being his master. Because of their difference in species, Hyoue doesn’t tell Amane of his love for her, but shows obvious jealously when anyone else flirts with her. Long before he became Amane’s guardian, the demon dog served another master with another Koma-oni, Zakuro. Hyoue is such a powerful Koma-Oni, that a spell of binding has been put on him to restrain his strength. His hunger gets the best of him most times, though he believes it a good excuse to kiss his master. Together he and Amane protect humans from vengeful spirits and bring peace to the dead.
- Takako Nishina
- Takako or Ateko is in the same class as Amane and befriends her when she sees that Amane is being bullied. She is the one person Amane can open up to besides Hyoue. They become such good friends that Hyoue even becomes jealous. Takako always stands up for Amane and wishes that Amane and Hyoue will become a couple. At first, she was not aware of who Amane really was, especially after she had her memory erased when she did find out. But soon the memory remerges and Amane lets her keep her memory so long as she keeps hers and Hyoue’s identity a secret.
- Hayato Hiraka
- Hayato is Amane's cousin and fiancé. He is also the new Classical Japanese teacher at their school claiming he came to check up on Amane and protect her, much to Hyoue’s objections. He too has a Koma-oni that takes the form of a gloomy bird. He believes that Hyoue has become to informal and does not like the fact that he and Amane have made a close relationship when there is a clear difference in not only their rank, but species. He is a strong believer that a master should keep a distant and business-like relationship with their guardians. It can be seen in Volume 8 that he becomes overly jealous of Hyoue, as he notices Amane's feelings for her demon dog increasing greatly.
- Aoi Mitsumine
- Nicknamed ‘the boy who cried wolf’, Aoi Mitsumine (though he goes by the name Souta), is a well-liked actor who also attends Amane’s school. He is a year above them until he fails his classes so is kept a year behind in volume 3, and had an obvious crush on Amane (causing Hyoue to have a rage of jealousy now and again). Aoi discovers Hyoue’s identity accidentally, and though at first he blackmails Amane and Hyoue into doing tasks for him, he soon becomes a good friend, though Hyoue still has some dislike for him.
- Zakuro
- Zakuro was once partners with Hyoue when they both served the same master. However, when their master died, Zakuro's heart was tormented by the loss of his dearest and most important person. Although he may appear to have a cute and innocent nature, Zakuro is far from good. He kidnaps Amane in volume 2, pits Hyoue and his master against one another, causes trouble for the Kaori family, and mocks Hyoue over his love for Amane.
- Toui
- Toui is Amane's uncle. He manages an international information company and takes rules very lightly. His personality is normally somewhat over-the-top but he can be serious when the occasion calls for it. Amane and Hyoue are living there whilst in Tokyo.
- Gion
- Gion is Toui's koma-oni. She is beautiful with big breasts whilst in her human form, sporting a love heart tattoo on her chest. Intelligence, not combat it her speciality.
- Tsubute
- Tsubute is Hayato's komi-oni. She shows much dedication to her master, so is devestated when he's surprised how small and child-like she is. However, she is very protective over Hayato, much to his surprise, and always defends him when Hyoue insults him. Before she was Hayato's komi-oni, she actually respected the loner Hyoue until she saw him begging rather pitifully for a kiss from Amane.
[edit] Volume 01
Dogfight 1 - 5
In Dogfight 1Amane comes face to face with a ghost of a girl who killed herself a few years ago. At first, she attempts to send the ghost back to its own world, but soon she and Hyoue figure out its actually the guilty conscience of fellow student Takako Nishina. Once she comes to terms with the girl's death with the help of Amane, Takako and Amane become friends, much to Hyoue's annoyance.
In Dogfight 2, Takako's dog has gone missing, so Amane and a reluctant Hyoue go to help her look for it. However, trouble arises as a bloodthirsty dead dog comes looking for revenge. Hyoue and Amane's friendship is tested, but in the end Amane is able to let the vengeful dog rest in peace, and they find Takako's dog, too. Readers also learn of Hyoue's secret love for Amane.
In Dogfight 3, Amane's cousin, Hayato arrives at the school, claiming to be a new teacher. This fustrates Hyoue as Hayato constantly reminds him that he is nothing more then Amane's Koma-oni. To prove he is not a mere beast, Hayato and Hyoue wage a bet that Hyoue cannot feed from Amane's life force for ten whole days. This proves somewhat difficult for Hyoue who at the end of ten days, is completely weak. After a battle with Hayato's Koma-Oni, Amane feeds him with a kiss, which completely shocks Hayato who drives them apart comically calling Hyoue a pervert.
In Dogfight 4, we meet bully victim, Sugiura, who abruptly asks Amane to go out with him. Amane, not realising he meant in a romantic way, replies with a yes, causing Hyoue to nearly bite his head off, literally. Amane and Sugiura go out, followed by Hyoue, Hayato and Takako. However, Amane, to prove to the pitiful bully victim the how strong he really is, puts herself willingly in danger. Can Sugiura save her in time?
In Dogfight 5, Amane's class ventures out to a graveyard in the middle of the night. However, Amane and Hyoue get into a fight after Hyoue said she can't do anything by herself. While he is hugged by scared girls, Amane goes off on her own but soon finds herself in the company of evil ghosts who want to take her away. Luckily, Hyoue gets there in time to save her, and Amane realises that she really does want Hyoue to be by her side forever.
[edit] Volume 02
Dogfight 6 - 10
In Dogfight 6 Takako begins to remember the night she found out who Amane and Hyoue really are, and though this means Amane and Hyoue might have to return to their village, they let Takako keep her memory.
In Dogfight 7 Amane and Hyoue stumble across Zakuro, Hyoue’s former partner whilst serving another master 500 years ago. Because he is wounded, Amane and Hyoue take him back home with them. When Zakuro is revived he explains why he is there. Noticing he is weakened, Amane lends him some of her life force using hers and Hyoue’s unique way of transferring it, by kissing him. Hyoue goes frantic and splits them apart, almost admitting to a clueless Amane how he feels. Through the week, Zakuro proves to Amane he is a much better Koma-Oni than Hyoue, and is determined to become her only one. Later, he teases Hyoue about this, and realises that the demon dog cares more for Amane than a servant should. Angered by this, Hyoue shouts to him she’s nothing but a lunchbox and that he doesn’t care what happens to him. Amane overhears and fires Hyoue and accepts Zakuro as her new guardian.
Dogfight 8, Amane ignores Hyoue much to his discomfort and Zakuro takes on the duty as her new Koma-oni. However, he is angered by the fact that Amane wants to keep Hyoue and Zakuro, so kidnaps her. Later, Hyoue and Takuto go looking for her with Amane’s cousin, and run into Zakuro who tells Hyoue he has always hated him, then stabs him.
Dogfight 9 and 10, whilst kidnapped, Amane tries to understand Zakuro better, and finds out that the poor Koma-oni had gone literally mad when he lost his beloved master, which both he and Hyoue shared. He wishes he could have died with him. Hyoue, Takuto and Hayato finally discover where they are and Hyoue tells the doubtful Amane that he has always been waiting for her, and that he wants her to be his master. In the end, Zakuro and Hyoue battle, and Zakuro, wanting to die, is sucked into another dimension. Hyoue is worried in case he too will hurt those he cares for after Amane is gone, since his lifespan is much longer than hers, but she is determined that he will be alright.
[edit] Volume 03
Dogfight 11 - 15
Dogfight 11 is where we discover a secret about Hyoue ... he has a gambling problem! When Amane finds out that he’s been wasting money, she becomes very angry and disappointed with Hyoue, but he tells her he has his reasons and storms off. Later Amane and Takuto realise that Hyoue was trying to help two old men who were having difficulties with a group of gamblers they could not pay back, so Hyoue went to settle the debt. Realising this, Amane goes to help and earns the nickname Gambling Goddess after she utterly beats the men.
In Dogfight 12 We meet Aoi Mitsumine who is nicknamed the boy who cried wolf. He thinks he is saving Amane when he sees her being pestered by Hyoue for a kiss. He and Hyoue immediately become enemies and apparently, rivals in love for Amane. Aoi is quite inapproachable for reasons that people don’t know, but Amane soon realises that he is being plagued by the ghost of his deceased mother, and tries to help him. Whilst alone together, however, Amane is attacked by the possessed Aoi and is thrown out of the window. Luckily Hyoue was spying on them so saves her in time. Unfortunately for them, Aoi saw Hyoue’s transformation and he will only keep their secret if Amane becomes his slave.
In Dogfight 13 Amane is being made to do everything Aoi orders, much to Hyoue’s protests and aggravation. In the end, Aoi is attacked by his mother’s spirit, and we learn a lot about his past with his mother. He finally is able to send his mother’s spirit into the next world. Also, it is revealed that he never actually knew Hyoue could transform, so is shocked when he sees Hyoue transformed.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Mick Takeuchi Official Site (in Japanese only)
- Go! Comi, manga Web site of her English-language publisher
- Her Majesty's Dog #1, review, by K. Avila, Sequential Tart, June 2006
- Her Majesty's Dog #2, review, by K. Avila, Sequential Tart, June 2006
- Her Majesty's Dog #3, review, by K. Avila, Sequential Tart, July 2006