Author: Shin Mashiba
Genre: fantasy, horror
Target Age: teen
Content: supernatural and horror elements
Volumes: 9
Story: Nightmare Inspector is basically a manga version of The Twilight Zone, but without Rod Serling. It tells the story of a young girl named Mizuki and a young boy named Hiruko. Mizuki runs a shop called the Silver Light Tea House, but doesn't receive many customers looking for tea. Most people who show up are looking for Hiruko. He is a baku, a dream eater. Those who suffer from nightmares ask him to investigate the dream and help them overcome it. The price for his services is to allow him to eat the nightmare afterwards.
The stories are episodic in nature. The series does not know the definition of "happy ending." Some stories end better than others, but even those have an air of dread or sadness when all is said and done. There are twist endings galore. Over time, Hiruko realizes the nightmares are connected somehow, not just to each other, but to him as well.
Some backstory is revealed gradually through the first few volumes. It is shown that Hiruko is not the first baku to work at the Silver Light Tea House. Mizuki's brother Azusa was the original baku, but he disappeared after visiting a place called The Delirium, which allows visitors to live out fantasies. When Azusa disappeared, Hiruko arrived in his place. The relationship between Mizuki and Hiruko is that of brother and sister, but it is not until the final volume that this is explained. Hiruko always carries around a mysterious briefcase, which Mizuki believes is connected to Azusa, but Hiruko allows no one to touch it. Later, a man named Hifumi shows up on the pretense of seeking room and board, but he has an ulterior motive of his own.
The stories are dark, seriously dark, and some are pretty frightening. The characters live in a bleak world. The climax of the final volume gives the only true happy ending of the entire series, but it comes with a high price, and the final scene is heartbreaking. When Hiruko's true nature, which even he was initially unaware of, is revealed, he resigns himself to it, but he knows that he has lost something valuable.
Recommendation: Anyone who likes twist endings and dark foreboding tales may like this.
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