This really is one of the gems of currently publishing manga. Story: The overarching story is compelling, with the main character’s curse serving as a long term plot driver while offering episodic chunks of taking on various locations and spirits. The spirits and entities they face are varied and always presenting new horrors, new stories, and interesting new occult magic. I don’t get “scared” from media so I don’t find this or any manga “scary” in that way, but this manga is genuinely disturbing at points. It’s very graphic at times and it pulls no punches with disturbing and violent events. I really like that thereis an element of traditional Shonen battle manga with the spirits being raised and battled, but the stakes always feel high and it is balanced against the disturbing and mysterious plot elements to truly feel like horror and not just Shaman King with more blood. I’m constantly engrossed by the stories, eager to find out the backstory of the new spirit, or see what tricks the main characters will have to use to get out of a bind. There is genuine tension and a sense of unease running throughout the manga that sets a really delightfully foreboding mood for horror fans.

Characters: The characters are all interesting and have unique, defined, and different personalities. I was skeptical when I saw Yayoi’s design, as the aesthetic is a little Hot Topic or goth Steam game-esque in a manga that for the most part has fairly grounded characters and realistic character design (realistic in terms of clothing, design, and general demeanor of the characters). However, I find her character charming as the strange outsider while Keitarō plays the everyman (including being rightfully terrified to death of these horrible spirits and entities), and Eiko… has her own thing going on. The main trio contrast with one another in terms of goals and reactions to situations, which makes them feel defined and differentiated.

Art: The art is fantastic. The locations feel deep and lived in, and the design of the spirits is often horrifying and disgusting in new and surprising ways. The art captures a lot of disgust, horror, violence, and kinetic energy that makes the scenes feel dynamic, important, tense, and engaging.

Another small thing I appreciate while reading: the author sprinkles in pages at the ends of chapters where a page or panel is redone but with absurd and comedic dialogue replacing the original to reinterpret the scene as something ridiculous, funny, and off the wall. I think it’s a great little way to inject some comedy without putting it in the main story and interrupting the tense and serious mood.

9/10 - One of the best manga I’ve read in the last few years. It’s really a refreshing delight, and fans of horror, the supernatural and occult, and violent manga will surely find something to love about this comic.