| Fairy Cube | |
|---|---|
 Cover of the first Fairy Cube volume as published by Viz Media in North America on May 1, 2008 |
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| 妖精標本 (YÅsei HyÅhon) |
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| Genre | Fantasy, Horror |
| Manga | |
| Author | Kaori Yuki |
| Publisher |  Hakusensha |
| English publisher |   Viz Media Chuang Yi |
| Demographic | ShÅjo |
| Magazine | Hana to Yume |
| Original run | February 19, 2005 – 2006 |
| Volumes | 3 |
Fairy Cube (妖精標本 YÅsei HyÅhon) is a fantasy gothic shÅjo manga written and illustrated by Kaori Yuki. Appearing as a serial in the Japanese magazine Hana to Yume from 2005 to 2006, the Fairy Cube chapters were collected into three tankÅbon volumes by Hakusensha and published from October 2005 to July 2006. Set in modern Japan, the series focuses on Ian Hasumi, who can see fairies, and his childhood friend Rin. After Ian's body is stolen from him, he begins a quest to regain it while stopping the fairies' plan to recapture the earth.
Viz Media licensed Fairy Cube for an English-language release in North America. It previewed the series in its manga anotholgy Shojo Beat and released the series from May 2008 to November 2008. The series received positive reviews. Critics liked the Celtic mythology, quick pacing, and detailed art of the series. Others criticized Yuki's use of mutlple subplots and characters, and inconsistancies in the art.
Contents |
The series focuses on Ian Hasumi, a timid boy with the ability to see fairies and who is stalked by Tokage, a vengeful spirit. Ian was born with wing marks on his back, which his father burns off to prevent him from leaving, something Ian's mother did before the start of the series. Ian later encounters Rin, his abused childhood friend, who he secretly likes.
In the city where he lives, murders known as the "Fairy Murders" occur: the victims have their backs slit open, with blood spurting out in the shape of a fairy's wings. Ian stumbles onto the scene of a Fairy Murder, and seeing a man retrieve a cube from the victim's body, he follows him back to his antique shop. There, the man, Kaito, gives Ian Tokage's fairy cube — the contained spirit of a fairy. Later, Ian's father is manipulated by Tokage into killing Ian; Tokage then possesses Ian's body. As a spirit, Ian goes to Kaito's shop and is sent to the Otherworld with a small but vicious fairy named Ainsel. Upon returning to earth, Ainsel agrees to aid Ian in regaining his body. Kaito gives him a replacement body of a young boy and reappears as his chaperone.
Ian confronts Tokage and learns that he grew up in the Otherworld loved by a fairy. Tokage's village planned to sacrifice him to their sealed god, but he slaughtered them and the god escaped. Ian also discovers that Gotoh company, a multi-millionaire land development company run by a cross-dressing girl named Shira, plans to take over the world for the fairies under the "Elysium Project".
Meanwhile, Gotoh takes Rin hostage and attempts to lure Ian back to them. Under the pretense of a beauty contest, the company plans to harvest the energy of the fairy cubes and bystanders to open a door to the Otherworld. Ian rescues Rin and the sealed god is revealed to be inhabiting the body of Shira's father. Kaito forces Ian and Tokage out of the bodies that they are possessing and reveals that Ainsel is the key to the door; she merges with Ian and Ian's former body accepts Tokage. Ian's mother is revealed to have been held captive by Gotoh and before dying, she reveals that Tokage is Ian's twin brother who died prematurely. Shira cuts the god's lifeline and he kills her in revenge. Kaito and Ainsel die together to close the door while Ian and Rin let the people of earth glimpse the fairies.
Although Kaori Yuki considered having Ian and Rin as the sacrifice to close the demon door, she decided against it, not wanting to "leave a nasty aftertaste".[1] Yuki also wanted to draw the fairies as "one big happy family", but didn't.[1] Because the plot focused on the relationship between Ian and Rin, she was unable to include Ian and Tokage becoming friends in the manga.[1] Yuki later reused Raven, a member of the clan who guards the demon door, and Tokage in the spinoff story "Psycho Knocker", where the two chase down and pacify spirits that have escaped from the demon door.[2]
Written and illustrated by Kaori Yuki, the chapters of Fairy Cube was serialized in Hana to Yume from 2005 to 2006. Hakusensha collected the chapters into three tankÅbon volumes. The first was released on October 19, 2005; the last was published on July 19, 2006.[3][4]
Fairy Cube is licensed for an English-language release in North America by Viz Media.[5] Viz included a preview of Fairy Cube in the April 2008 issue of its manga anthology Shojo Beat,[6] and published the series from May 1, 2008 to November 4, 2008.[7][8] The series is also licensed in Singapore by Chuang Yi,[9] in Taiwan by Culturecom Comics,[10] in Germany by Carlsen Comics,[11] in Italy by Panini Comics,[12] and in France by Editions Tonkam.[13]
| No. | Title | Japanese release | North American release | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Rebirth | October 19, 2005[3] ISBN 4592183517 |
May 1, 2008[7] ISBN 1-4215-1668-3 |
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| 02 | Crown of Thorns | February 17, 2006[14] ISBN 4592183525 |
August 5, 2008[15] ISBN 1-4215-1669-1 |
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| 03 | The Last Wing | July 19, 2006[4] ISBN 4592183533 |
November 4, 2008[8] ISBN 1-4215-1670-5 |
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The last Fairy Cube volume debuted at the 221th spot of the 300 best-selling graphic novels for November 2008 with an estimated 516 copies sold.[16]
Yuki's work in Fairy Cube was noted for the quick pacing,[17][18] the Celtic mythology,[17][18], "exemplary" color schemes,[17] dark and "intricate" artwork,[18][19] "intense and intricate" writing,[20] and not featuring "long, strung out plots" or the "brooding" protagonist typical of her works.[18] Holly Ellingwood of Active Anime stated, "Kaori Yuki has created another Gothic masterpiece of horror, tragedy, heroism and hope" and described the story as "a giant spider web where the reader sees with each chapter the depths and widths to which everything and everyone within the story are interconnected."[21] Reviewers liked the cover of the first volume, with Anime News Network's Casey Brienza commenting that it is "hands down the most beautiful of any yet to be published under Viz Media's Shojo Beat imprint."[17][22] School Library Journal described the storyline as "more accessible than Yuki's previous works, all darker and with more convoluted plotlines [sic]".[19] Conversely, Pop Culture Shock commented that Fairy Cube was as "gloriously overripe as the best volumes of Godchild, but considerably more coherent", observing that the artwork conveyed a "delirious, almost hysterical, quality to it that suits the manga's luridly romantic tone."[23] In a follow-up review, Katherine Dacey commented that "Fairy Cube began promisingly enough" but "started to fly apart at the seams with the introduction of new characters and a new subplot in which fairies plan to take over the world by means of a beauty pageant." She rated the final volume "C+".[24] One reviewer disliked how quickly the story happened, commenting that the protagonists' personalities were not fully explored.[22] Yuki was criticized for using too many subplots and characters, causing the manga to become "somewhat hampered",[25] and the inconsistencies of the artwork within the manga.[17]
   | title=Comic-Con - Viz Media - Comic-Con International 2007 - Anime News Network |
| | Fansite with detailed resumees - FAIRY TALES [Fairy Cube (Yousei Hyouhon) by Yuki Kaori] a world of fascination |
| | ''Fairy Cube'' - VIZ Media . products |
| | title=VIZ - VIZ Media . products |
| | Fairy Cube Volume 1 - Comics Village - Fairy Cube Volume |
| | Yuki, Kaori. Fairy Cube (01 July 08) - Yuki, Kaori. Fairy Cube. (01-JUL-08) School Library Journal |
| | title=Fairy - Fairy Cube GN 1 - Review - Anime News Network |
| | Fairy Cube - Fairy Cube - CARLSEN Verlag |
| | Fairy Cube - Fairy Cube - Manga - Editions Tonkam |
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