Choujin X (Choujin X #1)

This haunting manga by Ishida (the Tokyo Ghoul series), set in an alternate Japan, follows high schooler Tokio Kurohara’s transformation into one of the choujin—individuals with bizarre abilities such as animal-shifting and control over smoke. Constantly overshadowed by his megapopular best friend Azuma Higashi, Tokio has always faded into the background. His reliance on Azuma’s leadership has caused Tokio to doubt himself in all aspects of his life, but he sees no reason to search for an identity beyond being a loyal sidekick, because “when Azuma’s popular it makes me feel popular too!” When the pair impulsively inject a strange serum to battle a superpowered thug set on revenge, however, only Tokio is affected, turning him into an überstrong creature with a bone beak and razor-sharp talons. As he grows into his newfound powers, he’s forced for the first time to forge his own path. Intricately detailed b&w art renders gruesome fight scenes that pivot rapidly into comical chase sequences, lending an abruptly shifting ambiance. Tokio’s complex friendship with Azuma, and the ways that this relationship affects his own self-perception, steeps his evolution into a crime-fighting choujin in engrossing frankness and heart. Most characters are Japanese. Ages 16–up. (Feb.)