“Could anything make you kill another human being? While portraying a murderer in this series, I got to wondering if anything could drive me to it. You’ll find my answer within this tale.” With this fascinating personal quote, NON concludes Volume 1 of Adabana. A story centered around a girl that murders her best friend.
Content warnings: graphic depictions of rape and murder, sexual assault, grooming, pedophilia, stalking. Some spoilers for Volume 1 of Adabana.
In the very first panel, Mizuki Aikawa stands in front of the stabbed body of her best friend, Mako Igarashi. Immediately after, in the first chapter, she walks into a police station with a knife and confesses to the murder. This narrative framing of Mizuki turning herself in—and thus the mystery unraveling through her retelling of the events leading up to the murder and subsequent legal investigation—is far more interesting than a typical murder mystery story would be.
Through themes of isolation, familial abuse, grooming, sexual assault, and codependent friendships, NON explores the psyche of a teenage girl (allegedly) driven to murder. I will refrain from giving away too much in this review because it is truly worth it to go in blind, or with as little knowledge as possible.
Here are some relevant observations I gathered:
First, the perspective shifts from Mizuki’s thoughts to third-person narration. Which is a very interesting choice for this type of story, but it truly works. Furthermore, there is a rape scene that, while graphic, does not feel gratuitous at all. It shows the depravity of the perpetrator and the deep negative effects on the victim, who ends up murdering him. There is also Mako’s stalker, Yuki Akatsuki. He was probably the most difficult character to understand at this point in the story. We as readers experience two different versions of him: one through Mizuki’s retelling of events to the police and another through the man the attorneys investigating the case meet. It seems like Mizuki truly perceives him as a nice guy that only wants what’s best for Mako, with no ill intentions.
However, the attorneys met a scary man with dead eyes, who gives the impression of a player that uses and discards women without care. This is purposely done to make it seem he’s the real killer. But it is so overtly obvious that there is more to it than meets the eye. Lastly, even though the ending of this volume was slightly predictable to me, I still don’t understand Mizuki at all, or where the story is going (in a very good way!).
The artstyle is absolutely beautiful, with NON successfully achieving an unsettling, chilling vibe
It felt like I could feel the winter around me whenever I opened the book. I was also particularly drawn to the expressiveness of her characters, ranging from adorable to terrifyingly creepy.
Knowing that the author’s goal with this story is to explore what it would take to kill another human being is an incredible hook. And she expertly sets up the mystery in these first chapters to make you want more. I am so excited to continue this series and hope more people will read it too.
Dark Horse Comics released Volume 1 of Adabana on August 27th, 2025 and Volume 2 is set to release on January 13th, 2026.
