Ghost of Undecimber

Ghost of Undecimber, known in Japan as 13 Gatsu no Yūrei (Japanese: 13月のゆうれい, Hepburn: Jūsan Gatsu no Yūrei, "The Ghost of the Thirteenth Month"), is a manga series created by Suzume Takano [ja]. Shōdensha serialized it in their josei manga magazine Feel Young from January 8, 2015, to December 8, 2016, and released it across two collected tankōbon volumes in 2016–2017.

Ghost of Undecimber
Volume 1 cover art, depicting Kiri (left) and Neri
13月のゆうれい (Jūsan Gatsu no Yūrei)
Manga
Written by	Suzume Takano [ja]
Published by	Shōdensha
Imprint	Feel Comics Swing
Magazine	Feel Young
Demographic	Josei
Original run	January 8, 2015 – December 8, 2016
Volumes	2 (List of volumes)

The story follows a love triangle involving Neri, a woman who dislikes being feminine; Kiri, a cross-dressing man; and Suō, an otherwise heterosexual man who finds Kiri attractive. The series was critically well received for its themes of questioning gender roles, and was selected as one of the recommended works at the Japan Media Arts Festival in 2018.

Premise

Ghost of Undecimber follows Neri (ネリ), a woman who dislikes cute things and is uncomfortable with being feminine; Kiri (キリ), her twin brother who only feels at ease when cross-dressing in cute and feminine outfits; and Suō (周防), Kiri's roommate.^[1] A love triangle develops as Neri becomes attracted to Suō, who in turn finds Kiri attractive when wearing women's clothes, despite otherwise not being attracted to men.^[2][3]

Production and release

Ghost of Undecimber was written and drawn by Suzume Takano [ja], and was serialized irregularly by Shōdensha in their josei manga magazine Feel Young from January 8, 2015, until December 8, 2016.^[2][4][5] They have also released it in two collected tankōbon volumes in 2016–2017 under their imprint Feel Comics Swing,^[6] which include an additional chapter each that was not part of the magazine serialization.^[2] Takano struggled with the schedule of the serialization, submitting each chapter to the publisher close to the deadline, and then went back to touch up the art for the release of the collected editions;^[7] the final chapter was particularly difficult, as one of Takano's family members died while she was in the middle of producing it.^[4]

Volumes

No.	Release date	ISBN
1	February 8, 2016^[8]	978-4396766658
Chapter 1–7 "Another Scene"
2	March 8, 2017^[9]	978-4396767013
Chapter 8–14 "Another Scene"

Reception

Ghost of Undecimber was critically well received. It was chosen as one of the jury's recommended manga at the 21st edition of the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs' Japan Media Arts Festival in 2018,^[10] it was one of the featured books at the Kumazawa feminist book fair in 2018,^[11] and both volumes were included in Kono Manga ga Sugoi!'s daily recommended manga feature.^[1][12]

Kono Manga ga Sugoi found the love triangle and surrounding drama intriguing, and described it as something that kept them reading.^[1] They liked the story's portrayal of fashion as not only something fun, but also as a way to deal with reality, and the comparisons it makes to Cinderella.^[1] The Kumazawa book fair liked the series for its "deep characters" and discussion of gender roles,^[11] something Kono Manga ga Sugoi! also enjoyed, including the complexity and irony surrounding how Neri and Kiri relate to looking nearly identical but having different personalities and genders.^[12] Translator Jocelyne Allen also liked many of the series' themes, such as "awkward romance" and questioning of gender roles, as well as the minimalist ligne claire artwork, but did not find it to live up to its potential, wishing that Kiri did not cross-dress only because of past trauma and finding this to work against the story.^[13] Kono Manga ga Sugoi! liked the ending, calling it both impactful and hopeful.^[12]

References

1. Iguchi, Keiko (2016-03-14). "『13月のゆうれい』第1巻 高野雀 【日刊マンガガイド】". Kono Manga ga Sugoi! (in Japanese). Takarajimasha. from the original on 2022-02-15. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
2. "新鋭・高野雀、女×男×女装男子の三角関係描く「13月のゆうれい」1巻". Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. 2016-02-08. from the original on 2022-02-15. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
3. "高野雀「13月のゆうれい」完結巻、女・男・女装男子による三角関係の運命は". Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. 2017-03-08. from the original on 2022-02-15. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
4. Takano, Suzume (2016-12-08). "『13月のゆうれい』最終回がフィールヤング1月号に掲載されます" (in Japanese). from the original on 2022-02-16. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
5. "フィール・ヤング編集部 on Twitter". Feel Young (in Japanese). Shōdensha. 2015-01-08. from the original on 2022-02-24. Retrieved 2022-02-24 – via Twitter.
6. "13月のゆうれい 1". Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. from the original on 2022-02-17. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
7. Takano, Suzume (2017-03-01). "『13月のゆうれい』第二巻発売のお知らせ" (in Japanese). from the original on 2022-02-15. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
8. "【2月8日付】本日発売の単行本リスト". Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. 2016-02-08. from the original on 2022-02-15. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
9. "【3月8日付】本日発売の単行本リスト". Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. 2017-03-08. from the original on 2022-02-15. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
10. "13月のゆうれい". Japan Media Arts Festival (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. 2018. from the original on 2019-02-12. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
11. Hidani, Reiko (2018-06-04). "フェミニズムの本は売れない？（後半：男性が女性の苦境を語る困難を乗り越える――くまざわ書店ペリエ千葉本店磯前大地さん）". HuffPost (in Japanese). BuzzFeed. from the original on 2022-02-15. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
12. Iguchi, Keiko (2017-04-08). "『13月のゆうれい』 第2巻 高野雀 【日刊マンガガイド】". Kono Manga ga Sugoi! (in Japanese). Takarajimasha. from the original on 2022-02-15. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
13. Allen, Jocelyne (2016-04-29). "13 Gatsu no Yurei: Suzume Takano". Brain Vs. Book. from the original on 2020-05-16. Retrieved 2022-02-24.