Phantom Seer, the review of the first “obscure” volume

Phantom Seer

Finally arrives also in Italy, thanks to Star Comics, the supernatural manga Phantom Seer born as a one-shot and then became a miniseries after the publication on Weekly Shonen Jump which has been quite successful which however did not prevent the series from being suddenly canceled. The work, written by Toto Goto and illustrated by Kento Matsuura, had initially been criticized in his native land due to a history full of topoi already seen abundantly in other works, however the narration and the wonderful drawings have led to many readers. Let's find out more in this review of the first volume of four.

Phantom Seer: an ongoing hunt against evil spirits

The events of Phantom Seer unfold in a Modern and advanced Japan and we immediately make the acquaintance of a high school girl named Riku Aibetsu with an unfortunate and terrifying ability: to attract ghosts or, better, evil spirits. After a thousand vicissitudes, another student arrives, Iori Katanagi, as well as a shaman who finds himself helping the poor girl to face a ghost that haunts her. From this moment the two become inseparable companions, as Riku tells Iori about the other spiritual battles taking place around her. Unfortunately this leads Riku to dive deeper and deeper into the world of shamans, discovering the nature of her power and how dangerous evil spirits can be. Due to this unique ability, she is used by shamans to attract ghosts so they can be exorcised. What we find ourselves reading are episodic scenarios in which Riku, Iori and various companions learn about a spirit, take it out of its hiding place and exorcise it.| ); }
If this synopsis should, however, sound rather bland, it is because, in all honesty, it really is. Phantom Seer indeed has a decidedly mundane and stereotypical beginning, but his narrative improves as the chapters progress, especially regarding the development of Riku and the description of Iori's personal goals. All this is reinforced by the highest quality designs made by a very inspired and brilliant Matsuura. Since this story treats the supernatural as its central theme, readers are spoiled by extraordinary tables that highlight ghosts with grotesque details so well drawn that it seems that at any moment they can devour the pages in which they are present. The accentuated and intense expressiveness of the characters on dark backgrounds allows the general pathos to always be kept high despite the spirits being revealed with a certain speed during the chapters. The consequence of this last point is the action that may be brief, but nevertheless the reader is rewarded with epic single or double pages that give a growing climax to the story and give further strength and meaning to the battles.

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A great variety of well-blended styles

In this regard, Iori has on his side the knowledge of dark magic with which he can create shadow-like weapons and, although certainly not a new concept, the way the dark tentacles move across the plates and pages is a sight to behold. This feature is further enhanced when Iori summons his personal ghosts which are controlled in much the same way as seen in series such as JoJo's Bizarre Adventure or Persona. Outside of the action, however, the characters themselves have sharp and highly detailed designs that are reminiscent of the modern and elegant style of the world of the aforementioned Persona. The main characters, in fact, are attractive and elegant and among these Kurose stands out, sporting a high-class dress despite the presence of a tank top embellished with very curious decorations. This attention to detail can be seen throughout the volume, from spirit designs to some otherworldly architecture like Iori's house.

In conclusion

Overall, the first volume of Phantom Seer is really interesting and undoubtedly pushes the reader to continue reading even with subsequent volumes. The beginning is certainly not the best, but the general development continues in a way that is as rapid as it is detailed, articulated and fun. The supernatural theme, in turn, is not the best of originality, but the classic Battle Shonen setting also allows a certain freedom to the narrator and above all to the designer, presenting and characterizing the characters, spirits and places in an impeccable way. In fact, design is the real driving force behind the work, combining action scenes with thriller, comic and mythological elements in a decidedly impeccable way.