Phantom Dream # 1, by Natsuki Takaya

[rachelmanija]

Tamaki is a teenage boy who has been trained in the family tradition of exorcism. In the company of his peppy female friend Asahi, he learns to use his magic, puts ghosts to rest, and battles spirits born of negative emotion.

This starts out with little to distinguish it from the approximately one thousand other manga with the exact same premise, but eventually introduces some poignant moral and emotional dilemmas.

An earlier work by Fruits Basket mangaka Natsuki Takaya, this fantasy manga is enjoyable in its own right and has promising plot developments by the end of the first volume, but perhaps most interesting as a run-up to Fruits Basket. I noted slapstick domestic violence (treated much more seriously in the later work), an excessively cheerful heroine, inherited magic, loneliness and alienation, and a light touch with dark themes.

Comments

[umadoshi.livejournal.com]

Out of curiosity, did you read an advance copy or has it turned up in stores? Various sites are giving me conflicting information about when it's actually supposed to come out (starting with this week and ending with Dec. 30).

It's very much an early work, but I like it. ^_^

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

the approximately one thousand other manga with the exact same premise

Why do I suspect I own or have owned about half of these?

[sho-sunaga.livejournal.com]

I read the series ages ago, but I remeber enjoying it very much. I think it was her debut manga or something close to it... I hope you have fun reading it..!