Whoever Steals this Book Volume 1 Review
Mifuyu is descended from a family of book lovers who own their own library – the Mikura Hall, filled with rare and collectable books – standing within the book-obsessed town of Yomunaga. But Mifuyu herself HATES books; she cannot stand them and especially anyone who tries to get through her to worm their way inside the illustrious Mikura Hall, which is closed to the public, due to people trying to steal books in the past. One night when Mifuyu drops by the hall to bring her aunt some food, a mysterious thief makes off with some books, but neither of them knows that the books are in fact cursed, and the curse is triggered when they’re stolen. With the thief on the run, can Mifuyu fight her way through the curse and bring the books back? And why has a mysterious girl named Mashiro suddenly appeared in the library, ready to help her?
Normally I leave my thoughts on the art and style until the second half of the review, but I wanted to start with it this time, because if you’re worried that the lovely cover art is as good as it gets, I’m pleased to report that the art by Kakeru Sora is stunning throughout. The fictional town of Yomunaga feels like a welcoming place, filled with different types of book shops and lively townsfolk who give the impression they’ve known each other for years. The panels showing Mifuyu walking through town show differently shaped buildings, shop signs, plants that people put out and so much more. Then when the town is transformed by the curse, the environmental and weather changes take up panels that burst from the page and Mikura Hall feels so big and old, you almost want to step into it yourself. This is on top of character designs, with Mashiro’s cute but also supernatural look, and the townsfolk all depicted as distinct from one another too. And lastly there’s the story within a story of this manga, where Mifuyu needs to read a book from the shelf that contains stolen books to help learn about the curse. The two books we’ve seen there so far are a folklore tale, with very poetic writing and imagery, and a gritty black-and-white crime/detective novel – both portrayed with their own text and art style, which really brings each story to life in its own way. It would be a perfect kind of story to be made into an anime as the animation could totally go wild with the imagery here. As Stephen King once said, ‘Books are a uniquely portable magic’ and you really get that from this manga adaptation.
Yes, this is an adaptation, based upon an original novel by Nowaki Fukamidori that’s not currently available in English. But the author did provide a nice afterword at the back of the first volume of the manga, saying that ‘a lot of the story’s content was just stuff I wanted to write about’, and you do get that sense as the story progresses. This book has four chapters, but the first three cover a single story ‘Chased by the Flags of Magic Realism’ which is the first ‘curse’ that Mifuyu must solve. It’s a bit slow going at first but I didn’t mind, as it allows the reader to get whisked into her world, learn what her daily life is like and touches upon why she can’t stand reading.
When the fantasy-filled curse activates, the drama and excitement ramp up but so does the confusion, in some areas. The curse is based upon a story that Mifuyu finds on the bookshelf, so she must read the story to know what happens (so she can anticipate what will happen to the town) and then find out the anomaly to catch the thief. There are a lot of rules to this curse, which are constantly evolving and being explained AS Mifuyu is racing through town, trying to catch the thief and not get herself hurt in the process – so it’s a lot to absorb at once.
The final problem I had was the thief; in the first curse it takes the form of an animal they must find, and as we get to the panel where the thief is caught…it suddenly cuts to black and we move on, never to know who it was. The way it’s presented feels like watching a Scooby-Doo episode and having it end just as Fred attempts to remove the perpetrator’s mask, but narratively they give a reason for it, and maybe the story is leading up to something regarding the thief. Despite the confusion whilst following the plot at times, I can’t say I didn’t enjoy the ride; watching the townsfolk suddenly fit new roles within the story, having Mifuyu trying to piece the mystery together and that mysterious aspect to Mashiro, kept me turning each page.
Translation is done by Emma Schumacker, who does a fantastic job, bringing each story the curse is based upon to life with their unique language and wording. There’s also a lot of information thrown at the reader, especially in the middle of the curse but it’s all easy to digest, thanks to her translation and readability. There are some nice translation notes at the end as well. Volume 2 (of three) is due out in June 2024.
Whoever Steals This Book starts off on a magical ride that has a lot of promise if it can keep its rules easy to understand and build on the mystery it has set up. There are a few moments of confusion here and there, that seem to be down to the source material, rather than the manga itself, but the art style really works in elevating the material. Worth a go if the synopsis entices you.
Our review copy from Yen Press was supplied by Diamond Book Distributors UK.
