School Lore and Comedy: Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun

Synopsis

Nene Yashiro is a high school girl who has a love for the occult, and with the rumors that surround the Seven Mysteries of her school Kamome Academy, she decides to venture into one of the mysteries of school. This mystery is of the ghost Hanako-san. Said to occupy the third stall of the third-floor girl’s bathroom in the old school building, it is said that Hanako-san will grant any wish when summoned. Believing this, Nene, with dreams of romance summons the ghost, but rather than the female ghost that she had imagined, she instead discovers that Hanako-san is a boy?!

The Good

From the title itself, the way that the series takes a different turn with the usual supernatural in school trope is its best quality. Most often when it comes to manga involving school and the supernatural, the school is just a backdrop for the characters and the supernatural to conduct their antics. The way that it actually integrates school legends that are often put aside makes the series its own.

Hanako here is also a highly interesting character, not just because he is a twist from the usual ghost idea but also because of his story and development. It takes on the general ghost lingering due to a regret idea, but the series makes it so that it adds a good touch of mystery for the series. What really ties the series together is the way that the art and the design of the series works for the series. It’s detailed but not too detailed and had a nice touch of traditional work in it.

The Bad

As nice as the art, there are moments when it seems like it’s going all over the pace or a little too chaotic in certain pages with how much there is going on in it. Then there is the flow of the story, at first, the story seemed rather simple and involving the whole human getting sucked into the world of the supernatural, then it introduces some interesting plot points only to go a different direction in the next chapter or so. Basically, there’s quite a bit of chaos to be found with the series and the pacing can be a bit off for some.

Then there is the main character of the series, Nene. She’s not terrible as a character but for the most part, there is some really slow development on her part and most often she ends up as the damsel and doesn’t really a solid spotlight to her unless it’s necessary to the plot. Simply put, the plot is not the only thing that’s got some chaos to it. It just seems that the series doesn’t have a completely solid plot line that it’s following.

Conclusion

The plot and concept of the series is the strongest points of the work and the art of the manga just tied it all together. It’s different and a refreshing change from the usual supernatural works involving a school setting. The only real thing that can be said against the series is that it can be rather chaotic in art, characters and plot. Outside of the supernatural and art aspects of the series, the mystery aspect of the series also holds a nice touch and overall, it’s a nice read for something different in the supernatural genre.

Rating: 8/10