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“Are you a victim of unwanted spirit possession?”

That happens to be the tagline that lines the back of each volume of this multi-genre series. Take one part darkness, add a pinch of magic, and a dash of…law? Yes, magic law to be exact and you’ve got yourself Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation.

We are thrown into the office life of Toru Muyho, a practitioner of high caliber magic law with the prestigious title of “Executor” and his more than often, useless “Second Clerk” assistant Jiro Kusano. ( or Roji as he likes to be called )Together, the two deal with an array of ... paranormal cases in which they must ultimately battle, and sentence a ghost according to the crimes he/she committed. This is where one of the most unique and thrilling aspects of the story occur. Toru Muhyo’s title is not for show, in the Magic Law Association, only those with the title of Executor are able to sentence the paranormal with the help of a magic law book. The sentence is read out according to the crime, and one of hundreds, possibly thousands of hellish creatures from the underworld rise from the depths to carry out the sentencing.

From an art stand point, it’s a definite refreshing taste. The author does everything in his power to make the ghosts frightening and disturbing without making them look cliché. The hordes of underworld creatures Muhyo summons are, no pun intended, out of this world. They have such a uniqueness and horrifying aura to them. This is where the author excels, in his ability to create such interesting looking ghosts and demons. The overall style is somewhat difficult to explain when it came to his other characters. They all have a youthful quality to them, so as an overall style it’s youthful with a quirkiness.

Character-wise, Muhyo is what I call lazy and irritable at best. He spends much of his free time sleeping, and when he’s awake, he’s either yelling at Roji for his incompetence or reading his favorite manga magazine. Muhyo is easily bothered, always throwing insults and making a rather bad impression with customers who think he’s being insensitive. Meanwhile, we have Roji who comes off as weak and quite the cry baby at times, but when push comes to shove, he tries hard and for the sake of helping out his partner even if it doesn’t always work out. Roji’s quest for Muhyo’s acceptance is one of the key points to the story. He is always doubting his abilities and having Muhyo drop hints along the way that leave Roji wondering how he can improve. It’s this kind of persona that may leave a sour taste in the reader’s mouth as Roji’s continuous self doubt can get irritating.

The cast of characters that we eventually are introduced to all have their unique talents and faults, along with dark pasts that have ultimately shaped some to where they are now. They range from former instructors and classmates of Muhyo’s, to the dark organization that is hell bent on bringing down the Magic Law Association. The interactions between the cast is very natural and cohesive, and done in a way that doesn’t seem forced.


At first, Muhyo takes on an episodic route, which is typical of a Jump series, but before long the gears behind the story start turning and we quickly learn of the main antagonist, a childhood friend of Muhyo’s from the Magic Law School. From here on it’s an all out attempt to bring down his former classmate, and to the surprise of many in the magical world, an attempt to save him. Needless to say, difficulties await Muhyo and the rest of the cast.

The fact that I read all 18 volumes of this series in two days weighs in on the overall enjoyment. Which personally, it was. A refreshing blend of art, adequate pacing of story, and the interactions of such a wide array of characters made it a great ride. If I had anything to be critical about, it’s the fact that at one point it’s obvious that the author was winding down and it would have been nice to end where it did. The main plot comes to a gratifying conclusion in volume 15. However, with this being a Jump series, the author did continue with a new arc which ultimately ended on a less than worthy note. But do not think that it makes the series any less, it was a great series and I am happy I have this gem in my collection.

So, if you find yourself looking over your shoulder, or feel the light touches of something you can’t see, maybe you should give Muhyo and Roji a call.

For English readers, publication of Sarai ceased after the release of volume eight, so I am basing my review on what I have read thus far.

The story places our reader in the not to distant, but quite desolate future. Modern technology has been lost, and much of humanity has died out. To make matters worse, a mutation has plagued humanity and anyone reaching the age of 16 usually morphs into a hideous monster. In this desolate land, an organization of warrior maidens, are hired by those with money and will pretty much do anything that is required of them by their client ( and ... I literally mean, pretty much anything ). Sarai happens to be our protagonist and the story revolves around her journey as she befriends other maidens, takes on dangerous jobs , and deals with her own inner demons.

While the concept of a battling maid is not original, what gives the genre a refreshed taste is the environment that they are placed in. By giving the premises of the plot a dark feel and quite graphic scenes, the reader quickly learns that this is by far not a typical maid series. Others might argue that a maid series like Mahoromatic also has an underlying dark tone, but it is clearly a comedy series, so I like to think of Sarai as unique. The artwork itself is a little dated, anyone reading will be able to tell it has that “90’s anime” feel. It’s a little sketchy, but it has an undeniable amount of detail and very well presented. Also, if you are at all squeamish by gore, and some disturbing scenes, then this might not be a series for you.

I really grew attached to the characters presented along the way. Everyone from Sarai herself as a tough, but still carrying individual, to lesser characters that only appear in certain chapters. I think in a way it stems from the fact that since the manga has dark tones and everyone is usually suffering in some way, you tend to feel sorry for them. Even in the first volume there’s a particular character that meets her end in a terrible way and I found myself really appalled and saddened by it. Overall, it’s the characters that really did it for me.

Unfortunately, only eight volumes were published in English. Naturally, volume eight leaves you at a terrible cliffhanger. I really wish another company would release it, as it has become a personal favorite of mine. I just wanted to give my two cents on this quite unknown title and I can only hope that someday I’ll be able to walk into a Border’s and see it there, complete.

In all honesty, Melody of Oblivion could have had potential to go in many good directions. However, due to poor character development, confusion with plot linearity, and a set of 4 ridiculous ending episodes to any series I have witnessed, that potential was unfortunately wasted.

In our story, we find Bokka, a teenage boy living in a new century following a bloody, violent war between humanity and their enemies, the monsters. Warriors fighting for humanity, the Melos Warriors ultimately lost and became nothing but a legend. After the first episode, our protagonist finds out that he holds the same power as the legendary Melos Warrior ... and embarks on a journey along with a busty sidekick and trusty motorbike vehicle, the Ibar machine. During his journey he contends with the Monster Union, an organization of humans working alongside the monsters and the sole enemies of the series ( their catch phrase “Viva! Monster Union!” will more than likely cause bleeding of the ears ) and meets several other Melos Warriors as well as other supporting characters. Which brings me to my next point.

Character development. Many characters were introduced, but they had very little background to them. Particularly the monsters, who in this series take the shape of humans, were introduced, but over the course of the series played absolutely very little role or none at all. They simply took up space. The Monster Union characters also made me laugh, because their designs were ridiculous and many times I found myself not taking them very seriously. Which in turn, made me think that this bloody, violent war we are led to believe happened, was nothing but a farce.

I was also bothered by the linearity. You never know how long it’s been since the characters arrive in one location and the next. At some point in the series you are informed that it’s been a year since our protagonist left home, but you are left scratching your head thinking “Really? He’s been gone that long?” You have no sense of time, and that is rather annoying.

I will say that the music was perhaps the only thing that I liked overall about the series. The opening and ending themes were rather good, not the best, but better than others I have seen. There’s the occasional violin instrumental track ( particularly when our heroes are having a heated battle against the monsters ) and catchy background track.

Without spoiling the ending, the last four episodes are a complete train wreck. They made absolutely NO sense. Perhaps I didn't get what it was trying to achieve, but it greatly diverged from what was shown along the course of the series only to take a drastic, out of nowhere turn. There are many series that are also guilty of this, but Melody of Oblivion didn't quite justify the sudden jump.

Melody of Oblivion could have been much better. It’s a decent series, but do not expect something grand. Had the characters been given more development or simply, more screen time for those that were introduced along the way, perhaps it could have been different. If there's anything to take away or enjoy, watch it to laugh at the ridiculous, but sometimes entertaining Monster Union members and their crazy antics.