This is one of those prequels that is released after the entire series has been published, so that anybody who was a major fan can pick up the work. This prequel however, would have worked perfectly fine having been published beforehand, to allow a snapshot of Ueda’s work so that people could then decide whether they wanted to plunge into the 15 volume Tail of the Moon franchise.
Kaguya is a young girl suffering from amnesia who, after being found injured in a bamboo grove, ends up working in a brothel as a general childminder and cleaner. Protected from servicing clients by the unsightly scar left from her injuries, she is still intrigued when an attractive guard named Hanzou takes an interest in her. But before she can fall in love, the truth about her identity must come out, and soon she and Hanzou are embroiled in both politics and love.
The second half of the book leads to the other Hanzo being fed into the storyline, namely the leader of the Iga Ninja, a figure who you will all be familiar with if you have read Tail of the Moon or possibly any other ninja story. By this time, Kaguya has rediscovered her identity and is working towards peace between all the warring sectors, but how far will she be willing to go to establish this, when it may lead to her having to marry the wrong Hanzo(u)!
As stated on the back, this is a romantic ninja adventure, and anybody who is familiar with Rinko Ueda’s work will really have come to expect this. Whilst this prequel volume is targeted at people who have already read Tail of the Moon, it also leads to a little bit of a lack of tension for them, as they will of course already know what happens to all of the characters in the following series.
Rinko Ueda’s art is often described as rich, and it certainly has a lot in terms of detail and sheer volume. She draws especially well in colour, as can be seen from the front cover. However, whilst I can see that her art is well-drawn, I remain unsure of whether I actually like it, with its biggish eyes and occasional fat faces. One thing that is better in this volume than in Tail of the Moon is the lead female character, with her being far less of a useless sap than Usagi started out being.
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"Tail of the Moon prequel will suit those who have read Rinko Ueda’s work before and liked it, or for those who are contemplating starting Tail of the Moon and want a quick dip in her work first. It doesn’t stand that well in its own right, but for either of the above uses, it stands just fine."
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