Fantasy has always functioned as a vehicle to explore the real behind a veil of irreality. That’s as true for The Odyssey as it is for Dracula and Mobile Suit Gundam in the modern day, even though the forms have evolved greatly over the years. Hanbake by Seiichi Tokiwa is a perfect example of this: a new web manga that uses the familiar tropes of folklore to interrogate themes applicable to everyday life.

What if creatures from folklore really existed in the real world and had offspring that carried their blood unknowingly in the modern day? That particular premise is admittedly the same as a great many modern fantasy manga, but where Hanbake stands out is by incorporating the supernatural into decidedly normal stories of love and relationships. Like all good fantasy stories, the departure from everyday life is merely the start of a journey of self reflection.

Chapter one follows the story of Touko Amano, a young woman who has the blood of an ameonna running through her veins. Interestingly enough, this is both the name of an actual yokai in Japanese folklore as well as a more general way to refer to someone who seemingly brings the rain with them wherever they go. For Amano, the reality of being related to such a figure means something less spiritual than the unfortunate fact that any special occasions, such as school festivals or first dates, always become a wash out no matter what.

Constant cancellations, coupled with a traumatic first relationship, means that Amano makes up her mind in school to live on her own as much as possible. This is the first theme that Hanbake explores: social isolation, including the fact that no man is an island. No matter how much the protagonist tries to push people away, she ends up getting sucked in again and again. It’s not until a chance encounter with a man named Souta through coworkers that she really learns how to start trusting others again.

Their subsequent relationship introduces the second theme of the chapter: the transformational power of true love. Even though Amano supposedly brings the rain with her wherever she goes, it somehow never happens whenever she is with Souta. He reveals later on that this is because he too has the blood of a drought god running through his veins, but the two characters were drawn together regardless of this fact. You could argue that they were destined for each other, if the idea of soulmates truly has any merit.

More broadly, a pregnancy scare at the end of the short story reveals just how much the two characters have changed because of their time together. As Souta remarks, he once resented being born with his strange abilities, but now he’s able to see it as a blessing rather than a curse. Furthermore, his particular upbringing as a drought god means that he feels uniquely poised to protect another child like himself. Doesn’t this sound just like a normal couple having a conversation about the prospect of having children?

Hanbake certainly isn’t a flashy series, but it's definitely one that communicates themes that should be universal for readers of all backgrounds. Especially considering that this is an omnibus series, here’s hoping that Seiichi Tokiwa can keep up the quality across multiple characters and different scenarios. It certainly has the scope to run for a long, long while.

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.