Ghost Talker's Daydream

Infobox animanga/Header
name = Ghost Talker's Daydream


caption =
ja_name = 低俗霊DAYDREAM
ja_name_trans = Teizokurei Daydream
genre = Comedy, Drama, HorrorInfobox animanga/Manga
title =
author = Saki Okuse
Sankichi Meguro
publisher = flagicon|Japan Kadokawa Shoten
publisher_other = flagicon|USA Dark Horse Comics
demographic = Shōnen
magazine = Monthly Shōnen Ace
first = 2001-02-26
last = 2006-01-26
volumes = 10Infobox animanga/OVA
title =
director = Osamu Sekita
studio = flagicon|Japan Hal Film Maker
licensor = flagicon|Japan Bandai Visual
flagicon|USA flagicon|Canada Geneon
episodes = 4
released = June 25, 2004 – December 23, 2004
runtime =

"Ghost Talker's Daydream", known in Japan as Nihongo|"Vulgar Ghost Daydream"|低俗霊DAYDREAM|Teizokurei Daydream, is a shōnen manga written by Saki Okuse and illustrated by Sankichi Meguro, set in modern Japan. There are 10 volumes in total, and the series was also adapted as a four episode OVA. The English version released by Geneon changed the title to "Ghost Talker's Daydream", which is not a direct translation of the formal manga title.

This story is centered on a main character named Saiki Misaki who has two jobs, neither of which she is particularly happy with. Officially she is a dominatrix in a BDSM club who writes a column for a sex magazine. Additionally she works for a government agency, "The Livelihood Preservation Group", as a "necromancer". The term "necromancer" in this story refers to a person who can speak to and see ghosts, and who sometimes can allow the ghosts to speak with their voice to people who cannot see the ghost. Her government job usually entails helping to remove a troublesome ghost. This is known as exorcising. Misaki considers her government job to be less respectable than her work in the sex industry.

There are many smaller story arcs within the story, although in most cases these stories are important to the main narrative. In some cases they introduce important characters, and in others they are used to explain motivations pertaining to the main characters. In general, these smaller story arcs consist of one or two chapters.

There are three major characters, at least one of which is in every chapter with the exception of chapter 16 "Dead Mans Hand". In order of introduction they are: Saiki Misaki, Mitsuru and Souichirou. Many recurring and often important characters also populate the series.

Several things distinguish "Vulgar Ghost Daydream". One thing is the extensive use of fan service. Nudity and sexual themes are an integral part of the story, as well as the basis for many of the characters' motivations and history. Suicide is another deeply discussed theme and insights into the suicide culture in Japan are common. Many of the story arcs deal directly with the intersection of these two situations. Themes of sexual dysfunction and both sexual and physical abuse are also studied.

The Japanese title translates as teizoku = "vulgar" + rei = "ghost". However there is a pun on the word rei, which can also refer to a "companion" when spoken. In other words it can be said either "Vulgar Ghost" or "Vulgar Companion", and Misaki Saiki is a professional dominatrix who can also speak to ghosts. A dominatrix could be considered a vulgar companion.

A note on names

For the purposes of this article, names will follow the Japanese convention with the family name first and personal name second when both names are used. However, following the format of the English translation, personal names are often used when a family name would be more appropriate. In general this only applies to the focal characters, and persons outside the story proper are usually referred to in the more polite form by family name. See Character Descriptions when in doubt.

Character Descriptions

Saiki Misaki- Misaki is an albino woman with the distinctive lack of pigmentation that accompanies that condition. Her pink eyes and white hair are also accompanied by a complete lack of pubic hair which causes her some embarrassment. These combined features make her very desirable in her line of work as a professional Dominatrix for the Roppongi Myure Mule S&M club and as a contributor to the sex industry magazine "Honey Chop". Misaki is also a necromancer and can see, hear, and speak to ghosts. She is very self-deprecating about this talent, but is in fact very good at both her occupations. Misaki has a complicated past, and although she works in the sex industry, she is actually a virgin.

Kadotake Souichirou- Misaki's partner in the Livelihood Preservation Group and her usual link to it. He is excitable and fascinated by Misaki's sexual line of work. He likes to be dominated but doesn't realize this. A proficient martial artist, Souichirou is not an expert. He is mostly very good at Judo. He has many contacts and is good at compiling information, but is deathly afraid of ghosts which makes him an interesting partner for a necromancer.

Fujiwara Mitsuru- A high school student who has sexual issues with domination due to a relationship with a much older woman. Is infatuated with Misaki who considers him a stalker. In spite of his issues, he seems to be a good person. Mitsuru is the son of a Shinto priest with whom he is somewhat estranged.

Kunugi Ai- A quiet middle school girl whose sister committed suicide. Misaki helped her uncover the reasons behind the suicide, and the unintentional death of her niece. Ai is a developing necromancer who looks up to Misaki as a mentor (senpai). Friendly and remarkably brave.

Kinue- An unexplained mystical guardian and servant for Misaki. Possibly some sort of demon, in the form of a rope or cord twisted out of hair. Misaki often wears him as a garment, and he must occasionally feed off of humans in an unexplained way.

Shizue Mikuriya- An editor and model at the sex industry magazine "Honey Chop". An acknowledged lesbian and friend to Misaki.

Saiki Shigeyuki- Misaki's father and the chief administrator of the Livelihood Preservation Group. Divorced from Misaki's mother whose whereabouts are unknown. Somewhat estranged from his daughter.

Detective Gada- A police detective with unexplained issues relating to necromancy. Has a relationship with the necromancer Isa Haru. Is prone to use unethical means to achieve his goals.

Isa Haru- Detective Gada's domestic partner and also a necromancer. Is known to be a true hermaphrodite who is living as a woman. Apparently isn't well adjusted to the situation, and is also not physically healthy.

Toudou Satomi- Mitsuru's middle aged lover, who killed herself and as a ghost continues to haunt him.

Iogi Yuo- A mysterious youth who is apparently behind many of the suicides that Misaki is called upon to exorcise. Uses the internet to exhort people to commit suicide according to his design.

Lisa- A very good Mahjong player and possible necromancer.

Funakoshi- Another necromancer used by the Livelihood Preservation Group.

Volume and Chapter Summaries

The following are complete summaries of each volume and chapter. They outline the plot on a chapter by chapter basis, with more general descriptions about the themes in each volume. They are based on the English Translations by the scanslation group [http://mangatranslation.com/ Mangatranslation] .

Volume 1

It isn't easy when you hate your day job, even when the money's good. Working as an S&M Queen isn't the most dignified profession, but is being a government employed Necromancer any better? Both professions are on the fringes of acceptability, and being a Necromancer just isn't a reliable living. Misaki Saiki knows all the ins and outs of both. Her Necromancy partner is afraid of Ghosts, and her S&M activities have attracted a particularly adept stalker. Necromancy is often dangerous, and S&M is often icky, but those are her choices.

Chapter 1 Hanging Mansion

(Volume 1 Chapter 1)"Note: A "Mansion" in the Japanese sense refers to a one-room apartment and has nothing to do with a large fancy home."

A suicide by a middle school boy has earned a particular apartment a reputation as a good place to kill yourself. Things get so bad that all the other tenants move away, and the owner just wants to tear the place down. The presence of the boy's ghost and the continuing suicides that accompany it are making things difficult, so the owners contact the Livelihood Preservation Group to take care of the problem.

Misaki and Souichirou investigate the matter, and determine that the boy's suicide may have been instigated by another boy. Securing the other boy's participation in the exorcism is difficult, but accomplished. The real surprise is the true reasons behind the suicide and why the ghost has stayed behind. Learning that the other boy wasn't the reason for the suicide, Misaki convinces the ghost to move on.

And yet, it turns out that the continuing suicides were not associated with the first suicide after all. An internet bulletin board is directing suicidal people to this apartment, dubbing it "Hanging Mansion." Why is for later chapters.

Chapter 2 Po the Bear

(Volume 1 Chapter 2)

Ai Kunugi is sure that the death of her sister and her niece was no accident, and she's right. Something strange is going on in her sister's apartment so the Livelihood Preservation Group is call to take care of the problem, but the police have determined that the baby's death was abuse and the sister's death a suicide. No one believes her, so Ai returns to her sister's apartment and finds Po, the toy bear.

Someone else is looking for the toy though, and the man who killed her niece surprises Ai in the apartment. He's only looking for the bear, but is the kind of person who won't pass up an opportunity for a little rape. Luckily, Misaki-san isn't the kind of person to let a little rape continue when she happens upon the scene. Interrupted, the rapist runs away and beats up Souichirou in the hallway. He leaves the bear though, and that's the evidence that proves his guilt.

Mitsuru is the one to save the day. Misaki's stalker manages to follow the rapist and relay his location to Misaki and Souichirou. They trace him to a Yakuza facility, and manage to force him to admit his culpability. This admission and his death by lightning bolt allow the ghosts to depart, giving Ai some closure and linking her to Misaki.

Volume 2

Day in and day out, Misaki Saiki's life just isn't much fun. When she's not being questioned by police about one of her S&M client's suicide, she's dealing with the ghosts of serial killers and Mitsuru, her friendly neighborhood stalker. It's funny though, that her dead client turns out to be her friend, the serial killer's victims are almost as bad as the killer, and Mitsuru even saves lives.

Chapter 3 Orgasmus

(Volume 2 Chapter 1)

Mistress Misaki of the Roppongi S&M club doesn't usually do scatology, but sometimes she gets talked into it. When she returns from cleaning herself up from her current client, she's startled to discover that he's killed himself. This is a complicating scene for an experienced S&M Queen, and the police don't seem to believe that she wasn't involved.

Forced to detail the events that led to his death, Misaki reveals that the dead man had performed oral sex on her, something that she normally doesn't engage in. Privately, she reveals that this is the first time she has climaxed while performing her job. Still, the police seem to suspect that the death occurred during their "play", and press her for more details.

Unexpectedly, her former client's ghost appears, unseen to the police. Through Misaki, he tells everyone where he left his suicide note, and it is quickly found. The police are apologetic and inform her that they were pretty sure from the circumstances that it really was a suicide, but that they were obliged to look at all possibilities. Misaki accepts this and is thankful to her client for saving her, and also for the joy he unexpectedly gave to her.

Chapter 4 Daydream

(Volume 2 Chapter 2)

Souichirou is in trouble, and his fear is only going to make it worse. After investigating a girl's suicide out in the forest where a serial killer dumped his victims, Souichirou is being driven mad by their ghosts. Misaki knows it's a very bad place, but why? And why did her father the Director of the Livelihood Preservation Group send her there?

Part of what's going on is a bank that wants to build a golf course on the site, but it's going to take a trip to a transsexual hermaphrodite club to get to the truth. The bank is the real client, but the danger is real too! The ghosts and the suicides are congregating here in the forest because it's the gate to the world of the dead, or so they've been told. Who told them, and why?

Misaki-san has her work cut out for her. She needs to convince the ghosts that their killer has met justice, save Souichirou and the bank representatives, and stop the ghost of a suicide from sending more suicides out into the forest. All without being sucked into the world of the dead herself! Not bad for a days work in the life of a Necromancer.

Chapter 5 Damn Ghost

(Volume 2 Chapter 3)

Misaki doesn't really want to get involved with Ai again, but when they have a chance meeting on a train, it's hard to avoid the little girl. She doesn't know it yet but Ai has begun to see the dead too, and in her sweet way, Misaki wants to be like her mentor. But Mitsuru has taken an interest in Ai Kunugi, mostly due to her connection to Misaki-san. It's a good thing too.

While Misaki goes about her daily sex-related work life, Ai passes a ghost every day on a bridge. The ghost looks lonely and sad, so one day the kindly Ai offers to help. Luckily Mitsuru is watching, because this particular ghost isn't as benevolent as it seems. This ghost holds a dark secret, and a dark desire.

Trouble has found Ai, and now it's found Mitsuru as well. It's time for Misaki-san to save them from a ghost who needs someone to join with him in death, just as he died with another. Once again, a stuffed bear is the real hero, saving both Ai and Misaki by absorbing the ghost before being destroyed. It's the end of Po-Po the bear, but not the end of Po in the story.

Volume 3

Usually, Misaki Saiki's job as a Necromancer involves helping ghosts find their way to the afterlife. These ghosts often have stayed because of some kind of pain or restlessness born of irresolution. There can be a satisfaction in helping the innocent, or removing the guilty to their final rest. Other times, it is the ghost that helps Misaki-san. Three times in this volume, there is a ghost who is the real hero, and the help is always appreciated. Who would have known that sometimes there are friendly ghosts?

Chapter 6 Coming Out

(Volume 3 Chapter 1)

Naori is not your typical lesbian. She often falls for straight girls, and in reality wishes she were a man. She's been trying to use drugs to seduce the young girl Arisa, when Shizue intervenes. Shizue is a model and part of the editorial staff for a S&M magazine where Misaki writes a column. Ostensibly a lesbian, it's not unusual for Shizue to hang out at gay bars in her off time. Tonight she's brought home a confused young girl who was nearly caught in the clutches of the notoriously predatory Naori.

Arisa and Naori are both women confused and in pain, and when Shizue leaves for work, the two meet again. This time they commit suicide together, leaping to their combined death from Shizue's apartment. Naturally enough, Shizue feels responsible for not being able to save Arisa, and imposes on Misaki as her friend to find out why they committed suicide.

The truth is far from Shizue's assumptions, and during the investigation, it is Arisa's ghost that tries to get Shizue to kill herself. All along it was the girl who wanted a companion to share her suicide. It takes the combined strength of Misaki, Souichirou, and even the ghost of Naori to save Shizue. In the end Naori really liked and even respected Shizue, who was mistaken about the whole situation.

Addendum: So It's Low

This chapter ends with Souichirou's Cow Nightmare. Souichirou is eating at a Beef Bowl Restaurant when cows begin to come in and sit down next to him, also ordering Beef Bowl. Misaki is the waiter behind the counter, and she remarks that Souichirou should have a Human Bowl to complete the Metaphor. She even offers to add a finger to Souichirou's dish. Oh, the irony.

Chapter 7 Convulvus

(Volume 3 Chapter 2)

Nothing good can come from waking up hung over on a park bench. Misaki-san has been out drinking a few too many times lately, and waking up in the park just brought up the contents of her stomach and a few sad memories. Her first love and their first attempt at sex was such a failure. Misaki's lack of pubic hair just reminded her boyfriend of his little sister, rendering him incapable of continuing. Thus the relationship ended before it really began.

Being sick in the park isn't the most private of activities, and it draws attention from all around. Although many people are staring, a kindly old man offers to take her to his nearby home to collect herself over some iced tea. Reluctantly but thankfully Misaki agrees, and follows the old man home to meet his elderly wife. They are waiting for their son to come by with their granddaughter, so they find an extra guest welcome during the wait.

In Misaki's world nothing is simple, and when the child arrives everything becomes clear. The Granddaughter is a ghost who had died ten years earlier and the grandparents were ghosts as well, having recently died. In the end it was the ghost of the girl who wished for Misaki to exorcise her Grandparents. Already in a nostalgic mood, Misaki is touched by the situation and thinks back to her childhood living with her own Grandmother.

Chapter 8 Ghost Taxi

(Volume 3 Chapter 3)

A retelling of an ancient urban ghost story, the Taxi that picks up a girl on a dark and stormy night only to find that there was no girl but the seat was still wet. However, this time there's an element of truth to the story and Misaki's father is the one to find the evidence.

What happened that night only becomes less clear when Misaki investigates and finds out that the driver has committed suicide the following day. There doesn't seem to be any answers, although it's clear there was some supernatural phenomenon. When the body of a murdered girl is found where the Taxi driver said he took the ghost, something of the truth surfaces and Misaki's father suspects the driver of some involvement.

Misaki-san suspects another driver at the taxi company, and she has a plan to expose him. The plan involves letting him try to rape her, and counting on the spirit of the dead driver to save her. During the course of his attempted rape, the other driver confesses to the murder but is unable to continue when the ghost appears. Luckily, Misaki jumps out of the Taxi just before the ghost, or possibly the other driver's guilt, causes it to crash off the road and explode. Later, Misaki muses that this was the first time she had killed someone.

Volume 4

There's so much going on, with more suicides and the slow realization that there's something more sinister behind them. Mitsuru and Ai are being targeted by the mysterious YUO, and Souichirou is having his own problems having to use his backup necromancer. Both Ai and Souichirou needs Misaki-san, but she's unavailable. With her own internal demons she's taken a break off at a remote onsen. Even if they find her, it won't be the end to their troubles.

Chapter 9 Hallucination

(Volume 4 Chapter 1)

Dealing with ghosts isn't getting any easier for Ai, particularly when some of them aren't dead yet. Having Misaki-san out of town doesn't help much either. When Mitsuru appears to her as a ghost in her class, Ai knows that something is wrong. Her efforts to find him are justified, but it seems Mitsuru doesn't really want to be found.

Mitsuru himself has been scheduled to succeed his father in a temple, and when Ai finally finds him there the trouble begins. Two girls, one of them Mitsuru's sister-in-law, have committed suicide on the temple grounds. Their suicide was instigated by the Rock N Roll suicide BBS, and finally we have a name to go with the situation: YUO. Both Ai and Mitsuru received text messages from YUO right when the suicides occurred. Knowing that Ai is a necromancer, Detective Gada is recruiting Ai to help him find out the truth behind YUO.

The truth is even more perplexing, as Detective Gada uses drugs to help Ai speak to the dead girls. Mitsuru's sister-in-law apparently has been sexually abused by his father, and blames Mitsuru himself. There may be some justification in this as some of Mitsuru's past fantasy life is revealed, and perhaps some clues to his actual past. It's unfortunate that Misaki isn't available to help Ai, and Souichirou is helpless as well. Only more questions surface throughout this chapter.

Chapter 10 Ghost on a Bridge

(Volume 4 Chapter 2)

Misaki-san is on vacation, and nobody knows where she is. This isn't good for Souichirou, who is forced to use another necromancer in his line of work. Funakoshi may be a necromancer, but he doesn't have Misaki-san's way with the dead. He manages to get the point across, but it's up to Souichirou to sort out the situation.

A young woman has thrown herself off a bridge one year earlier, and her ghost still waits on the bridge. Funakoshi determines that she's lonely, and some creative detective work leads Souichirou to two men. Both of these men have worked with and dated the deceased girl, but neither one will take steps to calm her spirits. Of the two, only one loved her deeply and was broken hearted in her death.

It is not Souichirou's negotiating skills, nor is it Funakoshi's necromancy that resolves the case. Without a viable resolution to his pain, the dead girl's true lover throws himself off the same bridge. It is a solution to the problem, but not one that Souichirou is happy with. The dead girl's ghost and her dead lover cross over, but the Lifestyle Preservation Group needs Misaki back and Souichirou is dispatched to find her at once!

Chapter 11 Fog (part 1)

(Volume 4 Chapter 3)

Things are getting out of hand, and Souichirou and Ai need to find Misaki-san. Unfortunately, she hasn't left any word about where she was going and she's left her phone at home. It's up to Mitsuru to show them the way, but he says he's stopped following her around. At some level this is true but he does have an idea where to look, and the three of them head out to bring her back.

Misaki herself has checked into an onsen (hot spring) to somehow try to forget her responsibility in the death of a cab driver. Unexpectedly, and apparently by accident, she meets a former necromancer late at night in the baths. Their lives are not that similar, and Misaki begins to wonder if her life can calm down to where she can have a normal existence like this woman. She wants to quit, but it's apparent that the ghosts and the evil won't leave her alone. Somehow, she needs to come to terms with that.

There's so much to come to terms with. The three people that are searching for her, each for their own reasons. YUO, the unexplained youth directing the current string of suicides. Even her own responsibility in the lives and deaths of the people she comes in contact with. There's even more yet to come, and Misaki-san is oblivious to its implications.

Volume 5

Misaki-san has tried so hard to take her little vacation and forget about her troubles, but somehow things keep getting drawn to her wherever she is. An obsessed detective, an unstable necromancer, and the friends who need her all converge with different purposes. It's her fate to deliver her rival from oblivion, and her fortune to be saved by her friends when things turn bleak. In the process, much of their history becomes clear.

Chapter 12 Fog (part 2)

(Volume 5 complete)

Everything is coming to a stop, and the nexus is the lake by the onsen where Misaki is staying. Souichirou is in a sorry state, possibly hallucinating, and in his madness to find Misaki-san takes tries to row a boat across the lake to find her. However, this lake has a history of suicides, and halfway across they come across the bodies of a group who made a suicide pact. Contacting the police, they find that the detective Gada is in the area investigating. This isn't the best of news. In the course of things, the history behind Mitsuru and his relationship with a middle aged woman is revealed, and why her ghost continues to haunt him.

Detective Gada has brought with him an unstable necromancer. Haru is also his lover, but there are far more difficulties between them and the rest of the world. In tracing down the uneasy dead in the area Haru becomes a catalyst, (or possibly uses Misaki as a catalyst) drawing Misaki into her attempt at necromancy. Only Souichirou's efforts manage to draw Misaki-san back to the world of the living, but Gada and Haru slip away to the lake.

Haru isn't capable of handling the masses of the dead that are centered in the lake, and Misaki with her friends are needed to help. She has become lost in the world of the dead, and to the world of the living she appears dead. Placing her trust fully on Ai, Misaki-san enters the world of the dead to retrieve Haru. In the process she learns of Haru's hermaphroditic secret and her sad past, as well as making a direct confrontation with YUO. Nothing is resolved but in the end it is Ai, with the help of Po the bear, who brings Misaki back. Haru is saved, but the consequences of the situation are not clear.

Volume 6

There seems to be no escape for Misaki, even when she tries to take a vacation. When she returns to necromancy the situation is rapidly becoming worse for Mitsuru and the apartment where he lived with his middle aged mistress. Something evil is there, and it's causing a lot of death. Misaki is going to need a lot of help to sort this one out, but in the end it's going to be her strength alone that supports her. The real solution will have to wait for the next chapter.

Chapter 13 Hige (Beard)

(Volume 6 chapter 1)

Misaki and Shizue are taking a much deserved vacation, but it seems it's doomed from the start. They almost don't make it to the train they have chosen, and then there is an accident. Somehow a person has been struck by the train, which causes a delay, and then there are electrical problems.

The Police believe it to be a suicide, and without being asked Misaki looks into it as best she can from the train. The ghost of the woman who died is there, but doesn't really seem like a suicide. The ghost tells Misaki to look for Hige to find the answer. Hige, it turns out, is the old woman's cat, and it's up to Misaki and Shizue to find the animal.

Finally it becomes clear that the cat was the old woman's only companion and had escaped her. She had only been trying to recapture the cat when she fell in front of the train. It was not a suicide. Of course, by this time Misaki and Shizue have missed their plane, so they end up going fishing.

Chapter 14 Womb Ghost

(Volume 6 chapter 2)

Mitsuru has a past that continues to haunt him, and apparently continues to haunt other people. The ghost of his middle aged lover was deeply affected by a malevolent soul bound to the apartment that they shared. The same malevolent soul that has been causing a series of suicides and deaths for some time, including a necromancer with a very good reputation.

At the same time Mitsuru is being taunted by YUO and his dead mistress, or possibly his dead sister in law. He is unsure if YUO is real or imaginary, or if anything that is happening to him is true. He has been spending all his time trying to track the illusive adversary through the remnants that are scattered around the internet. Only his infatuation with Misaki saves him when pushed to the brink by his delusions.

In order to save Mitsuru, Misaki-san is doing her best to exorcise the evil from the apartment, with help from Mitsuru's father and the spirit of the dead necromancer Futaba sensei. Mitsuru's father is of little help and is nearly caught and killed by the evil that permeates the place, but Futaba sensei was a necromancer and he knows what needs to be done. Misaki confronts and is nearly destroyed by the true evil, but the reasons behind the spirit's despair will be known in part two.

Volume 7

A transition volume, where one episode is competed and another story line is complicated. In the middle we have a short interlude that is not (apparently) part of the story line at all. It's time to interject a little real humor, if for no other reason than to break the tension. Things are coming to a head, and answers may be right around the corner.

Chapter 15 Womb Ghost (Continued)

(Volume 7 chapter 1)

Things are heating up for Misaki in the terrible apartment where so many suicides have occurred. All the sad ghosts are collected there in the unhappiness caused by the original tragedy. The ghosts are helpful, without knowing it, in showing her the original trouble caused by the accidental drowning of two children. They are there, but it is the mother who is the underlying evil of the place. She is powerful, and perhaps beyond Misaki-san's ability to control.

Even Kinue is under the control of the bereaved ghost, and is no protection to his mistress. Only her understanding of the situation can stop the sadness and clean the room. However, Souichirou is in danger from a more real threat. YUO and his followers have found him and are doing everything to stop him from supporting Misaki-san's efforts. He is beaten and unconscious, and having hallucinating visions of Misaki, but in the end is saved by a man and his dog who were living in the park.

It is the man in the park that draws all the strings together. The first deaths was a mother and daughter committing suicide when the mother's husband left them. The next death was the horrible accident of the two children dying in the bathtub. Finally, there were many more deaths including Mitsuru's mistress, the Necromancer sent to investigate, the maintenance worker whose son had fallen to his death, and possibly others. There's something behind it all, but the only thing that is sure is that YUO is involved. His motives are still unclear.

Chapter 16 Dead Man's Hand

(Volume 7 chapter 2)

The infamous Mahjong chapter. We are introduced to a new character as three employees of Misaki's magazine play a game of Mahjong in a local parlor. Only Shizue is a regular character, but her colleagues Morisawa Kinako and Kobayashi Fumiaki have been in the background. The newest character is a regular Mahjong player in the parlor named Lisa, who is asked to sit in as a fourth player because one other person from the magazine is going to be late.

Kinako, a freelance writer for the magazine, suggests playing by "The True Tile Taker" rules. This turns out to be a form of strip-mahjong where the tile-taker has to remove two pieces of clothing. Shizue, as a model and editor for the magazine, is quick to agree, but Fumiaki is a fat man as well as an editor and agrees only because of his fantasies concerning his coworkers. Lisa agrees because she correctly believes she's a better player than the others.

Lisa's past is important here as we learn of the murder of her boyfriend, and very good mahjong player, by her former boyfriend. The game continues until a critical point for Lisa, where her boyfriend's ghost appears to help her. This shows us that Lisa may be a necromancer herself, perhaps with some foreshadowing. However, the advice from the ghost is ultimately useless, as a cat jumps up on the table, interrupting the tension and causing general laughter.

Chapter 17 Werther

(Volume 7 chapter 3)

Detective Gada has uncovered YUO, and identified him as a boy named Iogi Yuo. In order to interrogate him, Gada took his necromancer partner Haru to the boy. Unfortunately, Yuo gets into her mind and causes her to commit suicide by jumping out the bathroom window.

Now Gada needs Misaki's help. He searches her out, but due to their history, she's disinclined to help him. Here Gada shows an unexpected amount of humility and accepts responsibility for Haru's death. Misaki-san agrees to help him but only under her own conditions.

Misaki-san is upset for another reason. Mitsuru is missing and she's been unable to find any trace of him. This is a mixed blessing at best, because Misaki has developed some appreciation of the former stalker. He's helped out on several occasions. Also, he's also a link to Yuo that Misaki doesn't want to lose.

Volume 8

Continues the story from volume 7, and a short side-story not related to the "Flame of Lament" arc.

Chapter 18 Werther

(Volume 8 Chapter 1)

As this chapter opens up, we learn that Iogi Yuo has been taken in by the police, caught under suspicion of promoting and encouraging suicides through his "Rock 'N Roll Suicide" BBS. There has been a rather extensive investigation which links the BBS to Yuo very indirectly, but since it has been hosted overseas, they have not been able to get concrete evidence linking the BBS to Yuo. As part of the investigation, they have uncovered information about the much-talked-about "Flame of Lament", which they trace back to stories from the Japanese ancient mythos in the Kojiki. Yuo has been organizing people who want to commit suicide into a mass suicide by self-immolation, planned to take place in about a day.

Misaki has been asked to find out where and when exactly the "Flame of Lament" is supposed to take place. Yuo has been unsuccessfully questioned before, and in fact, caused his state-appointed lawyer to kill himself, ostensibly by intimidation from the many ghosts that are with him. While Misaki interrogates Yuo, Souichirou investigates Iogi Yuo's past.

The investigation turns up lots of information about Yuo. His father, Iogi Minoru, was born into a wealthy family, and apparently never had to work a day in his life. He aspired to being an author, and wrote a book called "The Vestiges of the Beast", about suicide. Yuo's mother liked classical music, and did not pay much attention to him as a child. When he was five years old, his father planned a double suicide with his mother, and their house was burned down. At the time, the police attributed the fire to an accident. Yuo knew differently, and kept quiet to hide his shame of the suicide.

After many years, even though the police report at the time of the fire called Iogi Minoru's book a worthless piece of literature, it had since been included in an influential magazine's list of important books on suicide, and had become a cult classic with suicide cults. Yuo himself has been active in the suicide area ever since the suicide as well.

While "interrogating" Yuo, which meant just staring at him silently, Misaki runs into Haru in the spirit world, and is told that Yuo actually died when he was 5 years old in the fire... Misaki and Souichirou determine to go to the place of Yuo's original death and perform an exorcism there. They have to rush though, because they are running out of time before the "Flame of Lament"!

On the way to the country villa where Yuo died, they think that they are being followed by someone with the same type of motorcycle as Yuo...

While all of that is happening, Kunugi Ai has been taken by Fujiwara Mitsuru to a gathering place of people that will take place in the "Flame of Lament". The ringleader there, Imibiyame, a young woman who apparently has a very painful disease, is worried about the plans since Yuo has been captured and will not be able to perform Necromancy in order to show them all to the other side. Fujiwara MItsuru says that Kunugi Ai is also a Necromancer, and will be able to help them. Imibiyame does not trust Kunugi Ai though, and brings her to an old condemned apartment building filled with ghosts. While Kunugi Ai performs Necromancy and allows the ghosts to speak, Imibiyame is convinced, and handcuffs Kunugi Ai in a room to wait for the Flame of Lament.

While Kunugi Ai is waiting for the others to return, who have left to gather more participants for the "Flame of Lament", two men come into the room, and are about to rape her. Fujiwara Mitsuru comes in at the last minute to prevent the rape. As Kunugi Ai and Mitsuru talk, he explains his reasons for wanting to commit suicide, mainly his guilt over his half-sister. Kunugi Ai herself also professes a desire to kill herself because she is "impure". However, it seems that Fujiwara himself is unsure about committing suicide. When Kunugi Ai tells him that they should stop trying to live anymore, Fujiwara does not answer. Instead, he hands her a reminder of life; the teddy bear key chain.

Chapter 19 Dog God

(Volume 8 Chapter 2)

In a short side-story from the main "Flame of Lament" arc, we are introduced to Mukousaka, a new female trainee in the Lifestyle Preservation Department. On her first day of work, even though she hasn't gone through her practical training, Saiki Shigeyuki says that she should take on the case of a man who seems particularly agitated about a dog as her practical training.

During the interview with Yokozeki, a man who demanded to see someone from the Lifestyle Preservation Group, she finds out that he was bit by a dog, and over the past four days, the small wound has become worse and worse, and he is troubled in his dreams by a vicious Dog that attacks him. He's starting to go crazy with fear.

Despite saying that he was bitten by the dog when he tried to pet it at a supermarket, Yokozeki has a flashback when they drive to the supermarket that shows the truth: he has been taking part in a scheme to sell unneeded household repairs to an old lady (a real problem in Japan.) The first time he went there, he was bitten by the dog. In order to continue the charade and dupe the old lady, he and his boss kidnap and kill the dog, Meri, leading to his problems with the ghost dog. Funakoshi is called in to perform an exorcism, and says that the dog has only been protecting its master.

In the end, Yokozeki goes mad, kills his boss and possibly himself, and Mukousaka takes Meri to a cemetery where she can rest in peace. The old lady, Kuraki, sees the ghost of Meri one last time, and bids her to wish "Grandpa" well on his journey to the afterlife.

Other Media

Anime

Vulgar Ghost Daydream has also been produced as a short run OVA Anime of four episodes. In Japanese the title is still "Teizokurei Daydream" but United States distributor, [http://www.geneonanimation.com/ Geneon Animation] has re-titled the release [http://www.ghosttalkerdvd.com/ Ghost Talker's Daydream] . Of the four episodes, two follows the chapters from the manga closely, but the other two have very little relationship to the manga.

Plot synopsis

Episodes one and two of Ghost Talker’s Daydream, “Ghost Talker” and “Bindweed”, closely follow the events in volume one, chapter 2 (Ghost Talker) and volume two, chapter two (Bindweed) of the manga respectively. Episodes three and four, “Mad Bones” and “Water Spirit”, however, are original episodes that do not follow the manga.

Misaki is on vacation in the Hakoda region (mostly to visit sacred hair-growing shrines in hopes to grow pubic hair) when she is pulled into an unsolved child disappearance case. At a construction site of a planned hotel, the skeletons of twelve children were found by the construction crew, as well as evidence which leads an obsessed and haunted police detective to believe that – and what Misaki confirmed – the skeletons were the missing children. However, a rash of unexplained incidents – the deaths of a motorist and the greedy hotel contractor, and an accident with a cruise boat, soon lead them to believe that the spirit of the killer of the children, a disturbed woman named Ichinose, is responsible.

Anime Voices

Misaki Saiki:

"Voiced by:" Masumi Asano (Japanese), Karen Thompson (English)

Souichiro Kadotake:

Ai Kunugi:

Mitsuru Fujiwara:

Miku:

Detective Yamazaki:

Detective Anzai

Ichinose:

External links

* [http://mangatranslation.com/vgd/ Mangatranslation: Vulgar Ghost Daydream]
* [http://mangatranslation.com/ Mangatranslation]
* [http://www.geneonanimation.com/ Geneon Animation]
* [http://www.ghosttalkerdvd.com/ Ghost Talker's Daydream Trailer]