Thank god they continued this series! The first Ghost Hunt series was absolutely amazing and this first volume of the sequel has already exceeded my excpectations! I was afraid this sequel wouldn't be as good as the original series, however my fears were completely unfounded. This is just as brilliant! I freaking love all the characters and the bond they have with each other and I can't wait to see how they continue to develope as the story goes on. Hopefully we'll also get some answers to the things that were left unresolved in the original series. Like, what really is up with Eugene? Why can't he die peacefully? Is there something that's holding him back, if so what? Also, why was his connection to the spiritual world Mai of all people, and not his brother? And what about Mai herself? Will we continue to see her develope her power and becoming even more confident in herself? Will there be anything more between her and Naru than just friendship? Not that the friendship isn't enough, quite the opposite actually, I really like how Ono and the mangaka (can't remember her name) have developed the friendship between Mai and Naru. It truly feels like they have this deep, meaningful connection that isn't based on physical attraction, but rather a connection of the mind, of who they are as people, despite having so starkly different personalities. So, basically, if nothing romantic develops between them, I would be okay with it, because their friendship is already so precious and dear and beautiful. However, it would be soooo incredibly cute and adorable if they did fall for each other! It would make my little fangirl heart flutter. OH, I also, surprisingly enough really enjoy the third-person point-of-view in this sequel. I had read that there was going to be a change from the first-person point-of-view (from Mai's perspective) in the original series to a third-person point-of-view in the sequel. I really, really enjoyed Mai's voice and perspective in the original series, so I was afraid that the new point-of-view would completely mess up the story.I was a bit wary of this and worried that I wouldn't enjoy the story as much, but I was completely and utterly wrong. The third-person point-of-view fits SO well to the direction Ono and Inada are taking the story. It really adds to the mystery of it all and the horror elements (which is basically what the whole story consists of) are emphasized to a much greater degree and makes the story sooo much more fascinating to read. With the third-person POV we are allowed, to a much greater degree, to take the place of the outsider who looks in to this investigative team and it makes it easier to relate to that new character, that annoying dude that arrives in the beginning of this sequel. Other than that, I would also really, really like to get the backstories on Monk-San, Ayako, Masako and John. I absolutely love all of them (Yasuhara as well), and it would be so fascinating to see how they came to be the people they are now.
All in all, this was a brilliant sequel series to an already brilliant series. I can't wait to see how Ono and Shiho continue to develop the story and the characters!