Witching Hour, Vol. 1

Witching Hour #1

by Paru Itagaki, Tomo Kimura (Translator), Annette Roman (English Adaptation)

What happens when romance is literally dead?

Housewife Megumi is devoted to her husband, Yuji, but longs for something more... When Yuji literally isn't up to the task, a supernatural lover materializes in their bedroom. Will this spirit move her?

Megumi’s love life is lackluster. Sex with her husband, Yuji, has become just a means to conceive a child. But then a ghost enters the picture—and their bedroom. The spirit caters to Megumi’s deepest desires, satisfying her to the point where Yuji grows suspicious. Unfortunately, the private investigator he hires has a dark side. And then Megumi’s incorporeal paramour finds a new way to possess her more fully…

Genres: Manga, Horror, Romance, Graphic Novels

Kindle Edition

Expected publication October 20, 2026

About the author

Paru Itagaki ( 板垣巴留, Itagaki Paru) is a multi-award-winning Japanese manga artist, known mainly for her work Beastars. She is the daughter of Keisuke Itagaki.

Reviews

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I am not one that likes people who have affairs/cheat, but in this case, I just couldn't stop reading. What if you are spiritually sensitive and a ghost has more going in sex department than your husband? What starts with just paralysis goes to touching goes to sex (in every position and way, haha). I really did like the story though I wanted to shake Megumi at times as well. At least she feels kinda bad having an affair, but I just wish she would break it off with her hubby. Yes, she would have to think up something to get Gou-san to be with her, but at least it would feel more honest. Especially later in the story when Gou-san is able to do THAT.
Yuu-san was just an asshole in many ways.

[sofs]

la curiosidad mató al gato y todo eso, pero moriré sabiendo.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

You always gotta expect the unexpected with Paru Itagaki, because girl is into some kinky stuff, I swear. From the opening pages, I pulled in what appears to be a woman understanding her worth with some ghost cuckholdry... What a sentence. Still, good for her. Good for her.

received from NetGalley

[Inas · Rating 2 out of 5]

i enjoyed reading it!! but objectively idk what to think lmaooo.

the art is meh but the story is interesting i guess. the author is really into some kinky shit huh.

i guess it also speaks volumes about me bc i genuinely enjoyed this and binged it and the next volume in a few hours.

[Jack Goff · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a weird, freaky book.

My friend recommended I give this a go, and I’m not mad that I did. Will I be continuing this series? Not sure. I enjoyed how wild it was and how original. That is one thing I can say with confidence about this particular mangaka. Their stories are always extremely original. And, of course, the artwork was fantastic. Their artwork is always so good and has such a distinct and expressive style.

The problems I have with this are not major ones. They are things I could look past with this particular sort of plot, but there is a lot of dubious consent going on here. I know that won’t be for everyone. Also, just as an observation, we got really okay getting our freak on with a ghost really fast. Not really a complaint, just man. That was a real quick turnaround from AH GHOST to ~Ah ghost. Also, maybe this is just the monster lover in me, but why are we having this guy becoming more human as this goes on? Commit to the bit. Let his head keep falling off. (That one particular scene had it right.)

Thanks so much to Netgalley and VIZ Media for the DRC!

[Sighthounds_and_stories · Rating 5 out of 5]

Megumi’s husband does not provide her with the exciting sex life that she craves, but could the ghost that watches from the corner be about to change all that?

A fun and light-hearted paranormal romance for those readers who are comfortable with the darker side of romance! Those with a more sensitive nature may need to check their triggers.

This was a quick read and a fun one, there is not much time spent on the character’s lives outside of the bedroom, and hopefully further volumes will be able to spend some time developing that while still providing a healthy dose of spice!

[Baxcian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Critically acclaimed mangaka of Beastars is back with another salacious manga, Witching Hour. This manga features a married woman, Megumi, who is unhappy with her marriage’s sex life. The marriage as a whole is portrayed as unsatisfying for both Megumi and her husband Yu, as neither seem very happy to be with one another. As an added bonus, Megumi can see and interact with ghosts, and has been able to do so her entire life.

The two seemingly-unrelated factors of Megumi’s paranormal senses and her unsatisfactory marriage come to a head when Megumi is visited by a ghost during the night while her husband sleeps. The ghost has one thing in mind: the warm touch of Megumi’s body. Attention- and touch-starved, Megumi succumbs to her body’s demands and begins to have nightly affairs with a ghost. As the visits continue, Megumi finds herself coming to terms with the realization that she no longer wants to be in her marriage with Yu, and would rather find fulfillment in her spiritual companion.

This manga is listed as the first volume of a series, however the ending of the first volume left me wondering what else could happen in the story. The subject material, while odd, is interesting enough to make me want to read more and see how the story progresses. The art style is rather scratchy and felt rushed the entire time but was not difficult to foollow. In comparing the art style between Beastars and Witching Hour, it is clear that the mangaka spent much more time creating and refining Beastars. I would like to see the art for Witching Hour cleaned and more polished in future volumes as I’m sure her fan base has come to expect more from her art than what we are seeing here.

Overall, the subject material, while interesting, still is not much more in-depth than a run of the mill adult video. I hope that the plot continues to develop and grow in future volumes, as otherwise there is not much substance to be found here.

[✩｡°⋆ Lala ⋆｡°✩ · Rating 3 out of 5]

🖋️ Author: Paru Itagaki
📅 Pub Day: Oct 20, 2026
💌 Publisher: VIZ Media
📚 Format: Digital
🏷️ ISBN: 9781974766420
⏱️ Length: 200 pages
⭐ Star Rating: 3.5

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Witching Hour Vol 1 is not what I was expecting, and honestly, the blurb should've prepared me for the weirdness, but it still caught me off guard.

The story follows Megumi, whose marriage has become pretty loveless, with most of it revolving around trying to conceive. Then a ghost shows up. In her bedroom. And things get very strange very fast. The concept alone is a lot, and the opening pages really do just throw you straight into it with no warning.

What surprised me is that underneath all the weirdness there's actually something kind of tender in there. Megumi as a character is interesting and I found myself genuinely invested in her even when I had no idea what was happening around her. It stays weird all the way through, like consistently, committedly weird, but by the end it had won me over.

The whole body snatching part near the end was a little confusing and I'm still not entirely sure I fully understood what happened. But honestly? Good for her. Whatever she did, good for her.

A strange little read that I kind of loved despite myself. Very much one of those that'll be very hit or miss depending on what you're looking for.

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If you like:

✔️ supernatural weirdness
✔️ relationship horror
✔️ ghost stories with dark humor
✔️ psychological weirdness
✔️ morally messy protagonists
✔️ strange little stories

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Thank you to NetGalley, Paru Itagaki, and VIZ Media for gifting this ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this manga! I really enjoyed this. Though it was a bit of a strange concept it wasn’t entirely out of my wheelhouse as a fan of monster… romance (thanks a lot for wiring those neurons at such a young age, Fruits Basket). What else would you expect from the creator of Beastars though? Y’all already know she’s got weird kinks… and apparently so do I because I love the affair between this horny ghost and his bored, desperate housewife. A lot of people seemed to have a problem with the cheating aspect, but Yu is a dick and also it’s fiction so that didn’t really bother me. I think it’s fine to enjoy certain scenarios fictionally that you would never actually participate in realistically. Plus, it’s pretty clear about that in the description so maybe just skip it if you know you’re not down for paranormal extramarital activities?

Megumi has a lot of growing to do and I hope to see Gho help her through that process. She certainly doesn’t seem to have support coming from anywhere else in her life, so why not get it from a ghost who can decapitate his head at will? (And yes, that does get utilized exactly how you would expect) I hope the next volume sees her come into her own a bit and maybe stand up for herself against her boorish husband. I’d also love a little backstory on Gho but I’m unsure if we’ll actually get that. Could clear communication have fixed this whole mess and solved the problems with her husband? Maybe, but then we wouldn’t have this fun story.

All in all I’m intrigued and looking forward to continuing the ghost smut.

[East of Reality · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not sure if this is really a romance or not; if it is, it falls under the dark romance genre. Or maybe incel horror. First, we start with a bored, younger house wife with a distant husband who only sleeps with her when she’s ovulating. Then we add in “Gho” — as Megumi calls the ghost haunting their condo — who plays voyeur, and then decides he doesn’t need consent before putting his hands on her, or before happily moving to second base. In fact we never know his motives beyond wanting to sleep with Megumi.

Megumi accepts this more attentive person — though it’s only sexual, never anything else — to the detriment of her health. Then she’s almost raped by an exorcist, saved by Gho, and when she leaves to get her thoughts in order … Gho possesses her husband and follows her.

Gho wants nothing from her but sex. She enjoys the attention. The end? I’m sorry but Gho is such a jerk, and at the same time such a non-entity that I find it hard to root for him. Megumi is lonely and wants to be loved, so it’s easy to see why she ends up going along with this, but she’s just getting another person who wants only one thing from her. Her husband wanted a wife, Gho wants someone to fuck.

If you’re into this sort of thing — incel horror — with a possessive man who has no personality, just the desire and ability to fuck, then here you go. If you want a romance, I suggest you look elsewhere. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though I think that this comic definitely needs to be recommended to the right audience, I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the narrative and characters. This manga contains nudity and depiction of sexual acts, as well as attempted SA. If you found this series because you are a fan of the creator, especially from *Beastars* the darker themes and sexual content probably aren't going to be a surprise.

*Witching Hour* is an oddball manga that uses horror/a ghost to explore in a nuanced way, not only infidelity and cheating, but malaise. Front and center is Megumi's malaise as a homemaker married to an apathetic husband, but this also explores the idea that a large segment of society, concerned with maintaining societal norms, including Megumi's husband, are technically alive but dead inside, versus Gho, who is technically dead but whom Megumi makes feel alive, possibly literally bringing him to life, bit-by-bit.

The artist's style is recognizable, especially in Megumi's Beastar bunny-type looks. While I don't love the creator's facial expressions, I think that she does a particularly good job with layouts in this book, especially in portraying Gho and the combination of suspense/horror/sexuality in the beginning of the book.

[Michelle M · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5
Solid story. I’ve seen this situation in various H-Manga, and honestly it’s a trope I enjoy lmao. This is by the artist of B-STARS so the art is… not to my taste. But it was a fun little story (if a bit graphic at times). It explores the question of “Am I REALLY cheating on my husband if it’s a ghost?” And really, my question is, if your husband is an asshole like that husband was, do you really care if you’re cheating? Lol. The woman’s neighbor was also bragging about how awesome her affair is and how it made her actually like her husband more/have more patience for him so….

This is a series (idk how many volumes) so the twist at the end was… interesting, I wonder how it will continue from here lol. I would read more of this, but as I don’t particularly care for the art style, I can’t see myself buying physical copies. Sorry! I’m grateful that I got the opportunity to read it, as I love the premise (guilty lmao). I did appreciate that the story was from the woman’s perspective and not from the male ghost’s, so the art was for the female gaze, and it wasn’t tooooo explicit. There were sex scenes on page, but they weren’t as graphic as an H.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

A woman in her thirties who sometimes sees dead people has a ghost in her apartment that observes her life of quiet desperation over the bed death of her marriage and takes advantage of the situation.

There are consent issues galore and a full-on sexual assault, but it's still a guilty pleasure dollop of erotica and sexy soap opera.

By the way, it's very odd seeing the creator of Beastars drawing actual humans. The lack of animal heads draws attention to some of her deficiencies as an artist, but the scratchy art teams well enough with the trashy storylines.

I'd come back for another round, though I'm not sure how long this thing could be stretched out.


Disclosure: I received access to a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.com.


FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Hour 1. Response -- Hour 2. Consent -- Hour 3. Suspicion -- Hour 4. Affection -- Hour 5. Darkness -- Hour 6. Cervical Vertebrae -- Hour 7. Affair -- Bonus Making-of Manga

[Melanie Ivanoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creepy adult manga that could be more fleshed out.
Megumi is a housewife who can see ghosts. They normally aren't a problem but one has been appearing in her bedroom at night! She and her husband are having issues and he's definitely not a great guy. When Gho starts appearing, at first Megumi tries to get rid of him. Gho's creepy nighttime appearances slowly morph into something more as Megumi finds satisfaction in her ghostly lover.
While this is the first volume in a series, there are so many unanswered questions it leaves you a bit unsatisfied. The creepy factor is high though as Gho never really looks fully human and he's maybe using Megumi's lifeforce up? Overall interesting for horror fans who don't mind some erotic content.

[Marta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and VIZ Media for the ARC!

Went into this manga completely blind. I am so glad I did. Love the art and the whole plot. It was funny and outrageous. Not for everyone of course but definitely worth a try!

Megumi is basically in a boring marriage; her husband is not even trying. She's lonely and deprived and she is sensitive to seeing spirits and ghosts. At a specific hour she sees one and this one has been WATCHING everything that is happening in this bedroom and he is on a mission to possess and do with her as he pleases! Oh my word! To see how Megumi's life goes from zero to sparkle thanks to the Witching Hour, makes this one for me totally worth reading. It was so much fun!

[April Herrera · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an email about The Witching Hour manga and what it was about. Now I don’t usually read manga but the overall plot of this one caught my attention. The plot sounded like something different but something I would enjoy either way. Overall the plot wasn’t plotting. I felt like the story fell short. Almost like everything was rushed and not enough actual plot. Again maybe since I don’t read manga I don’t know how they work. I just wanted more story. The actual graphics were nicely done and drawn really well. Brought the small plot to life.

She saw a ghost, slept with ghost, the end. That’s how flat it felt for me.

[Lizbeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been reading this since it began publication and as expected, you can always count on Itagaki Paru for some weird freaky stuff.
I mean this is basically Nosferatu but a rotting ghost instead of a rotting vampire. Once again I’m caught off guard for whatever this woman decides to draw on a piece of paper.
TBH I would’ve preferred if this story ended with this first volume because as of recent chapters it feels like the plot has just been dragging more than it needed to.
I guess I’ll edit this review whenever the end comes.

[Sana M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up because I am a huge fan of horror/thriller genre and manga authors/illustrators always take it a notch above when compared to novels. Witching Hour did not disappoint, this is an almost comical take on a devoted wife, who feels unloved by her husband finds comfort in a paranormal entity that lives in their house. Midway through I realized that I had also picked up drip drip from a store also by Paru Itagaki and that she is also the person behind the stories that created the hit series Beastars! I can not wait for the next volume. A fun, horrorific but also comical read.

[Karina Catellan · Rating 4 out of 5]

O que mais me espanta nem é o fantasma em si e a relação deles, mas como por estar tão depressiva e sem afeto nenhum do marido ela se deixou entrar nesse caso.
O relacionamento com o Ghou é melhor mas ela não vê que tá quase morrendo por isso =(
Não sei se a solução é o marido tomar jeito e eles se acertarem ou ela achar alguém VIVO que trate ela como ela merece. No fim, é triste porque é o retrato de tantas e tantas mulheres por aí (e sem nenhum fantasma pra dar uma de vez em quando -.- )

[Lupin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly a really sweet romance despite how absurd the concept is. The beginning was so bizarre, it ended up being hilarious; so it caught me off guard when the romance started developing and revealed something much tender underneath.

I was ready to have a few opinions on the affair, but I think it makes sense why it ended up that way after seeing how Yuji treats Megumi. I'm rooting for Megumi and her ghost, because they have more chemistry than whatever Yuji pretends to have with her.

[Jamie Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I was not expecting it be like this right off the bat! The story starts off with a bang and doesn't slow down. It almost could be a comedy for how unrealistic it is, which makes it fun.
Cheating is a trope I usually avoid entirely, but...it's with a ghost soo it's kinda different.....?
I'll keep an eye out for future volumes, because honestly I'm invested in what happens next.

Thank you to Netgalley and VIZ Media for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC of Witching Hour Vol 1.

This manga was fine. The spice was good, but everything out side of that fell a little flat for me. I also don't love the cheating tope so that was a hill for me to climb. Honestly the most I can say about this manga was "it was fine". I don't plan to proceed to Vol 2.

[Brittney Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and VIZ media for this arc! These opinions are my own. Kay?

I don't know what I expected, but I can say for sure I wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. You know you're getting in to some weird shit with the description. The ups and downs kept me invested in how this was going to go down. My flabbers were gasted and everything.
All around, it was a fun read!

[Jill · Rating 3.25 out of 5]

I'm not really sure what to think about this one. I liked the story for the most part but the characters aren't very likeable. Which I guess is the point if they're having an affair. I really wish that Megumi would just break it off with her husband and be in a relationship with ghost dude. I'm hoping that's what we're heading towards.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Netgalley ARC
Well, that was strange... but like not in a bad way? The first few pages really set the tone, that's for sure! Very interesting premise, though I'm not really sure what I make of the ending. I'm assuming there will be more volumes.

[Ebony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly? Same, girl.

[Your Local Bibrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love stories about women letting their freak shine! Megumi’s marriage is stifling, but she wants to be a good person and a good wife. Her surprising connection with the ghost haunting her condo feeds her neglected passions, but doesn’t free her from the pressure to put up with her disrespectful, neglectful husband. The twist at the end has me very curious about volume 2. How will Gho’s new form affect Megumi’s ability to prioritize her own needs? I want to see her build a good life for herself, but I don’t know if she’ll get there. Either way, it’s going to keep getting weirder, and I’m excited!

[E (manga_runner) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, after the first read through I'm not sure how I feel about it. It definitely stands out to others not just the story but the art too- brings something different to the table. Off the top of my head I couldn't even think of a series that it is similar too.

* I'll come back with a updated rating/review after I do another read through.

Second time through I enjoyed it more and am curious what happens in volume 2.

“Focus only on me…”

Megumi is sensitive to the spiritual plane and while she generally ignores the spirits, this time it's hard to ignore when he continues to reappear at night during the witching hour. While her marriage is struggling with Yu, she originally thinks it's just a dream, maybe she is just sexually frustrated. However, things start to escalate every night from him simply staring at her to him fulfilling her sexual desires.

Megumi starts to count down the hours until witching hour to see Gho, their connection grows both physically and emotionally. As she thinks about what her friend, Mari, has mentioned about her affair, she questions if what she is doing is considered cheating. 


It's pretty sad that Gho cares more for Megumi than her actual husband-Yu. Yu even puts her in a dangerous situation and doesn't seem to care… and as the volume goes I dislike Yu seems to just grow. At least Gho figures out a way to check on her.