If last week was the story of Shun Numa’s less than ideal return, then fans of Natsuki Hokami will surely have nothing to complain about. The Hell Warden Higuma author is back with a new series in Weekly Shonen Jump that echoes much of their previous work, even if the end result isn’t entirely reassuring.

Graykeith: Translator Daemonica follows the titular character as he helps a young girl uncover the contents of a grimoire left behind by her late grandmother. As it turns out, the human world of this story merged with that of daemons several hundred years ago, leading to the proliferation of supernatural beings and their cultures in a modern setting. The young girl at the heart of chapter one is herself a Lamian: one of the daemon races most closely tied to magecraft in this universe.

Combining a modern setting with more supernatural elements is a familiar trope in most modern manga, but Hokami’s focus on how language would function in such a setting is what makes this series stand out. Rather than being a divine warrior or supreme sorcerer, Graykeith is instead a master of daemon languages in a cosmopolitan world where many humans remain ignorant of their otherworldly neighbours. One of the standouts of the chapter is when we get our first taste of this world as the characters travel to Yorugaya for research, including an important case of missed communication.

Even so, the series does end up defaulting back to action by the very end. Although the main plot of the chapter revolves around Graykeith translating the aforementioned grimoire, he ends up using a familiar known as The Hanged Lady to go head to head with a gang of bats halfway through to retrieve the original book for his client following a mugging incident. This tension between action and scholarship, between who Graykeith thinks he is and who others perceive him to be, is somewhat cheekily inserted into the text of the story by having the character constantly refuse the title of wizard. 

On the whole, there is a lot to like here. Hokami’s art direction is bold and confident, featuring some striking character and creature designs, but the worst sin that chapter one commits is  ending on a note that leaves no room for subsequent storytelling. Graykeith himself seemingly has no overriding goal and the young girl (left unnamed) has her emotional arc resolved by coming to terms with her demonic heritage… it feels more like a one-shot than anything else.

Moreover, Kinato’s Magic started in a similar fashion: a non-action protagonist in a fantasy world that ended up getting involved in fights anyway. Given that it ended the other week, that might not be a very good comparison.

Chapter One Club is a weekly column that aims to spotlight the latest in new series and one-shots from across a wide variety of different demographics and publications.