Alichino

This is the first of three volumes in a shojo manga series. Legend says that the Alichino are creatures of unearthly beauty, who, drawn by your sorrow, will grant your wish. What legend doesn't say is that the price for that wish is your soul. Tsugiri, a young man with a mysterious past, a beautiful face, and an uncommon purity of soul, is linked to the Alichino in some way--a way that only begins to become clear after he encounters a girl searching for an Alichino to heal her sick brother. ALICHINO has a real fairy-tale feel to it, so it's not surprising that the lush, ornate black-and-white art is somewhat reminiscent of

Pre-Raphaelite-influenced Western fantasy art. The book, which reproduces the original Japanese right-to-left panel orientation, also includes a full-color frontispiece and an untranslated preview of the next installment.