Monster Soul

Monster Soul is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima. It was serialized in Comic BomBom from January 2006 to August 2007 and collected into two volumes.

Plot

Monster Soul is set in Elvenland, a fictional land inhabited by humans and monsters who live as segregated groups. The main characters are a group of monsters called the Black Airs, which is recorded as the strongest monster squadron in a war between the two races. The manga's "first stage" consists of episodic stories that focus on the Black Airs' fight to uphold peace and harmony between humans and monsters. In the "second stage", the Black Airs travel to Hell to help a human boy save his captured townspeople from the Drei Kommandos, a monster trio that aims to awaken a formidable evil.

Characters

Black Airs

;Aki
;Tooran
;James
;Mummy
;Joba

First Stage characters

;Vulcan Brothers
;Bacon
;Kiyo
;Jenny
;Garuelf

Second Stage characters

Drei Kommandos

;Blank
;Guyna
;Kiriko

Others

;Selsh
;Pooch
;Jobo
;Beluze

Publication

Written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima, the series was serialized in two stages in Kodansha's Comic BomBom magazine; the first was serialized from January to March 2006 and the second was serialized from May 15 to August 11, 2007.

Volumes

Reception

Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network praised the artwork and concept of the story, though she also felt it was generic and lacked plot. Danica Davidson of Otaku USA praised the flow and characters, though she also described their jokes as "crude". J. Caleb Mozzocco of School Library Journal felt that it contained similar elements to those in other Mashima works and recommended the manga to Mashima's fans.