Fantasm by Gido Amagakure

Halloween! (and I think something is wrong with my formatting... sorry.)

Fantasm by Gido Amagakure

           Genre: Shojo

           Length: One Volume

       Art wise, this manga is cute more than pretty, the eyes are varied and expressive and the clothes are not really anything you notice. The silly faces are the best part of this book, though, you also get a great range of motion, too. Body movements look smooth and not at all awkward.

       Deng is moving to the big city to live with her bother now that her grandfather has died, even though she doesn't like crowds due to her 'illness.' Just siting in the airport she begins to grow uncomfortable, seeing all the black shadows sprouting out of people around her and trying her hardest not to. When her brother finally arrives she shouts at him for being late because all she wants is to hide from the monsters. Deng can see the negative and evil intentions of people and they manifest as black monsters that scare her and make it very hard for her to look people in the eye. It also makes her afraid to look at herself in the mirror because she doesn't know what she will see there. When running away from a man with a dark shadow, she meets Karas, a creature entirely made of bad intentions who eats the manifestations to live and who claims he will eat her, too. Deng, knowing how her ability makes her hateful and not wanting to be eaten, decides to change the way she interacts with the world and see her ability with new intent.

        This is a good short story, though it could be expanded a little better since its the type to move slowly at first and then shove everything at you in one lump at the end. For one volume, though, you get a good beginning, middle, and sort of end. The characters are fun to watch and Deng's struggle with living in the world that she ignored for so long is given to you in a real feeling way, the character development is actually very good. It is a story that could have been dark and depressing but was instead written in a light hearted way so that you can enjoy what you're given and chew on the implications afterward. The idea of seeing the shadows people try to keep hidden and the implications of what is good and what is evil are well laid out with out being preached. Too bad you don't get much of an ending, just more of a wrap up.

4/5 Recommended for a short occult shojo with substance.