Kara Dennison
September 30, 2023 
It’s just a month ’til Halloween! With spooky season now underway, we’re already in the mood for monsters, ghouls, ghosts, and all things scary. But it’s early days yet, so we’re easing into the frights. To get started, why not try this short list of manga recommendations?
While they’re not going to scare your socks off (we’re saving those recs for later in the month), they’ll help you limber up for the spooks ahead. Meet otherworldly creatures, see eerie ghosts, and much more. Best of all, these can all be read with either a Shonen Jump or VIZ app subscription!
WITCH WATCH
This whimsical series has a Halloween vibe all the way through, but not necessarily because it’s scary. Shonen Jump’s WITCH WATCH is a slow-burn romance between witch-in-training Nico and her demon familiar Morihito (whom she calls “Moi”). But she’s got lots of other bodyguards, too. As time goes on, Nico and Moi start sharing a flat with a vampire, a werewolf, and a tengu. There’s even a Frankenstein’s monster and a descendant of Dr. Jekyll in the mix!
As goofy as the manga often is, there are some high stakes. Nico is the most powerful witch in generations, wielding multiple classes of spells. And lots of unsavory types want to claim that power for themselves. Can Moi and his associates protect Nico?
Queen’s Quality
This sequel to shoujo manga QQ Sweeper is a surprisingly good fit for Halloween. Stacked with scary bugs, eerie spirits and monsters, and all sorts of ghosts, it has a seriously spooky vibe. But even with all the dark imagery, Queen’s Quality is about two things: romance and cleaning.
Our lead couple, Fumi and Kyutaro, are Sweepers: special people who go into people’s subconscious and clear out metaphysical bugs. There are clans across Japan dedicated to this task. But there’s more: once in a while, a Queen is born into one of the clans. Her mental powers can be wielded for good or evil… and it looks like Fumi may be this era’s Queen. With multiple forces warring in her subconscious, it falls to Kyutaro (as her consort) to help her wield stay grounded.
Choujin X
We’re easing you into Halloween by saving the creepiest for last. Choujin X is the latest manga from Tokyo Ghoul creator Sui Ishida. In this new setting, certain humans can become Choujin: beast-people with superhuman powers. Protagonist Tokio always saw himself as more of a hanger on. But when he and his high-achieving friend Azuma inject themselves with drugs that will turn them into Choujin, only Tokio initially transforms.
As the story goes on, we meet more Choujin… and begin to dig deep into their presence in Japan’s history. As one might expect from Ishida, the Choujin designs are both terrifying and stunning. Just wait ’til you meet Zora…
Need something more uplifting? Meet the anime girls who will conquer the fall season with the power of love!
![Queen’s Quality Vol. 1 [Review]](https://otakuusamagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/crop2-queensquality-480x360.jpg "Queen’s Quality Vol. 1 [Review]")
