A Howl of the Heart Volume 2

When I look at your face, there’s no longer any trace of Uru… Tenyo, thinking about Kakezuki. Still, the last thing I want is to say goodbye to you.

Tenyo and Uru fought side-by-side for the Crimson South against the forces of the Azure North until Uru was killed. Tenyo, unable to get over his grief for the loss of his friend and lover even after two years, goes into enemy territory where he is shocked to encounter Kakezuki, a young general who looks exactly like dead Uru. He discovers that, thanks to the powers of the sorceror Toka, undead soldiers or ‘immortal vessels’ are being created and that Kakezuki is indeed Uru but without any memories of his previous life, including Tenyo.

But not all is well in the Azure North and Kakezuki finds out that the emperor is also one of Toka’s immortal vessels. An important imperial ceremony is about to take place and Kakezuki boldly suggests that Tenyo should take Emperor Soki’s place as he’s similar in height and build. Tenyo accepts, knowing full well that there may well be another attempt on the emperor’s life. Toka is only too willing to go through with this as casting the spell to give Soki the semblance of life for the duration of the ceremony will exhaust him.

Meanwhile, Kakezuki is becoming more interested in Tenyo; in emotional terms, he often seems like a young child, still learning how to react to other people. He bursts out that he’s jealous of Uru, saying that it might be best “to give this vessel back to Uru.” Tenyo retorts, “Then you’d be dead!” and finds himself arguing passionately that Kakezuki is now a person in his own right and doesn’t deserve to die. “If I were gone, would you cry for me?” Kakezuki asks, half-jokingly but then Tenyo can’t hold back his tears.

Tenyo is disguised as Emperor Soki and the ritual to dispel the darkness begins, watched by the ministers of the court. Tenyo is aware than an attempt could be made on the emperor’s life at any time even though Toka has done all he can to protect him. It’s not until the ritual of purification begins in which the emperor drinks first from a special ceremonial cup, followed by all the ministers. A poison tester ensures that the cup and alcohol has not been tampered with – but the instant Tenyo raises the cup to his lips and takes a sip, he realizes – too late – that he’s been poisoned!

I really liked the first volume of A Howl of the Heart, especially Ayato Miyoshi’s art and the intriguing storyline that it established, a variation on the predicament of the amnesiac lover and their bereft partner. The historical fantasy background means we get some gorgeous (imperial Chinese-influenced) costumes in Volume 2, especially when Tenyo impersonates the emperor. But here – and with the cover art which is undeniably very eye-catching – I have a problem. I genuinely thought: Oh, so a female main character has been introduced! but was then confused when this turns out to be Tenyo dressed up as the emperor, with lip rouge, eye make-up etc. The mage Toka who’s masterminding the whole event explains this away as saying that for this ceremony the emperor traditionally wears female garb. However, this means that the many scenes in which Tenyo appears in disguise give off a rather different vibe to the Boys’ Love story I’d come to expect from the first volume. Whenever Kakezuki and ‘the emperor’ are together, they look like a heterosexual couple. I’m not really a fan of BL manga where the uke is so feminized that the story could just as easily have been about a man and a woman, reinforced by throwaway comments from other characters about how they’d mistaken ‘him’ for a girl etc. etc.

Apart from this – which might not bother other readers as much anyway – these chapters spend most of their time developing the relationship between Tenyo and Kakezuki and we get to see the immortal vessel that was once Uru developing feelings of his own. Tenyo staunchly defends Kakezuki’s right to remain himself, standing up to Toka when the sorcerer insists that Uru’s consciousness/soul could return. After all, that’s what Toka has wished to happen with his beloved emperor and the reason he’s created so many immortal vessels as experiments.

Another underlying theme is the difference between the Azure North and the Crimson South and the desire that the two countries should once again become one, Luxian, as in the past. However, after the wide-ranging first volume, this volume is very much like a piece of chamber music played out in the confines of the imperial court between Tenyo, Kakezuki and Toka, with the dead emperor and the two power-hungry ministers in the background.

The translation for Square Enix Manga is again by Melanie Kardas with lettering by Bianca Pistillo and both work together to bring us an excellent reading experience. There’s a one-page illustrated preview for Volume 3 at the end, as well as a rather sweet two-page ‘Peek Behind the Scenes’ from the mangaka. There’s also the very nice bonus of a colour page at the beginning which, given Ayato Miyoshi’s attractive art, is always a pleasure. Volume 3 is due out in February 2027.

Read a free preview at the publisher’s website here.

Our review copy from Square Enix Manga was supplied by Turnaround Comics (Turnaround Publisher Services).