Due to the vagaries of English localization, you may not immediately associate this with its parent series: The Teen Exorcist is a manga reworking of the light novel series Shōnen Onmyōji, which clocks in at an impressive fifty-six volumes. The light novels have never been officially released in English, although the anime series was, albeit roughly twenty years ago. (It does not appear to be legally streaming anywhere as of this writing.) All of that makes it mildly baffling that Yen Press would select this version of the story for English release, although as someone who hasn't experienced the other iterations of Mitsuru Yūki's story, it must be said that I was able to follow this with no problems at all.

The story follows Abe no Masahiro, the grandson of history's favorite Heian-era exorcist (onmyoji), Abe no Seimei. Thirteen-year-old Masahiro has just undergone his adulthood ceremony, two years later than most boys do, and he's ready to make his mark on the Heian court, if not, eventually, all of Japan. He's also in the position of both really looking up to his grandfather and desperately not wanting to be equated with him – it's great that everyone respects Abe no Seimei, but Masahiro would very much like to be seen as himself, not “Seimei's grandson.” It grates on him every time someone calls him that, and it's frankly beginning to affect his attitude to the courtiers.

This makes Masahiro simultaneously a sort of bratty character and one that's very easy to understand. It is annoying not to be seen for yourself, but through the lens of some other person people equate you with; ask almost any set of siblings attending the same school and they'll agree. Masahiro's also aware that Seimei tampered with his excessive power when he was three (and thus far too young to be allowed to run around seeing what's actually there), and he's not sure that his grandfather ever lifted the spellbinding power. It gives him an easy person to blame for any failures he has, and he's not mature enough to realize that if he's still able to function as an exorcist with his powers partially sealed, that means that his goal of surpassing his grandfather is much more than just a pipe dream.

This volume is, as happens with introductory books, mostly set up for Masahiro's eventual understanding of himself. It follows his first (major) solo exorcism, introduces the characters, including Mokkun, his more-or-less familiar, and the daughter of the Minister of the Left, Princess Akiko, and establishes the basic worldbuilding – this isn't an alternative version of the Heian court, it exists as its inhabitants believed it did, with yokai and other supernatural entities flourishing just outside of the human gaze. There's an effort made to be at least a little historically accurate with the clothing, hair, and backgrounds, although the yokai tend to look much more modern, with a post-Shigeru Mizuki flair to them. Mokkun is particularly interesting, with a design that's something like a cross between a fox, a cat, and a sloth. (It's the claws.) There's also a really nice heft to Mokkun; you can feel his weight when a character physically interacts with him.

The art overall is very nice, although it's also quite busy. The story doesn't feel like anything terribly special, although I imagine that if you're more familiar with the franchise, that may change; the potential for Easter eggs is high, and it may be worth it to read just to see how the story is changing for a modern adaptation. It has also shifted in demographic, with the original novels and the first manga appearing in publications aimed at a female audience; this new manga is published in seinen publications. Either way, the inclusion of little snippets of information about Heian beliefs and culture is an excellent addition, helping readers to understand where the story is grounded.

The Teen Exorcist's first volume is, on the whole, simply okay. It's good enough to read, nice enough to look at, and has interesting enough elements. How that will work once the story proper gets going is up for debate, but it may be worth giving the series a second volume to see how it plays out.