Ghost Sweeper Mikami (1992-1999)
Manga by: Shiina Takashi
Published in: Shônen Sunday (38 volumes)
By: Genosider

Introduction

There are usually 4 different types of comics. The first; popular, good, and enjoyed by everyone. Second, those which are popular, and yet manage to suck horribly, third, comics which are unknown, but yet some of the best you’ve read, and fourth, those which are just downright awful.

Being a longtime reader of manga, I’ve had my fair share of these numerous types of manga, but none of them really quite got my attention like a little-known piece of work- GS Mikami. It came out around 1994, when I was about 10 years old. Back then, it didn’t really get my attention. The rather provoking portrayal of the title character made it somewhat taboo for me and my friends to buy or even look at. But now, being at the golden age of 20 and old enough to visit nightspots, I’ve been buying boatloads of issues of this wonderful manga to see and enjoyed what I missed some time ago.

Story

In the near future, overdevelopment and crowding in Japan has forced many of its indigenous spirits and ghosts to lose their homes. Naturally, with all the homeless ghosts running around, there’s bound to be some havoc, so a new profession was created, the Ghost Sweepers (GS)! Private exorcists for hire; they serve only the highest bidder to survive in this cutthroat corporate world.

The story features one of the more popular and promiscuous of these Ghost Sweepers, Mikami Reiko and her two assistants, the lecherous high-school student working for only 500 yen an hour; Yokoshima and the cute but ditzy ghost, Okinu-chan as she exorcises in pursuit of eternal wealth and glory. She also has to contend with her rival Ghost Sweepers; the equally laviscious Emi Ogasawara, the senile yet immortal mad doctor Dr. Chaos and his android Maria, the sensitive and weak-willed summoner, Meiko Rokudou, the conniving occult shop proprietor, Yakuchindo, the half-vampire Peter and his master, Father Karasu, and many more interesting and wacky characters who grace the many pages of this 30-issue series.

Review

If you guessed it’s a comedy, you’re absolutely correct. In fact, it’s downright hilarious. The artist, Shiina Takashi is a master of exaggerating facial expressions and as I read the comic, I could not help but to laugh aloud every time Yokoshima’s face gets frozen in a perpetual mask of fear (Which is not too often) or when some of the characters are caught in ‘compromising’ positions.

The plot itself isn’t new or anything. The decades-old scenario of Man vs. the Spirit World has been played out in various other works like Jigoku Sensei Nube and anime series like Hellsing, but with GS Mikami, I felt that a fresh new feel has been infused into it. For example, the copious references to Japanese culture, such as the concept of retainership, the usual antics teenage girls in puppy love do, the Japanese voraciousness for octopus and the stereotypes… yes, the stereotypes. For example, Mikami is portrayed as an evil money-minded, sarcastic, yet mature and hot ass-kicking woman, (A typical portrayal of a Japanese career woman) while Yokoshima is the poor, goofy, sometimes heroic hot-blooded teenager. (Like many heroes in manga) Despite have seen this combination hundred of times in other stories, GS Mikami’s unique comedic sense and memorable (very!) characters is what sets it apart from the rest. Despite how serious a character can be, he/she’ll always show up a goofy side sooner or later, and the overall light-heartedness sets it up as just pure good fun.

Appearance-wise, the Shiina Takashi’s drawings are artistically detailed, allowing you to see the fast-moving action clearly without a sense of clutter and his style of special effects is what makes his work aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Another plus is his depiction of women; every heroine is given a perfect dose of cuteness, proportionate beauty and figure, leaving you opening up your eyes every time one of them sets foot onto a page.

Being an admirer of Japanese culture, I found that his wacky plots and intricate intertwining of classic Japanese culture and the modern world are what really attracted me the most. Plots like a female Noh mask falling in love with a 50 Yen cheapo Kamen Rider mask and Mikami taking on a sumo wrestler ghost in leather gear absolutely left me in stitches, yet marveling at how versatile Japanese culture is. Despite the manga setup of a scenario-to-scenario episodes rather than one long ongoing story, it still remains a popular fan-favorite in Japan, (although rather unknown in the western world) spanning a total of 30 issues.

Western fans might have some trouble finding copies of the manga (after all, it was 10 years ago) but if you do manage to find a translated or readable copy, get it. You will not be disappointed.

Conclusion

Insanely funny and with great art, I can’t recommend this enough. It might be hard to find this manga after all the years, but it’s worth it, although some plots might leave the uninitiated to Japanese culture with a big question mark on the head.

A 9/10 if you may.

Genosider