Here’s a book that I’ve found that both customers and staff tend to be curious about, but never can seem to take that extra step towards purchasing the book. I’d imagine that part of it has to do with it being a sealed-up mature ages manga. Another part of it probably has to do with the story being about the adventures of a dominatrix who moonlights as a government employed necromancer who is charged with clearing spirits out of homes and public places. For me, what caught my attention about this book was looking through this month’s issue of PREVIEWS and seeing a solicit for volume 3. As I’ve stated many times before on this blog. I like both stories about ghosts, as well as sexy ladies. So, I figured I’d take some charge and buy the book, read it, then talk about it on here. With that line of thinking, I’ve decided that every now and then, I’ll pick up another sealed book and spread the word about it’s contents… But for now, let’s just start with Ghost Talker’s Daydream.

GTD follows the story of Misaki Saiki (the necromancer dominatrix) and Souichirou Kadotake (her partner/liaison with the Livelihood Preservation Group) as they are tasked with verifying hauntings and exercising them. From what I can tell from the first volume, each “chapter” begins with showing a snippet of what the current problem is, then we are dropped in the middle of Misaki’s life as she deals with her life outside of dominating clients. We learn pretty quickly that she has a stalker… This guy is played up like a comical character… He takes candid photos and steals her underwear, replacing them with money, all while consistently being able to break into her home… I guess that’s not really funny when I type it out, but you’d need to see the context of it all. But, what we learn a little bit later on, is that his stalking tends to be more helpful than anything else. Misaki’s partner, Souichirou, is a closeted pervert who is also deathly afraid of ghosts. I’d say he was the worst partner ever, but he seems to be proficient in hand-to-hand combat and can deal with the criminals they encounter while trying to solve these ghost problems.

Volume 1 deals with two stories. The first being about a spirit which drives people to hang themselves when they approach his apartment where he killed himself. The second story deals with the spirit of a little girl that is attached to a stuffed bear. Both tales are interesting, and deliver tales that are way deeper than what you’d assume the book would be about upon first glance. All in all, it was a great read, and I think I might actually go ahead and finish the series out. I’ve been looking for a new manga to read, and this looks to be one that I can stand behind. Plus, it seems that there’s an animation out there about this series… I believe it runs for 4 episodes. Two that are inspired by the book, and the other that are original to the story. Maybe I’ll hunt that down too. But for now, come on in and give Ghost Talker’s Daydream a chance. It wont bite… Well, it might. It does have nudity and whatnot… I mean, it is about a dominatrix after all.

-Fleet