Kekkaishi: Volume 19

by Yellow Tanabe, 188 pages

Neighbors Yoshimori and Tokine are descendants in a long line of kekkaishi, magical barrier-wielders, acting as protectors of the Karasumori mystical site in which their oblivious school also happens to be situated. Unfortunately, their grandparents have not gotten along very well for some time, but the two have managed to put that aside and work together to keep the peace and control the ayakashi (a kind of spirit) that flock to the site in search of power.

Over time, it has become clear that the driven, headstrong, cake-loving Yoshimori has some as-yet untapped and unstable potential of his own, so the ever-practical Tokine tries to keep him out of trouble while she fights alongside him. But now that a young ayakashi has delivered a prophesy warning of death and destruction at mystical sites across the country, and at Karasumori in particular, Tokine isn't sure if Yoshimori will be the cause or the cure. While Yoshimori's older brother Masamori works behind the scenes to counter the corruption in the Shadow Organization, the kiddos and their families must learn to trust one another and present a united front to their enemies, whoever they may be. And that won't be easy.

Kekkaishi is a solid supernatural action series with unique, well-developed characters about whom you actually care (evidenced by the grief you feel when you lose one of them...). The big-arc baddies are scary and you're only now starting to see more clearly into their identities and scheming, which just makes you worry about the goodies even more.