Read whole series, but didn't want to add them all. The books are funny and scary at the same time. The plot is intense and well-developed. Readers who like strong characters, ghosts, fantasy, and mysteries you solve along with the characters will enjoy reading this book. ( )

Mai is a typical teenager who likes to tell ghost stories. When she hears the one about the cursed school in back of their school her curiosity draws her in to it. A freak accident with an expensive camera leads her to be the indentured servant of a young ghost hunter, Shibuya (or Naru-Chan as Mai nicknames him for his narcissistic attitude). Mai's first assignment is to help Shibuya and a group of psychics called in by the principal discover what the true curse is and exorcise any evil spirits.

This was more of a stage setter with an interesting plot than a horror story. However, I still enjoyed the manga very much. I like the idea of a ghost busting unit with the variety of personalities this one is apparently going to have. They are all so different that I can see that amidst the ghosts and spirits the interpersonal stories should be interesting as well. The artwork was good, but kind of busy in places and I kept getting John and Mai mixed up. I have to keep reminding myself that John is the one with the pretty, pretty eyes LOL! I was very interested to learn this manga is based on a series of Japanese young adult novels. I would love to read a translation of the novels themselves but it doesn't look like there is one available *sigh*

Overall I thought this to be a good lead in for what looks like it will be a fun series and I'm off to check out volume 2 next. ( )

Ghost Hunt is a Del Rey manga. It reads like an episode of Scooby-Doo, except the main male-character "ghost buster" does not out-and-out deny existence of paranormal-- he simply disproves the paranormal is at work.

The gist of the plot: The story is told from the point of view of a naive school girl who winds up helping a pretty-looking, science-obsessed guy who was hired to check out a supposedly 'haunted' school building, using high-tech equipment. The principal would like to demolish the old building but cannot because of a plague of weird 'accidents' surrounding the site.

After a single day, the principal invites a medium, a miko, and a Catholic priest to help solve the problem. None of these people get along. In the end, of course, Mr. Science solves the case.

The story is not particularly interesting, nor original. I found the main female-character annoying. The book ends with her becoming Mr. Science's employee for sequels. ( )