Spiritual Police 1 by Nitta Youka

Rating: 7
Sublime 2013 - Shinshokan 2012
1+ volumes
Translation: Adrienne Beck

This book had been lying around for a while since I'd bought it, I didn't know anything about the series and the cover art and title didn't stir much enthusiasm (bland cover and what? magical police?), but when I finally got around to reading it, I whipped through it in no time at all. It's a page-turner of a suspense drama, loaded with melodrama and angst, with an intrigue-laden plot that steers you at a brisk pace towards a cliffhanger ending. While the packed plot makes for an exciting read, it comes rather at the expense of character and relationship development, which is a disappointment coming from the creator of my most beloved BL manga couple (see Embracing Love). Though this Spiritual Police couple don't quite have my affection, they're caught up in a conspiracy that threatens to tear the lovers apart and their tragic story does more than enough to elicit my sympathy and support; I can't wait to find out what happens to them in volume two.

Nitta Youka can always be relied on for an interesting plot and she doesn't disappoint with Spiritual Police. Nagatsuma is a serious minded policeman who, stressed from work, is referred by a colleague to a physical therapist. The therapist, Aoi, is blind but claims to be able to "sense" things; by touch alone he diagnoses a stomach problem. Nagatsuma is dubious of this power but as well as the physical, Aoi also has an uncanny way of pinpointing the reasons behind Nagatsuma's mental stress and the policeman leaves the clinic with his mind full of the therapist. Later, a prediction of Aoi's comes true and Nagatsuma begins to believe that his supernatural powers are for real.

No sooner does he meet Aoi than Nagatasuma learns that the therapist is the subject of a police investigation. Despite being on different sides of the law, the two fall in love, but circumstances conspire against them and as the investigation proceeds it becomes increasingly difficult for the pair to be together. It all gets a bit tragic and by the end of the volume I am absolutely rooting for the couple to get their happy ending. But like I said earlier, they have my pity more than my liking, this being one of the weakest couples Nitta has written in a while.

A large part of the problem is the set-up, it's a love-at-first-sight sort of scenario where they confess and consummate their love terrifically fast but just as fast, obstacles come tearing them apart so there's hardly any time for the relationship to develop. What Nitta does cram into their few meetings is intense, emotional and just about believable, but there isn't enough time spent on savouring the moments, the feelings, before the plot goes racing off onto the next piece of action.

I didn't find the two main characters particularly appealing either. Aoi is quite cool, easy-going, direct and forthright, but his supernatural 'feelings' take some getting used to, a leisure that the reader isn't given. Nagatsuma's personality is more of a problem; "Do you have to be so melodramatic?" one character says to him, voicing the thought that every reader must have, but naming the problem doesn't solve it. His character has more layers to his personality, a stoic front belying an emotional mess, which makes him the more interesting of the pair, but his occasional wallowing in drama doesn't do him any favours. Nitta always writes her stories with a strong psychological slant so it's as much about the discovery of self for a character as it is the unfolding of a plot, and it's no different for Spiritual Police; the characters are certainly interesting and you do get involved in their story, but I find this pair are harder to relate to personality-wise than other Nitta creations.

Though it doesn't quite pack the emotional punch that it could have, Spiritual Police is still a highly entertaining read and very much recommended. I'm looking forward more to the next volume of this series than Sublime's other Nitta series Starting With A Kiss, though it looks like it'll be a wait for both, considering the slow rate of releases in Japan.