Is “cozy spooky” a genre already? Because that is exactly what this book was for me. A warm, fuzzy, gloomy blanket that spirited away the cold and rainy autumn nights.

In the story (a mix between manga style segments and prose) we follow the adventures of an assorted party of characters, some human, some not so much.
In their path from Tokyo to Osorezan we get to know a bunch of local Yokai, explore local legends and get to feel that the veil between this and the other world is sometimes not as thick as we like to believe.

Most stories left me with that bittersweet feeling I normally expect (and crave) from Japanese novels. The representation of Japanese folklore was much more deep and well researched than what I initially expected and the little pearls of Japanese language disseminated in the book not only helped create very vivid images in my mind, but also taught me a thing or two.

As far as the audience goes, I am going to greenlight this book for all ages: While adults will inevitably read more into it than younger readers, the spookiness and gloominess is light enough to be suitable for everyone .

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC, but I am about to purchase a hardcopy as soon as it becomes available as I want this physically on my shelf.
My only regret? Not having this book in my hands in time for Obon.

This is another immersive spectacle from Julian and Chie. The mix of manga and story is wonderful and I was so captivated from start to finish!

I love this even more than Tsunami Girl. It is rich in Japanese folklores which I absolutely love. The alternating graphic novel and prose work very well as a format for retelling of folklores.

This is a must-read. I will definitely use this in my course one day.

This was so fun and enticing, I loved the mixture of graphic novel comic book type pages, but also the novel aspect - it was so much fun and I couldn't put it down!