Dragon Eye 1    by Kairi Fujiyama Order:  USA  Can Del Rey, 2007 (2007) Softcover     Reviewed by Ricki Marking-Camuto Dragon Eye tells the tale of a ragtag squad of demon hunters (VIUS) in the city of Mikuni. Volume 1 takes us through the formation of VIUS Squad Zero, and each of the three chapters tells a little more about each of the three main characters. Leila Mikami is a new recruit to VIUS. After her family was killed by Dracules, she has vowed to become a VIUS, both to hunt Dracules and possibly find the man who saved her, a VIUS with a golden Dragon Eye. Issa Kazuma is the leader of Squad Zero and seems to have many secrets. Although young and disorganized, he is a superior VIUS, but his body is fettered in spell notes to keep the power of his Dragon Eye at bay. The third member of Squad Zero is Sosei Yukimara, a transfer from Squad Five. His whole reason for joining Squad Zero is to exact revenge on Issa, whom he believes to have murdered his twin sister six years before. Squad Zero may be skilled Dracule slayers, but they have a lot of work to do if they want to be a team. Volume 1 basically just gives the backstories on the main characters and VIUS, throwing in a few battles that are typical of the shonen action genre. Some intrigue is building, but it is too early in the series for secrets to come out and build to a climax. The artwork is also typical of shonen action with a diverse group of warriors in various fighting costumes and larger-paneled fighting sequences involving swords, spells, and not-too-scary demons. Middle school boys will get into Dragon Eye, but it remains to be seen whether it will branch out to a larger manga-reading audience. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Teens books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews