Manga Review: Peach Boy Riverside 1 story by Coolkyousinnjya, art by Johanne
Many of you will be familiar with the story of Momotarou, the Peach Boy. “Hatched” from a giant peach by a childless couple, he was raised by them. When he came of age, Momotarou set out to defeat the oni (demons/ogres) that were oppressing the land. With the aid of a dog, bird and monkey he befriended, the peach boy was able to find the island where the oni lived and wipe them out, giving their treasure to his beloved adoptive parents. This story presents a slightly different series of events.
Saltharine, princess of the relatively peaceful kingdom of Aldarake, is bored. She wants to go out and see the world, or at least beyond the castle town gates. During one of her attempts to shake off her guards, Saltharine meets a wanderer named Mikoto. Anxious to hear more about the outside world, Saltharine invites Mikoto to the palace, not realizing the visitor is not a flat-chested girl, but a feminine-looking boy.
Despite his frail appearance, Mikoto perks up when the kingdom is threatened by a small army of oni. He was, in fact, here anticipating their next strike. Mikoto turns out to be Momotarou, or perhaps that’s a Momotarou. He makes quick work of the army, which both terrifies and excites Saltharine. His work done, Mikoto and his dog leave.
A month later, the princess has made up her mind to follow Mikoto and learn more about him and the world. She chops her hair short, adopts practical traveling garb, and goes by “Sally.” Soon, she runs across a “harefolk” (humanoid with a rabbit head) named Frau who has collapsed from hunger. Sally feeds Frau, and earns a friend. This friendship is not appreciated by the next human village they come to, as humans are bigoted against demihumans and in most cases the feeling is reciprocated.
Frau proves to be a formidable warrior in her own right, and saves the village from a monster. That gets the pair arrested by the Knights of Rimdarl, but after a night in gaol, it’s established they’re the good guys and released by knight Hawthorn Grattor, who they guilt into a free meal.
Just in time for Rimdarl to get attacked by more oni, the strongest ones yet! All seems lost until Sally turns out to have her own secret…
This story was originally a webcomic by Coolkyousinnjya, which was popular enough to be turned into a manga with the art redone by Johanne. (Presumably these are both pen names.) It was also adapted as a short anime which didn’t do too well, at least partially because it was done in an anachronic episode order. The first volume also has a short “prequel” chapter entirely by the original creator in which Mikoto and Dog decide to leave their homeland.
The series takes some elements from Japanese folklore and drops them into a “generic” medieval European fantasy setting. Don’t expect any deep dives into how the geography or economy work. The most intriguing idea is that “peach boy” isn’t a one-off hero name, but a category of beings that have special abilities for fighting ogres and demons. However, it seems that those powers only awaken when fighting that kind of opponent, which allows the less impressive members of the party to remain relevant, as sometimes you’re fighting ordinary human bandits.
The writing is so-so in this first volume; perhaps it picks up as it goes along.
Content note: gory violence, fantastic racism.
I can see where this might have grabbed me at a much younger age, but I’m not feeling it. Recommended to fantasy-loving teens.
And here’s the anime opening:
