Status Updates From Phantom Busters T03 (3)

(cont.) through allowing himself to lean on his friends, he is now in a place where he’s strong enough to confront his mother and really see and hear her for the first time. and of course the reframing of his “curse” as a boon because it brought his friends into his life. i love zaki so fucking much!!!!!!

what an absolutely beautiful arc. i love the full circle moment of having dinner “as a family” and zaki realizing that the guilt he’s felt so acutely all these years has also been felt by his mother. connection and communication really are practices that build on each other and snowball (cont.)

(cont.)
there’s treats everywhere and they all make SENSE for the characters. they’re not just thrown in there for fun, they’re all character building. neoshoco really understands that it’s those tiny details that make characters come to life

i’ve raved about it before but i just love the consistent character details in even the smallest things. eugene being the one to reach down towards mogari as they’re being carried away by ren, earlier in the chapter zaki was visibly annoyed at having to kneel for the vengeful spirit, and before that the fist bump moment with zaki and tamon (cont.)

THIS PAGE GOES SO HARD HOLY SHIT?????? mogari all in shadows and ren swooping down looking like a fucking vampire bat or something with the way his sleeves frame the full moon behind him????????? absolutely stunning

zaki returning tamon’s fist bump with one hand and punching him in the stomach with the other I SEE YOU YOU GREMLIN. he’s literally a cat prove me wrong. but also. the intricate rituals

man i can’t wait for mogari to learn that his friends would actually be DEVASTATED if he died so maybe he should stop throwing himself to the wolves at the slightest inconvenience like another black haired shonen character i know

this scene is the thesis statement for this entire manga i think. even if it’s “pointless”, talk anyway. ask for help anyway. lean on your friends anyway. connection is NEVER pointless

that top panel showing off zaki and mogari’s complementary black and white fits (and hair) is SO good oh my god add them to the black and white yaoi list i guess

tamon being the one who most closely understands zaki’s specific type of pain and the draw of wanting to just make it all stop MMMMHMMM

that specific focus on mogari and his complete lack of surprise when hikaru tells the boys about kaoru’s scars (which i don’t love but i also completely understand from the perspective of a concerned older sister) makes me think that mogari had already assumed they were self-inflicted. for all his loud displays of immaturity, he really is secretly the MOST mature

god i love when scary eugene comes out to whip the boys into shape, the switchup never gets old

(cont.) it’s easier when eugene is there to come up with a plan to make his house even a little bit less of a beacon for spirits. as goofy and absurd as this manga can be sometimes, it’s a story about connection and the little ways that we save each other simply by being there. no man is an island type beat

zaki still truly believes that the reason for his sadness is his spiritual ability, but he’ll discover over the next few chapters that his REAL problem is not allowing himself to accept help from anyone. seeing the ghosts is a problem yes but it’s MUCH easier to deal with when tamon is there, so they can actually communicate. it’s easier when mogari is there to exorcise them if needed. (cont.)

it was unclear in the fan translations i read but the kanzaki siblings’ names are actually kaoru and hikaru okay yeah for sure neoshoco have you ever heard of a manga called the summer hikaru died? zaki would probably love it

the absolute emotional whiplash of this series never fails to kick me right in the ribs
this chapter literally started with mogari getting his dick caught in his zipper WHY AM I CRYING NOW

zaki and mogari casually joking about eating ass (for exorcism reasons) after we already had a chapter where mogari had to kiss a guy to exorcise the spirit inside of him uh huh yeah for sure neoshoco whatever you say babes

(cont.)
this dynamic also serves as fuel for the mogari x zaki ship that i do in fact ADORE

maria’s reaction here and mogari’s judgment of it is the perfect explanation of why zaki makes sense as the biggest cat person while mogari is a dog person through and through. mogari knows what it’s like to be neglected so he prefers creatures that show their love loudly and directly (like he does), while zaki has purposefully closed himself off from receiving affection so he’s more fickle like a cat

zaki being the biggest cat person of the group tracks so perfectly like of COURSE he is
i also love the running gag of him looking positively insane and devilish whenever he smiles. like that’s my favorite off-putting son right there

YALL KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS MY LOVABLE IDIOTS ARE BACK
april is absolutely stacked with new releases and this is the first of many that i will be screaming about