Red Hood

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Yadokari no Kuni, The Land of Hermit Crabs, Myakunashi, No Hope, No Pulse

Japanese: レッドフード

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 3

Chapters: 23

Status: Finished

Published: Jun 28, 2021 to Nov 8, 2021

Genres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Demographic: Shounen

Serialization: Shounen Jump (Weekly)

Authors: Kawaguchi, Yuuki (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 6.39¹ (scored by 9,539 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #17759²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #997

Members: 20,059

Favorites: 120

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6.39

Ranked #17759Popularity #997Members 20,059

MangaShounen Jump (Weekly)Kawaguchi, Yuuki (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /3

Chapters: /23

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Synopsis

In a world of fantasy creatures and dreadful monsters, the Hunters Guild, a large agency of mercenaries, welcomes dangerous jobs of slaughtering beasts for money. Though many rumors are spread about the greed of the hunters, no one can deny that the job always ends up being done.

When a small hamlet is plagued by a man-eating werewolf amongst its citizens, the mayor hires a hunter to take it down. Grimm—the hunter who arrives—leaves the villagers in doubt due to her childlike appearance, but, as they have no alternative, they pray that she lives up to the guild's reputation.

Velou, whose parents were eaten by a werewolf when he was young, wishes to join the hunt but is deemed too inexperienced. However, when tasked with guiding Grimm through the forests and eventually fighting the werewolf alongside her, he is invited to join the Hunters Guild. Though Velou finds the offer to exterminate werewolves enticing, he still worries about his hamlet. Grimm, intent on recruiting new hunters into the guild, decides to put his worries to rest.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Included one-shots:
Volume 2: Yadokari no Kuni (The Land of Hermit Crabs), Myakunashi (No Hope, No Pulse)
Volume 3: Red Hood (pilot)

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Background

Red Hood was published digitally as an English simulpub as The Hunters Guild: Red Hood through MANGA Plus. The volumes were published by VIZ Media under the Shonen Jump imprint from December 13, 2022, to April 11, 2023.

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Characters

Grimm

Main

Velou

Main

Diamond, Debonair

Supporting

Cinderella

Supporting

Bonkers, Bikjoe

Supporting

Bremen

Supporting

Cursa

Supporting

Tarpan

Supporting

Red Hood

Supporting

Mialli

Supporting

Reviews

Jun 5, 2024

BorritoYuzumaki

Recommended

Hunter's Guild: Red Hood is inspired fairy tales, but takes them in a far darker and gruesome direction from the very first chapter. The problem with Red Hood from there isn't that it was boring or bad, it's got more to do with the meat it left on the bone. This manga is dripping with unrealized potential, sporting a familiar art style that felt both fantastical and horrific. It doesn't wow with any storytelling, and that's probably where most of its problems lie.

The good is that, again, the art style is great, and often bordering on amazing. The world is rich in detail, and makes ...

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Mar 13, 2025

Chesed

Mixed Feelings

Red Hood is a manga that is essentially one giant mixed bag. Conceptually, it's not the most insanely unique idea out there, but that's okay if the presentation is good. And the presentation, aesthetically, is pretty good! Some of the character designs are quite standout and it's not hard to see why people would attach on to them immediately with a visually distinct style. The monsters are repulsive with a slightly cartoony/goofy flare to them, which suits them being based on fairy tales, and the overall setting feels drawn in a way to invoke typical fairy tale settings and bring things further together.

However, beyond aesthetics, ...

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Jan 17, 2022

Another_Badger

Not Recommended

“Werewolves are the same as humans. They must eat, or they will starve and die. There’s nothing “good” or “evil” about it.”

- Grimm, Chapter 1

Red Hood is an interesting case of a manga that had a strong core idea but quickly lost sight of what it was trying to say. This led to an unfocused and chaotic series that ended up privileging style over story and suffering for it. If it had a more developed concept then it could have gone far but, unfortunately, it fell at the first hurdle.

The plot of Red Hood is easily its weakest and its most under-utilised element. Its ... initial premise of a young boy training to be a hunter is very reminiscent of other Shōnen titles and so it can feel like a very over-used plot starter and struggles to make Red Hood stand out amongst other publishing titles. It would have been more successful if it included a clearer focus point for the readers to work towards. For example, the Mayor could have been utilised more in the first chapter; creating a mystery that the reader could latch onto and try to uncover as the narrative progressed. Instead, there is a large enough break between his appearances that it makes his reappearance feel more like an attempt to drive up readership. This lack of clarity also leads to Red Hood quickly becoming riddled with contradictions. No moment is more obvious than in Grimm’s early speech about werewolves being neither good nor bad, instead simply fighting to survive. By creating the implication that werewolves aren’t evil, Red Hood could have explored this aspect more; presenting the werewolves as morally ambiguous or verging on sympathetic characters. Instead, this statement is immediately contradicted as the only werewolves we see are portrayed as being stereotypically evil. This inability to commit to ideas is repeated throughout Red Hood and the contradictions only become more apparent.

Perhaps Red Hood needed a stronger editorial presence to help guide it down a more certain path as it could have covered some really interesting ground. Even within the short length, we see a dense plot that has a lot happening in it. Obviously, due to the series being cancelled, the main plot points are condensed and are very fast-paced as Kawaguchi attempted to demonstrate his vision all at once. I think that, if the series had been longer, this could have developed a very interesting tale to see unfold; especially if the character development was slower and given the time to grow naturally. This would have been bolstered by how well Red Hood plays into its fairytale setting. It strikes up a rather interesting relationship with pre-existing fables which could have been explored more. Unfortunately, these moments become buried under the sheer volume of different ideas that are being pushed onto the reader; noticeable in the rather abrupt narrative changes which take place.

It is the characters who suffer most from the inconsistent tone and pacing. The two main characters are almost polar opposites of each other in terms of how they are presented but they both suffer from serious problems. Grimm, the experienced hunter, has a hex placed on her so she can only access her true strength for a couple of hours at a time. Velou is a young boy who wants to become a hunter and goes through an exam to become one, he also suddenly develops an incredible power. This is very similar to the early plot of My Hero Academia, which Kawaguchi worked on as an assistant. While it isn’t rare for previous work to influence newer stories, it can often feel like Red Hood lacks its own distinct voice. Only during the final few chapters do we see these two develop in a way that could have been really interesting. Unfortunately, it was all crammed into the final few chapters, making any character development feel like a personality transplant.

The rest of the cast is also awkwardly handled, with most of them being introduced at the same time. This makes it difficult to remember who each character is and what their skills and abilities are. There is also a reliance on backstories to build certain characters in the latter half of the manga which means readers aren’t given time to form their own opinions before being told whether we should feel sorry for a character or not. Characters who aren’t given any semblance of a backstory tend to be quite forgettable.

The art style, while reminiscent again of My Hero Academia, is striking and perfectly fits the rustic fairytale setting of Red Hood. This is especially true for the settings and character designs; in particular, the werewolves are both grotesque and interesting, offering a unique interpretation of the creatures. The other non-human designs also reflect a strong aesthetic vision that struggles to balance out the noticeable problems with Red Hood’s plot. The fights are fairly engaging and easy to read although there is little experimentation with panelling; especially when recalling previous scenes where a whole page is copied into the background with the text removed. This makes it difficult to pick out any moments of significance and comes across as a little bit lazy. There is also a reliance on the art to carry the exposition-heavy moments; usually leaning into a more comedic approach. It often creates a jarring tone that could have been handled better by committing to the more serious nature of Red Hood’s story. Much like the rest of this manga, it boils down to style over function and that can quickly alienate the reader.

Overall, Red Hood is a series that suffers from a lack of consistency and no clear direction beyond a very overused plot structure. During its later chapters, it tried to make a statement about storytelling but ended up falling into too many pitfalls itself. I wish Kawaguchi all the best for the future as he has a really interesting artistic vision, all that’s needed is a plot that can match it.

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Poll: Red Hood Chapter 18 Discussion Kuma - Nov 7, 2021	30 replies	by phantom346 »» Nov 24, 2024 5:27 PM
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Poll: Red Hood Chapter 12 Discussion Stark700 - Sep 26, 2021	15 replies	by phantom346 »» Nov 24, 2024 1:30 PM

Red Hood
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