Three ancient, traditional Japanese myths get fabulously, subversively transformed in Tokyo-based, Spanish Japanese graphic creator Niimura's (Henshin, 2014) irresistible latest. "Never Open It" was, once upon a time, "Urashima Tarō," a "Rip Van Winkle"-like tale about a fisherman who saves a turtle from further abuse and is rewarded with a visit to the underwater Dragon Palace, only to return home to find he's been away for more than a century. Niimura's Taro gets an older savior who changes his lonely fate. "Empty" originates from "Ikkyū-san," about the (mis)adventures of a fifteenth-century Buddhist monk. Here, Niimura embeds the more familiar story of Ikkyu as a contrary, mischievous apprentice into a parable of experienced wisdom. Niimura saves the best for last with "The Promise," which enhances the classic "The Crane Wife" into a mecha revenge thriller, transforming the avian weaver into a furious force of destruction. Blanford, who translated Niimura's Eisner-winning Umami digital series, returns to bring this collection to English-language readers. As absorbing as Niimura's storytelling is, his extraordinary art proves even more engrossing. Drawn in black-and-white strokes of various weights with occasional, critical additions of eye-popping red, Niimura's urgent panels vary in size and movement throughout, often unable to contain the movement from page to page. The result is a poignant, passionate display of magnificently elevated storytelling.