The Concept

Yokai Buster Murakami starts out in fairly comfortable territory. Creatures from folklore and young exorcists are commonplace in manga and anime, to the point that many fans outside Japan learn about Japanese legends by way of their favorite series. The expert and the skeptic is a tried-and-true combo, too. But in this case, the skeptic wields a special power of his own: the power to weaken the spiritual energy of yokai with common sense and blunt talk.

The first chapter sees Kuin facing down a frankly terrifying kappa, with Murakami whittling its power down by poking holes in old legends. Why leave its weak spot covered? Why frequent places that are isolated in the modern day? Why are kappa so into butts? By the end, Murakami shows that his incessant questions actually have their merits.

Digging Deeper

First chapters of new manga are difficult, and Yokai Buster Murakami is no exception. That first chapter has to lay out the basics, grab the reader, and hint at what’s to come in the space of a longer-than-normal installment. In this case, we do get a bit of depth. After his sick dunks on the kappa, Murakami explains his reasons for wanting to help Kuin on her mission. It’s rather sweet, actually—even though he still couches his decision as “common sense,” there’s some clear affection there.

We get a pretty decent range of both art and story in these thirty-odd pages. Ihara shows off both character art and some cool monster designs, with promises of more to come. But can we expect it to continue?

Going Forward

The first chapter of *Yokai Buster Murakami* hinges largely on one central joke: Murakami debunking yokai logic. Given that this is the manga's "selling point," it's natural that the bulk of the initial chapter focuses on this theme. Consequently, there's minimal time for character interactions and broader story development. However, it's essential to remember that this is just the beginning—a one-shot aimed at convincing readers to invest some of their valuable *Shonen Jump* reading time in this new title.

We still know very little about Murakami, Kuin, or the new frenemy they gain by the end of the chapter (aside from this new frenemy having some peculiar viewing habits that he's no longer hiding). Now that the premise has been established, we look forward to seeing how the central gag will weave through the lead pair's relationships, their interactions with other yokai, and possibly a friendly jab at the ghost-hunting genre. If these elements are explored effectively, *Yokai Buster Murakami* could have some staying power.