Writer, Artist & Cover Artist: Nebukuro
Translators: Motoko Tamamuro & Jonathan Clements
Letterer: Ayoub Bensidi
Publisher: Titan Manga
Price: $12.99
Release Date: January 29, 2025
Kaori Shinonome spent her youth supporting her parents. She didn't have time for friends or money for hobbies. Now, Kaori wants to make a life for herself. So, when she finds an affordable apartment building, Kaori buys it. It's a fixer-upper, but she can rent the best units while repairing the rest. Will apartment ownership help Kaori enjoy life more? Or will her dream become a nightmare? Let's grab a bottle of sake, strap on our proton packs, leap into Welcome To Ghost Mansion Vol 1, and find out!
Story
Trouble threatens her dream when someone calls from Jellyfish Estate Agents. The prospective renters claim a ghost reached out and touched them. They can even show Kaori a photo of the ghost on their phone. Shocked, Kaori thinks of the sixteen apartments she hopes to rent and her 35-year mortgage. Suddenly, instead of rental income flooding in, Kaori wonders how many jobs she must undertake to avoid going bankrupt.
Unlike Peter, Ray, and Egon, Kaori Shinonome doesn’t know how to capture and remove ghosts. Might a butterfly net and insecticide eradicate her ectoplasmic squatters? Desperate for help, she visits a nearby shrine for help in Welcome To Ghost Mansion Vol 1.
Like her apartment complex, the shrine has fallen into disrepair. As she prays, Kaori notices children playing. But when they try to leave, one chases and transforms them into monsters. Perhaps Kaori identifies with the children forced to play, as circumstances forced her to work while growing up. Still, she grabs the net she purchased and races after the ghost pursuing a child.
In Welcome To Ghost Mansion Vol 1, Kaori captures the ghost. As she talks with Kamikiri, Kaori realizes the ghost is lonely. No one cares about Kamikiri anymore. Few visit the shrine, and no one maintains it. Like any successful businessperson, Kaori transforms a problem into an opportunity. If Humans don't want to live in Shinonome Mansion, Kaori will fill it with ghosts, demons, and monsters. Kaori can help them find jobs so they can pay her rent. While the ghosts discover what they enjoy doing, Kaori can restore her apartment building and discover the life her busy childhood denied her.
Art
Nebukuro’s ghosts resemble the possessed souls from horror movies. Their mouths enlarge and fill with sharpened teeth. Mouths sprout from other parts of their bodies. One even wears his head upside down. Then, there is the ghost that sits before a computer and slips on headphones. As he operates a call center, a mouth on his chest stretches into an open mouth smile.
Ghosts and humans often spring into action in Welcome To Ghost Mansion Vol 1. But Nebukuro never obscures the action with direction lines, explosive power, or sound effects. The action can be heartbreaking, such as when a ghost tortures itself by reliving its moment of death every day. Then there is the angry artist who never found an audience for her work.
Amid all the action, characters shine as they struggle to solve their problems. Perhaps the most troubled is Tsuzumi Kusakabe. The High Schooler comes from a family of exorcists and is anxious to prove herself. Yet Shinonome Mansion is in her territory. Instead of discouraging ghosts from haunting her apartments, Kaori keeps making friends with them!
Ayoub Bensidi writes large, uppercase letters into narrative boxes, dialogue balloons, and empty panel space. Off-panel dialogue appears in balloons with thick borders. Thoughts appear inside jagged ones. Sound effects may demand concentration, but it's worth slowing the pace to enjoy Welcome To Ghost Mansion Vol 1 a little longer. Thanks to Motoko Tamamuro and Jonathan Clements for translating Nebukuro’s story and Titan Manga for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
When Kaori Shinonome pins her hopes on renovating an apartment building, she dreams of a carefree life sustained by investment income. Instead, Kaori discovers a life filled with hard work and friendships she didn't have time for in her youth. So what if they are ghosts? Whether living or dead, everyone gets a shot at happiness in Welcome To Ghost Mansion Vol 1.
Rating 9.8/10
To look inside see my preview of Welcome To Ghost Mansion Vol 1.
To check out the next installment see my Welcome To Ghost Mansion Vol 2 Solicit.
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