Dengeki Daisy
Motomi Kyousuke
Blurb
Teru, a poor and kind girl, recently lost her older brother, her only remaining relative. Before he died, he gave her a cell phone connecting her to a person he said would support her if ever he were unable to. As time passes she is cheered on by text messages sent from this enigmatic person, known only as DAISY. But one day, through an unexpected incident as Teru begins working for the delinquent school janitor, Kurosaki, she starts to question DAISY's identity. DAISY may be closer to Teru than she thinks.
Alternative names
Confirmed Daisy
Status
Ongoing
Manga reader sites (free)
Manga Reader, Manga Fox
Rosy's scrawlings on Dengeki Daisy
Dengeki Daisy is a manga that can be described as a mixed bag. There's sweets of all different flavours and you really struggle at times to figure out which one you like best. I've yet to find a particular element in Dengeki Daisy that I don't like or could say spoils the rest. Within Dengeki Daisy there's several plot lines and genres woven together with skill and the result is a fun and engaging read that only becomes more involving.
The story starts out focusing on Teru, who's alone and battling against bullies. Well, she thinks she's alone but really Kurosaki is looking over her well being from his position as the school's somewhat creepy and bullish janitor. Why he would do so is clear to us but not Teru. Due to certain circumstances they officially meet and Teru finds herself a servant to a bully. Throughout, she texts someone named Daisy, a kind and caring person her brother said would replace him after his death.
The story evolves from there, with a series of secrets being revealed or fought over as the conflicts between Daisy and a shadowy group of hackers spill over into Teru's life. And this is where the bag of lollies truly becomes mixed. A subtle romance develops between Teru and the two men caring for her, Daisy and Kurosaki, which finds some form of resolution only to become more complex. The relationships Teru has are dotted with humour and sadness, which add depth, and are less than clear. And as the story progresses, nearly everywhere Teru looks there's some secret intention, identity or cause to complicate matters. Nothing is as it seems and Teru is forced to find her way through intrigue that is well beyond what any high school student should have to deal with. The story takes on elements of hacker intrigue that includes kidnapping, death threats, manipulation and bribery. All because Teru is and was associated with those involved and may be holding a valuable item. Teru's life was changed irrevocably with the death of her brother but it doesn't get the chance to settle into any regular pattern before she's battling the unknown with only Daisy and Kurosaki support.
The art of Dengeki Daisy is pretty. That's to say that there's a certain gloss to the art shown through the fine penmanship. The smooth style allows for an easy switch between light and dark scenes that indicate personalities and intentions as well as violent and romantic scenes. The expressions are open and readable, despite the intrigue and mystery of the story, which allows you to read further into the personalities and become engaged.
I'd recommend this manga to: those interested in IT, suspense, white collar crime and intrigue stories with some comedic moments thrown in. Also, those interested in not-too-gushy romances and shadowy organisations.
Notes on manga reader sites
The quality of manga readers can vary. The uploads are often done cheaply or as a serious hobby by a collective. Be aware that sometimes licence hasn't been given but the sites noted above, Manga Fox in particular, are extremely careful about adding and pulling mangas according to license agreements. So you shouldn't have to worry too much about the material being pirated. There are also translated works and non-translated. Amongst the translated works you will find that the quality of translation may vary according to the skills of the translators. Usually the works are perfectly readable anyway, with only a few added or dropped words or a word in the incorrect tense or with/out plurals. But sometimes the text becomes gobbledygook. In which case, either seek another version or give up and buy an official copy once a printed translation comes out. The other issue of note is you may need to expand the screen to read the text easily as sometimes the scans are minimised a little.
I find that if a page doesn't download properly or some other issue occurs (too slow or someone ordered the pages incorrectly etc.) with one reader then skipping across to another reader and picking up where I was is quite easy and rarely annoying.
Otherwise, enjoy and watch out you don't get too addicted you forget about the necessary things in life.
Shinrei Tantei Yakumo
Kaminaga Manabu
Blurb
Fateful Encounters:
Based on novel by Kaminaga Manabu. Shinrei tantei yakumo aka psychic detective yakumo tells a story about a college student, Saitou Yakumo who born with different eye colors. His red left eye gave him a special ability to see ghosts and spirits. He believes ghosts and spirits are bound to earth because of a certain 'cause' and simply by eliminating that 'cause' will those spirits rest in peace. Being asked for help by Ozawa Haruka, together they began the investigation.
Alternative names
心霊探偵八雲
Psychic Detective Yakumo
Shinrei Tantei Yakumo
Investigatore Sovrannaturale Yakumo
ยาคุโมะ นักสืบวิญญาณ
Detetive Psíquico Yakumo
Status
Ongoing
Manga reader sites (free)
Manga Fox, Manga Eden, Manga Park
Rosy's scrawlings on Shinrei Tantei Yakumo
This manga is slow paced in comparison to many other stories containing ghosts or focusing on hauntings and it is so because the stories are approached from a detective angle rather than a thriller or suspense one. This means that the slow picking up of clues and the pondering of spirit problems takes precedence to running into a building and sending all the ghosts over to the other side, whether that be heaven, hell or some other derivative of the other side. There is something rather engaging that comes from this slow progression in the story line and that is the slow building of disquiet and tension. Nowadays it is more common to find oneself slammed into a tense situation, complete with battles and gore, right from the get go as this is what is deemed the most engaging, style-wise at least. Here though, you'll see an ancient form of story telling only recently left for dust return with gusto. Here are ghost story told in whispers and with a subtleness that will leave your skin crawling as you wait for the final scare, knowing full well it is coming but not being able to do anything but to progress onwards to find out what it is all about. As such, you'll find yourself thoroughly addicted and pulled through the story arcs, unable to stop reading until you reach each ending. Personally, this addiction became bad enough that I couldn't start a new story arc until the entire editions for each had been uploaded (I now have another arc to enjoy after reading this).
Yakumo is a quiet man, sneaky and amusing at times, who likes to put on a dramatic front in order to encourage business. It also heightens the atmosphere as well as the hammishness of the old melodramatic detective/psychic image. At first, I found his melodramatic nature a little irritating but I quickly learnt to smirk and laugh at it. You really don't have to take it seriously, as even he doesn't at times. Otherwise, Yakumo is a little rude, a lot abrupt and rarely speaks when he doesn't trust someone. Only those close to him get to see anything of him but his facade of psychic. He's also rather clever.
His character is also balanced out nicely with that of Gotou who's openly abusive and brash and more the stereotypical rough detective than Yakumo is, and that of Ozawa Haruka who's your average open and capable college girl except with a regretful past and a lot of misery. Gotou provides detective and police support, manning what is essentially the unofficial X-files wing of the department, while Ozawa provides more personal support and allows Yakumo to open up, speak and sometimes even do things that are personable and nice.
The three of them, sometimes joined by others, join together to discover the reasons for the hauntings and dispel the ghosts. The ghosts are often menacing but there are a few who guard the living and help the three to stop the more vicious ghosts. In all, the most interesting aspects of the hauntings aren't always the hauntings themselves but rather how they came to be and luckily for us, these stories are explained in full.
The art of Shinrei Tantei Yakumo is by Oda Suzuka. It is full of shades of grey and has a certain graininess to it that emphasises the detective aspects of the story. The ghosts are mostly boldly drawn, often inky black, as is the new trend for Asian ghosts likely to cause harm. There are a few white ghosts, their colour reflecting their innocence, but there aren't any of the more traditional styles. This helps to make Shinrei Tantei Yakumo appeal to young readers. The most amusing part of Oda Suzuka's are is the darkening of Yakumo's dramatic sentences. It is spot on for carrying the mood and makes me smile. All in all, the art is appealing, subtle and well done.
I'd recommend this manga to: those interested in supernatural detective stories, ghost stories and psychic stories. I'd also suggest it to anyone who hasn't as yet tried any of these sub genres as Yakumo is one of the best fictional psychic detectives about, even if he likes to ham it up on occasion.
Notes on manga reader sites
The quality of manga readers can vary. The uploads are often done cheaply or as a serious hobby by a collective. Be aware that sometimes licence hasn't been given but the sites noted above, Manga Fox in particular, are extremely careful about adding and pulling mangas according to license agreements. So you shouldn't have to worry too much about the material being pirated. There are also translated works and non-translated. Amongst the translated works you will find that the quality of translation may vary according to the skills of the translators. Usually the works are perfectly readable anyway, with only a few added or dropped words or a word in the incorrect tense or with/out plurals. But sometimes the text becomes gobbledygook. In which case, either seek another version or give up and buy an official copy once a printed translation comes out. The other issue of note is you may need to expand the screen to read the text easily as sometimes the scans are minimised a little.
I find that if a page doesn't download properly or some other issue occurs (too slow or someone ordered the pages incorrectly etc.) with one reader then skipping across to another reader and picking up where I was is quite easy and rarely annoying.
Otherwise, enjoy and watch out you don't get too addicted you forget about the necessary things in life.
