Dark Gathering, Vol. 2

ダークギャザリング [Dark Gathering] #2

by Kenichi Kondō

After a dangerous encounter with a malevolent spirit, Keitaro Gentoga wants nothing to do with the supernatural. Unfortunately for this reluctant ghost magnet, he’s stuck helping Yayoi Hozuki—a strange young girl who’s intent on capturing Japan’s most terrifying ghosts and ghouls.

Hunting spirits with Yayoi might give Keitaro a chance to lift the curse afflicting both him and his childhood friend, Eiko, but is he willing to dive back into the world of the supernatural to do it? Of course, that question might not even matter when a cursed video causes his chance at a peaceful university orientation to go up in flames!

Genres: Manga, Horror, Graphic Novels, Fantasy

208 pages, Paperback

First published October 4, 2019

Reviews

[[Name Redacted] · Rating 4 out of 5]

By far the creepiest element of this series -- more than the ghosts, the possessions, the deaths, etc. -- is the discovery by the reader that the protagonist's plucky, optimistic childhood best friend/love interest is actually an obsessive stalker with a fear fetish. I'm not spoiling anything here; this is a big element of the series starting early in this volume, the mounting dread we as the readers experience as we see her imperiling their lives, plotting against her loved ones, all because of her sick paraphilias. It's fascinating because up to this point she's seemed like the bog standard shonen manic pixie dream girl, unfailingly devoted to the protagonist and pulling him out of his miserable isolation into a world of wacky hijinks. But this volume reveals her as even more of a threat than the supernatural entities they're facing. She has been intentionally (but covertly) ruining the protagonist's life, putting everyone's lives (including that of a child) at risk, just so she can spend more time with him, make him feel responsible for her, and get off on the danger that he attracts. They're university students, but she's fixated on recapturing their idyllic junior high relationship at any cost. MUCH creepier than the ghosts.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.5 stars rounded up)

Volume 2 starts to put together the larger picture of where the story is headed. It has an interesting mix of spirits and a few really funny parts. This one deals with suicide in one of the stories, so be aware of that. There is also a subplot of Eiko doing some creepy stuff that feels like a bit much. I still enjoyed it. The art remains really cool and the overall concept pushes through the parts that were not so great.

[The Book Dragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

...Okay, I have concerns with Eiko's level of obsession with Keitaro. Like, I can't tell if she actually cares about him or if she's just after whatever fear high she gets from the spooky stuff he attracts. And the ending of this book makes me even more suspicious.

But poor Keitaro nearly died four whole times in this book alone. But, I'm glad we got to explore his trauma a bit more and he made a resolution to work past them in his own way. Might be interesting to see if he ever manages to upgrade his abilities.

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

CW: Suicide, Suicide Ideation, Mind washing, Possession, Romantic Obsession, Manipulation

This series is so fantastic! It's a dark supernatural ghost manga. This volume has some heavy subject matter, and we learn more about the motivations behind one of our main characters. The cliffhanger in this volume makes it hard not to dive into the next one immediately.

[Yuiko · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not going to finish this series I was bored of it glad I got it at the library

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Tardisgirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series. It's creepy, it's funny, it's even becoming a little psychotic xD
And I absolutely love Yayoi!! She's so funny, adorable and definitely hardcore all at once haha.

[Enairolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Après avoir lu le premier tome, je me suis aussitôt plongée dans la lecture du second tome. Un tome clairement dans la continuité du premier mais que j’ai trouvé un peu plus intéressant tout de même. C’est le genre de manga qui peut monter en puissance au fur et à mesure que les tomes défilent. Je suis hyper curieuse de découvrir la suite et voir ce qu’il se passe.. Les évènements prennent une drôle de tournure je trouve et je me pose pas mal de questions. J’ai hâte d’avoir des réponses!

Dans ce second tome, lorsque Yayoi découvre qu’Eiko est victime de la même malédiction que Keitaro, elle propose à celui-ci d’allier leurs forces pour tuer l’esprit coupable et les libérer tous deux. Mais Keitaro ne peut répondre immédiatement, car s’engager dans l’occultisme va à l’encontre de son désir de se réinsérer dans la société. C’est alors que, pendant le cours de légendes urbaines qu’il suit avec Eiko, Keitaro devient la cible d’un esprit maléfique…

Ce second tome m’a beaucoup plu pour le coup et je dois même avouer que j’ai une petite préférence pour celui ci. Ce qui me perturbe le plus concerne le personnage d’Eiko. Je dois avouer qu’ici elle se comporte d’une drôle de façon, si bien que je ne sais même plus quoi penser d’elle. J’ai trouvé ça vraiment étrange pour le coup et je me pose des millions de questions maintenant.. C’est quelque chose qui va me perturber jusqu’a ce que l’on ai nos réponses.. En si peu de temps, elle est passée, pour moi, de la meilleure amie adorable et toujours là pour les autres à la jeune femme un brin flippante qui se comporte beaucoup trop bizarrement.. J’aime l’évolution de Keitaro, même si il reste effrayé par l’occulte (en même temps je le comprends clairement), il arrive à vaincre ses peurs et finit même par former une véritable équipe avec Yayoi. Cette dernière m’impression tellement. Elle n’a que treize ans et elle se comporte parfois comme une adulte je trouve. Elle m’a vraiment plusieurs fois impressionné pour le coup!

Un second tome tout aussi plaisant à lire que le premier. L’univers est assez bien exploité, c’est plaisant à lire. Du côté des personnages, on les découvre de plus en plus également et c’est parfois surprenant. L’intrigue continue d’évoluer. C’est une histoire assez addictive qui fonctionne bien. On veut en savoir plus, on veut découvrir tout ce qu’il reste à découvrir. Bref, j’ai hâte de découvrir le troisième tome!

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second volume and while I know most now thanks to the anime (which is awesome) I didn't mind reading it like this again. Though Eiko. Urgh. Sorry, I wasn't a fan of her in the anime and not a fan of her in the manga. She has some good moments and she really seems to care about people... but she is way too much and seemed more possessed at times. Oh well, that is a yandere for you. Stalking is first nature. :{
But the stories were good. Two took place at the university and featured a tape with a curse and a travel club which is actually a suicide club. The other one was a camping trip with a lot of deadly ghosts, scary moments, tons of plushies and rice/salt, and oh yes that moment!
All in all, I am going to continue reading this even if most of it, if not everything, is not new to me as the anime is still airing and I am watching weekly.

[Joshua Jonah · Rating 5 out of 5]

With an interesting opening leading to them finding a suicide cult, this is something out of a creepy pastas fans fantasy. This series has captured my interest this far and I loved the part with the bridge because it upped the scary factor and I’m hoping it only gets more intense as it moves along. Lastly an interesting development in our protagonists love interest, and possibly her being a lot more than meets the eye. I enjoy the trope as well because it can lead to things like the manga I want to read “happy sugar life”.

[Brianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story's finding its' groove. I think it's hilarious that Yayoi can perform these fantastical athletic feats. I also like how they’re catching spirits, putting them in plushies, and using them as proxies. Gotta build up that army! Also, I need more creepy Eiko moments. She’s crazy. My running theory is that she's the reason she and Keitaro are cursed. Maybe she did it on purpose so he’d have no choice but to stay around her.

[Des Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this better than the first, and it seems we're pointed in the right direction. The bridge story was genuinely scary, and the Eiko stuff is a great hook. Seeing all the unique possession magic come to fruit is great, I hope the system develops further into its own unique thing, it's a great flavor!

[Standard Guy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yayoi and Eiko are both fantastic characters. Keitaro isn't as entertaining, but somebody has to play the straight man and he does a great job of it. With this volume, we see them continuing to collect some lower level spirits and Keitaro becomes motivated to start pursuing ghost hunting more seriously as a way to rid himself and Eiko of the curse.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

OMG! The creep factor went into overdrive with Eiko’s wall art. Those full black eyes that appear definitely add +2 to cringe. This series can go a little heavy on the photo reference for backgrounds. It can be a bit distracting, disjointed. I’ll have to see how the anime handles things.

[BlaireReadsTheThings · Rating 4 out of 5]

More Japanese urban legends? Yes, please! I am really enjoying this ghost-hunting adventure! And now the characters are starting to become even more interesting! I need Vol. 3!

[Reni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creepy… en especial Eiko y su obsesión con Keitaro.

[Isel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't expecting her to be that way. Lol.

[Dominique || dominiquetravels]

➡️ Volume 1: ⭐⭐

I didn't like the manga enough to continue to the second instalment. It's creepy, it's just not for me.

[Kirstie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 rounded down

[Alex Ilieva · Rating 2 out of 5]

No no no no no,nothing but this book

[Noelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hay un plano, que ya lo vi en el anime, pero que igualmente te deja mal estómago.
De nuevo, un placer leer "Leeeets Ghost" en la versión en castellano ❤️

[kara grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

keitaro, i fear spirits are not the only thing you are in danger from

[Vivian · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐️

[Takunoshi Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the first volume I was a bit disappointed as this volume started off with chapter short stories, as each chapter was a story. I think it was 2 of the 4 that was like this so it felt off track from how volume 1 ended.

Then 3-4 went on and was back to back with the story. And I enjoyed that a lot more, until Eiko and Kei decided they were gonna confess.. I’m kind of personally tired of the added romance to horror, so I wasn’t just excited for this

HOWEVER!!!! Eiko then turned around at the end of this volume and proved me wrong in my disappointment to the love troupe, because it seems she’s off her rocker a bit.. the little hints of Eiko being kinda ‘crazy’ or ‘yandere’-ish shown from volume 1 to now, came out full time with her confessing as she listened in on Yayoi and Kei.. that she was very happy and planned to get Kei on “this side” of the spirit stuff… :0 I didn’t just expect this as I was upset from the romance seemingly being introduced terribly fast — but It proved me wrong.

I would’ve gave this volume 5 stars if not for the two short chapter only stories that threw off the whole vibe to me.

[Assayah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐
[Recenzja tomów 1-3]

Moim pierwszym skojarzeniem było, że jest to straszniejsza wersja ,,Mieruko-chan", i to podtrzymuję. W obydwu tytułach głównym motywem są duchy widziane przez główną bohaterkę/bohatera, z tym że tutaj pojawia się więcej elementów horrorowych - krew, opętania, próby zabicia głównego bohatera itd. Od początku wiadomo też, do czego zmierza fabuła - do uratowania mamy Yayoi, która została porwana przez jednego z duchów, ale nie będzie to proste, bo najpierw tego ducha trzeba odnaleźć. Do tego, choć pierwszy tom był moim zdaniem słaby, tak dalej historia staje się coraz bardziej interesująca i straszniejsza.

Brzmi ciekawie i takie jest... dla osób, które lubią komedio-horrory, bo tej komedii jest tu całkiem sporo. I właśnie to, że nie lubię tego gatunku, skutecznie mnie zniechęciło do dalszego czytania tego tytułu. Obejrzę do końca, skoro już zaczęłam i pozostaje mi liczyć, że kiedyś pojawi się jakiś horror, który nie będzie miał elementów humorystycznych 🙏.

[Michael Reddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the first four volumes last year before watching the manga and really enjoyed both.

As in the previous volume this is mostly a collection of standalone stories that has elements that will become part of the overarching story of the series going forward. I loved how creepy and weird all the stories were without going to far into violence and gore. The art by Kenichi Kondo is well done and he has a knack for showing both a creepy atmosphere and unsettling imagery.