Barrier Master:When your after-school job is the family business

There's a reason why Yoshimori Sumimura sleeps in class most of the time. The 14-year-old middle school student is the 22nd kekkaishi or barrier master of the Sumimura family which means he has to patrol the school campus at night for any demons, use a barrier to capture the fiends and destroy them.

The school was built on the site of a former lord's home. The lord had a strange power that attracted demons and even though he is no more, the power remains. Demons become more powerful and dangerous when exposed to this power.

But Yoshimori is not the only barrier master in the area. His rival is his next door neighbor, 16-year-old Tokine Yukimura, who he secretly adores. Because she got injured protecting him from a demon when they were younger, Yoshimori promised to be stronger so Tokine would never be hurt again. She's also the reason why he's obsessed with creating a cake castle. But since this is an action series geared for boys, our hero has a tough time admitting affection to the heroine. They banter back and forth unlike their grandparents who hurl insults and blows at each other. But the fighting of the two oldsters is more of a comic relief for the show.

The title of barrier master is not automatically inherited by the first born since Yoshimori is the second son and the square mark denoting he is the family's next kekkaishi appeared on him. His father doesn't have the power either but his absent mother appears to have it in spades.

"Kekkaishi" is one of several shows this season with a supernatural bent to it. I prefer "Shonen Onmyouji" better because this show has too much monster-of-the week episodes. To be fair, I haven't read the manga of "Kekkaishi" so I have to take people's word that episide 13 heralds a major plot arc plus we get to meet his older brother, Masamori, who is captain of some secret organization. We'll see. It's not a bad show but this is light fare for me and I can go weeks without seeing the next episode.