Dark Gathering
Ja kanjiダークギャザリング
Ja romajiDāku Gyazaringu
Genre
Dark Gathering
manga
AuthorKenichi Kondo
PublisherShueisha
ImprintJump Comics SQ.
MagazineJump Square
FirstMarch 4, 2019
Volumes19
Dark Gathering
tv series
DirectorHiroshi Ikehata
WriterShigeru Murakoshi
Music
StudioOLM Team Masuda
LicenseeSentai Filmworks
NetworkTokyo MX, BS Asahi, Kansai TV
FirstJuly 10, 2023
Episodes25

Dark Gathering (ダークギャザリング, Dāku Gyazaringu) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kenichi Kondo. It has been serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Jump Square since March 2019. An anime television series adaptation by OLM aired from July to December 2023. A second season has been announced.

By January 2026, Dark Gathering had over 2.65 million copies in circulation, including physical and digital copies.

Plot

Following a terrifying spiritual encounter, Keitaro Gentoga became a shut-in. With the help of his childhood friend Eiko Hozuki, he decides to rejoin society by attending college and working as a private tutor. His first student is Yayoi Hozuki, Eiko's cousin, an intelligent elementary schooler who is obsessed with the occult. She is hunting down and capturing dangerous ghosts in order to find the perpetrator who abducted her mother.

Characters

Keitaro Gentoga (幻燈河 螢多朗, Gentōga Keitarō)
A young man with a cursed right hand and a natural predisposition to attract ghosts to himself. As a young boy, Keitaro experienced a spiritual encounter that resulted in both him and his friend Eiko Hozuki being cursed by an unknown spirit, resulting in nerve endings growing from their hands. This traumatic event resulted in him becoming a shut-in until he was rehabilitated by Eiko. As a way to resocialize himself, he took upon Eiko's suggestion and was introduced to Yayoi as her private tutor. At present, the curse is being suppressed with the help of his grandmother, who is a shrine priestess. Eiko personally believes that although Keitaro is terrified by the supernatural, he is also enamoured by the dread that it brings. He has a mutual affection for Eiko, which he has expressed on multiple occasions.
Yayoi Hozuki (寶月 夜宵, Hōzuki Yayoi)
Keitaro's first student. She was initially a normal child, but had developed polycoria in both eyes for some unknown reason. Originally, she only saw ghosts as hazy figures. However, after an accident that left her an orphan, she was able to see ghosts clearly. During the accident, she witnessed her mother's ghost being abducted by an embryo of ghostly origins and has made it her goal to get her mother back by capturing ghosts to defeat the perpetrator. Post accident, her IQ was evaluated to be greater than 160 and her intelligence has saved herself, Keitaro, and her cousin Eiko more than once in their search for the embryo ghost.
Eiko Hozuki (寶月 詠子, Hōzuki Eiko)
Eiko is the childhood friend of Keitaro who possesses a cursed left hand as a result of being caught up in the same ordeal as Keitaro. Being in love with Keitaro since a young age to the point of a dark twisted obsession, she is immensely over-protective—wiretapping, placing hidden cameras and GPS tracking devices to stalk and monitor his vitals without his knowledge. Although Eiko has a strong foundation in computer science from her wiretapping and excellent grades at school, she opts to study folklore so that she can better understand Keitaro's struggles with the occult. She does not have a spiritual sense like Yayoi or Keitaro.
Ai Kamiyo (神代 愛依, Kamiyo Ai)
Keitaro's second student. An energetic girl with star-patterned pupils as a sign that she had been marked by a god as his bride. Due to the god's energy leaking out from the star-shaped seals in her eyes, wandering ghosts are attracted to Ai. At first, Ai appears to be a clumsy girl whose misfortune always ends up involving people around her, including her brother who died as a result of pushing her away from falling steel pylons. However, it is later revealed that this was due to the malevolent god deflecting all of Ai's misfortunes to people surrounding her to prevent his bride from being harmed. Ai is destined to die and become the god's bride on her 20th birthday.

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Kenichi Kondo, Dark Gathering has been serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Jump Square since March 4, 2019.[2] On December 4, 2024, it was announced that the manga would enter a four-month hiatus to conduct research and prepare for a new story arc; it resumed on April 4, 2025.[3] Shueisha has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on June 4, 2019.[4] As of February 4, 2026, 19 volumes have been released.[5]

At New York Comic Con 2022, Viz Media announced that they licensed the series for English publication.[6]

Anime

In July 2022, it was announced that the series would receive an anime television series adaptation.[7] It was produced by OLM and directed by Hiroshi Ikehata, with scripts written by Shigeru Murakoshi, and music composed by Kohta Yamamoto, Shun Narita, and Yūsuke Seo.[8][9] The two-consecutive cours series aired from July 10 to December 25, 2023, on Tokyo MX and other networks.[10][11][a] The opening theme song is "Kakuriyo" (幽世, 'Afterlife'), performed by Luz, while the ending theme songs are "Haiiro" (灰色, 'Gray') for the first cours, and "Intaglio" (インタリオ, Intario) for the second cours, both performed by Kana Hanazawa.[12][13][14]

Sentai Filmworks licensed the series,[15] and produced an English dub, which premiered on December 10, 2023.[16] Muse Communication licensed the series in Asia-Pacific.[17]

In October 2025, a second season was announced to be in production, with the main staff and cast returning to reprise their roles.[18]

Reception

By January 2026, the manga had over 2.65 million copies in circulation.[19] In 2020, the manga was one of the 50 nominees for the sixth Next Manga Awards in the print category.[20]

Notes

  1. ^ Tokyo MX listed the series premiere on July 9, 2023, at 25:05, which is effectively July 10 at 1:05 a.m. JST.[21]

References

  1. ^ "The Official Website for Dark Gathering". Viz Media. Archived January 31, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  2. ^ "ja:霊媒体質の2人が心霊スポットをめぐる…近藤憲一が描くSQ.のホラー新連載" (in Japanese). Comic Natalie. Natasha, Inc. March 4, 2019. Archived August 1, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  3. ^ Cayanan, Joanna (December 4, 2024). "Dark Gathering Manga Goes on 4-Month Hiatus". Anime News Network. Archived December 4, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
  4. ^ "ja:霊媒体質の大学生と天才少女が心霊スポットを巡り悪霊捕縛、近藤憲一の新作" (in Japanese). Comic Natalie. Natasha, Inc. June 4, 2019. Archived July 15, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  5. ^ "ja:【2月4日付】本日発売の単行本リスト" (in Japanese). Comic Natalie. Natasha, Inc. February 4, 2026. Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  6. ^ Loo, Egan (October 7, 2022). "Viz Publishes Chainsaw Man: Buddy Stories, Heart Gear, Dark Gathering, Wolf Girl & Black Prince, More". Anime News Network. Archived October 7, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  7. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (July 26, 2022). "Dark Gathering Horror Manga Gets TV Anime in 2023". Anime News Network. Archived July 26, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  8. ^ "ja:「ダークギャザリング」メインキャストに篠原侑・島崎信長・花澤香菜、PV第1弾公開" (in Japanese). Comic Natalie. Natasha, Inc. November 10, 2022. Archived November 11, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  9. ^ Mateo, Alex (November 10, 2022). "Dark Gathering Horror Anime Unveils Trailer, Visual, Main Cast". Anime News Network. Archived November 10, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  10. ^ Dempsey, Liam (June 23, 2023). "Dark Gathering TV Anime Prepares for a Long Run with Two-Cour [sic] Broadcast Reveal". Crunchyroll. Archived June 23, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  11. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (May 26, 2023). "Dark Gathering TV Anime Premieres on July 9". Anime News Network. Archived May 26, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  12. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (May 21, 2023). "Kana Hanazawa Performs Ending Theme for Dark Gathering Anime". Anime News Network. Archived May 21, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  13. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (June 16, 2023). "Dark Gathering Anime's 3rd Promo Video Reveals luz's Opening Theme Song". Anime News Network. Archived June 16, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  14. ^ Cayanan, Joanna (August 21, 2023). "Kana Hanazawa Performs Dark Gathering Anime's 2nd Ending Theme Song". Anime News Network. Archived August 21, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  15. ^ Pineda, Rafael (June 9, 2023). "HIDIVE Streams Dark Gathering Horror Anime This Summer". Anime News Network. Archived June 9, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  16. ^ "Want to Watch Dark Gathering Dubbed in English? Here's Everything You Need to Know". Hidive. November 30, 2023. Archived March 16, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  17. ^ Pineda, Rafael (May 12, 2023). "Muse Asia Licenses Dark Gathering, Insomniacs After School Anime". Anime News Network. Archived August 21, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  18. ^ Loo, Egan (October 28, 2025). "Dark Gathering Anime Gets 2nd Season". Anime News Network. Archived October 28, 2025 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  19. ^ Kondo, Kenichi (January 26, 2026). "ja:💀コミックス累計265万部突破！💀 #ダークギャザリング　最新19巻表紙解禁...！ 発売日は2026年2月4日（水）です。 ご予約は↓こちらから https://s-manga.net/items/contents.html?isbn=978-4-08-884853-2 太歳星君拉致監禁実行犯・夜宵に迫る新たなる脅威...！悪霊特急編が収録されておりま 👻" (in Japanese). No. 2015620723440541875. Archived January 26, 2026 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  20. ^ "ja:コミックス部門 結果発�� - 次にくるマンガ大賞 2020" (in Japanese). Tsugi Manga. Archived August 20, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  21. ^ "On'ea | Terebi Anime "Dāku Gyazaringu"" [On Air | TV Anime "Dark Gathering"] (in Japanese). darkgathering.jp. Archived June 20, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 10, 2023.

Further reading