Ghost Hunt Vol. #09

By Eduardo M. Chavez     November 27, 2007
Release Date: September 25, 2007



Creative Talent
Writer/Artist:Inada Shiho
Translated by:Satsuki Yamashita
Adapted by:David Walsh

What They Say
The ghost hunters' new case has turned deadly. Naru, the leader of Shibuya Psychic Research, is under a dark spell. When Naru awakens, he foolishly decides to take on an evil spirit alone. Now he faces a life or death struggle!

The Review
I've got to admit, I haven't been much of a fan of Ghost Hunt. While the concept of a shojo horror title sounded appealing to me at one point, I had a hard time feeling the terror. Sadly the romance is lacking also. So, on sharp contrast to previous volume this latest haunted house has had its share of scary moments. We have seen Ono's version of urban myths come to life. And then there was that man-made poltergeist Naru and Co. had to overcome. But this house, this one is not just haunted it is deadly. People aren't just getting sick or hurt, a number of people have died here before. That trend has been going on for generations and even Naru was a near victim.

Shibuya Psychic Research might have possibly met their match in this latest haunted house. Shibuya-kun is out of commotion. KO'd by a fox-spirit in the previous volume Naru might not be of much help to his company this time. All he can do is sit back and wait while people are possessed or killed. The rest of the crew has been left to deal with an aggressive spirit that does not mind defending itself with force. Like nothing these paranormal sleuths have seen ever before this ghost is has taken the initiative and has the men of religion along with the psychics running panicked.

For most of this series Ghost Hunt has been a low commitment series with most volumes being self-contained. Volume nine isn't but it is easily the best story in the series so far. The big difference...Inada-sensei got rid of Naru and his smug attitude and then captured a sense of confusion that was lacking. Without the uber-buster/scientist/qigong expert around to over-analyze the ghouls and goblins, the rest of the cast stumbled around providing moments of humor and some primitive crime solving scenes as well. If you've been disappointed with GH this might be good place to start up again.