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Though it’s far from perfect, my chief complaint with Hell is Dark With No Flowers volume 1 is its length. A paltry 160 pages (and change), it’s a great read that sets up a unique world and incredibly interesting characters… but sticks close to the bare minimum to earn that praise. Though I suppose more than why it’s good, I should explain what it is in the first place. For a playful comparison, consider it a supernatural detective comedy soaked from head to toe in blood, horror, and the darkest corners of human nature. In more concrete terms, Hell Is Dark With No Flowers is about the drifting and pseudo-homeless Seiji Tohno falling into the hands of a very peculiar boy, named Shiroshi Saijou, that ropes Seiji into being his part-time assistant… in operating a proxy service for Hell, with the goal of consigning 100 sinners to their fates.

Of course, Shiroshi is no regular boy, and to that end neither is Seiji. With their disparately inhuman natures in hand, the two engage with a world of terrors that is just plain interesting. To get there however, we do have to start at the beginning- both with my prior praise and complaints. Despite its length and content, the pacing of the volume is surprisingly agreeable. There’s quite a bit of movement and development but it hardly feels forced, largely in thanks to the clean separation and vocalization of changes in time. Does that change the fact that there’s important moments that could be hiding in those compressed days and months? Absolutely not, which is a touch frustrating. I won’t say that time skips themselves are a terrible idea, but I do think that making… liberal, I’ll call it, use of them in a first volume can erase a lot of important characterization as the work begins to become almost too streamlined.

Though Hell Is Dark With No Flowers volume 1 does trim quite a bit of runtime off of itself, it absolutely refuses to let go of anything important in regards to Yokai (or our characters). The world of terrible mystery is exactly that- a horrifyingly dark and grim realm that Seiji uncontrollably peers into. Through a moment in his past (which is brushed aside in this volume), we learn of how he gains this power. Though, its origins and even the extent of its abilities are inconsequential in this first volume. First and foremost, it forces Seiji into Shiroshi’s world, stumbling around aimlessly and being delivered to an enigmatic mansion. Secondly, it’s used as outstanding characterization with an impressively thought out second and third act.

On the topic of characterization, Hell Is Dark With No Flowers volume 1 delivers a very rare dynamic- a truly incompetent, but valuable, assistant alongside their far more aloof and able boss. Seiji is, by all means, a considerable failure of a person. Unobservant, self-indulging, incapable- you name it. On the other hand, Shiroshi is everything that Seiji is not, and the volume tries very hard to convey that idea. Yes, it does so by consistently making a fool out of Seiji, but conversely, because of their disparate natures Seiji offers Shiroshi a different perspective on the humans that the pair will judge and condemn. It’s astoundingly creative and fun, as it absolutely does not erase Seiji’s shortcomings, but allows his core personality to poke through every so often and not just help Shiroshi, but connect with him. The young man and… Hellboy (pun intended) are not fast friends or an unbeatable duo, or even frenemies in this volume. What they are is a comparatively drab dynamic that doesn’t explode with growth, but also pairing that feels natural and is astonishingly rare to see executed so well. They don’t need to be some incredible grouping, and Hell Is Dark With No Flowers volume 1 conveys that with its excellent writing, and also a healthy degree of puns and euphemisms.

I wouldn’t necessarily rush to say that this debut volume is covered head to toe in incredible prose, but I think very similarly to Iori Miyazawa and Otherside Picnic, Yoru Michio is a novelist that understands the value of research- as well as having at the minimum some ability or talent. Pulling from a broad range of history and integrating it effectively with the complexities of modern society, Michio expresses a surprisingly wide offering of dialogue, information, and obviously folktales regarding yokai. Delivered by the unaffected and ethereal Shiroshi, they carry a very desirable tension that can be easily sliced apart by Seiji’s ineptitude- sometimes. While the dynamic does lend itself to the sort of imagery of an anvil dropping on Shiroshi’s head thanks to Seiji, the latter can do a good job of containing themselves when needed for the story. The result is a healthy smattering of comedy that does well to stay out of the way of the darker story and world.

Taking a step backwards, Hell Is Dark With No Flowers volume 1 carries with it a strong degree of balance. Burdened with a heavy and dark world, Michio provides commendable work to allow characters meaningful & positive growth and interactions despite what can oftentimes be an imposing weight. In the midst of murder, hatred, and unspeakable acts, the volume is able to find well needed reprieves in comedy and its greater narrative, for example. Moments like these are incredibly valuable in the grand scheme of things, and provide the reader with the ability to step back and recompose themselves, allowing for an expression of, “Wow, this is good” to slip out after finishing the volume, rather than heaving a sigh due to its weight.

Hell is Dark With No Flowers volume 1 is not any sort of instantaneous hit, or an incredible work on its own, but as an introduction to this world? It’s hard to deny that it hasn’t done its job incredibly well. Though it delivers only a trio of sins this volume, each of them allows the series to leap towards its proper beginning. Even still, its hard to call this first volume just a primer, or anything of the sort. It is very much a prologue in the truest sense- giving readers perspective and background as to the origins and purposes of our characters for when their stories truly begin. As a standalone volume it absolutely could stand on its own, but as perspective for something greater, well, it’s much better suited to that.