“Asuma Sudou has always been a proud pervert, but he's sworn to give that up to chase the girl of his dreams. Having received a special invitation to enter the same all-girls school as her, he's planning to live his romantic youth to the fullest. But those plans are cut short when it turns out the school is a front for a secret organization dedicated to battling kaijin-monsters created when people succumb to their murderous impulses! The girls of the school fight using the relics of defeated kaijin, but when the bloodthirsty instincts sealed within threaten to overwhelm them, Asuma is the only one who can bring them back to their senses!” (Yen Press)
Buy This Title
Paying homage to horror and action (with a healthy helping of fan service), Tetsuya Tashiro's “Slasher Maidens” is an ecletic mix of styles. Consequently, this mash-up sees the series indulge in some riotous sequences pushed by bloody action, while taking the odd hard stumble in narrative.
To speak to the strengths, Tetsuya Toshiro excels at character design with a troop of heroines that pay a sleek homage to the likes of Jason Voorhees and Freddy Kreuger. These little nods to horror icons are not overplayed in approach, giving the reader a nice homage without feeling pandered too. In addition, Toshiro's creature design distorts human avarice and anger to create some memorable monsters., with the latter design choice wonderfully capturing a common manga/anime trope of villains' constructed around their own personal shortcomings. Overall, “Slasher Maidens” offers the reader a fun and riotous world influenced both western and eastern influence in equal measure.
The story does play out somewhat formulaic, with a pretty long checklist of basic manga tropes; guy enters all female school, his crush is not what she seems, he has a secret power, the school is a front for a secret organization, etc. Thankfully, Toshiro does navigate all these tropes with some flair, backed by his strong character design, to keep the narrative engaging and fresh despite predictability. However, there is one element of the story that falls tragically flat.
The biggest shortcoming of the series comes from its attempts at comedy, largely pushed by a perverted hero in Asuma Sundo. Essentially, for every joke that lands, another seems to fall flat. This is reflected in Sudous' identity as an ‘eros kajin', a monster born of lust that has the ability to quell the bloodlust of the ‘slasher maidens'. Consequently, his antics teeter between an endearing caring for his comrades to a perversity highlighted by putting himself in the best situation to get a ‘lewd' view of his fellow classmates. Comedy and fan service tend to go hand in hand in manga, though they don't always mix well and can hurt the narrative. Overall, the humor in “Slasher Maidens” is quirky at best and juvenile at its worst.
While failing as a comedy, “Slasher Maidens” acts as a wonderful homage to horror icons and action fueled manga. In addition, Tetsuya Tashiro crafts lively creatures reflective of societal obsessions and wonderfully realized ‘femme fatales'. These elements help carry the first volume of the manga giving reason to be cautiously optimistic, the series may sink or swim with its protagonist ability to charm instead of perving out.
