This had all the ingredients for a tasty pizza (cheese, flour, tomato sauce, toppings if you get down like that, etc), but it was never put into the writing oven. So, we were left with an undercooked goopy mess. I could not connect to the storytelling style. It relied heavily on “telling” things about the characters that it could’ve have shown. Dialogue/banter was unseasoned. 

Circle of Shadows’ story is plot-driven. There are some big themes: a cult; two armies of ninjas (taiga and ryuu); a brother and sister estranged due to their ideologies; animal-based magical abilities; a male lead realizing his feelings for his best friend; female lead consumed with revenge; dead sister; did I mention multiple BLOOD SACRAFICES? 

The dark angle with the prince and princess’ fallout was interesting. The graphic violence and the cult made a sharp, almost whiplike effect, contrast against the otherwise light story. The humor was lighthearted as well as the previously mentioned unseasoned banter. 

Even the most cliché story can thrive with a cast of fun characters, but I didn’t care for this crew. Early in the story Sora decides to take her taiga training skills seriously in hopes to move up in the army/elite fighting force. She was supposed to be this goofy prankster, but it felt like she never really was. She threw one “prank” which was just overdoing a performance for the princess and a mention of making laxative brownies for a bully. Despite getting serious, you would think she would retain this supposedly goofy personality. 

Daemon, which is way too close to demon lol, was dull. He was grappling with his feelings for Sora and his identity. He was abandoned as a baby and never knew his parents. With some work, this could have been a fun or compelling character. The rest of the side characters had quirky name-conventions/codenames, which I didn’t mind, but none really stood out either. There was a petite, flirty chick and a guy who basically worked in the file cabinet/administration. But they needed more to be likable. 

The magic system not being more fleshed out was a huge letdown. I needed to know more of its limitations. Being a Taiga comes with animal power-ups, by chanting an animal characteristic (think: teeth of a shark!) will grant the user that ability. However, it’s not clear how long they last. At first, the abilities were shown to wear off, but in another instance the effect lasted even with the user unconscious. Another example is that Daemon is basically Rock Lee (Naruto) here as he sucks at casting spells/using magic. Is magic innate or genetics-based? Can you be gifted it? I know the gods specifically select the taiga, but why would they select a magicless baby? 

It’s very unfortunate I didn’t mesh with the story. Because I love stories about ninjas + magic abilities + a sweet first love. And a guy raised by wolves! Come on, those are some of my favorite things. Personally, I don’t need the most elaborate worldbuilding or robust magic system if I enjoy the characters or the story. I’ve liked worse, less than critically acclaimed stories before. Truly I wanted to like this story, but it’s not for me.