Muhyo & Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation #1-5

Muhyo & Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation #1-5

Originally released in 2004

Written by Yoshiyuki Nishi

Art by Yoshiyuki Nishi

Muhyo and Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation is different from the sort of series that I cover in Shonen Jump.  It's not quite a comedy, and not really an action series; it's more like a showcase of the supernatural. (So light horror? I'm not really sure how to classify it)

Muhyo is a little troll-like kid who is a master spellcaster and one of the highest-ranked magical law enforcers, while his side Jiro "Roji" Kusano is a newcomer and wide-eyed idealist who reminds me of several other Jump protagonists that I've seen.  Together, they help a random assortment of people solve ghost-related problems.

Ghosts tend to originate from people with unfinished business - an overly clingy friend who died in an accident, a murderer whose gravestone was vandalized, or even the collective envy of a large enough group of people can produce some kind of malevolent spirit.

I hesitate to call it an action series because so far, there isn't much action. Upon discovering the spirit, it's usually a simple enough matter for Muhyo to read the appropriate law that is being broken and sentence the ghost to its punishment, which has usually been sending it to Hell.

There are hints of a greater conflict coming - someone that Muhyo knew from school who was envious of his talent sets a trap for him at one point - but so far, it's isolated monster-of-the-week events that Muhyo effortlessly deals with.

The main thing that sticks out about this series so far is the art, particularly with its portrayal of the undead.  The ghouls and ghosts have varied and interesting designs that stick out compared to the plainer humans (and Muhyo; I'm not 100% sure if he's human).

These early chapters stick pretty close to a formula, and I feel like reading a lot of these chapters in quick succession might feel a little repetitive as a result. Jiro seems like he has potential to grow and learn as the series goes on, even if he's portrayed as completely hopeless at the moment; if that does happen, it seems like it would add some tension to the conflicts in this series, as so far, Muhyo needs no effort whatsoever to dispose of the foes that they face. It makes for some entertaining visuals when Muhyo summons forth giant mouths, eye-encrusted treasure chests, and what have you, but it doesn't feel dramatic.