Onibi: Diary of a Yokai Ghost Hunter - Softcover

Cecile Brun; Olivier Pichard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 4805314966 ISBN 13: 9784805314968

Publisher: Tuttle Publishing, 2018

Synopsis

Part fantasy, part travelogue, Onibi: Diary Of A Yokai Ghost Hunter follows the adventures of two foreign visitors as they tour Japan. When they buy an antique camera along the way, they discover they can capture images of Japan's invisible spirit world. The forgotten spirits they meet can be kindly, mischievous, and some, downright dangerous. Armed with their magical camera, they enjoy local foods in each region and meet with people who tell them about the forgotten spirits who lie in wait ready to play tricks on them. Yokai, the Japanese word for supernatural monsters, ghosts, ghouls, and demons can be kindly, mischievous, and downright dangerous. Readers 10-18 who cherished books like Cool Japan Guide and Diary of a Tokyo Teen will delight in this comic book style adventure. The graphic novel format will appeal to diehard anime and manga fans while stressing the importance this ancient spirit world is to the Japanese culture.

About this title

Review

"Basing their adventure on real people and places in Japan, [Brun and Prichard] create a spooky yet intriguing spirit world overlaid on our reality. Using a combination of watercolor and colored pencil, the illustrations are done in a beautiful traditional Japanese style...A must for anyone intrigued by the hidden spirit world and how it crosses over into ours." --Kirkus

"Welcoming locals, mysterious strangers, toothsome meals, and spooky legends all lead the intrepid duo through otherworldly adventures in this fantasy travelogue...Aided by Velde's smooth, succinct translation, the duo 'share a Japan that's uncommon' in panels rich with cultural details and sensitive representation, with just enough chill-factor to ensure entertainment along the way." --Booklist

"As a charming and offbeat guide to some of the lesser-known parts of Japan and their sometimes strange but typically generous human inhabitants, Onibi is charming and effective." --Foreword Magazine

"The story is a wonderful combination of today's life with the history of Japanese folklore. The story is engaging and interesting. And, the graphic artwork is fantastic with loads of detail." --In Our Spare Time blog

"Brun and Pichard deploy watercolors in soft hues that often bleed into one another--a perfect visual metaphor for a story about the blurry separation between natural and supernatural." --Publishers Weekly

"Like a love letter to traditional Japan, this graphic novel takes readers off the beaten path to explore the mountains, coast, and small towns of Niigata prefecture alongside a pair of adventure-seeking French tourists...brimming with charm, this stunning volume will enchant ghost story enthusiasts and those interested in Japan." --School Library Journal

"Onibi: Diary of a Yokai Ghost Hunter is a gorgeous book, its pages full of lovingly rendered food, vistas, and people. Atelier Sento use traditional materials, and these are some of the loveliest watercolors I've seen in a comic to date." --SequentialState.com

"The creative team's pencils and watercolors give great expressiveness to faces, colors, and light, and make every page a pleasure to read and reread." --LibraryComic.com

About the Author

Cecile Brun & Olivier Pichard are French comic book artists known collectively as Atelier Sento. Through traditional techniques using watercolors and colored pencils, their work conveys an unusual side of Japan-of small villages in the mountains, colorful matsuri festivals and forgotten spirits of an ancient world. Marie Velde is a freelance photographer and translator in Santa Monica, CA. She is the translator of Tokyo on Foot, My First Book of Chinese Calligraphy and other books.

Edition details

• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 4805314966
• ISBN 13: 9784805314968
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 128