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Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun (6)


(I gave it 6 points because it's pretty long and I'm up to date on it.)


This is my current fan favorite manga. My friend texted me and was like "It's really cute you should read it." And honestly, I usually don't just go read stuff like this. Then I was up to date within 3 days and couldn't stop thinking about it.

It's about a young girl named Nene Yashiro who tries to summon a ghost who lives in a bathroom stall so she can ask for help with her love-life. To give more context, they're in a school that is known for it's seven supernatural mysteries that are located in different places throughout it, so it's a well-known that you shouldn't do certain things in certain parts of the school. Anyways, she goes to the stall and knocks on it asking for "Hanako-san" which is a Japanese urban legend about a dead girl who haunts the bathrooms. The ghost who comes out ends up being a boy (hence Hanako-kun) around the same age as her and she ends up entangled in his ghostly shenanigans as his 'assistant'. Also Nene is half fish (there's a lot happening) because she eats a mermaid scale and is cursed by it and also is bound to Hanako after that. Technically he also is helping her with love-life because they're.... starting to fall in love? It's very slow and subtle and could technically be friendship but they're a lot friendlier with each other than most people are. Hanako (who's shorter than Nene, mind you) starts to become very protective over her and it's... very sweet. I have never felt so happy to see a relationship in manga like I have for these characters before. It's handled very realistically (for as much fantasy/supernatural elements that there are involved) and there's a BIG plotline about how Nene is actually going to die relatively soon and that's how Hanako could actually interact with her to begin with which is very sad and influences a lot of the themes in the later chapters. So now they go off on adventures with their exorcist friend, Kou and try to uncover all of the seven mysteries of the school.

Overall, the story is about finding friendship in places you never thought you would, and getting to know the people around you. There are other characters who end up trying to disprove prejudices others have about the supernatural beings they meet. Originally, Kou tries to exorcise Hanako and is shown by Nene to be a good person in the end. Kou refuses to exorcise after he realizes this and even goes as far as to convince his older brother (who is also an exorcist) to not kill Hanako. Kou also has his own experience with a friend who passes away and ends up as a ghost roaming the school and tries to help him pass on. 

It does a great job of having a good amount of characters that all have their own parts to play without confusing the audience since each mystery goes by in their own chapters. It also really makes me care about these characters, deeply, while hating others vehemently. Hanako has a twin brother who... he murdered. Which you can tell is why he doesn't want to be close to people in the beginning because he feels like there's nothing that can rectify him murdering his own twin brother, and yet Nene forgives him. And I do too? His brother is psychotic and it's hinted that he abused Hanako to the point he ended up killing himself and his brother. Makes me question my morals actually, but who knows..

Also the art is absolutely beautiful! Especially the colored art. I'm very picky about art style and this is a great one.


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