Ando convinced himself when he was younger that he had the gift of psychic ventriloquism. That is, he'd think something and someone walking by would repeat what was in his head. Of course, when he told his friends in school, it turned out badly, so now as a junior in high school he's perfectly content to just go with the flow, to do and say everything that will allow him to blend in.
But Maoh: Juvenile Remix, Volume One is a shonen manga, and it never works out that way.
Ando gets hit in the head by a baseball on his way home from school (and miraculously has no concussion-must be that latent psychic ability); a group of bullies is having some fun trying to see how many people they can hit. While Ando tries to convince his younger brother, Junya, that fighting back will only cause problems and more importantly, cause waves and undue attention, the (in)famous uber-bishonen Inukai and his band of vigilantes, the Grasshopper squad, show up just in time. The hooligan with the baseball bat isn't impressed with Inukai's public speaking skills and hits the leader of the squad in the head with his bat. Don't worry – Inukai has no apparent head injuries either, aside from the blood. I'm thinking this is a pattern.
After that fateful meeting with Inukai, Ando slowly begins to test his psychic ability, on a girl on the train and on bully victims at school. Each time, Ando remembers Inukai's speech about being able to change the world, if you believe in yourself and confront the problem. Turns out Ando really is psychic. But this time, he decides he won't be so obvious with his ability. He keeps it to himself. Ando starts seeing the influence of Inukai and Grasshopper everywhere, from the bully victim in his high school to the suicide of a local politician, and begins to wonder if Inukai really is the savior of their town, like everyone else seems to believe…
The original story is by Kotaro Itsuka, acclaimed author of several novels, reworked by artist Megumi Osuga. As the original source material was written by a novelist, it explains why this manga starts out so "snail's pace" slow. So slow, in fact, that patience is necessary as you wait for every scrap of information Osuga gives you. Maoh means the King of Demons, but there isn't a single demon in this first volume, just a vague hook: don't fight with monsters, or you'll turn into one, too.
This manga has potential. Aside from the very stereotypical villain Inukai and hero Ando, the psychic angle is unique enough – ventriloquism rather than firestarting or telekinesis – that it keeps you guessing. The supporting cast sprinkles humor and plot twists that keep you from squirming between long Inukai/Ando exposition scenes. I'll be picking up volume 2, but if the story doesn't pick up by then, it might just be worth it to sit through a bunch of Bleach fight sequences, to alleviate your boredom in the meantime.
ComicsOnline gives Maoh: Juvenile Remix, Volume One two out of five chocolate-covered grasshopper legs.
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