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When it comes to spin-off series based on existing manga, anime, and light novels, how well they work as a stand-alone piece is often give or take. For example, I think Rejected by the Hero’s Party is still a fun read even if you didn’t catch Banished from the Hero’s Party. Something like Bocchi the Rock! Side Story: Kikuri Hiroi’s Heavy-Drinking Diaryrequires more affection for a character from an existing work to enjoy. The Terrifying Students at Ghoul School is more like the latter, as I feel like you aren’t going to enjoy this manga unless you’re a fan of the A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School anime or manga and specific characters due to its execution. It’s interesting! But it isn’t the best at offering a standalone experience even with a premise I thought would lend itself to that.
At the outset of The Terrifying Students at Ghoul School, we’re introduced to two familiar faces. One is the mame-danuki Mamekichi Maizuka and the other the nekomata Akisame Tamao, two animal yokai at the titular Hyakki Academy. Both are freshmen as this series begins, and it’s set a year before the events of A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School. (We even see a reference to Abe Haruaki as a teacher who will be joining next year.) The two are highlighted as possible rivals and friends, despite being in different classes. So initially, we’re given hints as to the trickster nature of Mame and the more obstinate elements of Akisame.
Thing thing about the rest of this volume of the manga, however, is that it feels like supplemental reading for the other students and teachers we come to know in A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School. This isn’t a bad thing. For example, we know that Akisame and has a crush on Kuniko Utagawa and ends up being best friends with Rensuke Nyuudou. We see exactly how that happened and started here. We see Mame and Akisame discover Hatanaka Izuna is the kamaitachi and former delinquent firsthand. There are more background scenes establishing Miki Rintarou, as he’s the homeroom teacher for Mame. We also get a teaser for all of Mame’s siblings early on when he shows Aya Hatanaka their picture.
It’s the way the chapters are executed that keep it from having the The Terrifying Students at Ghoul School from having the same sort of cohesive nature and progression as A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School or stand-alone manga. Yes, it is telling stories from Mame and Akisame’s first year. But it’s more like glimpses that are offering excuses to introduce certain characters, feature important moments that were hinted at in the main series, and elaborate in ways that don’t offer a set storyline we see continue from one chapter to another. At times, I thought it could feel more like a collection of one-shots that happened to take place before the events of the main series.
Again, there’s nothing wrong with that! The Terrifying Students at Ghoul School feels like a great complement to A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School, but does feel like it needs the context of that manga and anime. Without it, there’s a lot of character establishment that feels like it is missing here. Many moments feel like if you jump in without knowing, you’re missing a lot of the reasons why it is interesting to see a certain person or learn exactly how certain events went. But if you do have that background, it’s quite fun.
Volume 1 of The Terrifying Students at Ghoul School is available now via Yen Press, and there’s no estimated release date for the second one yet.
