Nene Yashiro is a high school girl who wants a boyfriend. However, after having trouble getting one, she turns to the occult to help solve her problem. When she learns from a friend about a rumor at Kamome Academy that any wish will be granted by one of the Seven Mysteries, Hanako, she heads to the third floor of the girls’ bathroom in the old school building, walks towards the third stall and tries to meet the spectre.
When she does, her normal high school life flips upside down…once she meets Hanako-kun, who is a boy.
This is not the first time I’ve read Aidalro’s Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun. I once picked it up on a whim digitally due to its price and colorful looking cover. That said, I didn’t have much expectations for it until I read it. Whatever I did think about it originally was shattered. Not only does this manga combine the occult and supernatural mysteries with creativity, its blend of humor and stylish drawings make it a really fun, intriguing read.
The story of Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun is thought out well. It introduces Nene as someone who decides nothing is more important than getting into a relationship and sticking it to the person who rejected her. But her expectations are flipped when, after the rumors of Hanako was that the ghost was a girl, it turns out that ghost in the toilet is a boy. And then that ghost happens to offer normal/hilarious solutions to her current issue, which manages to include a very beat-up looking dating book. Frustrated, everything changes when Nene swallows a mermaid’s scales at the behest of Hanako, and not surprisingly everything goes wrong in her attempt to woo the person she “loves”. But when this problem is resolved, she has to pay for it — and that means becoming Hanako’s human assistant.
The mix of the occult and comedy works well because of the lure of the Seven Mysteries and Aidalro’s drawing style. Hanako has been charged with maintaining the balance of humans and supernaturals at the school, and that means also doing his best to change any rumors involving any of the mysteries that occur. With Nene showing up and being able to bridge the gap, we get a nice set of stories and interesting designs — we can have the general wacky expression from Hanako or Nene’s face when she falls in love with a hot boy, and yet also see a grotesque looking creature and gorgeous and creepy looking backgrounds — that makes it fun to read.
While I did read the first volume digitally, I also watched the anime. So revisiting this in print form reminded me again of how engaging this is. Obviously the anime took advantage and made the series even more stellar visually, but the manga also looks really great as well. Combine all of that and what these characters will have to deal with down the line, Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun is a manga that’s fun and worth your time in any format.