MANGA REVIEW: Fruit of the Underworld Vol. 1

FRUIT OF THE UNDERWORLD Vol. 1
by Aya Kanno
Available March 31

For the last ten years, Seiji has endured one life-threatening accident after another. That could be because of the pomegranate he brought home from the underworld and has kept in a can ever since. In an effort to put an end to death's vendetta against him, he eats the fruit. But that only makes things worse.

Like so many mythical figures before him, the teenager now finds himself traversing the underworld to find the best friend he swore to protect. And as he does, he'll discover the skewed power struggle between Heaven, Hell, and the space between when souls are judged. Fortunately, the fruit he ate gives him a powerful (and kind of gross) ability. But the longer he stays in the underworld, the more of himself he risks losing.

Fruit of the Underworld is a generally fun read and, for better or for worse, it follows the example of a lot of shonen-geared manga before it. The art is great, Seiji as a character is interesting, and fans of mythology from all over the world will enjoy certain name checks. Unless you have a very specific interest in these topics, or in action manga in general, it's not one to move to the top of your reading list immediately. It's fun enough, but future installments will tell whether this title makes good on its promising start.

TEA PAIRING: Porch Stories
For lack of a literal pomegranate tea, this peach and apricot one does the trick. It's a bold, fruit-flavored black tea originally made for summer, and works well both hot and iced. Use my code KARA15 for 15% off this and other teas from Chapters Tea & Co.!