Black Bird is a Japanese shōjomanga series written and illustrated by Kanoko Sakurakoji. The story depicts the life of a high school girl who can seesupernatural beings. It was serialized in Shogakukan's Betsucomi magazine from July 2006 to December 2012 and published in 18 bound volumes from January 2007 to April 2013. The series won the 54th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōjo manga category. Viz Media licensed the series for an English-language release in North America. The first chapter was previewed in their now-defunct Shojo Beat magazine in 2008. Viz published all 18 volumes from August 2009 to March 2014. According to ICv2, Black Bird was the sixth best-selling manga series in the United States for 2011. In Japan, Black Bird was adapted into a drama CD, a light novel, and a stage play. Sakurakoji also published a new one-shot chapter of the manga in Betsucomis May 2019 issue.
Plot
Misao sees things that other people can't. Normally, the monsters would do harmless things. But suddenly, on her sixteenth birthday, the creatures she sees take it farther by trying to kill her. She's saved by a childhood friend from her past, Kyo Usui, who just so happens to be a demon, or yōkai, as well as the clan leader of the tengu. She finds out that she is the rare "Bride of Prophecy", also known as "The Senka" or "The Holy Fruit", and depends on Kyo for protection from those who wish to eat her for her blood, which gives the consumer incredible power. She further gets to know that marrying her brings immense prosperity to the whole demon clan of the groom and is thus the object of conflict among the clan leaders of different demon clans, who want to be her suitors. Kyo wants to marry her but to do so he has to put more than just his life at stake. Moreover, the "Senkaroku", or "Record of the Holy Fruit", restricts their love.
Written and illustrated by Kanoko Sakurakoji, Black Bird was serialized in Shogakukan's monthly shōjo manga magazine Betsucomi from the August 2006 issue to the January 2013 issue. Shogakukan collected the individual chapters into 18 tankōbon under the Flower Comics imprint. The first volume was released on January 26, 2007, and the last volume was released on April 26, 2013. The manga is licensed in North America by Viz Media under the Shojo Beat imprint. The first print volume was released on August 4, 2009, and the last print volume was released on March 4, 2014. Viz also released the series in a collectible box set with an exclusive art book on October 21, 2014. Additionally, Black Bird is licensed in Taiwan by Tong Li Publishing, in France by Pika Édition, in Germany by Egmont Manga & Anime, and in Italy by Edizioni Star Comics. In March 2019, Sakurakoji announced that she would publish a new one-shot chapter of Black Bird in Betsucomis May issue.
The series was also adapted into a light novel titled Black Bird: Missing, written by Yui Tokiumi and illustrated by Kanoko Sakurakoji. It was released in Japan on March 26, 2010.
Stage play
Black Bird was adapted into a stage play which ran at the Ginza Hakuhinkan Theater in Tokyo, Japan, from March 27 to March 31, 2019. It was directed by Makoto Kimura and written by Miwa Fujiyoshi. The play starred Fuyuna Asakura as Misao Harada and Yū Matsumura as Kyo Usui.
Reception
In 2009, Black Bird won the 54th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōjo manga category. The sixth volume of the manga was ranked 12th on the Japanese Comic Rankings between October 28 and November 3, 2008. The seventh volume was ranked 4th in its first week, selling 75,689 copies. The eighth volume was ranked in 3rd place during its first week and then fell to 27th in the second week of publication. Volume 9 of Black Bird sold a total of 100,014 in its first two weeks of publication, debuting at 11th place on the charts, then falling to 20th place in its second week. The tenth volume of the series debuted on the Oricon charts in 14th place, selling a total of 51,172 copies. The first volume was ranked 4th on the manga section of the New York Times Best Seller list on September 3, 2009. The second volume was ranked 7th on November 26, 2009, 9th on December 3, 2009 and 8th on January 7, 2010. According to ICv2, Black Bird was the sixth best-selling manga series in the United States for 2011. Anime News Network's Casey Brienza commends the English edition of the manga for being "amusing and sexy. Good if you want to put your critical sensibilities into neutral with something trashy" however she criticises the manga with the comment "its creative horizons are that of a bodice ripper. Don't expect the next modern manga masterpiece." Katherine Dacey, writing for The Manga Critic, criticises Misao for not defending herself even as "demons slash her throat, poison her, push her off rooftops, and slam her against walls." Dacey comments that "younger readers may find sexy, but older readers will see him for what he is: a wolf in knight’s clothing, posing as Misao’s savior while manipulating her for his own selfish interests."
