When you first start reading Ghost Hunt, you really don't know where the story is going to take you. The series starts with a great introductory of your reoccurring cast of characters and the first ghost hunting activity they indulge in seems like it's a run of the mill haunting. However like most of the ghost hunting stories in this manga, it gets flipped on it's head. You don't actually know where the story is headed until our favorite narcissist, Naru, has already figured it out and by the last chapter has explained it to our main character, Mai.

While this manga is episodic, it really lends itself to the development of the main characters and they bonds they form together. Each new chapter or arc we get new bits and pieces of information about characters. An example of this that I really enjoyed was around volume 3-4 when we find out Mai is actually orphaned. This felt like such a crucial piece of information that most series would give you right up front but with Ghost Hunt, it holds it all back until just the right time to drop a bomb. These little hints and droplets of info on character's backgrounds also ends up being crucial for the last half of the series where we begin to put everything together about certain characters.

Not every character is likable, but you can't really hate any of them either. At the start Ayako, the miko, seems like she is a selfish person who's not good at her job but as she bonds with the other characters you begin to sympathize with her bit by bit. The same goes for Naru, one of our big main characters, who seems narcissistic and rude but has a bit deeper of a history than just this. I will say the one character that isn't as fleshed out as the rest is the priest, John. We know very little about this character despite being featured the same amount as all the others. John seemed to be the outlier of character development in this series, which isn't exactly a detriment but just an observation.

As I mentioned the story is episodic so some arcs are amazing, unable to put down ghost stories, while others can be mildly interesting with good character moments. These less interesting arcs are few and far between however and sometimes serve as a good break between very high-stake action volumes.

Lastly, the art in Ghost Hunt is phenomenal. Just the right amount of creepy, gory, and a little bit of sweetness. Some panels of this series gave me chills while reading. I love the use of heavy black ink on the pages to give you the feeling of either crushing darkness or expansive and vast night skies.

Ghost Hunt is a fantastic series that is a must read for any shoujo fans, horror fans, or manga fans in general. You will not be disappointed.