Writer Kyo Shirodaira pair with artist Chashiba Katase to bring out the creatures of Japanese folklore with their series about supernatural crime fighting “In/Spectre.”

Kotoko Iwanaga looks like the normal teenage girl with a massive crush on Kurō Sakuragawa, but she is actually the current local god of wisdom. A group of yōkai (spirits) took Kotoko at the age of 11 to their hidden mountain home and ask her to take the role as their god. In exchange for special abilities, she gave up her left leg and right eye. Ever since, she quietly helps both humans and yōkai. Things escalade when Kotoko gathered enough courage to confess her feeling to Kurō whose engagement recently ended. While her first chance could not defeat the young man’s nonchalant personality and short term memory, she suspects Kurō hiding a darker secret about himself and the yōkai. While they both are of different temperament and age, it seems these two characters have supernatural similarities.

Author Shirodaira expressed some worries in Volume One’s afterward about adapting his 2011 mystery novel but trusted experienced artist Katase to bring it into a lighter form. Rest assured, he made the right choice for Katase’s style has a clean look even during action-packed moments. The chemistry or rather clash between Kotoko and Kurō with other characters bring up a lot of funny moments. Luckily it doesn’t hinder them as the duo tackle the strange problems that plague the area.

Head over to Kodansha Comics’ site to find out more about “In/Spectre” including free access to its first chapter.