Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun Vol. 9 Review – Is This Fantasy

By now, you’ve probably assumed you’ve seen everything that Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun has to offer in terms of hijinx and drama. However, Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun Vol. 9 takes almost a Marvel-level approach to delivering a mysterious new arc in which the ghost students are now actual students within Kamome Academy.

Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun Vol. 9 is almost a dream in which everything is perfect. Yashiro rushes off to school as if it were any other day, but upon entering, realizes that a new student is in her class, Hanako, but more specifically, it’s Amane. However, nothing seems off about this for the other students; in fact, it’s almost normal for them. They reminisce on memories and growing up with Amane as if he’s been there the entire time.

Yashiro finds out that Minamoto is the only other person who isn’t blind to this strange new reality. Moreover, we learn that Amane’s brother Tsukasa and even Mitsuba are attending the school, and not in their ghostly form. For the remainder of the day, the two try to solve the mystery, but things get more complicated even though they dought their understanding of the situation.

During these first few chapters, there are some incredible high-action scenes as the two characters almost fight back against the altered reality. However, their facial expressions and skepticism cause them to be put on the spot by their classmates, who think this is completely normal. Sure, something is going on here, and it’s about to get worse for the duo, but I love how these chapters attempt to cast doubt on even your understanding of the narrative.

It’s a great way to shake up ane staleness in the cast and keep you on your toes as the readers. These school mysteries aren’t going to make it easy to live in this world, and their power is stronger than we could have imagined. However, it’s bittersweet in a way as we know it’s wrong, but seeing the smiles on the faces of Amane, Tsukasa, and Mitsuba is almost enough to just accept it all. I would’ve liked if the story slowed down a bit more on the scenes where Yashiro almost accepts this version of Amane just to make the final chapter a little tougher on the reader, but there’s still plenty of time for that.

The illustrations are incredible for every panel. There are bold lines used to accentuate that character’s clothing and features. Aidalro uses a style that highlights this incredible design choice by playing with over-the-top scenes that are still grounded in reality. It’s a cartoonish approach that comes off mature in a way but still leaves room for fun.

Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun Vol. 9 is such a great volume as it takes the reader on a unique adventure that they may not have been expecting. It holds this information from readers so you can discover the secret alongside Yashiro and Minamoto, which paces out the chapters nicely. There’s a tough cliffhanger at the end and a lot to look forward to in Volume 10, but this is a brilliant setup.