Peach Boy Riverside
Author: Coolkyousinnjya
Publisher: Kodansha
Hello my friends.
Today I am doing something a bit different.
As many of you remember, I left this pic as a hint for my next blog entry.
Thats is because recently I watched the two trailers for this manga that will receive an anime adaptation in July 2021, from Studio Asahi, called…
At the beginning I found the anime very interesting; as a very «Westernized» person that I am, I thought it was about some kind of city were very abnormal stuff happens, pretty much like Stranger Things or Supernatural, but in anime. Then all the first trailer made me realise that is not the case, which is why I decided to read the manga, and…
I really like it. In fact, I really felt identified with our protagonist. But I will get there later; for now I will say that I feel this urge to express my feelings about this story, before anything else, because it is a really cool one.
Just remember:
Are you guys ok? Feeling healthy?
If the answer is yes, then I am happy. Now, let’s go with Peach Boy Riverside, and I will include images of both the manga and the anime for that matter.
PREMISE
Peach Boy Riverside tells the story of Princess Saltorine Aldike. or Sari, a positive and spontaneous girl who is tired of her life inside the castle, with all the riches and luxuries provided, but without any real possibility to see the world, so it is her dream to go out and have her own journeys. When her castle is attacked by the horned enemies of humanity, the onis, Sari meets a mysterious young man, called Kibisu Mikoto, who kills all the onis through a mysterious power, called «Peach Eye», which brings the wielder of some… pleasure (Not talking about that pleasure). After witnessing that strength, and being scared at the same time, Sari goes with Mikoto to see the world; starting a travel full of dangers and great battles with the oni.
Accompanying Sari and Mikoto, there is a demi-human, called Frau (they are really popular these days), and a former oni, called Carrot.
The author of Peach Boy Riverside is Coolkyousinnjya, and I will get to there later. And, since 2015, it has comprised eight volumes, all of them published by Kodansha; interestingly enough, Peach Boy Riverside has been also published as a web manga since 2008, on Weekly Young VIP (Thanks again, Wikipedia).
Unfortunately, we have to wait until July to see the anime adaptation of this story. But I want to stop and saying some trivia. The story of Peach Boy Riverside is based on the mythological story of Momotaro, the child born from a peach, and that later fights a gang of onis.
In fact – Momotaro is a mixture of two words – Momo, which means Peach, and Taro, which means Eldest Boy.
STORY
First and foremost, I have to mention once more that the writer of Peach Boy Riverside is Coolkyonsinnjya.
Do you know what other stories this manga group did?
Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid and I Can’t understand what My Husband is Saying.
And then I thought… WHATT?? REALLY??? On that time, I was unwilling to accept that, based on the previous work of this group, because both of these stories are comedy, while Peach Boy Riverside looks to be a mix of adventure and dark fantasy. Then I saw at Myanimelist that, unlike these two series, where Coolkyonsinnjya was both behind the story and the art, Peach Boy Riverside have another artist, Johanne
But I am not familiar with that artist’s world.
Anyway, my first impression, I saw that Peach Boy Riverside would be a typical story about a characters who wants to see the world and become a better person, in other words, the story of the calling of the hero, in which this hero will eventually become a man, or a woman, both mentally and psychologically. And personally, these stories are one of my favourite, especially if you combine with a mythology of its own.
But it was at this point, after reading the whole first volume, in which some mixed feelings appear on me, because I felt that the story was getting a bit slow; but then again, the second volume made feel invested, despite not finishing it; more and more, the characters are improving, and the story is still pretty cool.
Yet, there was something inside… something that was making me feel that Peach Boy Riverside is not as cool as many other manga that I read before, like Deadman Wonderland; I think the reason is… its pacing. I am well aware that is very different reading manga than watching anime, but I feel that some elements in the story can go a bit faster. I do not know; perhaps I think that because I still need to start reading the rest of the volumes, and by then, the story will become more solid; but this is my impression.
On the other hand, though, I see that the battles are really awesome, a bit violent, yet pretty straight-forward, and for me, this is one of the most fundamental elements that a manga must have when it is about the battles – good rhythm. And, until this point…
Mikoto is definitely the start. I mean… Look at his eyes. Look at his smile. You will immediately notice that Mikoto is badass and frightening at the same time. But, the more you read the manga, the more you wanna know about him, and the same goes for the story.
You might need to be a bit patient to fully embrace the backstory of Peach Boy Riverside, but if you are a truly fan of shounen manga, I will say that Peach Boy Riverside is definitely the story for you, because the art rally transmits the rhythm of these nice battles.
CHARACTERS
Up to this point, I think the two characters that are really shining are Sari and Mikoto. Of course!! They are our main characters; the first volume does a pretty good job telling us the readers who they are, what they want and what kind of powers they have. I must admit that, when both use the «Peach Eye» power, I found them a bit scary, because that sadistic look was very daunting, like both of them became as malicious as the main antagonists. Not like my sweet Maika.
And then, we got Frau and Carrot. This last one is kind. ofa favourite of mine, because it might start as an antagonist, but then, I found more of a tsundere with. ab it of cuteness, not know if you would agree with me.
But look…
Like I said, no intention to spoil about any characters, but check them out, especially Sari and Mikoto. They are worth it.
CONCLUSION
I really liked the story of Peach Boy Riverside. And because of it, I appreciate more the work of Coolkyousinnjya; now I can see how versatile these group has become. And before the anime is released, I recommend you to read the manga.
Like I said… it is worth it. Hopefully they will make a good anime adaptation.
Well… it is almost ten o’clock. I am hungry, let’s have dinner. How about a fried egg?
Oh… right!!
Jainituos Presents 