A love triangle between a girl, her now-deceased brother’s ex, and the vengeful spirit of her brother. Will any of them be able to get a happy ending?
You can check out chapter one of this series for yourself below!
Author
Genre & Tropes
Info about this series (ongoing)
There are currently nine volumes published in Japanese.
The English volume one will be coming out this November through Yen Press.
TL;DR
This is a horror manga series full of mysteries and secret intentions. Everyone seems to have ulterior motives, and the main mystery surrounds the being that was Kanoko’s brother.
Official Synopsis (Yen Press)
In the high heat of summer, Kanoko visits her brother’s grave. By her side is Hijiri, her brother’s lover—and the man she has fallen in love with. But memories aren’t the only things that can haunt the living. This is the story of the twisted love between a girl, her brother’s partner, and the thing that was once her brother…
My thoughts on this chapter
While this series does feature an LGBT couple, I wouldn’t classify it as a BL—the focus is on the high schooler Kanoko, and her feelings for her now-deceased brothers ex. As of the first chapter, while the brother was still alive, it seems like the three had rather complicated relationships with each other.
Kanoko’s parents clearly disapproved of her brother being in a same-sex relationship, and in my eyes, she used that to her advantage. I believe she has been doing anything and everything to get on Hijiri’s good side, including pretending to be a good sister. I still have to read more to get a better understanding of her character, but as of chapter one, I get the sense that she has no problem lying and being deceitful to get what she wants. I don’t believe she did anything here without an ulterior motive—she’s a sneaky girl, and honestly, I am really enjoying following her.
It’s incredibly difficult to tell what type of relationship she and her brother had as of this chapter. While he was alive, we see him happily tell her that Hijiri would grow to love her just as much as he loves him, because the two are so similar. Surely he meant that in a platonic way, right? After he passes away and comes back as…whatever he is now, he clearly isn’t all that happy to see Kanoko spending time with Hijiri. Perhaps he always knew that she had ulterior motives?
Rather than Kanoko and Hijiri’s relationship though, I’m more interested in what exactly happened to the brother. Did he feel so betrayed by his parents not even allowing Hijiri to come to his funeral that he came back as a vengeful spirit? Did he have a sense that Kanoko would come back trying to form a relationship with Hijiri and refuse to pass on because of it? I’m so curious! I love a good ghost story filled with lore, so I hope there’s some form of explanation provided. Judging by Hijiri’s accent, I get the sense that he has his own customs and beliefs that Kanoko would be unaware of, coming from Tokyo. Perhaps there was some type of special funeral ritual done that tied his spirit to the grounds?
It’s also unclear if whether he’s a malvoyant spirit or not yet—as of chapter one, he hasn’t done much besides cling to Hijiri’s side. While he’s rather creepy looking now, that doesn’t mean he’s necessarily evil! Maybe he’s there to protect his beloved Hijiri and his sister…though I doubt it.
Maddies Manga 
Leave a comment