Allegories, stories that have hidden meanings. Japan is famous for numerous amounts of wives' tales, folklore, and allegories. But what would happen if those stories came true?
Daisuke Aso is a private detective known for "taking care of" these stories. One day Aso takes on another such case: the man under the bed, with an ax. The client, Kanae Hiranuma, hasn't been able to sleep in days. She believes that if she does sleep then a man with an ax will come out from under her bed and kill her. Aso takes the case and, before long, solves it. It turns out that it really was Kanae's imagination, but one that can effect all humans. See, once someone truly believes in an allegory, it becomes real, but just to humans. The only way to get rid of an allegory is to get the believer to not believe. That, however, is not easy at all.
Well, Kanae somehow gets a job working for the Aso detective agency, where she gets to know Aso better. Aso was once a police detective; he likes porno books (they're all over his office), and he is obsessed with allegories. One of Aso's allegories is that if you hiccup 100 times in a row, you'll die, and every time Aso is around an allegory, he gets the hiccups. The second allegory is of a little girl who lives in a bathroom and can travel by toilets (what she's actually supposed to be, I haven't figured out yet).
The next two cases in this volume are of the slit-mouthed woman, a woman who has a mouth that goes from ear to ear, and is obsessed with men telling her she's beautiful, and the other is the allegory of the human-faced fish, said to be vengeful spirits of a human who can take on the form of a fish with a human face-like design on its head.
Overall
I like allegories, folklore, and wives' tales, and I always wonder what it is they are trying to warn us about, and what would happen if they were real. As soon as Hanako and the Terror of Allegory came in for review, I knew I had to have it. It didn't disappoint. Each case makes sense and the way in which it was solved made sense. Normally, with plots about allegories, they just happen to terrorize the world, but, in this series, allegories only affect humans. They can affect their surroundings, but, once the case is closed, the damage goes away, because, in reality, the problem didn't actually exist.
Hanako and the Terror of Allegory has a really solid plot which is easy to progress and easy to change if needed. The characters come across as simple, but it all changes with one phrase. It was genius. A lot of times in the first volume too much is explained to set up the setting, plot, and characters, but in this series, much of what would be told is left out. It actually made it easier to get into. By not knowing everything, it left suspense and that, "OMG! I HAVE TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS!" feeling.
Overall, I loved the way the allegories were played out, and the hidden meanings behind them. The art was a bit on the lower end of the scale, but the plot made up for that. There were some really mature themes, such as the smut, and the jokes that went with it. I will NOT recommend this series for someone under 16. But, for those who liked xxxHolic, and any vampire, werewolf stories, I believe you would like this series. I really can't wait for the next volume, when they explore "The Devil of Facing Mirrors"!
ComicsOnline gives Hanako and the Terror of Allegory, 4 out of 5 Human-faced Fish.
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