Helen ESP is a supernatural slice of life manga by Katsuhisa Kigitsuhttps://anilist.co/staff/101647/KatsuhisaKigitsu the creator of another series called Franken Franhttps://anilist.co/manga/35806/FrankenFran/. As Franken Fran ended up one of my utmost favorite manga I went into this sole other fully translated Katsuhisa Kigitsu manga with some pretty high expectations. 440https://i.ur.com/lUvv92M.png And thankfully despite not being of the horror genre and being quite dissimilar to Franken Fran in general my expectations were pretty much met. Even if I didnt necessarily think that was going to be the case at the start. I cant stress this enough even if your opinion of Franken Fran isnt quite as luminescent as mine is that manga is bursting at the seams with content. Sometimes literally. As in... well its a very gory series... that was the jok I dont know why I thought that this wouldnt be the case with this one as well when I saw it wasnt horror but my worries were completely misplaced. One of the key similarities that Helen ESP does possess is that just like Franken Fran the entire series is centered around one character. 440https://i.ur.com/rxIKLam.png Helen Takahara La Guido This series is centered around a once perfectly ordinary girl following a terribly tragic car accident and her day to day life now that she has lost her sight her hearing and her speech. 440https://i.ur.com/iH1Dbq3.png But as life changing and horrible that car accident had been she also soon found that this event did not simply cause her to just lose things. She gained something as well. Various supernatural abilities commonly referred to as ESP. The most common form of her power thats present throughout the entire series of course being capable to telepathically speak with her seeing eye dog Victor. She of course has numerous runins with various spirits and supernatural beings throughout the series some of which are friendly but of course some that are incredibly dangerous 440https://i.ur.com/92d5sIF.png I dont wish to continue bringing up Franken Fran but on the expanding Katsuhisa Kigitsu morality chart if Fran Madaraki is a chaotic neutral character Helen is most certainly lawful good through and through. The differences between the two protagonists are wonderful. Helen helps pretty much everyone she meets for free Fran not only charges you but also theres a pretty decent chance youll regret seeking her help the moment you find yourself on the operating table. Despite the tremendous misfortune shes befallen Helen remains a warm purehearted girl who is more than willing to help even strangers for nothing in return. Even when its somebody telepathically communicating to her in the dead of night. 440https://i.ur.com/6LsEsNx.png Even if its a demon. Even if its a strangely large hulking delinquent who got into so many fights that one of his victims returned armed with a crossbow. Even if its a flower fairy that increasingly becomes more and more selfish to the only person who can see it and thus protect it from say a storm. Even if its a boy whos fallen into a coma after being caught in a fire and after meeting Helen ends up trying to convince her to follow him to the world of the dead and suggests that even after recovering from her accident her life has no worth and shell be unable to find happiness 440https://i.ur.com/wUidwFY.png ...Okay she wasnt actively trying to help in that last instance but getting smacked with the full weight of Helens continually growing powers ended up causing the boy to actually wake up from his coma. Even while absolutely furious after having some of the worst stuff said to her in the entire series Helen cant stop helping others. But this series isnt solely just episodic stories about Helen helping various people and beings. We of course get glimpses of the accident that robbed Helen of her senses and her family as well as the unfortunate and immediate aftermath of it. As well as Helens initial struggles towards rehabilitation... 440https://i.ur.com/N8olXsa.png 440https://i.ur.com/1353ZNr.png She even starts going to school again partway through the series which is nice. Its always nice for a character to actually undergo deserved personal growth. But I think hands down my favorite part of this series is definitely Victor Helens seeing eye dog. 440https://i.ur.com/T7KJ5Lt.png Which is odd because Im very much not a dog person. His relationship with Helen and his worried reactions to some of the recklessly selfless things she does throughout the series is great. Or when he becomes worried that Helen will be burned at the stake as a witch if the world finds out that shes able to fly. 440https://i.ur.com/kchnado.png 880https://i.ur.com/R4kwUVb.png ... ...Oh and also because this is a Katsuhisa Kigitsu manga and we had to have an insect chapter Helen also at one point becomes embroiled in a war between two opposing nations of ants after having sold both sides valuable military tactics and ideas. 440https://i.ur.com/o7u69Tn.png Conclusion Could it be argued that I like Helen ESP as much as I do because Im biased as a result of how much I absolutely love his older and now resurrectedhttps://anilist.co/manga/108262/FrankenFranFrantic series? Yes. Does that change anything? Nope. 440https://i.ur.com/vfx5xgA.png As far as Im concerned Helen ESP is as good as Franken Fran and due to the fact that they arent of the same genre I dont have to feel conflicted over liking both equally. Additionally the existence of Helen ESP gives me the ability to recommend people who dont like gore/horror a Katsuhisa Kigitsu manga. Which is pretty cool. As I just said I like Helen ESP as much as I do Franken Fran there is of course only one score I can give it. A 10 out of 10. 500https://i.ur.com/324H3a9.png