Rasetsu 3

Chika Shiomi – Viz – 2009 – 7+ volumes

Here’s another very Halloween-appropriate manga, but this one is less overt horror than it is just a supernatural-tinged shoujo story.  It’s pretty good though, and it does have a lot of evil spirits, so, you know… Halloween.

Anyway, I’m still really impressed with how much I like this series.  I always go into each volume expecting to be completely bored, but then I’m always entertained.  There is an ongoing plot in Rasetsu (the fact she has to find a boyfriend before the demon comes for her), but for the most part, it is composed of these one-shot stories about ghostbusting.  Each one also manages to build the characters a little more.

Kuryu is my favorite character by far.  Not only is he still a little mysterious, he’s also on top when it comes to romantic interests, even with the age difference between he and Rasetsu.  I think it helps that he tends to support her without letting her know, and drops subtle hints about his feelings that are normally misunderstood (quite hilariously, in this volume).  Yako is in front in the boyfriend contest, since Rasetsu seems to have latched onto him, but he’s got a lot of the usual jerk act going on, so I like him a little less.  Maybe he was a nicer guy in Yurara, though.

The hauntings are still pretty creepy, with the horrible ghosts completely engulfing their victims and going completely unnoticed in some cases.  Rasetsu’s mom is a victim in this story, and there is another character who is haunted by what appears to be the ghost of his dead girlfriend.  They aren’t nearly as scary or malevolent as some of the past stories, but they are a bit more sad this time around.  We also get a chapter dedicated to Aoi, a character who has yet to play any sort of role.  Maybe he’ll be important later.  Maybe he’ll even be Rasetsu’s boyfriend.

We get another crossover character from Yurara, who relates the story of Yako and the ghost from that series for the benefit of those who didn’t read the series.  I’m not quite a big enough fan of Rasetsu to go back for Yurara just yet, but I do think I will purchase future volumes of this series.

This was a review copy provided by Viz.