The anime Dark Gathering, which will begin airing in July 2023, is based on the manga currently being serialized in Jump Square. It's a horror and suspense story! But it's not just that; it also involves battling terrifying evil spirits at various haunted locations, weakening them, capturing them, and strengthening them to fight again. Let's take a look at this unique horror story, Dark Gathering!
Dark Gathering Overview!
The series is serialized in Jump Square. The author is Kenichi Kondo. The series began serialization in 2019, and as of March 2023, 11 volumes of the manga have been released. The genre is shounen manga, horror, and suspense. An anime adaptation is scheduled to begin in summer 2023, produced by OLM. The title "Dark Gathering" refers to the insect poisoning ritual performed by one of the main characters in the story.
A Brief Summary of Dark Gathering!
Gentogawa Keitaro, a psychic medium who is naturally drawn to spirits, has become a recluse due to his condition. However, with the support of his family, he has managed to temporarily reintegrate into society. To rehabilitate her hikikomori (social withdrawal), she attempts to attend university and work part-time as a tutor. Her tutor, however, turns out to be Takarazuki Yayoi, the cousin of her childhood friend Takarazuki Eiko!
Synopsis Part 2
Yoyoi is a genius, boasting an IQ of 160 despite only being in the second grade of elementary school. She's also a dangerous young girl, visiting dangerous haunted places, capturing deadly evil spirits, and collecting them in her room. Yayoi's goal is to defeat the powerful supernatural entity "Kuon," which has abducted her mother's spirit, and rescue her. To accomplish this, she captures evil spirits and poisons them in her room (dark gathering), creating powerful evil spirits that she plans to use to defeat Kuon.
Synopsis Part 3
After Hotarutaro is forced to accompany Yayoi on a tour of haunted spots as a decoy to attract extreme spirits, he teams up with Yayoi to tour haunted spots around the country with the goal of learning how to protect himself from spiritual beings and creating an evil spirit powerful enough to devour the powerful curse placed on him and Eiko.
Dark Gathering is a seriously scary horror!!
In the world of Dark Gathering, deadly evil spirits exist as a matter of course, and the protagonists experience repeated terrifying experiences that could lead to their deaths if they make a mistake. The power and haunting of the evil spirits are no joke, and they're truly terrifying! This relentless horror film features a plethora of heart-wrenching demons, and the protagonists often come close to death! They must face these demons with wisdom, knowledge, and courage!
WARNING: GRAVITY! There are scenes of blood and organs being splattered.
This is a horror film, and there have been deaths at haunted locations. The evil spirits' hauntings are often filled with bizarre scenes, including blood and organs being splattered, people's personalities being taken over by evil spirits, and being turned into meatballs and eaten. There are also many vivid and gory curses that are so graphic they'll haunt your dreams, so those who aren't a fan of such things may find them difficult to handle.
The characters are also all so scary!?
Not only are the evil spirits themselves incredibly scary, but the main characters who try to capture these evil spirits and pit them against each other in Pokémon battles are also completely out of their minds. The main character, Gentogawa Hotaru, is kind and naturally afraid of evil spirits, but he gets things done when he needs to, making him the perfect main character and a sensible character so far. However, the other characters are just as quirky as the evil spirits themselves, such as "a young girl who is feared by evil spirits because she captures and combines evil spirits to defeat the most powerful monsters" and "the heroine who appears sensible but is actually a paranoid stalker of the main character and keeps a constant eye on him using high-tech equipment."
Get evil spirits! Combine evil spirits! Become stronger by battling evil spirits!
What sets Dark Gathering apart from other horror games is its similarities to Pokemon, Yo-kai Watch, and Megami Tensei, in that you can collect captured evil spirits in your room, fuse them to create new ones, and keep powerful ones as your party members to fight and strengthen them. These elements are reminiscent of shonen manga, and if viewed from that perspective, the horror may be lessened and more exciting. However, the evil spirit battles also contain many gory and brutal scenes, and a game like this would definitely receive a CERO Z rating. It could be said to be a dark, violent, and evil version of Pokemon or Yo-kai Watch.
A spectacular evil spirit battle with the graduates!
In the early stages of the series, the protagonists often sealed away evil spirits on their own. However, when the number of enemy spirits skyrocketed, Yoyoi had to resort to his own trump card, and he began using the evil spirits he created through cannibalism. The gruesome battles between the powerful demons Yoyoi created are also a highlight. However, the evil spirits he created are still just that: evil spirits. Since there are no badges that obey their commands, they are terrifying beings that will seriously try to kill the protagonists if they show any weakness. However, there are also cooperative evil spirits. Yayoi cannibalizes evil spirits, creating powerful ones that are too strong to control in Yayoi's room, earning them the nickname "Graduates."
Evil spirits are merciless! Even evil spirits in human skin
The evil spirits in Dark Gathering are generally merciless in both their actions and abilities. Some are powerful gods, while others have taken over human bodies and blended into human society like parasites. Scary things, not just in horror films, are often inexplicable and unknown, but the enemy forces are not only unknown but also dangerous and seemingly uncommunicative!
[Dark Gathering] Summary
Here's a summary of the 2023 summer anime, Dark Gathering! It's a unique horror story featuring cute and likable main characters, gruesome and spine-chilling demons, and the protagonist's task of capturing, strengthening, and pitting these demons against each other! While the plot is similar to Pokémon or Yo-kai Watch, the fact that the demons are truly evil and terrifying makes it a fresh and interesting work! It's not just a simple horror story, but also has a shonen manga-like appeal, making it a highly anticipated summer anime!
