Something Different: Youkai no Oishasan

Synopsis

Kotoko has been able to see spirits her whole life and didn’t have the easiest of childhood. Upon entering into high school and with her grandfather being an exorcist, she has presented herself as an exorcist to her classmates and being as friendly as she is, managed to make more than a few friends. But upon encountering Kuro, a strange student however, she finds things changing for her as she discovers that Kuro, can not only see spirits but rather than exorcising them, is a doctor for them.

The Good

The pervert character has gone through all kinds of spectrums in the anime/manga verse but for the most part, the pervert aspect of a character has mainly been used for comedy purposes. For this aspect to actually have a semblance of reason behind it in this series is something that caught this writer’s eye. Personally, it gets kind of tiring where you get introduced to this regular joe type of character only for him to have a perverted side just for the sake of laughs. Here it’s interesting to see a usual character aspect done for laughs actually have a sort of explanation to it such as the main character just not knowing human boundaries.

This moves onto another interesting part of the series and that is Kuro. Not only is he different from the usual supernatural character who can see youkai but what really makes him interesting is the mystery built up towards his history of being raised with youkai. There have been stories of characters being raised by both humans and youkai but almost never has there been a story where the main character grew up being mainly surrounded by youkai. It’s because of this that you can’t help but want to know the different layers he has to him.

Another interesting point to be found with the series is the depth of thought placed into the stories of the youkai and how they connect with the main characters of the series. Whether it be when they are highly terrifying or have a sad story attached to them, the way that the artworks around them is pretty commendable even after they are treated by Kuro.

The Bad

If there was just one thing that would make a reader not want to continue reading the series is the different predictable points that starts to build up towards the later half of the series. At first it was just with Kotoko and her starting off as hating youkai but learning to get along with them because Kuro and just having the general secondary character elements for a supernatural work. Then there is also the factor of Kuro not looking like much but is actually very strong to the point of being feared by the youkai. The most prominent point of when the predictability reaches its peak is when Kuro’s friend makes his entrance.

From the moment the guy made his entrance, it was extremely obvious that thing would be taking a turn for the plot. Even the whole side-track point of him being revealed as a friend of Kuro didn’t take away the sense that he would be a catalyst of the series, especially when the ending twists was revealed. Other than this, the beginning half of the series seemed to follow a type of pattern involving, Kotoko learning to relate better with youkai.

In hindsight, these are pretty general issues for the manga given the style and concept that it has. But it does make itself out as somewhat generic overall. Other than these, there is the relationship between the main leads of the series. For one thing, there doesn’t seem to be enough interaction between them outside the whole pervert trope or Kuro having to explain the youkai world.

Conclusion

The concept has been done before the way that the characters were handled, it made the plot and concept more interesting. Outside of the one concept of the plot and the portrayal of the characters, there is a lot of generic points to be found with the series, especially towards the second half of the series. The whole exploration of the youkai though and the heartfelt stories that come with them adds another depth for series. So overall, the series can mainly be described as pretty generic but interesting enough to keep reading.

Rating: 7.5/10