花舞鬼の剣! 壱: 俺の兄は鬼になった (ポプラキミノベル し 3-1)

Kabuki-themed isekai kids' novel

花舞鬼の剣! 壱: 俺の兄は鬼になった is a light novel about a junior high student named Gorou who, while grieving over the death of his older brother, finds himself mysteriously transported to a strange otherworld reminiscent of Edo Japan, called Ukiyo. In Ukiyo, towns are being attacked by demons, and the warriors responsible for defending the towns are being stripped of their powers. The demons are led by none other than Gorou's own brother, who is somehow alive and well in this other world.

There is a substantial amount of furigana, much more than in a typical light novel, though beginner kanji knowledge is still required. It's written in first person perspective, and while it seems at first to be no more difficult than something like 夜カフェ, it becomes more and more challenging due to the quasi-historical fantasy vocabulary and kabuki terminology. In fact there are long passages quoted directly from kabuki works hundreds of years old, which, for a novice reader are much too difficult — luckily these passages are in bold print, and if you skip them you won't be missing anything important to the plot.

The book is around 250 pages, and is divided into a prologue and four chapters. Scenes tend to run very long, so it's hard to find a good place to stop, and there aren't many illustrations, which is a shame as I think it would benefit from more artwork. The characters don't have much development so far, but I found the premise interesting enough to keep reading and would like to read a sequel. Since it's aimed at a young audience (upper elementary to junior high), there's no explicit content or fanservice.

If you have a strong interest in isekai stories and/or kabuki, or you're tired of slice-of-life and want to read something in the fantasy genre but you still need a lot of furigana, I think this book is a decent (though not outstanding) choice. I enjoyed it, and while it was challenging in places I did not find it impossibly difficult.