Ghost Hunt Manga

I'm not an expert on manga (just become its fan for about 11 years) but I'm confident that Ghost Hunt is a really good title. While this manga is based on a popular series of Japanese novels of the supernatural,its still great storytelling never-the-less. When I read Ghost Hunt for the first time, it has quickly become one of my favorite manga titles. While you may not find the type of horror seen in such titles as Junji Ito's Tomie or the Ring saga, keep in mind that Ghost hunt is a shoujo manga. I found it particularly eerie when reading it at night before bed, and there are moments of suspense and tension. The story, however, was most effective for me because of the characters.

We start off with Mai Taniyama and her friends meeting Kazuya Shibuya, who claims to be a transfer student. It isn't until Mai inadvertently injures Shibuya's assistant and is extorted into filling in for him that she finds out Shibuya is really a ghost hunter hired to investigate an old building by Mai's school. They are soon joined by a miko (Del Rey gives nice explanations in the back of the book about this and other cultural references the reader might not be familiar with), a Buddhist monk, a priest, and a famous psychic medium from television to solve the mysteries surrounding the building.

Ghost Hunt isn't just about the supernatural; it's also a has a good deal of humor, mystery and hints of romance. The art is wonderful, intricate and beautiful. The character designs and development are fantastic as well. Mai is really cute, and she makes some of the funniest/cutest faces. Shibuya in particular is beautifully drawn and one of the best designed bishounen I've seen. It's really interesting to see how is Mai and Shibuya relationship might develop, seeing as how he is an ardent narcissist, and she is a stubborn girl not fall for his good looks - while almost every other women in the story does. Shibuya also remains a pretty mysterious character throughout, so I anticipate having some more of his background revealed.

Characters

Mai Taniyama
A first year high school student who has to take up a job at the SPR to work off a debt.She has determined that she has ESP abilities "latent sensitivity", which include her dreams acting as a form of pre-cognition and her seeming clairvoyance, akin to an animal's ability to instinctively detect danger.

Kazuya Shibuya
A ghost hunter, otherwise known as "Naru". The 17 year-old handsome president of the SPR, who thinks Mai is little use to his agency and typically overlooks her abilities.

Lin Koujo
Shibuya's calm and taciturn assistant who rarely speaks more than he needs to. He seems to get most of the unpleasant jobs, and works through the night.

Houshou Takigawa

A Buddhist monk from Mt. Koya, who is also a bass musician.He usually acts as a brotherly figure to Mai. The others refer to him as "Monk-san".

Ayako Matsuzaki

An outspoken Shinto miko priestess who is really confident and proud of her abilities, though her attempts to demonstrate them have almost always fallen short.

John Brown

An Australian exorcist priest who speaks Japanese with a Kansai accent. Good-natured and helpful, he helps Mai and Naru however he can.

Masako Hara

A spirit medium with a popular television show and the ability the speak to the dead. A young girl who resembles a Japanese doll because she is always wearing a kimono.