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I looked forward to this series since I loved the author's fantasy series, 十二国記. I'm also a fan of supernatural mysteries. Although the story takes place in a school setting, I learned new vocabulary related to the paranormal (different words for ghosts and spirits) and psychokinetic abilities. Even when I couldn't understand individual words, I understood the gist of the explanations behind paranormal activities, so this was easier for me to read than 十二国記.
General plot/character review:
The strongest section was the prologue where the protagonist Mai and her classmates share ghost stories and made me want to learn more about what mysteries lay behind the old school building. As I read through the book, and learned about each character in addition to the protagonist, I kept waiting for the ghosts to appear. My main critiques: The story doesn't become remotely interesting until the middle of the book. The overall pacing is quite slow and the entire volume length could have been condensed into one part. The characters eventually figure out the source of the mysterious things they keep encountering in the old school and strange sounds they keep hearing. However, there are many false alarms that lead up to this point that the reveal is underwhelming. The only character I cared for was an Australian Catholic priest named John Brown, who speaks with a Kansai accent, haha. The other mediums, especially the adult characters, either act immature or are just not very friendly. John is the only character who patiently explains to the protagonist (who gets dragged into the ghosts investigation, the differences between ghosts, spirits, etc. The protagonist herself feels more like a stand-in for the reader since she has limited knowledge of the paranormal and she makes basic replies to other character's dialogue/interactions. There are a few times we learn more about her, but overall she has little character development. I may watch the anime to see how it adapts the books before deciding if I want to continue reading this series. My favorite aspect of the story is how the male lead uses technology to formulate explanations as to whether there is any paranormal activity or if there is a scientific explanation behind activities.