I'm not sure why but this manga has left an impression on me. I mean, I read a lot like many people here and sometimes when one does that you tend to not remember where you left off a story. This one I keep on checking it every now and then, when I recall it randomly, to see if anybody picked it up and it has been on my reading list for years. Such a shame... I really liked the ambiance and feeling.

I will admit that the series isn´t a masterpiece in any rearguards but it has the distinction that it taught me about how modern day Shinto is practiced and how a Shrine actually functions. That is all very informative and the simple enough slice of life narrative/romance works fine on it´s own too and is even a bit sad.
The art is very calm and to the point so the series deserves a second chance at live for sure.
Hyakki Yakoushou is of equal quality and had Shintoism as a leading theme too.

While I appreciate the sentiment, it's not really a serious manga.
It does have a lot of trivia about Shinto and associated stuff that you can't find translated anywhere else (well, online at least), that I strive to make as accurate as I can. The mangaka makes it harder by screwing up her research a lot ;)
Still, it's not a story about Shinto. It is, however, a story about the people who work at that jinja, just using the restrictions of that environment.

Oh, and the mangaka is a she. And used to work as a miko. I hope her story is something like Akimoto-san's (since she's the most awesome of the girls/women in the story).

Edit: I just went over the whole thing again here. And I think I have to upgrade my rating.

... Last updated on June 28th, 2008, 3:48pm

I find shinto to be a very intriguing religion and the apparent lack of serious manga that deal with its various aspects is somewhat disappointing, so I really appreciate Entropy's work on this project.
The story itself shows very well how shinto with its archaic rituals and beliefs seems to be considered outdated by most Japanese, degrading it to a mere system of show events for many. But while it does not seem to me like the author is of radically conservative belief, she clearly seems to express her own way of understanding this ancient religion and the traditions that go along with it and how a religion that glorifies nature still is valuable even if many aspects of it seem to be unscientific at first.

... Last updated on May 29th, 2009, 3:51pm