[DeepL Translation - needs review] Volume 1 Introduction: A cave inhabited by cold-blooded demons. One day, a kind-hearted young man named Ishka visits the cave, where it is said that no one who has ever entered has ever returned. As he comes into contact with the defenseless Ishka's kindness, the icy demon Blood gradually begins to change... The long-awaited first volume of the Blood & Ishka series!
(Translator: DeepL)
(Review written in August 2024)
This series follows イシュカ, a young man who's just lost his grandmother, his sole remaining relative, and who has just been diagnosed with a fatal heart condition. He's sweet, kind, and air-headed, and decides that the best way to make use of the rest of his time is to go check out a local cave which is said to have a demon sealed inside. Said cave does host said demon, who's immediately nonplussed to find out that イシュカ doesn't fear death and is content to sit there and keep him company. One thing leads to another (spoilers!), and イシュカ and the demon ブラッド set off together to journey through a land filled with magic, demons, and the priests who oppose them.
This is one of my favorite series: イシュカ, while being the dictionary definition of a cinnamon roll, has a bit of a darker side hidden away relating to his illness, and the worldbuilding around the conflict between the demons and priests was surprisingly deep; there's a fairly large cast of characters the two meet, some enemies, some friends. This being one of the author's earlier series, the art's a bit rough to start out with, but does consistently improve as things go along.
I'd say this is a BL work, though the author has stated it's not. I'd say it's BL insofar as the two male leads clearly care for each other deeply, and one in particular wouldn't mind the two having a closer physical relationship. I haven't finished the series at the time of this review, so I can't say how things develop, but if her other works are any indication, this will follow the same pattern of: don't read it for the romance. The vibes are there, but they're not the main focus of the work.
Casual uses of language abound, and you've got a nice bit of fantasy vocab throughout. Nothing particularly unusual or series-specific vocab-wise so far as I remember. Grammar should mostly be standard N3 as well, with perhaps some N2 popping in every now and then.