Folklore Studies
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TRUTH IS STRANGER THAN FICTION... Naoya Fukamachi is a university studentwhose ability to infallibly detect lies has lefthim friendless and isolated. When he writes apaper about a strange festival he wandered intoas a child, though, he catches the fancy of hisfolklore studies professor, Akira Takatsuki, ahandsome and eccentric man with a passion forall things mysterious. Soon, Naoya finds himselfworking as Akira’s assistant, helping him interpretan array of unexplainable phenomena, fromhaunted objects and cursed effigies to urbanlegends. As this odd couple continues theirinvestigations, however, Naoya realizesthat his professor has had a few bizarrechildhood experiences of his own...
Featured Series
3 primary booksAssociate Professor Akira Takatsuki's Conjecture is a 3-book series with 3 primary works first released in 2023 with contributions by Mikage Sawamura.
Reviews with the most likes.
Excuse me, what did I just read. I'm shook.
Format read: Ebook (Kindle)
Reading time: 3-4h
Tags: mystery, adventure, translation, friendship, found family, psychological, supernatural
Own a copy: no, but I'm going to change that very soon
Reread likelihood: 10/10
What did the world look like, reflected in those eyes that held the night? (p. 164)
Summary
Review
It's usually the human mind that turns specters into specters and gives birth to monsters. ... We try to define the world through interpretation so that we can put it into terms we can understand. (p.83)
The Neighbor Who Shouldn't Exist
The Girl Who Spits Up Needles
The House to Another World
There was no warping. Naoya heard it with surprising directness. It was like a single ray of white light shining through the muddy, stagnant air. His voice was crystal clear. ... But there was something Naoya couldn't quite put his finger on. Why did the sound of that voice make him feel like he could breathe easier? (p.17-18)
There was no warping in the professor's voice, and Naoya could tell everything he said was sincere. He genuinely wanted to keep Naoya by his side. “I don't want to stop working with you. I want you to continue being my assistant.” Takatsuki's voice was soft, pleasant, and perfectly honest. His smile was like a bright, cloudless sky... Even though the night sky was hidden behind his eyes. Suddenly, the urge to bare everything within Naoya's soul to Takatsuki reared up from the depths of his heart. (p. 94)
Maybe Takatsuki was a fallen angel. Because the invitation to join him was like being tempted by the devil. Telling Naoya, who thought he would be alone forever, that there was someone just like him right there? How could he resist that? (p. 227)