Muhyo & Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation Volume 11 cover image is courtesy of barnesandnoble.com.

Rated “T” for “Teen”

When people have ghost problems, they call Toru Muhyo and his assistant Jiro “Roji” Kusano.  Muhyo has achieved the highest rank in magic law, executor – someone who can perform exorcisms.  Jiro “Roji” Kusano is Muhyo’s sweet-natured and accident prone assistant/sidekick, who devotes himself to the study of magic law so that he can one day pull his own weight.  Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation serves justice to evil spirits.

As Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation, Vol. 11 (entitled Rescue Mission) opens, the war against Ark, the forbidden magic law group, continues on two fronts.  First, Chief Investigator Page Klaus struggles to gain the cooperation of Isabi, a forbidden law practitioner turned envoy, who can help Magic Law Association defeat ark leader, Teeki.  Isabi insists, however, that Page defeat him before he submits, which forces Page to summon his own envoy and risk his very existence.

On the second front, Muhyo and Roji united with the Busujima Magic Law Office to infiltrate Ark’s headquarters at The Wailing Vale.  Harumi Busujima’s assistant, Umekichi Sasanoha, and Seven-Faced Dog are in The Wailing Vale.  Meanwhile, Muhyo, Roji, and Busujima monitor the duo’s progress via a 1000-mile mirror.  In a bid to rescue Judge Reiko Imai from Ark’s clutches, Umekichi and Dog must battle the murderous, sword-wielding Mick.

THE LOWDOWN:  I’ll beat this proverbial dead horse again and declare that Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation has more than a passing resemblance to the Harry Potter novels – except the magic practitioners here fight bad ghosts, evil spirits, and Magic Law traitors.  While it may seem familiar, this is a unique series – part action and all horror, but its imaginative and gruesome visuals combine the best of creepy J-Horror with the wild, visual inventiveness of shonen manga (comics for teen boys).  Creator Yoshiyuki Nishi just so happens to have a quirky drawing style that perfectly fits his creation, which is a work of mad genius.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation is a dark fantasy for all age groups, and it may be one of the few comics that is similar in spirit to Harry Potter.

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