Hyde & Closer


Hyde & Closer is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Haro Aso. It was serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday from December 2007 to December 2008, and later on the website from December 2008 to July 2009. Its chapters were collected in seven volumes. In North America, the series was licensed for English release by Viz Media, who serialized it online at Shonen Sunday and later released its volumes in print.

Plot

Shunpei Closer, a timid 13-year-old boy, is the grandson of Alsyd Closer, a powerful magician known as the "Sorcerer King". On his seventh birthday, Alsyd gifted Shunpei a sentient teddy bear named Hyde. Six years later, Hyde awakens to protect Shunpei from a magical attack, revealing the boy is targeted by magicians worldwide. Initially frightened, Shunpei overcomes his fear to assist Hyde in battle, unlocking the bear's hidden weapon—the Texas Chainsaw. Through subsequent conflicts, Shunpei discovers his magical heritage, learns of the powerful group "The Six" pursuing him, and uncovers the truth about his grandfather's disappearance and the mysterious "Watcher in the Window".

Characters

Main characters

;Closer Shunpei
;Hyde
;Uryuu Tatsumi
;Sōsuke Shindou Tomiko
;Ana Maria Monsalvaltge Shakka-Shakka Mekki
;Kazan Desmond
;Closer Alsyd
;Pacqwa Suno-allichi

Enemy Curse users

;Antonio Chamokey
;Chilledski Harawataski
;Bugs Seyabdi
;Enrique Kefman Michellan
;Chi-Chi Wamien
;Abumiya Lancy
;Schubert

Faction of The Watcher in the Window

;The Watcher in the Window
;Punch
;Ashlev Pterobone
;Ronove
;Asmodai

Publication

Written and illustrated by Haro Aso, Hyde & Closer debuted in Shogakukan's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday on December 26, 2007. It was serialized in the magazine until December 2008, when it was transferred to Shogakukan's website. The series finished on July 3, 2009. Shogakukan collected its chapters into seven volumes, released from March 18, 2008, to August 18, 2009.
In North America, the manga was licensed for English release by Viz Media. The series was published online on its Shonen Sunday website in July 2009. The seven volumes were published between July 13, 2010, and January 10, 2012.

Reception

Corrina Lawson of Wired felt that the story was likely to be scary to young children, as toys attack the protagonists, but her sons enjoyed the character of Hyde, who she described as "the teddy bear version of Nick Fury". Lawson also praised the "genuinely suspenseful" action sequences. Johanna Draper Carlson from Comics Worth reading felt that it was interesting having a boy learn to be a man from a teddy bear, but felt sad that a younger audience who could more appreciate these themes was excluded by the older teen rating of the title. Danica Davidson, writing for Otaku USA, felt the first volume was "tightly written and clever", and found the protagonist very sympathetic. The reviewer for Manga-News describes the beginning as being typical of, depicting a timid protagonist who gains confidence and the ability to protect himself, but felt there were many elements which made Hyde & Closer unique, including an effective graphical style which is dynamic, expressive, and original, and felt that the series would become more in-depth as the story progressed.