Dark Gathering

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Lenni Reviews: “Dark Gathering” Vol. 17, by Kenichi Kondō

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Now, we are in the final stage against Yin Jiao with one graduate left to face the god’s wrath. But even if they prevail, there are still greater threats around our main cast.

I have to wonder how the stakes will rise higher than “defeat a god’ but let’s go for it! I love this series! Tama’s backstory and association with the same curse that afflicted Ai, as well as Ai’s family history with the entity, is a great story. I love this deep dive into all the lore around this god. Now, the focus shifts to the spirits stealing bodies and going after the spirit that took Yayoi’s mother. These characters are so entertaining and I can’t wait to see what happens next. 4.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Dark Gathering” Vol. 16, by Kenichi Kondō

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Yayoi’s plan (Operation Bellflower Regicide) reaches its final stage. Now, the graduates must to their part to weaken and destroy the god to save Ai.

Even though this volume stops to expound or flashback a lot, this battle does not disappoint. I actually started to feel bad for some of the spirits that didn’t make it. We’ve spent so much time with them at this point that it was a shame that some necessary sacrifices were inevitable in the fight. It’s amazing to see everything Yayoi has experienced and fought for coming together in a fantastically illustrated battle. This was so satisfying, even though it’s clearly not over. 4.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Dark Gathering” Vol. 15, by Kenichi Kondō

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Yayoi has begun her assault on Yin Jiao while Eiko and Keitaro fight the god’s shikigami and recover the scattered graduates.

Yup, The Courtesean is still my favorite. It would be so interesting to have her and The Soldier working in tandem, given the unique suffering between them. What we got of them in this volume is phenomenal. Yayoi’s preparations and tactics built up over all this time are coming to fruition like dominoes falling. It’s beautiful and terrifying and I fucking love it. I know this is animated now and I can’t wait to see this absolute fabulousness actually move. 5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Dark Gathering” Vol. 14, by Kenichi Kondō

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

With all the sites claimed, Yayoi, Keitaro, and Eiko prepare for a showdown with Yin Jiao. Their plan is in place, but this vicious god has incredible strength.

Yeah, this turned out to be as intense as I thought it would be. The art for the spirits is still 10 out of 10 terrifying and interesting to look at when you get into the details of their designs. The fights are awesome! We’ve been building up to this for so many volumes, and so far, I feel it’s paying off. Yayoi is so fucking clever and Yin Jiao lives up to all the hype behind him. I don’t even wanna say much other than just go read this. It’s horror gold. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Dark Gathering” Vol. 13, by Kenichi Kondō

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Kei and Eiko release Black Asura to save Yayoi and dispel the amassed spirits, but there is a much more powerful force working against them.

It’s about time some other priests got involved. All these horrifying entities out there, and it’s taken 13 volumes for more people to get involved. Aside for the spirits our group has been facing, the ultimate showdown is to face a GOD, and our main cast shouldn’t have to face that alone. As usual, the creature designs are shiver-inducing and I am excited to see what fresh new horrors we’ll see when the final battle happens. It was interesting to see the original concept for the start of this series as an add-on at the end, but I would have rather had more of the story. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Dark Gathering” Vol. 12, by Kenichi Kondō

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Yayoi, Eiko, and Keitaro face the Spirit of F Park and with her defeated, only one more site remains.

It looks like Keitaro is finally having some reservations about Eiko’s reactions to the terrifying things happening to them.

(This is not the face of a normal person)

The backstory of the granny F Park spirit is just so fucking tragic. I mean, most of these spirits do, since they’re even still lingering in the first place, but they really went deep with this one; one tragedy after another. 

As soon as the group decided “Oh, let’s speed run this” I knew it was gonna be a shitshow and I was not disappointed. This last creature is so horrid to look at and is diabolical. The body count in this book is off the charts. This volume is a standout in the horror tension of this series. Very well done. 5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Dark Gathering” Vol. 11, by Kenichi Kondō

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Keitaro is infected with a fungal curse and Yayoi must find the source before it kills him.

By the end of this, three of the needed power spots have been claimed but we get some interesting side visitors that gives more lore to chew on. With all this ‘kill a god’ stuff going on, Keitaro’s cursed hand got pushed to the back burner in my brain so to have that brought back into play was very interesting and again, very awesome creature designs. The old lady with the baby dolls is fucking awful in the best way. She’s just terrible to have to look at. It feels like there’s more forward momentum in the overall plot, which I like. I’m dying to know what’s going on. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Dark Gathering” Vol. 10, by Kenichi Kondō

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Things are difficult as the group deals with the dangerous spirit of A Dam. Keitaro is taken and Eiko and Yayoi must track him down and rescue him before he is consumed.

Our ticking clock here is Yayoi and company only have until Ai eventually has to leave the hospital. And while it’s disturbing to see the lingering effects of being captured, possessed and otherwise having to deal with the spirit of the dam, this spirit is also kinda whiny. Hideous and scary, but whiny. The focus shifting a bit toward Keitaro here while on the mission to claim these powerpoints breaks up that main goal without feeling like it takes away from helping Ai; more like a side effect of it. I love the increasing danger and implications of what these spirits can do. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Dark Gathering” Vol. 9, by Kenichi Kondō

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Yayoi and her friends are trapped at school by a dangerous spirit forcing them to play a deadly game of dream tag and Yayoi has only one spirit of her own to fight back with. After overcoming this challenge, Yayoi prepares to face the god that has laid claim to Ai.

Dorothy is awful. Just, horrid and I can’t wait for her to get far, far away from everyone in the cast. Other than that, Yayoi’s plan is wild but it kinda disappointed me that this volume felt like another round of fetch quests before we get to fighting this god. I liked it before because it was gathering these powerful spirits to face the god and each one was unique and terrifying. This time it felt more like padding to me. The spirit designs are still creepy and they’re a menace so it’s not all bad. 3.7 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Dark Gathering” Vol. 8, by Kenichi Kondō

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Faced with the powerful spirit of a murdered child, Yayoi, Keitaro, and Eiko bring forth Otogiri: The Soul Stealing Courtesan to subdue him; a spirit so powerful, Yayoi may not be able to reel her back in. Also, a new student – Dorothy – arrives at Yayoi’s school and quickly puts her friends and classmates in danger.

As usual, the spirits are scary. The art is very effective at making them look terrifying or just WRONG. Even when the Courtesan is all smiling and coy, there’s still just something not right about her. Same goes for Dorothy. She’s villain coded in every scene she’s in. Very creepy and entertaining. Trigger warning for child death in this one. 4.5 out of 5.

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