Title:
Ghost Sweeper Mikami Book 1 |
Format:
softcover
180 pages
Hong Kong version |
Production:
Shiina Takashi
Ching Win Comics |
Comments:
GS Mikami never made it to the anime hall of fame. |
Overall Rating:
 67% |
|
|
|
|
|
Animefringe Reviews:
Ghost Sweeper Mikami Book 1
By Rebecca Lee
Reiko Mikami is the best exorcist in the ghost sweeping business and in a monster-ridden Tokyo,
her powers are in high demand. Unfortunately for paying customers, she is also the most money
hungry woman you will ever meet. As an employer, Reiko tries to pay her assistants as little as
possible. By utilising her feminine wiles, Reiko prevents her assistant Tada Yokishima from
asking for a raise from his meager wages. Later on, the 500-year-old ghost Kinu (also hardly
paid anything) joins Reiko's team in the quest to make more money in this 9 chapter book.
Sounds interesting? While the anime is a whole bunch of laughs, the manga still lacks that
special something to make it interesting. I picked up a copy of the comic in a bookstore in
Singapore and was sorely disappointed. In the manga, the characters have very one-sided
personalities. Even the main character, Reiko, dosen't have a personality, she just moves from
story to story showing her bust line and destroying monsters. Relationships between characters
are not fully fleshed out. In fact, I'm not even sure that there even are any relationships
PRESENT in the stories at all (unless you call Yokoshima peeking into Reiko's shower a
"relationship"). Although the art work is almost beautiful, it didn't quite make up for the fact
that the same storyline was being recycled. Basically, it is all about fan service, action and
lust.
Putting beautiful cleavages aside, the manga still has one more saving point: the outrageously
funny settings. Even with recycled plots, you'd still be laughing your head off at a funny and
unexpected twist or the fact that the "evil monster" was found in the most unlikely of places.
There even is a "barbie doll" monster who wants to use humans as dress-up dolls in one of the
stories.
The other good thing about this comic is that it has characters that are easy to differentiate.
Each character has a different look to their face and hairstyle so that you always know who is
talking at any given time. The comic has a "layout for beginning readers" so that you don't get
confused about which panel comes next when reading it. It's a good read for beginning otaku and
slightly hentai otaku. Overall, it's a pretty good start for a first book, I give 100 points for
effort. I only hope that the following books are an improvement over this one.
If you want to have a good mindless laugh or just something slightly ecchi to drool over, pick up
this book and leaf through it. It's also a pretty good book to rent if there isn't any other
manga available in the nearby vicinity. However, if you're looking for a good plot and diverse,
well-developed characters, don't even touch it, all this will leave you with is ink stains on
your fingers.
|
