Kekkaishi: Volume 27

by Yellow Tanabe, 185 pages

Karasumori is under attack, but by whom, exactly?  Masamori has an intense conversation with a prominent council member as Yoshimori fights for his home town, his friends, and his life and tries to focus on what's most important in the chaos erupting around him.

With enemies on two fronts and innocents caught in the middle, Yoshimori's going to have a lot on his plate for the foreseeable future.  I like that others on his team are chiming in to keep him grounded, with even struggling yet resolute Soji unconsciously earning confused support from a previously vocal detractor.

Kekkaishi: Volume 26

by Yellow Tanabe, 187 pages

Tensions are running high in the Shadow Council following the assassinations of a couple of members, and the resulting finger-pointing puts the pressure on Masamori to track down the truth and prevent disaster before the blame falls at his and his family's feet.  Back at Karasumori, Tokine has an uncomfortable cup of tea with an unpredictable and deadly enemy while Yoshimori must decide what to do with the assassin living under his roof.

Tanabe keeps adding substance and personality to her characters, with Yoshimori making a decision the reader doesn't see coming but that fits him so perfectly she can't imagine him doing anything else.

Kekkaishi: Volume 25

by Yellow Tanabe, 187 pages

As Yoshimori attempts to master the art of clearing his mind at will, he also tries to introduce enigmatic Shoji to things that might nurture emotion and human bonds not based on a master-and-tool relationship.  Meanwhile, Masamori prepares to finish the job he started against a powerful foe while other mysterious conspirators make their own preparations.

Oh, Shoji, the poor thing.  I love how Yoshimori's little influences register in the other boy's emotionless but observant eyes.  He may not know what to do with all this new information, but he's holding onto it and trying his best.  We just hope Yoshimori's example ultimately turns out to be more powerful than Shoji's master's cold conditioning.  Tanabe's inching toward making both Yoshimori and the reader care as much about Shoji's welfare as that of the lost friend he resembles.

Kekkaishi: Volume 24

by Yellow Tanabe, 186 pages

Not wanting to repeat his regrets of the past, Yoshimori extracts a promise from Soji and then finds it put to the test sooner than expected.

Soji continues to be an intriguing puzzle. He doesn't lie, he follows orders to the letter with no regard for his or anyone else's well-being, and he expresses no emotion. And they still don't know who sent him (he's under orders not to tell). But Yoshimori's so earnest and stubborn and willing to make the effort to change himself for the better that it seems impossible for him not to have a warming, waking effect on the other boy's humanity, too. This reader chooses to be an optimist!

Kekkaishi: Volume 23

by Yellow Tanabe, 186 pages

Reinforcements arrive to help Yoshimori and Tokine protect the Karasumori site, since it may be next on the list of mystical sites to be attacked. But one of the new recruits is a little too familiar, and his motives a little too shrouded, for suspicious Yoshimori's comfort.

Soji Hiura adds a nice big fat question mark to the story and the personality mix. He reminds both the other characters and the reader of a dearly departed friend who had a rough start with the gang before they all bonded, but getting close to blank-slate Soji looks to be a much more difficult proposition...and possibly a dangerous one.

Kekkaishi: Volume 22

by Yellow Tanabe, 188 pages

Tokine is brought in for questioning about the incident with the guardian deity, but something about the investigation's handling smells fishy. While she tries to figure out who, if anyone, on the investigation unit's headquarters island to trust, Yoshimori puts together his own team of trusted companions to break her out, first by the rules...and then by whatever means necessary.

The Shawshank Redemption allusions are pretty funny, as is the smooth, snarky, newest addition to the gang. It will be fun to see how his and Yoshimori's personalities get along. Just more reason for Tokine to roll her eyes and me to giggle. Also, one more endearing character's well-being to worry over. I so enjoy these.

Kekkaishi: Volume 21

by Yellow Tanabe, 202 pages

Another being has arrived and threatened the Karasumori mystical site, but this is no ayakashi--it's another site's guardian deity...which are illegal to destroy. How are Yoshimori and Tokine supposed to protect their charge, and one another, if they can't fight back effectively against their attacker? And what will be the consequences if they choose to break the law in self defense?

The poor kids try to prevail with only olive branches, but the recent attacks on mystical sites have been messing with the souls of their deities, too, spinning things out of control and subverting the natural order. The defenders do what they have to do, but no one, including them, is happy about it. With the danger, and its consequences, hitting so close to home, the need to discover who or what really lies at the root of all the troubles is even greater.

Kekkaishi: Volume 20

by Yellow Tanabe, 189 pages

After a Night Troop mission goes horribly wrong, Masamori goes a little rogue and makes a startling discovery regarding their enemies, the corrupt Ogi. Meanwhile, Yoshimori's intent on getting to the bottom of whatever's going on with the recent attacks on mystical sites and agrees to meet with the Shadow Organization's internal affairs minister. Things get a bit out of hand, though, when he learns his brother has run off to play vigilante on his own.

Wow, Masamori really throws down in this volume. And he has every right to do so, although it may not have been the smartest plan he's ever come up with. That stubborn streak is clearly genetic, as Yoshimori's just as blinded by the instinct to protect those he cares about as is his big brother.

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.