I have a weakness for cat ears. I love cats and had cat ear headphones for a while (I got rid of them because I kept getting headaches). So when I saw the cover of Ghost Reaper Girl, this manga, serialized in English from Viz Media, grabbed my interest. With story and art by Akissa Saiké, translation by Amanda Haley, and lettering by Annaliese “Ace” Christman, the story follows Chloé Love as she embarks on a supernatural journey battling evil spirits with her familiars Kai and Noel. With comedy, battles, and magical girls, Ghost Reaper Girl Volume 2 delves into the world Chloé is now a part of after her viral video battle.
Ghost Reaper Girl Is Popular
Chloé has a personality that others naturally gravitate towards, or that could have to do with her spirit energy. This volume covers chapters 5 – 13 and begins with Chloé and Noel merging, so Chloé gets catlike characteristics. Hilarious enough, she has a tail with cat Noel on the end of it. This gives her claws, cat ears, and speed for this current battle. Pretty soon, the conflict stakes lessen as the opposition leader, Nyarlathotep, only wants to test and see Chloé’s abilities. Nyarlathotep is the director of the Arkham Bullet and wants to recruit Chloé to kill evil spirits.
As the fight winds down, it is apparent that Nyarla is crushing on Chloé, but there are other motivating factors for recruiting her. Chloé’s ability to draw out spirit energy appears unmatched. Another reverse harem manga style, characters want to be Chloé’s friend or partner.
First They Want To Kill You, Then They Want To Be Pals
So far, the assortment of villains aside from the evil spirits is similar to those in Naruto. They seems evil, then we get a backstory, and they end up Naruto’s friend. Although, the transition from threat to friend is faster here. Nyarla became Chloé’s boss in a blink. Of course, Chloé agreed because she wants money, so she would take pretty much any job to level up. I hope the manga expands on the smartphone license and what other perks, besides cash, employees earn.
When Chloé, Noel, and Kai run into corpses after defeating a level 1 ghost, they meet coworker Reanimator West. This guy is like Mayuri Kurotsuchi from Bleach, obsessed with experimenting on people, so of course, he wants to kill Chloé so he can reanimate her body. To aid him with this is his familiar Shoggoth, fused from a maneater and a corpse, but before that, she was a deadly assassin. Chloé asserts that coworkers cannot battle, but director Nyarla calls and says coworkers can fight. It leaves you wondering about the turnover rate for this dangerous job and how Nyarla knew they met up.
But in short measure, Chloé makes a friend of Shoggoth, and West cries tears of joy that Shoggoth has a friend. The transition made my head spin, but Shoggoth—who can only say tekeli—is too adorable. Cuteness and comedy are the order of the day with Ghost Reaper Girl Volume 2. My only complaint is the stakes are pretty low if every enemy becomes a fast friend. However, if the focus is on comedy, that is fine. I hope the series picks a lane and builds the characters, backstory, and world from there.
Shallow Information But Potential For A Unique World
Still, a deadly enemy may be on the horizon. How soon it arrives is anyone’s guess, but I hope enough happens to get me fully invested. The only characters that interest me now are Chloé, Shoggoth, and West, thanks to the second bonus chapter that continues the celebratory feast amongst these new friends. I loved watching the festivities, plus the determination to hit Nyarla with a huge bill was funny. Nothing like sweet economic payback. Ghost Reaper Girl Volume 2 is cute and moves at a brisk pace with the conflicts but lacks depth. However, I will continue giving this manga a shot because I want to see more of Shoggoth and what this world of smartphone ghost-slaying work offers.
