Meido Daigaku Genzou Seminar - Vol. 1 Ch. 2.4 - FILE 2: Mother River Mystery ④

[MangaDex]

 

[zawarudo]

I like the thematic consistency here. There is an implication that the (so far, shown to be very physical) power and nature of phantoms can diminish as observers learn more about them. It is almost like how you'd think a cellphone is a magical device if you do not have even the most basic understanding of the concepts behind it, and by learning how a cellphone works you are "dispelling" the magic it has over you. This reminds me of the Kyougokudou novels where the main character, supposedly an exorcist, is actually an atheist who doesn't even believe in the existence of the supernatural, and constantly preaches that the supernatural is basically a shorthand to explain away things that are not yet fully understood. And thus, when solving the cases he is faced with, he does it with ritualistic methods and calls it a legitimate exorcism - because he is trying to defeat the "demons" in the human heart. It's a shame that only some of the novels (and the manga adaptations by Aki Shimizu) are available in English.

 

[friendly]

Excited to see more of this story, especially since it seems like these researchers have stayed alive pretty well for a pretty long time.... thank you for your work!