title: Haruka, Vol. 1: Beyond the Stream of Time
author:  Tohko Mizuno 
description: Akane, an ordinary high school girl lacking personality, is summoned back in time to a magical world resembling Heian-era Kyoto. She is declared Priestess of the Dragon God and assigned the task of bringing back the four gods to protect the city from demon invaders, with the help of eight warriors, all of whom are attractive young men. The demons are also attractive, blond sorcerers, and Akane quickly falls in love with the chief demon. The book is based on the PlayStation 2 game <I>Harukanaru Toki no Naka de</I> and has been adapted into an anime series, a movie and several OAVs. Unfortunately, Akane's lack of characterization is typical for a work based on a videogame. The only thing separating this book from similar manga series is the addition of Akane's two high school friends to the eight guardians. The line work is extremely fine and wispy; costumes and hair are beautifully rendered. Unfortunately, the action is hard to follow, particularly to those unfamiliar with the strict subgenre conventions of this type of manga. It's the kind of book that passes the flip-through test with flying colors, but when read, comes up very short on substance. <I>(Apr.)</I> <BR>Copyright &copy; Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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  #
  
  
  Prologue
  
  
  
  
  
  ##
  
  
  Part 1
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  It was early summer.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Sakamaki Izayoi was enjoying the sweet fragrance of early summer at the
  riverbank. Admiring the sun, he muttered to himself "Ah, found a dark spot.
  Maybe the sun really is entering a glacial period."
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  His motto was "The heavens did not create man above myself" and he seemed to
  prefer global warming to global cooling.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  He had no inclination to go to school, so instead he tried to think of ways to
  play around at the riverbank while still wearing a uniform, but any he could
  think of would be embarrassing if seen by strangers. And if he were to be seen
  by someone he knew, they would end up pointing a finger at his back afterwards
  for sure.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  "There’s gotta be something fun going on."
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Taking off his headphones, he heard the voices of a group of delinquents
  standing around wearing long coats with "Fighting Spirit" written on them. In
  the middle, there was a boy being beat