Momochi-san Chi no Ayakashi Ouji (The Demon Prince of Momochi House) Review
- Mangaka : Shouoto, Aya
- Publisher : VIZ
- Genres : Fantasy, Romance, Shoujo, Harem, Supernatural
- Published : October 2015
Momochi-san Chi no Ayakashi Ouji (The Demon Prince of Momochi House) Vol. 2 Introduction
Himari learns of the harsh reality of Aoi’s separation from the outside world and is at a loss for how to help him. Ever determined to be a good landlady to Momochi House and the spirits living there, she spends her days exploring and learning about the residents. Aoi has many duties as the Omamori-sama and seems to be suffering from the added burden of protecting Himari from rouge ayakashi. How has Aoi managed so long on his own and how much longer can he last?
Contains Spoilers
Discussion Time
With detailed drawings to really make us feel transported to an other-worldly place, Momochi House continues to be as beautiful as it is haunting. Himari continues naively attempting to help Aoi or make it so that he can leave the house without her really understanding anything. However, she refuses to be daunted by Aoi telling her to go and resolves to keep trying until she sees it through. When she disappears, Aoi struggles with his feelings of loneliness, though he tries to just be grateful that she’s no longer in danger. It’s not long until Himari returns, loudly proclaiming that she intends to stay for a long time, at least until she can kick Aoi out of her house.
We get a glance into Aoi’s backstory, learning that he came to Momochi House when he was just 10 and disappeared in the minds of all who knew him. His apparent detachment to old relationships makes us wonder if he was experiencing horrors long before he stumbled into the cursed house. Himari has very human-centric ideas of what is good for Aoi but a sharp talking to from Ise and Yukari shows her she’s pitying him for the wrong reasons. Humans aren’t necessarily better and these two who have looked after him for 7 years truly do care for him.
Himari manages to annoy another ayakashi named Onmoraki, a bird demon who’s only able to see his sister once every year. While they get off on the wrong foot, Himari is moved by his love for his sister. When a soul eater comes to eat the spirits forced to wander, Onmoraki’s sister among them, Aoi himself can do nothing but watch. Himari creates a distraction long enough for Onmoraki to create a pact with Aoi which gives him the power to destroy the Soul Eater. Even though he misses his chance to see his little sister for the year, he’s grateful to both Himari and Aoi for helping him protect her. Ise isn’t thrilled that a low-level yokai became a shiki like himself, but Onmaraki seems grateful and excited for the opportunity.
Aoi falls ill and Himari, Ise, and Yukari take it upon themselves to investigate a mysterious flooding. An old water-dwelling demon trying to reunite with the Nue, or Omamori-sama, is behind it and is determined to flood the house so she can be with him. She threatens Himari’s life but the Nue appears and banishes the demon. Surprisingly, the cool water does heal Aoi’s fever, which is a relief to the others.
Himari starts school and is nervous about her transfer, but makes friends easily. Once the 4 friends learn of her living in Momochi House, however, they demand to be let over to see the spooky place of legend. Himari tries to make the ayakashi and Aoi hide but instead, they dress up as her three older sisters and talk with the students. Aoi pulls Himari away to warn her one of them is actually dead and will turn into a demon if they stay in the house. As they are a guest of the landlady, Aoi can’t stop it. Himari struggles to figure it out for herself but before she can, she finds one of her new friends dead…
1. There’s Drama, Death, and Demons
While it makes sense that there would be some talk of death in a story about ghosts and demons, they aren’t afraid to make you uncomfortable. Even though a lot of the story has very short resolutions and lots of funny, flirty moments, there are a lot of serious moments as well. The expressions on the characters really show the pain they try to hide. Even as we learn more about Momochi House, it really only serves to show us how much we don’t know.
1. You Don’t Like a Slow-Burn Romance
Even though Himari admits to herself in this volume that she loves Aoi, she is always turning down his requests to sleep together and pushing him away when he gets clingy. Aoi gets a little bolder in this volume and it’s clear they both like each other. It also seems like it’ll be a few more volumes before we get any consensual kiss or declaration of love.
Final Thoughts
With more rooms to explore and more ayakashi with powers to understand, Momochi House continues to be a mystical place. Rules must be learned, ceremonies must be performed, and Himari must continue to grow into her role as the landlady. Trying to find a balance between human responsibilities and spiritual responsibilities is not an easy task. Volume 2 also ends on a chilling cliffhanger and we’ll have to read the next volume to find out if anyone else will die in that house!
Author: May
