Kekkaishi by Yellow Tanabe follows junior high school student Yoshimori Sunimura, a demon-hunter that can create magical barriers that can destroy his prey. His rival and childhood friend, 16-year old Tokine Yukimura, is also a kekkaishi, however, she takes her job a lot more serious than Yoshimori, who seems to like creating cakes in the kitchen than hunting demons at night.

Yoshimori could care less about his job and the family history that has destined his life as a kekkaishi. However, during one fateful night, Tokine inflicts serious injuries protecting him. After that incident, he has vowed to protect his dear friend.

The manga begins slowly, with the first chapter focusing on a very young Yoshimori Sunimura; however it then progresses to five years later, and the pace picks up. The story feels like a combination of other manga, with common plot devices - a reluctant boy carries on the family business slaying evil spirits.

It closely reminded me to Bleach, another of Viz's manga. The demons were basically the hollows. Madarao, Yoshimori's demon dog and sidekick, reminded me of Rukia. Both Yoshinori and Ichigo can see ghosts, and both plots seem to revolve around exterminating evil spirits one way or another.

Overall, I felt that Kekkaishi was an average manga. It's rated for Teens, so I think that it will appeal to its target audience, but older manga readers may feel that it's a bit more juvenile and that it's a combination of other manga stories. It's interest for me was mostly it's side story, Yoshinori's interaction with a dead pastry chef and his obsession in making castle cakes. Kekkaishi is definitely something to read if you're looking for some time to spend, but it's just not as great as Viz's other titles. Hopefully, the story will pick up and the plot development will reveal itself in the upcoming volumes.