Ghostly Things 3

怪しことがたり [Ayashikotogatari] #3

by Ushio Shirotori, Antje Bockel (Translator)

Da ihr Vater in Übersee arbeitet und ihre Mutter schon lange vermisst wird, muss die Schülerin Yachiho Takahara ganz allein ins neue Haus am Rande der Stadt ziehen. Schnell wird ihr klar – mit dem Haus stimmt was nicht. Seltsame Geräusche durchziehen alle Räume und immer wieder passieren gruselige Dinge. Aber davon lässt sich die toughe Yachiho nicht einschüchtern! Sie ist fest entschlossen, hinter das Geheimnis des Hauses und ihrer Familie zu kommen… Eines Tages entdeckt die Schülerin einen kleinen Durchgang, der zu einer versteckten unteren Etage führt. Dort tummeln sich Geister aller Art und Größe. Schnell wird Yachiho klar, dass sie hier nur bleiben kann, wenn sie sich mit ihren Geister-Mitbewohnern arrangiert! Wird sie mit den Gespenstern klarkommen oder proben die Ghostly Things den Aufstand?

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Comics Manga, Young Adult, Supernatural, Comics, Seinen

192 pages, Paperback

First published July 14, 2020

About the author

白鳥うしお

Reviews

[Kayt O'Bibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full 3-Book Series Review

This was an appealing series I found at the library, three volumes together, and it looks so good you hope it lives up to that expectation. The covers are bright and multicolored, featuring a teenage girl surrounded by all manner or creatures: dragons, little gobliny things on clouds, forest spirits and more.

The premise is simple: with her mom missing and dad working overseas, Yachiho moves into a new house that locals say is haunted, and it...is, actually. Living there is a small spirit whose job is to guide those supernatural creatures whose time on earth is done back to the spirit world. Yachiho is promptly recruited to assist. Shenanigans abound.

The series starts well. Yachiho is far from the most original or compelling character I've read, but she's not bad, just generic: nice and kind-hearted, but unwilling to be walked on or bossed around by her new spirit housemates.

What we think is going to happen during the series is: Yachiho will uncover information about her missing mother, who has some unspecified connection to the supernatural and probably this house. Yachiho will also probably find out what happened to the elderly previous owner of the house, who could also see spirits. We'll learn about folklore and see pretty pictures.

...that last one happens, at least.

Okay, okay, to be fairpartially what happened to the previous homeowner. Like confirmation he did a thing they thought he did, and that's why he disappeared. But no answers about motivation, or what happened after.

This felt to me like a manga that anticipated having a longer run than it ended up having. We have all these mysteries and are unraveling at the speed of molasses (but at least the stories about spirits and supernaturals are fun and pretty), and in the third volume Yachiho gets a couple answers, and the story ends.

Like, ends. We still have no answers about her missing mother, we don't know the supernatural guide's tragic backstory despite the many ominous references. We don't know why a mysterious man with a prior connection to the house has shown up and is poking around the house and village, or why he's allied with some mysterious organization that wants him to find something in the house.

The story basically stops at a natural breaking point, but clearly nowhere close to the end of the story--it would need at least another volume to actually wrap everything up, and probably more. When I finished volume 3, I had to get online and confirm that there wasn't anything more, because it's so definitely not done

That said, it was a nice diversion. Definitely a get-from-the-library type, but I don't regret reading.

[❀ Tina ❀ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5*

[sophie ⚘ · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was in my opinion the best of the three volumes but i still have SO many questions. the end is a little bit too open for my taste. like, basically nothing gets resolved, I don't know what the purpose of the series was, then. but it's a debut series as far as i know and for that, it was really quite good!

[Ari · Rating 4 out of 5]

i liked the setting of the entire series so much & the third volume rounded it up quite well. the pacing was kinda off since i feel like we received almost ALL information in this volume, but i still enjoyed it a lot !!

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate giving this a 3, but the ending just left me feeling unfulfilled. But I dont regret reading this trilogy of manga. The artwork throughout was gorgeous and story was well done outside the ending.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit rushed, a bit jarring, a bit confusing, but in the end still quite enjoyable. Ghostly Things 3 is the conclusion Ushio Shirotori’s first serialized work. We continue the story immediately where we left off. Yachiho is still on the hunt for the book of the dead that will hopefully help her locate her missing mother. It’s a fun book that is extremely quick paced with interesting creatures as well as story. I think it may be better read all 3 in one go, which I may try to do now that it’s complete. The spirits remain the best part of the books. The sealed door chapters are by far my favorite in the whole series.

I don’t want to be so heavy on the negatives since I read very little manga and this is very different from what I usually read, but I did have some issues. Instead of diving super deep I’ll leave it at the first sentences. A bit rushed, maybe cause he was trying to get it done in 3. A bit jarring. I think this may can just be a cultural/translation issue. A bit confusing is only because they will start saying some words in Japanese and just breeze right through. This volume in particular I had to look a couple things up. 1 was Tokoyo which is a folklore land of the dead. Not to be confused with Tokyo which I did. For like 90% of the book. So when they said we are going to Tokoyo and made a big deal about it I was like “ok. It’s just a city. Not sure what all the commotion is about.” Then realizing. Oh damn. Not a city, literally going to the after life. Much bigger deal. Again though none of that was really explained. If it was I missed it. Anyways nothing to negative.

All in all a solid series. Sitting around 3.5-4 star series. That is only 3 books so super easy to finish.

[Eden Silverfox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yachiho locates the Book of the Dead and hopes that with it, she will be able to find her missing mother. But she's not the only one wanting the book.

Volume 3 is the grand final of this series. It's an enjoyable series with great artwork, fun characters, and an interesting story. Some mysteries are solved, and some remain unsolved. I think it was a bit rushed, and it probably could have benefitted from having a few more volumes in the series.

With a few more volumes, characters could have been more fleshed out, and the biggest mystery of the series could have possibly been solved.

Overall, I liked the series. I enjoyed all the spirits in the house and the silliness.

[Mariah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Last volume. I really liked this series!

[Julay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mon cœur saigne pour Onibi

[Lauren Monlezun · Rating 2 out of 5]

So disappointed. :( I gave the first volume 5 stars but the last two were just too hard to follow. I wish the series ended in a way that was more clear. I felt like this ended in a spot that wasn’t satisfying and should lead to another arc where she finds her mother.

[Sunread26 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chronique complète :
https://sunread26.wordpress.com/2023/...

Extrait :
Dernier tome de la trilogie fantastique, Yachiho arrivera-t-elle à retrouver sa mère disparue ? Est-ce que la fête se déroulera sans encombre ? L’avenir semble assez incertain, et les secrets commencent à être divulgués. Il se passe beaucoup de choses dans ce tome, mais au final, est-ce que la série est bien ou pas ?

Avec ce tome, j’ai fait le plein d’action, même si j’ai aussi eu l’impression que l’intrigue partait un peu dans tous les sens… Le festival de yomi-okuri (renvoi dans le royaume des morts) approche à grand pas, mais sans l’esprit pour guider les autres, il va falloir que Yachiho mette la main à la patte ! Et c’est d’ailleurs plutôt risqué, puisqu’elle pourrait être entraînée elle-même dans le monde éternel. Moro se décide enfin à lui avouer la vérité, tant sur sa condition, que sur certains événements, il regrette d’ailleurs de ne pas l’avoir fait plus tôt, ne serait-ce que par estime envers la jeune fille.

Pour le reste, et bien, malgré qu’elle est trouvé les notes, celles-ci ont été volées directement par le mystérieux groupe (qui ne sera pas développé non plus au final). Eux qui cherchent désespérément à passer dans le monde éternel pour diverses raisons, sont prêts à tout pour cela, et se fiche donc bien que les esprits sèment la pagaille lors du festival. Au final, il semblerait qu’ils n’ont pas réussis à passer, et on ignore ce qu’ils sont devenus… sûrement cherchent-ils encore un moyen pour y aller ?

[...]

[Danielle R · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a final volume, this is really unsatisfying...

No one has a true personality. Yachiho really had no character development; she ended as she began, a nice decent girl who would like to be friends with spirits. Kamo had the closest we could call a character arc, since he used to be good buddies with spirits, got a bunch of burn scars, and then started hating them. Even so, I wasn't invested in seeing what happened to him and I think he changed his mind too easily (i.e. because a fifteen-year-old girl yelled at him once).

Nothing was explained. Why did Tachibana cross into the Spirit World, Tokoyo? No idea. Why did Moro allow it, knowing it would break the taboo? Even he doesn't know. Why was the Book of the Dead suddenly handed to Yachiho? Just because. How did Yachiho escape the Spirit World when Tachibana couldn't? Because Tachibana said so.

Nothing was resolved. Yachiho's mother is still trapped in the In Between and Yachiho is going to try to rescue her, just like in Volume One. Yachiho's father is still off searching for folklore things, just like the first volume. Kamo and the Black Hats are still lurking for their unknown goal, just like in the first book. Moro is still using Yachiho as his unpaid assistant, though he 'loves' her now.

This is the risk with short series. Some authors use every page to the fullest. This author definitely wandered and spent too much time on one-offs without advancing the characters or delivering emotional hits. Lackluster, but at least it was pretty. 2/5

[Gigli · Rating 4 out of 5]

»»» A compra:
Depois de ler o 1.º volume comprei os restantes 2 editados nesta série, na fantástica e agora desaparecida (engolida pela Amazon) Bookdepository.

»»» A aventura:
Yachico descobre o destino do professor Tachibana, o anterior proprietário da casa “assombrada” que habita e com quem a sua mãe trabalhava antes de desaparecer.
Muitos mistérios são revelados, desde o muito procurado livro dos mortos à situação da mãe de Yachico.
O grupo a que o professor Kamo pertence aperta o cerco.

»»» Sentimento final:
Um bom livro, mas é o último?
O próprio autor dá a entender que, para já, este é o último da série e por isso é que dou 4*, porque continua a boa história de Yachico e espíritos que nos cativam, mas também nem todos os mistérios são resolvidos. Acabamos de ler e sentimos que falta um volume.

»»» Nota final (capa e outras considerações):
--- [Capa] – O excelente nível no desenho, nas cores e no grafismo mantém-se.
--- [Ilustrações] – Também se mantém o bom desenho e vou sentir falta de conhecer mais um espíritos japoneses adoráveis e até os ameaçadores.

»»» Uma espreitadela:

[Geoffrey POTIER · Rating 3 out of 5]

En trois tomes, la quête de Yachiho pour retrouver les mystérieuses notes sur le royaume des morts installe un décor prometteur : une maison abandonnée, un chat complice et un cortège de yōkai aux mécaniques soignées. Le potentiel est là, avec un univers surnaturel intrigant et une galerie d’esprits fascinante.

Mais la narration s’étire. Certains passages donnent l’impression d’un remplissage qui ralentit l’intrigue principale, au détriment d’une construction plus dense et d’un final plus percutant. Côté dessin, les planches offrent de beaux éclats d’ambiance, mais la mise en page se fait parfois brouillonne, ce qui ajoute à la sensation de flottement.

Reste une lecture plaisante par moments : l’atmosphère étrange, l’idée d’explorer la frontière entre vivants et morts, et ces yōkai bien caractérisés valent le détour. Dommage que l’ensemble manque d’élan pour transformer ce potentiel en récit marquant.

[Di · Rating 3 out of 5]

With this being the final volume, I do feel this was an unsatisfying end to the series. We don't get all the answers to the mysteries and even the answers we do get are not complete. There were too many things revealed for a series this short and it feels like the mangaka didn't have as many volumes as they thought they would've? This probably could've been at least a 10 volume series with all the mysteries that arose throughout the story.

I really enjoyed the art style and I do feel like our main character will continue to search for answers, however as a reader, we won't see that. I hate when I'm left with a lot of questions at the end of the story and I definitely feel that with this series.

[Vitea · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a review of all 3 books.

I love Mushishi and Natsume's Book of Friends, and the description combined with such lovely artwork immediately caught my interest.

This manga looks absolutely stunning, everything is so well drawn! The art is simply gorgeous.
And sadly, the good things end here. I wasn't gripped by the story and found it boring, the pacing was way too slow, the plot barely moved. The ending was underwhelming at best - we got no answers whatsoever, the story just abruptly stopped, and that was it. It felt more like a prologue than a complete story.

I did like Kamo Chihaya though, I wish there was more of him.

This story had so much potential, but ultimately fell short for me.

[Freddie🏳️‍⚧️🐀 · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the ending was pretty rushed and ending without tying up all the loose ends, I do think this series is still worth a read.
The art is still beautiful, detailed and full of life. There’s some development with Yacchio and her connections with the spirits, some mysteries unraveled. It’s a pretty relaxing read for a finale. While the last two chapters were pretty rushed, I do feel the book is fine with only 3 volumes. We don’t need to see every mystery or conflict solved. If you’re looking for the most thrilling story or satisfying and perfect ending, you might be disappointed. But if you want a well drawn story with some mystery, fun, and sweet moments then I do recommend it.

[Raven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the ending being a bit mediocre and too much of an open ending, I rather enjoyed this series! I really like Moro as a character! I did wished yachiho was more fleshed out as a main character, she didn't have much of a personality. Kamo was interesting as a villain but we hardly saw him! I wanted a lot more of him! And even his ending was a bit confusing.

That being said, the art was absolutely gorgeous. I adored the mystery behind this story. And I loved learning about the different yokai! For being a first series this was absolutely fantastic! I won't be surprised if this mangaka soars with some more practice!!

[Drine Psylook · Rating 4 out of 5]

ce troisième tome était aussi le dernier de cette saga… du coup, j’ai mis trois jours à le lire, non pas parce qu’il n’était pas bien, au contraire, mais parce que je ne voulais pas que ça se termine, donc j’ai traîné autant que j’ai pu.
J’ai adoré ce troisième tome et particulièrement les souvenirs de Kamo. Dès le début, c’était un personnage qui me laissait perplexe : il passait pour le méchant, mais je ne le sentais pas mauvais… et en effet, mon intuition était la bonne.
https://psylook.kimengumi.fr/2021/03/...

[Scoot · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that it was unfortunately a little short at three volumes, and that it could have explored some more about the spirit world and closed out some loose ends that are left open. It felt rushed, like it expected to have a longer running to be able to answer these questions. Overall, however, I found it to be an enjoyable little series.

The art was amazing throughout, the story quite simple but relatively enjoyable, and the series wrapped up decently, even if some things were left unanswered. It thought me a good bit about Japanese Folklore too!

[Ruxi (The Lightning Reader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ghostly things is a fairly quick manga series with beautiful art, spirit encounters, and a light hearted feel. The art was my favorite part while reading as each panel had a lot of detail. The characters were simple with a slow development but still likable. I enjoyed the main characters interactions with the spirits and the mysteries she was trying to unfold. Overall a nice read with a supernatural twist.

[Ctecain · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5
Comme je le pensais, la série n’avait rien de surprenant, mais elle fait passer le temps. On sent une fin plutôt ouverte qui pourrait laisser penser que l’auteur reprendra peut-être son histoire un jour (on reste clairement sur notre faim) En tout cas, pour de nouveaux lecteurs de manga, la série peut très bien être une belle porte d’entrée pour découvrir un univers magique, avec des petits récits un peu à la XXXHolic.

[Julia Ermert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute art style and I love the characters but the story was just not that good. At no point was I actually interested in what was happening and the end was just annoying.

Super süß gezeichnet und die Charaktere sind auch toll aber die Story lässt zu wünschen übrig. War zu keinem Zeitpunkt wirklich an der Handlung interessiert und das Ende war einfach nur blöd.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall a heartwarming ending to an intriguing and unique series. Not everything was wrapped up nicely, but I honestly didn’t mind that in such a short series. Things ended hopefully and that was enough to make me happy.

[Perla Villa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like this story has so much potential but it's so scattered. To me the story keeps jumping from one thing to another with nothing tying it together at some parts. Maybe it's just me but I just really hope it gets better in the next volume.

[Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always, BEAUTIFUL ART!!!! I can’t emphasise how beautiful the art is, it’s a shame that the plot doesn’t necessarily match 💔
This is the final volume and it tied things together however it didn’t feel complete?? The series is quite a nice short one to read though

[Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

SERIES REVIEW
--------------------------------
3.5 Stars

Overall, pretty generic plot and characters, but the art style was really well done. When I read the last page, I still had a few questions, but I guess they'll go unanswered unless we get a new series.

Would recommend!

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yachiho finds the missing book and makes it to the other side.

This felt very much like the end of a story arc rather than the end of a series. Nothing was really resolved but I still pretty much enjoyed the read. The art was well done with lots of cute and creepy spirits.

[♡✧⁠*the waterlily fairy⁠✧⁠*⁠♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Words cannot describe how happy this little series has made me. I loved meeting the different spirits and learning about them. I wish i could just keep reading about the adventures of Yachiho and Moro. I will definitely revisit these mangas one day.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

This series was a hit for me. But this last volume did leave me wanting more. I love the touches at the end from the author it really grounds it and makes it more honest. I think there was some open questions that I wish got answered but excellent conceptual world.