The Bottom Line
Almost everything you need to know about Ghost Talker's Daydream can be summed up in a few words: It's a mystery / suspense / sex comedy series about a 19-year old albino dominatrix who can talk to ghosts. If that description has got you intrigued, then this book is probably right up your alley.
This series is so audaciously eccentric, it's something that could really only come out of the Japanese manga industry. There are numerous flaws in its storytelling and artwork, but Ghost Talker's Daydream doesn't take itself very seriously, which saves it from being just another dumb ghost story with lingerie.
Pros
- A quirky mix of supernatural suspense, deadpan humor and urban detective mysteries
- Probably the only time you'll find an albino dominatrix who can talk to ghosts as the heroine
- Ghost talker Saiki is refreshingly matter-of-fact about her "other job"
- Includes a few laugh-out-loud moments of wry wit and grown-up black humor
Cons
- Meguro relies on similar, almost indistinguishable character designs from story to story
- The fights are awkwardly choreographed, which makes the action hard to follow
- Okuse leaves many loose threads in both stories included in this volume
- Includes almost nothing about Saiki's backstory about how / why she got into her unusual calling
- Seeing Saiki fight in her BDSM gear seems like more like desperate pandering than playful and sexy
Description
- Original Title: Teizokurei Daydream (Japan)
- Author: Saki Okuse
Artist: Sankichi Meguro - Publishers:
- Dark Horse Manga (US)
- Kadokawa Shoten (Japan)
- ISBN: 978-1-59307-950-5
- Cover Price: $10.95 US
- Age Rating:
M – Mature, Age 18+
for cursing, nudity, violence and adult situations
More about content ratings. - Manga Genres:
- Seinen (Men's) Manga
- Drama
- Horror
- Mystery / Suspense
- Paranormal / Supernatural
- US Publication Date: July 2008
Japan Publication Date: 2001 - Book Description: 216 pages, black and white illustrations
- More Manga by Saki Okuse:
Guide Review - Ghost Talker's Daydream Volume 1
One can only imagine Saki Okuse's pitch to her editors: "Okay, so this 19-year old girl, she can talk to ghosts. Wait, wait! I know you've seen lots of this before! But here's the twist! She's a dominatrix, she's an albino AND she's a virgin! Plus she can do some scary stuff with a demon hair rope, which also ties into her bondage outfits. Ties! Ha ha! Get it? So! Do I get the greenlight for this one?"
Okuse got the thumbs up for this story, and got artist Sankichi Meguro on board for the ride. The result is Ghost Talker's Daydream, a seinen manga supernatural suspense / murder mystery / sex comedy hybrid that is so high-concept, so eccentrically Japanese that you'd be hard-pressed to find its equivalent in American comics.
That's part of the charm of Ghost Talker's Daydream-- its concept is just so cheerfully whacked out, you just can't help but gawk at its audacity. The plot is squarely in the suspense / murder mystery genre, but what saves it from lingering in 'been there, done that' land is its moments of wry, deadpan humor.
When Saiki accidentally flashes her bare assets to several mechanics, she panics and rapidly imagines excuses to explain herself, including "3. I don't have panties on because the panty demon of the north east ate them." Okay, so you had to be there. But in the context of the story, this stuff's hilarious.
It's a good thing that it has these moments of humor, because Ghost Talker's Daydream has numerous flaws. The fights are awkwardly choreographed. The characters are often indistinguishable. The stories leave a lot of loose ends that are never tied up. On top of that, there's very little explanation about how Saiki, our PVC-clad psychic, got her powers and why she works in the sex industry.
Ghost Talker's Daydream is more than just a ghost story with lingerie, but like BDSM, it won't turn everyone on.
