I loved this series when I when it over a decade ago, and still love it after the re-read. It does have significant flaws though, many of which have been pointed out in other reviews.

Also, the gender roles are mildly irritating. I say mildly because I've become unfortunately inured to such themes in my manga/novels.

Regardless of the well-formed backgrounds and reasons provided, the characters themselves do represent sexist archetypes. There is a pretty solid undercurrent of "Women Feel, Men Think" that shapes not only the character's actions, but their very personalities. The "Protect the Women" trope is also omnipresent.

Mai is a highly expressive, verbal, strong-willed young lady with frequently exercised tear glands and poor logical reasoning. Does not make her "weak", pe se, or necessarily boring, but her profile is pretty predictable. Emotionally speaking, she is very strong - and this is standard (hackneyed) fare for heroines.

What poked my funny bone was the distinct rift in types of personality traits, depending on gender. As much as I love the characters individually, grouped like so... you notice the sexism. Potentially the best example of this is towards the end, when Takigawa, John, and Yasuhara huddle for deductive whispering, while the girls (and Mai) are left in the dark, to later be enlightened by the men at a more convenient time.

To be honest, I could write an essay on the gender roles, sexism, and misogyny in this work, but I think it's enough to just point out it's there, and ask other readers to think about it for themselves

Nonetheless, I still love the plot, and I love the characters individually.

Edit: I forgot to mention this, but just in case anyone is sensitive to this sort of thing, the art style changes as the series progresses; the art at the beginning is different from the art around volume 9, and both are different from the style you see at the end of the series.

... Last updated on April 10th, 2018, 1:34pm

Ghost Hunt is the last series I ever truly fell in love with. Its storytelling is top notch and its cast of characters is incredible. This a shoujo that doesn't even need to rely on romance to make it an amazing series - it captivates you with its suspenseful plot and leaves you on the edge of your seat. I must say, the fact that Fuyumi Ono deliberately chose not to focus on the love story between Mai and Naru is exactly what made their dynamic more unique and interesting. I think the ending was fitting in every way.

...then walk away right now. The two protagonists and their courtship is shoujo through and through, but pretty much everything else about this manga will appeal more to a horror-mystery fan than to the average shoujo romance fan, which is hardly surprising considering who the original author is.

I'll address a few complaints I've noticed people bring up time and again:

(1) "Too much information/text. I didn't come here to learn so much about Japanese supernatural and horror archetypes!"
This is a typical response from someone who expects the same thing from Ghost Hunt that they do from every other "exorcism" and "spirit-banishing" story: some random horrific occurrences take place, a medium or psychic turns up and guesses the origins of the creepy phenomena in one go, there's a quick exorcism, the spirit is dispelled, and the MC's spend the majority of the story flirting instead of conducting paranormal investigations like they're supposed to. Ghost Hunt, however, decides to tread a different route. Each ghost/spirit/curse comes with a mystery that has to be carefully unravelled, usually with many mishaps and false assumptions along the way. There's a lot of detail on Japanese myths, folklore, customs and rituals that the characters toss back and forth amongst each other in an attempt to pinpoint the nature of the ghost they'll be hunting and the method of banishment they should use. The plot as pertaining to the supernatural always takes centre stage, so if you're the type of person who doesn't like using their brain for manga, do yourself a favour and read Tasogare Otome x Amnesia or something of that ilk instead. Personally, I found the numerous titbits on Japanese superstition enhanced my reading experience and understanding of the plot, especially since I had little prior knowledge on the topic.

(2) "The supporting cast is boring and has no depth. Also, the relationships between them are underdeveloped."
I found the supporting characters immensely entertaining, myself, but there is some truth to this in that none of them (except Kazuya, and he's a main character) have interesting backstories or any particular motivations behind their being in the business. Their motives for helping Mai and Kazuya are usually either "We felt like it, so we did," "Well...we're sorta friends, right?" or "This case is way too interesting/unusual/high-profile to not have a hand in." Imo that's more believable than all of them falling in love with one another or having being tormented by spirits themselves as children, but if you're expecting things like multiple pairings (especially since all the recurring characters are quite attractive), you might find their generalised friendship-cum-teamwork-cum-business partnership boring.

(3) "Mai's an annoying brat and Kazuya's the stereotypical "cold male lead" of mainstream shoujo."
Both true, except that in Ghost Hunt they are the way they are because of their pasts, upbringing and experiences -- all of which are related to the plot in one way or another -- and not merely to create romantic/sexual tension. I have no issue with Mai, because she strikes me as a lot more realistic than your run-of-the-mill shoujo girl in that she's neither an unattractive crass tomboy nor a perpetually-blushing Shrinking Violet, but something in-between: one minute loud and childish, the next moment quiet and considerate, and in yet another moment fangirling over "Naru." I wasn't particularly drawn to Kazuya as a character or as a person, but his intelligence is very consistent (in the sense that he doesn't inexplicably become stupid when the love story or the plot tosses the Idiot Ball at him) and his coldness is relevant to his personal history, abilities and motivations, so no complaints there, either.

(4) "The romance is unresolved, so the entire story was pointless!"
Considering how slowly it was built up and the added complication of "other Naru," I can't understand how anyone could have expected anything different. A rushed HEA would have been unfitting (to both the plot and the two MC's personalities and circumstances) and unnecessary, as they were obviously saving the resolution of the UST for the sequel. Not that I approve of such blatant sequel hooks, but in this case it was quite fitting.

As for whether the lack of an end pairing makes the whole thing pointless or not... While Kazuya/Mai is, in fact, the only serious relationship in the story, Ghost Hunt is unusually plot-centric for a shoujo manga, so if you came here looking for a prominent romance, you're going to be disappointed. Every tag in the genre field gets just as much focus as the love story, so apart from "supernatural horror," no other genre predominates.

(5) "The ending was rushed."
The way I see it, most of the people who complain about this are referring to the unresolved romance/emotional aspect and not to the rest of the plot, which was being built up practically from volume one onwards. The conclusion could, admittedly, have been smoother, but an author struggling with the last volume -- especially when having to pave the way for a continuation -- is nothing new, and not a reason to refrain from reading, imo.


All in all: not a flawless series by any means, but a very entertaining and reasonably intelligent (especially considering its target demographic) read.

... Last updated on July 5th, 2015, 3:50am

Good plot, chars and cases. It's a pity the ending feels a rushed, the hole last volume is just dialog which could have been given in small dosages through-out the cases but are condensed instead.
To be honest I prefer the anime over the manga for this one, I like anime more than manga but in contradiction to that statement, usually mangas are better, this one was an exception.

... Last updated on April 30th, 2014, 11:32pm

This manga is not for those easily frightened by the supernatural, and definitely not for those with weak hearts. Either way, read this in broad daylight.

For me, the story was pretty interesting, and the plot twist in the end really elevated the manga from "moderate" to "well-done." The lack of romance left the readers hanging, grasping for more---AND GUESS WHAT? there's a SEQUEL!

Anyways, on a more serious note, this manga has its set of flaws, but I believe it redeemed itself with the mysterious main characters and their subtle bonds. They grew closer, and the girl clearly matured... I love stories like this.

... Last updated on June 10th, 2014, 2:01pm

at first, i cant read this thing because the main character is too obnoxious and the male counterpart is too stereotypical cool cold guy. but as i read more and more i understand them more, and i love all the other side characters. the plot is also incredible, you can see until the last chapter everything tied together. its not just monster of the week - some throwaway actions and words you deem inconsequential, at the end you will see it paint a complete picture. the monsters are also quite scary, especially because we feel so invested to the characters we dont want anything bad to happen to them. so read it!

... Last updated on March 25th, 2014, 2:12am

I had high hopes for this one because of the rating and reviews but it was too dull and boring! I keep thinking "When this is gonna get better?" At one point, I realize that it never will.

I enjoyed this series immensely due the facts that it had about ghosts and exorcisms. I often find that when I manga is mostly picture with little text or speech I end up speeding through it, but this one kept me hooked.
In my opinion it didn't get truly scary until a certain point, however some people may say that earlier cases freaked them out.
My only complaint would be
It was also annoying that the main characters did not get together, but I have read other series by the same author and Ono Fuyumi has a habit of doing that.

I borrowed this in the library but I found it super boring
I only read one volume then stopped cause I couldn't read anymore
Maybe I'm just not to romance shoujo type but I'm definitely the horror,tragedy type
Maybe it just because I only read BL anyway it's a good series but just not for me