▪	RELEASED BY:		DIGITAL MANGA PUBLISHING
		▪	AUTHOR / ART:		MAKOTO TATENO
		▪	FORMAT:		JAPANESE / B&W
		▪	PAGES:		160
		▪	RATING:		YA
		▪	RELEASE DATE:		07/22/2009
		▪	REVIEW DATE:		06/25/2009
		▪	REVIEWED BY:		HOLLY ELLINGWOOD

Sowil is a beautiful young man with a rare, actually unheard of, power. He can use ancient runes to wield magic as none other has ever known…except perhaps his father. On a quest to find the man he cannot remember, Sowil travels the land searching for answers as to who and what he is and why he can use the magic that no other can contain.

On his travels he meets individuals, sometimes entire villages, in trouble, other times he is confronted by dangers trying to lure him for their own dire purposes. What he never expected was to become the ward of two young twins who possess astonishing powers. When he comes upon a village trying to bury to children alive, he intervenes without hesitation. They insist the children are cursed, and Allu and Eru are certainly touched. Taking them under his care, he finds he has both angels and devils guiding his way, whether for good or ill remains to be seen.  The angels and demons lead him to deadly monsters, passing a strict angel’s test, saving a village, and much more.

The twins beset with the voices of angels and devils, as well as other humans and otherworldly beings, are all deeply interested in Sowil’s secret. To try to uncover it they attempt to see into his past only to find a greater secret than what they started with! What is the memory blocked in Sowil’s mind and how can it be unlocked? An encounter with Sowil’s magic teacher Taurus only reveals a small slice of the greater mystery which deepens with each encounter with supernatural creatures that know Sowil’s father. It puts Sowil in greater danger even as it raises more questions in his mind and heart about what he is and what kind of man his father was.

A water being proves to be no mere water sprite and Sowil is confronted again with the deeds of his father. Sowil cannot help but wonder if his father was a good man, the evidence seems to be leaning the other way.  The last chapter of this first volume reveals the greatest threat to Sowil when a doppelganger leads to grief for Sowil but also a future danger. The handsome as he is lethal Loft knows Sowil’s father and has vowed vengeance. That hatred extends to Sowil and now Sowil must contend with an enemy that may hold the key to the young magician’s past.

For an author that claims to have only a “lukewarm” grasp on the genre, Makoto Tateno delivers as engrossing a fantasy manga as I have read in ages. The art work is gorgeous, holding the flowing, beautiful illustrative talent style unique to the artist.

IN SUMMARY:
Get swept away in a fantasy world fraught with peril, magic, and mystery in Makoto Tateno’s (Yellow, Red Angel) latest enthralling manga series Angelic Runes!