Rooster Fighter, Vol. 1

Gr 9 Up–Defeating giant demons is all in a day’s work for the vagabond rooster Keiji. Using a form of ”resonance,” which occurs when the frequency of one’s voice (or crow) matches the wavelength of an object, Keiji regularly slays demons that are as tall as skyscrapers. When he’s done, he simply moves on. And he doesn’t intend to stop until he vanquishes one particular demon—the one that killed his sister. So, did Sakuratani seriously bring readers Demon Slayer, but with roosters? He certainly did, and it is glorious. While the concept of a nomadic rooster exterminating baddies that are a thousand times his size may stretch plausibility for some readers, the entertainment value is so high that most will be happy to put those questions aside (at least through the first volume). The art is excellent, with character designs that are wonderfully over-the-top and action scenes (some of the full spread variety) that look fabulous. There’s also a lot of comedy in this one; it often comes off as a parody of other shonen titles. There are a handful of images depicting sex between a rooster and a hen, but they’re not explicit, contributing to the parodic quality more than anything else. In the end, what more needs to be said: it’s a demon-extinguishing rooster.