Dark Gathering, which will be made into an anime starting in July 2023, is a story about a group of people who travel to haunted locations for a certain purpose and collect extremely scary evil spirits that can easily kill people. It's a high-quality horror story in which seriously scary evil spirits mercilessly try to kill people at the places they visit, but it's also a Pokemon-like story in which they capture and combine these evil spirits to create even more seriously scary spirits. Today, we'd like to introduce the main character of Dark Gathering, Gentogawa Hotarutaro!
Gentougawa Keitaro... Extremely Psychic Mediumship Leads to Reclusion
The protagonist, Gentougawa Keitaro, is extremely psychic mediumship. In middle school, he became a recluse after a spiritual disturbance befell him and dragged his friends into it. He remained reclusive for several years, but with the understanding and support of those around him, he successfully reintegrated into society. Upon entering university, he began working part-time as a private tutor. However, an encounter with Takarazuki Yoyoi, a genius elementary school student, during his tutoring assignment would dramatically change his destiny.
Meet the other main character, Takarazuki Yoyoi, and visit haunted spots!
Keitaro is assigned as a tutor to the home of Takarazuki Eiko, his childhood friend who also provides support for reintegration into society. There, he meets Takarazuki Yoyoi, Eiko's cousin and a genius elementary school student who is staying with them. Although Yoyoi is only an elementary school student, she is such a genius that it makes you wonder if she even needs a tutor. What's more, Yayoi is even more psychic than Keitaro, a dangerous man who keeps a collection of dangerous evil spirits in his room. Yayoi takes notice of Keitaro's psychic abilities and begins taking him to haunted spots.
The heroine, Takarazuki Eiko, is a serious stalker! But isn't she scarier than ghosts?
The heroine, Takarazuki Eiko, is childhood friends and they like each other. However, Keitaro becomes reclusive after getting Eiko involved in a spiritual disturbance he experienced in middle school. Although they pursued different career paths, they were not estranged, and her support was a catalyst for Keitaro's return to society. However, Eiko's true nature? She is a severe stalker of Keitaro, with photos of Keitaro plastered all over her room and even eavesdropping and taking secret photos.
What is Gentouga Keitaro's personality? Is he a loner, but strong when he sets his mind to it?
As a hikikomori (recluse) due to special circumstances, he has a gloomy and timid personality. He's a genuine and kind-hearted person who seems like the type who would be the first to die if he encountered a paranormal phenomenon, but in reality, even when he's scared, he thinks things through clearly, makes calm decisions, and acts with determination. He grows as he travels to haunted spots, and with Yoi's support, he even becomes able to capture spirits.
A former hikikomori, but a genius who ranked first on his university entrance exam! But does that setting really matter?
Despite being a former hikikomori who couldn't attend high school properly, Keitaro is a genius who ranked first on his university entrance exam and became the representative freshman class. However, his genius status isn't fully utilized, and he doesn't draw attention to himself for ranking first in the university entrance exam. While his genius status seems almost a deadly setting, even in scenes where he's haunted and terrified to the point of near death at a haunted spot, he still demonstrates his natural intelligence, carefully analyzing and dealing with the situation.
The protagonist is an evil spirit bait! Let's get evil spirits together with Yayoi!
Keitaro's extremely powerful spiritual mediumship makes him an easy target for evil spirits. This special constitution suits Yoyoi, who wants to capture evil spirits, and she is regularly taken to extremely scary haunted spots. Yoyoi herself is a powerful medium, but because she is a dangerous little girl who captures evil spirits in her room, makes them fight, and poisons them, ordinary evil spirits are afraid of her and cannot use her as a decoy.
Love fear? It's scary, but Keitaro still visits haunted spots.
After meeting Yoi, he began touring haunted spots. Despite numerous near-death experiences, each one almost poisoning his mind, he still follows Yoi around without refusing. Eiko points out that the reason is that he loves and enjoys fear. However, he also has a kind-hearted personality, as he can't just leave Yoi alone, or Eiko, who usually follows him around.
Is visiting haunted spots to break the curse?!
Even though Keitaro is scared, there's another reason he visits haunted spots. After meeting Yayoi, he learns that she is gathering and fusing evil spirits to create even stronger ones, and that she ultimately intends to use the power of the evil spirits she has gathered to defeat the powerful monster that took his mother's spirit. Keitaro also has goals: he might be able to create an evil spirit that can devour his curse, and he wants to gain a means to counter the spiritual attacks that befall him.
He learns how to deal with spirits from his grandmother! His grandmother is the head priest of Awamiya Shrine!
Keitaro's grandmother is the priest of Awamiya Shrine in Wakayama Prefecture, and is also knowledgeable about dealing with spirits. Keitaro, who is a medium, was able to return to society largely because his grandmother taught him how to deal with spirits. Keitaro regularly visits the shrine to deal with his own curse. Awamiya Shrine is a real shrine located in Wakayama City, Wakayama Prefecture, and is a popular spot for doll memorial services.
A curse from my junior high school days! The contents of the glove are exposed nerves!?
Due to a spiritual disturbance he experienced in junior high, Keitaro is still cursed to this day with exposed nerves in his right hand that continue to grow. As a result, he regularly visits his grandmother's shrine to undergo surgical procedures to remove the nerves under anesthesia while suppressing the curse. Eiko Takatsuki also suffers from the same curse, which led Keitaro to close himself off and become a recluse.
【Dark Gathering】Gentouga Keitaro Summary
Here's a summary of Gentouga Keitaro, the protagonist of the summer anime Dark Gathering, which will air starting in July. Dark Gathering is a horror story that depicts the terrifying experiences of truly terrifying evil spirits, but it also has elements similar to Pokemon battles, where evil spirits are captured and crossbred to create even stronger ones that then fight. It can also be seen as a serious Pokemon horror story, so it's highly recommended for anyone who loves horror and Pokemon!
