Category: Crescent Moon

1. If you have not read part three, then please click here.  If you have not read part two, then please click here.  If you have not read part one, then please click here.

image from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crescent_Moon_(manga)

I actually own this series, so I will be reading the official English translation rather than reading from a website.

The back cover reads:
“Mahiru Shiraishi has an uncanny ability to bring good luck to everyone she touches -except herself. She’s constantly haunted by a recurring nightmare that ushers her to a dreamworld. There, she encounters a tribe of demons -a werewolf, vampire, fox, and bat- called the Lunar Race. Destiny calls when they need her help to recover their source of power, the stolen “Teardrops of the Moon”. In this fantasy adventure, Mahiru must battle the rage between the human race and the Lunar Race, whose powers are awakened by the dark side of the moon.”

Crescent Moon has 25 chapters through 6 volumes. My review will be below, and if you continue reading below the stars, you will see my explanation and my recounting of what I read.

Every post past this point will be a spoiler, so please read ahead with caution!

May 27, 2018
I’ve finally reached the end of the series. It normally doesn’t take this long for me to read manga, but that’s neither here nor there, so I’ll get started with my review! A lot happened in these two volumes, so I’ll do my best to summarize -honestly, my head is still spinning a bit.

So during the battle when Misoka falls, he loses his transformation. With Dawn’s Venus approaching, Nozomu decides to take Misoka to safety. Mitsuru battles Dawn’s Venus and notices Keiko in the car. Assuming she has the Teardrop, Mitsuru attacks her/the car. She tries to run, Mitsuru goes to attack her, and Hokuto jumps in the way to be her shield. In her fright, Keiko drops the Teardrop. Mutsuru speeds the car around and grabs them, and before Mitsuru can pursue them, Akira shows up and presents the dropped Teardrop.

While all of this is going on, Mahiru’s aunt has a pep talk with her, and Mahiru decides to go back to the group with renewed determination. She follows the glow of the Teardrop and find the group gathered around Misoka who is not doing well. She’s glowing when she reaches them, and this glow seems to be passed to Misoka. As Mahiru passes out from fever, Misoka recovers enough to stand on his own and breathe easier.

They all recover back at the Moonshine, but it appears that Misoka can no longer transform. He says he’s just grateful that his life is no longer in danger thanks to Mahiru’s power. Katsura comes in, and it seems that Mahiru has been summoned to the Moon Palace by Emperor Shirogane. Misoka goes with her to act as an escort and to report on the group’s activities, and Mitsuru comes along as well to clear his name about using the power of one of the Teardrops. Nozomu and Akira stay behind to keep looking for the remaining Teardrops.

Turns out that the Moon Palace is located in Kyoto, hidden through a mirror in a shrine. So, it’s in another dimension! No wonder humans couldn’t find any of the Lunar Race… But sadly, things are not well in the Moon Palace. The Great Empress is so sick that Mahiru is immediately pulled out to try and heal her by her first Lady in Waiting, Masumi, aka: Misoka’s aunt. While Misoka and Mitsuru wait for Mahiru’s return, they can hear the screams of other ladies in waiting who are passing away from the sickness.

Sadly, Mahiru cannot heal the Empress. She dies with a loud scream that even Emperor Shirogane can hear, but in her passing, we learn some things! Turns out the Lunar Race is not as cheerful as our group at the Moonshine Bar. The Lunar Race used to eat and attack humans, and many still believe that they should. Within the Moon Palace, the Empress was talked bad about because for a long time, she wasn’t pregnant, and then when she did give birth to Emperor Shirogane, the young emperor had no demonic power. The old emperor died on his throne, and many wanted his younger brother, Oboro, to become the new emperor. But the empress begged Oboro to find the Teardrops instead in the hopes that they would give power to her son and save the Lunar Race. She invoked his past love for her, but he said he’d do it as a member of the Lunar Race instead. In the end, she died believing that he had abandoned and betrayed her and their race.

Mahiru is imprisoned in a room to keep her silent about the Empress’s death, and Misoka is thrown in the dungeons. Misoka fights off the guards so Mitsuru can escape. During her isolation, Mahiru hears from the original Princess because the room she was locked in has been the Princess’s room. The Princess sings the last verse of the song and corrects the other lyrics, so Mahiru now knows the truth. It turns out that the Princess had loved the Demon, but their love could not be. Even still, they had hoped for a chance to re-unite in 1,000 years.

While sneaking around, Mitsuru learns that Masumi plans to capture and kill him to retrieve the power of the Teardrop from his corpse. Lord Shirogane tracks down Mahiru to ask what happened with his mother, and Mitsuru uses this chance to steal both Mahiru and Emperor Shirogane away. While escaping, Emperor Shirogane has a coughing fit, and Mahiru heals him. Mitsuru then reveals that his mother is dead, and Mahiru slaps him before doing her best to comfort the crying child.

Back in the human world, a Teardrop of the Moon is stolen by Dawn’s Venus (masquerading as the Moonlight Bandits), so Nozomu decides that he and Akira need help and answers from Keiko. She doesn’t know anything, and she tells them that Hokuto has broken off their engagement (he also dismissed the police before stealing the Teardrop). Still, Nozomu sends a ransom letter to Hokuto saying that they kidnapped Keiko and that to get her back, he’d have to trade the Teardrop of the Moon that he stole. It takes some convincing and acting(?) on the Moonlight Bandits’ part, but Hokuto finally trades the Teardrop (and the location of the last Teardrop) for Keiko because he fears for her life. She learns that Hokuto still cares for her, she reveals that she still cares for him, and poor Akira tells Keiko goodbye before going to cry his sweet heart out TT~TT

Back at the Moon Palace, Mitsuru and Mahiru are lost and trying to figure out what to do. Mahiru wants to save Misoka, but Mitsuru is tired of her risking herself because -turns out- he loves her, and he wants her to just choose him and be only his princess (so sweet!!). They kiss because she loves him, too, and she reveals that they are the re-born Demon and Princess. All the same, she wants to save Misoka because he’s their friend! Emperor Shirogane has since found them and offers to take them to the dungeon if they’ll take him with them to find the Teardrops of the Moon. Masumi is questioning Misoka when they arrive, and she tries to stop the Emperor from leaving with them. But Oboro shows up and reasons with her. They strike a deal that Emperor Shirogane can go to the human world only if she is with him, and Mahiru agrees because she wants Masumi to see all that their group has accomplished.

So now it’s a race to the last Teardrop. It’s protected on an island with an anti-Lunar-Race barrier. Hokuto and Mutsuru are on the island to increase the barrier’s strength, and Mahiru and Misoka volunteer to go and retrieve the Teardrop. Misoka continually says that he’s basically human at this point, but he is still pained by the barrier. Mitsuru flies above and draws away Mutsuru with lightning, while Mahiru approaches Hokuto to get him out of the barrier’s circle. Unfortunately, Mutsuru hits Mahiru in the arm with an arrow, and she starts glowing a blinding amount, pushing Hokuto out of the barrier’s circle. Misoka destroys a pillar to remove the barrier, and Mahiru opens the shrine to destroy the mirror that holds the last piece of the barrier. Hokuto tries to stop her, and Misoka transforms to protect her, surprising himself. With the barrier gone, another shrine rises from the waters of the lake to reveal the final Teardrop of the Moon. Which Masumi rushes to grab with Emperor Shirogane in tow.

Once she has the Teardrop in her grasp, she transforms into a giant unicorn water centaur hate monster, with poor Emperor Shirogane held helplessly at its center. Since Mahiru’s blinding light, the police have come out (including Kusakabe and Youhei), so lots of humans are seeing this. Mahiru stops the creature with the completed song -with Mitsuru singing with her, and Emperor Shirogane temporarily transforms into an adult before turning back into a child. The Princess appears to them all, even Dawn’s Venus, and explains that the races should be like stars to guard those in the day and night rather than opposing forces (or something to that effect).

Emperor Shirogane, Masumi, and Oboro return to the Moon Palace with all the Teardrops. Misoka decides that his duties as part of the Lunar Race are not done yet since he can still transform. And Mahiru and Mitsuru share a moment on the roof of the Moonshine Bar. She decides to return home so she can think about the next steps to bring peace between the races. She says this will take everyone, even Dawn’s Venus and the police officers. But Mitsuru’s upset and pouting because he thinks that’ll be the end of them. Mahiru says she won’t let them end, and that this is just a beginning for them and for everyone. The rest of the gang show up and ruin their moment, but they all sing and laugh together at the end.

The end.  Review time!!  This manga was 25 chapters long in the course of 6 volumes.

To read the review, please click here.

If you have not read part two, please click here.  If you need to read part one, then please click here.

image from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crescent_Moon_(manga)

I actually own this series, so I will be reading the official English translation rather than reading from a website.

The back cover reads:
“Mahiru Shiraishi has an uncanny ability to bring good luck to everyone she touches -except herself. She’s constantly haunted by a recurring nightmare that ushers her to a dreamworld. There, she encounters a tribe of demons -a werewolf, vampire, fox, and bat- called the Lunar Race. Destiny calls when they need her help to recover their source of power, the stolen “Teardrops of the Moon”. In this fantasy adventure, Mahiru must battle the rage between the human race and the Lunar Race, whose powers are awakened by the dark side of the moon.”

Crescent Moon has 25 chapters through 6 volumes. My review will be below, and if you continue reading below the stars, you will see my explanation and my recounting of what I read.

Every post past this point will be a spoiler, so please read ahead with caution!

May 23, 2018
I read through volume four this time, so I’ve just finished chapter 15. I feel like a lot happened, so I’ll try to write it all out.

Chapter 10 starts with Mahiru going on a school trip to the Kansai area. Turns out that the Moon Palace is in that area as well, so while Oboro and Katsura go there to visit/report to Emperor Shirogane, the rest of the boys (Nozomu, Akira, and Mitsuru) follow Mahiru to keep her safe. Once meeting up with Mahiru, Nozomu and Akira show around her school friends, while Mahiru leaves with Mitsuru to visit her grandmother’s grave. While they share moments (including Mitsuru smiling for possibly the first time in the series) together, Emperor Shirogane watches them while eating ice cream.

In the next chapter, he’s back in the Moon Palace having a meeting with Oboro and Katsura. It’s revealed that Emperor Shirogane’s health is getting worse, and the Great Empress (his mother) has gotten so ill that she will no longer see him. So despite some Teardrops of the Moon being found, things are not getting any better for the Lunar Race. Misoka was sitting in the meeting, too, but we only learn that as a flashback (possibly in the next chapter). Later that night, he reports to Nozomu and Akira that there have been no births in the Lunar Race and that the elders are dying daily. Mitsuru isn’t present for the meeting because he ran off after having a fight with Mahiru.

The next day, Mahiru’s school is in Nara, and only Akira and Mitsuru are there to guard her. Misoka and Nozomu are both at the Moon Palace to research possible Teardrop locations since they’re running out of time to find all the Teardrops. While Mitsuru and Mahiru are fighting again, Akira meets Keiko Himura (the seer for Dawn’s Venus) and gives her some candy. It seems like he has a crush on her~ And since she doesn’t throw away the candy, I think she’s starting to get a little crush on him, too~

It’s also revealed around this time that Keiko is the fiance of Hokuto Koudokui (the leader of Dawn’s Venus). It’s more of a political marriage to keep the bloodline pure and the powers strong, but five years ago (before the Moonlight Bandits started stealing the Teardrops of the Moon), she was in love with Hokuto, and he was a very different person. But once the Lunar Race appeared, and Hokuto’s father was too sick to destroy them himself, he put the task on his son, and Hokuto’s never been the same since.

So after the school trip it’s Akira’s birthday, and all of Mahiru’s friends are invited to the Moonshine Bar (including Keiko). Dawn’s Venus keeps showing up wherever the Moonlight Bandits appear, so our boys are concerned about an insider leaking their plans. Poor Mahiru is the only one they can think of, and she’s feeling guilty for wanting to be Keiko’s friend, so when Keiko shows up for the party and then immediately leaves, things quickly get out of hand. Mitsuru tries to corner Keiko, Akira stops him, Mahiru’s yelling, Mitsuru runs off, and so does Keiko. When Akira and Mahiru go back inside, Misoka and Nozomu know something happened. Akira and Mahiru deny that Keiko’s part of Dawn’s Venus, Misoka and Nozomu don’t believe them, Akira runs off, and later, so does Mahiru. She returns home after leaving a note for Batty to deliver to Nozomu. Despite Nozomu and Misoka being the only part of the Moonlight Bandits around, they still go after a Teardrop because the illness that’s plaguing the Lunar Race is also starting to weaken Misoka.

Unfortunately, Dawn’s Venus has the Teardrop. Hokuto picked it up in person (with Mutsuru and Keiko) in order to hide it from the Moonlight Bandits. Mitsuru appears and immediately attacks them, catching them by surprise. Nozomu and Misoka show up, but Mitsuru’s being a lone wolf again and attacks them, too. When Mutsuru is about to shoot Mitsuru in the back, Misoka jumps in the way and deflects the arrow. Instead of thanking him, Mitsuru starts to go off on Misoka, but in the middle of the battle, Misoka is suddenly weakened by his illness and starts to fall out of the sky.
And so ends chapter fifteen at the end of volume 4. Just two volumes left to go!

To read part four, please click here.

If you have not read part one of my review of Crescent Moon, then please click here.

image from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crescent_Moon_(manga)

I actually own this series, so I will be reading the official English translation rather than reading from a website.

The back cover reads:
“Mahiru Shiraishi has an uncanny ability to bring good luck to everyone she touches -except herself. She’s constantly haunted by a recurring nightmare that ushers her to a dreamworld. There, she encounters a tribe of demons -a werewolf, vampire, fox, and bat- called the Lunar Race. Destiny calls when they need her help to recover their source of power, the stolen “Teardrops of the Moon”. In this fantasy adventure, Mahiru must battle the rage between the human race and the Lunar Race, whose powers are awakened by the dark side of the moon.”

Crescent Moon has 25 chapters through 6 volumes. My review will be below, and if you continue reading below the stars, you will see my explanation and my recounting of what I read.

Every post past this point will be a spoiler, so please read ahead with caution!

May 21, 2018
I only made it to chapter 10 tonight, but I still need to write about what I read. So it’s finally been revealed who “those kids” are, the group of professionals that I mentioned last time. They are known as “Dawn’s Venus”, and they are a group of humans with the sole purpose of exterminating the Lunar Race.

In Dawn’s Venus, we’ve met three characters. Keiko Himura, the seer (she goes to Mahiru’s high school, and aside from her visions and predictions, she seems to have no other interest in helping the group. In fact, she has a bad relationship with the leader -but at the end of chapter 9, it’s hinted that there’s some sort of history between them -seems to me that she had a little crush going at some point~), Mutsura, the bowman/illusionist (we know the least about him), and Hokuto Koudokui, the leader.

Hokuto is descended from the Koudokui family which has apparently been tasked with exterminating the Lunar Race. Now, the role has fallen to Hokuto, and he is all for it. That’s really all we know so far.

So plot wise, what has happened is that our gang (Nozomu and Misoka) have found Akira. Unfortunately, they also get captured by Dawn’s Venus. Mahiru does her best to save them, but she’s never taken action before, and she’s scared out of her mind. Turns out she can resonate with the Teardrops of the Moon -which I forgot, they did recover the third Teardrop by chapter 7. When she resonates with one Teardrop, it affects the other Teardrops, so Mitsuru (who was revived by a Teardrop of the Moon) can hear all of Mahiru’s panicked thoughts. So, he comes to rescue her (and the others)!

During the rescue scene, Mahiru unconsciously gives Mitsuru a power boost which inflates his ego. He almost kills Dawn’s Venus with lightning, but he is stopped by Misoka who is apparently half human. Our main characters then prepare to return home, and Mahiru makes the announcement that she wants to become the bridge between the Lunar Race and the human race.
And so ends chapter 9. I’ll start back with chapter 10 next time!

To read part 3, please click here.

I want to start this blog with the first series that I ever read, Crescent Moon. The series that started it all for me!

 image from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crescent_Moon_(manga)

I actually own this series, so I will be reading the official English translation rather than reading from a website.

The back cover reads:
“Mahiru Shiraishi has an uncanny ability to bring good luck to everyone she touches -except herself. She’s constantly haunted by a recurring nightmare that ushers her to a dreamworld. There, she encounters a tribe of demons -a werewolf, vampire, fox, and bat- called the Lunar Race. Destiny calls when they need her help to recover their source of power, the stolen “Teardrops of the Moon”. In this fantasy adventure, Mahiru must battle the rage between the human race and the Lunar Race, whose powers are awakened by the dark side of the moon.”

Crescent Moon has 25 chapters through 6 volumes. My review will be below, and if you continue reading below the stars, you will see my explanation and my recounting of what I read.

Every post past this point will be a spoiler, so please read ahead with caution!

May 19, 2018
So, I finally found some time to read this manga. I just finished volume two, so I am on chapter… …? This manga has a strange chapter labeling system X.x Each chapter is listed as a part, like “Waiting for the Moon: The Descendant of the Princess Meets the Demons Part 1”, and that one goes on to part 5. So at the beginning of volume 3, I’m at chapter seven.

I have read this series at least a dozen times over the years, but reading it and knowing that I’d have to write about it has helped me notice details I never have before! Of course, that also makes it difficult to write about since I can’t write this from a neutral perspective. I know everything that’s going to happen, but I’ll do my best not to spoil anything out of turn in my descriptions.

So, at the start of chapter 7, we’ve met our main character, Mahiru Shiraishi, and the rest of the main cast. There’s Nozomu, Misoka, Akira, and Mitsuru of the Lunar Race -the demons of the series. They work for/with Oboro and Katsura, also of the Lunar Race. By chapter seven, we’ve also seen the Emperor of the Lunar Race, Shirogane.

The plot of the story so far is that they must steal/collect the Teardrops of the Moon that were stolen from the Lunar Race a long time ago. Since the loss of the Teardrops, the Lunar Race has been losing power, and now, their children can no longer grow up. The race is dying.

The main character, Mahiru, was just a high school girl at the start of the series. She could “give luck” to others, but she herself was fairly unlucky. By chapter seven, we learn that she’s the descendant of the human princess (the daughter of a high ranking official anyway) that promised to marry a demon. The princess forgot about her promise and was almost married to the emperor of Japan, but her demon came for her and stole her away. The army attacked and killed the demon and stole the source of his power, the Teardrops of the Moon, and the princess was married to the leader of the army instead. Thus Mahiru’s family is born. For some reason, this gives Mahiru the ability to give luck to humans and demonic power to the Lunar Race simply by touching them (the Lunar Race can transform into their powerful demon forms effortlessly if she is around). By chapter seven, she can also see/locate the Teardrops and from time to time, will glow like one.

The Lunar Race has a nice twist on demons (they’re my favorite type, anyway. In fact, I compare all other descriptions of demons to Crescent Moon since this was the first manga I ever read). In this series, all demons -Eastern and Western- are part of the Lunar Race. We’ve seen tengu, werewolves, werefoxes, vampires, and ogres/horned demons so far. The Lunar Race has a human form and a demonic form, and the flow of power they have access to depends on the moon. During full moons, they are very powerful, and during the new moon, they have trouble with simple spells and transformations. While in demon form, they’re nearly invincible and can even withstand gunshots and rocket launchers. However, since they are an ancient demonic race, they have a weakness to synthetic, man-made things like sleeping gas. Back in the day before the Teardrops were stolen, humans and the Lunar Race lived together -this matches up with portrayals of ancient Japan- and they would attend festivals. Members of the Lunar Race enjoy singing, dancing, partying, and just having a good time; they’re not inherently evil beings. They’re just alive, and they want to stay alive.

I bring up the history of the Lunar Race because at the beginning of chapter 3 (which is also the beginning of volume 2), Mahiru moves out of her aunt’s house and into the Moonshine Bar (which is the base of operations for the Lunar Race). Oboro explains that they opened a bar because it’s reminiscent of the ancient days, and this shows that the Lunar Race hasn’t really changed. Just like they enjoyed festivals back in the day (with singing, dancing, and joy), they still feel the same way today, and that’s still their focus (when they’re not trying to get the Teardrops of the Moon back).

Speaking of Oboro, that brings up a plot point! Turns out that he’s the uncle of Emperor Shirogane. For whatever reason, Oboro gave up his right to rule and came to the human world, but Shirogane is convinced that Oboro wants his old position back.

By chapter seven, two Teardrops of the Moon have been recovered, and a third one has been found. One of the recovered Teardrops was used to revive Mitsuru who was killed by sleeping gas (Mahiru brought him back), so it no longer has any power. And at the end of chapter seven, Akira was kidnapped!

My only hang up with the series so far regards the policemen, Kusakabe and Youhei. The police approved a higher budget so they could catch the “Moonlight Bandits” (aka our four favorite Lunar Race members), and Kusakabe gives the order to call in “those kids”. Apparently, “those kids” are expensive experts or else they would’ve been called in a long time ago. And as soon as they’re called in and Kusakabe meets them, he starts bad talking them! Like they’re just kids rather than highly regarded professionals! The only reason this bothers me is that they’re supposedly well known. Kusakabe should have known about their abilities, reputations, and probably something about their ages, but it’s only after meeting them (before they can actually do anything but give information) that Kusakabe disregards them like it’s a bunch of baloney. If he didn’t think they could do the job, why did he waste the policy’s budget on them? And the manga doesn’t say that the higher ups told him to hire them; he’s the one who brings up the idea and gives the go ahead to call “those kids”.

But that’s as far as I’ve read this time. I’ll of course add more about the series as I continue reading.

To read part 2, please click here.