Outsiders Vol. 1
Many young people know what they want to do with their lives from the very beginning. Ema Asano is one such person. Most of her 
classmates are focused on fashion and dating. But Ema cannot be bothered with such things. She dreams of following in the footsteps of her parents, who were both police officers before their deaths defending their community. Until such time as she can become a real cop, Ema roams the streets of Tokyo as a vigilante.
Ema’s diligence leads her into the bad part of town one night after her older sister, Yuko, goes missing. To her horror, she discovers that Yuko was lured there by one of her co-workers, Tamaki, who is a vampire in need of a meal. Ema is ready to call the authorities, but is stopped by another of Yuko’s co-workers, Taiga, who also a werewolf.
That encounter marks the night when Ema’s vigil becomes something else entirely. For there are monsters in the shadows besides vampires and werewolves. And Tamaki and Taiga, despite nominally being on opposite sides of an eternal war, find they have more in common with each other than their own kind. Thus forms an unusual team, as the trio work to put down those monsters who cannot control their urges to kill.
On the surface, there is little to distinguish Outsiders from other urban fantasy series. Indeed, creator Akira Kanou freely admits to having been inspired by the Twilight Saga. And there certainly are innumerable horror series built around the idea of a rivalry between werewolves and vampires. Despite this, Outsiders puts enough unique spins on its mythology to mark it as unique. It also boasts some twisted artwork with a far lighter and sketchier style than one would associate with a horror shojo.
Outsiders defies expectations in other ways as well. Usually, a novel of this sort would inevitably feature a love triangle between the teen heroine and the two dashing older men who barely look older than her. There is no such romance in Outsiders. While Ema does show some casual interest in wondering what dating a vampire or a werewolf would be like, her feelings are not reciprocated by Tamaki or Taiga. In fact, most of the romance in this first volume involves subtle hints of a growing attraction between the vampire and werewolf. All these twists help to make Outsiders into something unique that may appeal to fans of the genre looking for something different.
Outsiders Vol. 1 is rated 12+ by Titan Manga. I consider that to be a fair grade for the content. There is a fair bit of violence and bloodshed, but nothing inappropriate to a T-rated Manga. As noted, there is no sexual content or nudity. Indeed, there is barely any hit of romance and most of that confined to meaningful glances between the two male leads that the heroine presumes mean something more. The closest any of the characters come to impropriety is Tamaki undressing and dressing an unconscious Ema in clean clothes after her own clothing is torn while trying to save her sister. Even then, he is a perfect gentleman, and explains he only did this because he couldn’t well let Ema (who is immune to his hypnosis powers for some reason) run off into the night in a bedraggled state.
Outsiders Vol. 1
By Akira Kanou
Titan, 2025
ISBN: 9781787745711
Company Age Rating:Â 12+
NFNT Age Recommendation: Older Teen (16-18), Teen (13-16)
Creator Representation:Â Japanese,
Character Representation:Â Japanese,
