I rate manga relative to each other with 50 being average 60 a bit above etc. A 68 does not mean I dislike this series. In/Spectre is the story of Kotoko Iwanaga a oneeyed onelegged girl who serves as an emissary to yokai and her duly appointed boyfriend/bodyguard Kuro who has some control over the future and immortality after eating supernatural flesh. Told through what are mostly short mysteries the series follows their attempt to solve supernatural incidents without revealing the involvement of yokai to the world. The idea of making up to a solution to a case is one thats not often explored in mystery series which is a shame. In/Spectre does a fantastic job with the concept for the most part often feeling less like a deduction and more of a battle of wits. Particularly in the longer arcs that force Kotoko to both figure out the situation and fabricate a solution it gives the series a thrilleresque air of tension that makes the close of each arc extremely satisfying. The quality of the cases themselves varies. The mix of longer arcs and short volumelength cases gives the series a nice pace but some of the shorter arcs feel a bit incomplete due to their length especially when the deduction/making up a solution is often a pretty large chunk of the arc. The longer arcs manage to do a much better job managing to be both mysteries and having an invented solution which makes them extremely fun reads. Despite the varying quality of the shorter cases they do provide a nice break in the series as selfcontained stories in about a volume and overall the mix gives the story a good pace and structure. Aside from the cases themselves the series dedicates a good amount of time to the relationship between Kotoko and Kuro. Kotoko being a childish somewhat unpredictable genius contrasts really nicely with Kuros blunt kind of dry personality and the pair work really well to give the series a fun sense of humor that gives the cases muchneeded levity. The series doesnt do much to develop them romantically but rest assured theres plenty of innuendos and sex jokes from Kotoko. And then some. As the series continues both of them have developed distinct personalities that work really well both as a buddycomedy sort of contrast and interacting with side characters and the side characters despite not tending to be particularly explored are fairly distinct and give each case a lot of unique flavor. Overall the cast is pretty well done. The art is spectacular. Aside from just being generally good at times the artstyle switches to a more heavily shaded style that lends a lot of scenes a more thrilleresque look. Its a lot like the look many mystery manga use for murder scenes but its used in a way that gives large parts of arcs more tension and works exceedingly well within the series. As for the negatives as I mentioned earlier some of the shorter arcs feel incomplete and could sorely use a bit more time to flesh out the side characters and the case. I get that theyre essentially breathers in between longer cases but itd be nice if they could match the longer cases quality. The series is also a bit of a slower read in general both due to the way that chapters are structured some of them being 5090 pages and some dialogue heavy sections. I personally had no issue with it but if youre looking for a light read this may not be the best choice. Overall In/Spectre is a unique take on mystery and a pretty fun read. The character dynamics and sense of humor make what could have been overly long dense cases fun and the cases themselves are mostly well written and satisfying mysteries. The yokai element is well woven in and overall In/Spectre is well worth the read for any mystery fan.