Kaoru Kanzaki

Phantom Busters is a ghost-hunting school comedy based on a manga by the artist Neoshoco. It first appeared as a one-shot story in Shueisha's Jump SQ.Rise in 2022. A full series then began in the monthly magazine Jump Square in August 2023, and Viz Media publishes it in English. The manga did very well with readers. It ranked fourth in AnimeJapan's 2025 poll of manga that fans most wanted to see as anime, and it placed second on a 2025 list of comics recommended by bookstore staff across Japan. An anime version was announced in September 2026 and is planned for 2027. Toho Animation Studio is making it, with Chika Nagaoka as director and Takahiro Kishida and Rina Iwamoto designing the characters. The story takes place at Ryuoh High School in Kamakura, a city by the sea south of Tokyo. Eugene Korekishi is a top student of British background. He is sure that ghosts and spirits are not real. Then he meets Mogari Shishikuno, a young exorcist in training. An exorcist is a person who drives away evil spirits. Mogari comes from a long family line of spirit mediums, people who can sense and speak with the dead. He is honest and full of energy, but he often rushes into danger without thinking. The two form a school club called the Paranormal Research Club, which they nickname the Phantom Busters. The club fights evil spirits, but it needs more members. Kaoru Kanzaki joins them. He can see ghosts, and that gift has caused him a lot of trouble in his life. The next boy they want is Kotaro Tamon, a classmate. Kotaro can speak with the dead with no problem, but talking to normal, living people is very hard for him. He gets nervous and shy around others. Bringing Kotaro into the club means the team has to help him face his fear of people, not just fight spirits. This mix is what makes the show stand out. It is a supernatural action story with ghosts, curses, and exorcism. At the same time, it is a funny school club story full of silly jokes and odd, surreal moments. Under the laughs, it is also a gentle story about friendship and about young people who feel different finding a place where they fit in. Each member has a different way of dealing with the spirit world, and their clashing personalities give the group its charm. Phantom Busters should suit viewers who like light horror mixed with comedy, and anyone who enjoys stories about a small group of misfits becoming friends.