Kemono Jihen

He's a Tanuki, hence the shapeshifting. 

Notice his likes & dislikes on the last page of ch2 & that "age: 36 in human years" (that gives it away).

I love how he just has a weird skeleton design suit that fit that kid lying in his room mmm...

"Inugami"

 

"Detective"

 

"Scruffy"

 

He's a werewolf, isn't he?

He's a Tanuki, hence the shapeshifting. 

"Inugami"

"Detective"

"Scruffy"

He's a werewolf, isn't he?

Man, if it wasn't for that "/s" I would've thought your post was serious.

Boy, you didn't put any "/s" so I don't know if your post is serious or not. Yes, this is "/s" too.

I'm certain that the mangaka will give your comment careful reading and reflection. /s

Man, if it wasn't for that "/s" I would've thought your post was serious.

A minor correction. Mono means "thing" and refers to physical objects and/or creatures. Bake refers to lesser spiritual beings not classed as kami. Generally obake is used when referring to spirits in non-corporeal form and bakemono is used to refer to spirits taking corporeal form, either through possession or just by manifesting itself physically. When the physical manifestation is recognizable as an everyday object, the object is used directly as a prefix to replace the mono suffix, hence kasa-obake. When the manifestation is an ascended/transformed animal (such as foxes, tanuki, or cats) the animal name is used as replacement for the mono suffix (bakegitsune, bakedanuki, bakeneko). It should be understood that, unlike in Western belief system, the spirits here are integral to the object or creature, so it's not an outside being taking over. Instead, a spirit forms inside an object or creature and transforms it into something else.

 

Mononoke is a specific category of beings generally not considered as Bakemono. Mononoke are classed as kami who have a physical manifestation and can interact directly with humans. Tengu, for instance, are mononoke. However, in Shintoism the spirits of humans also become kami, and because kami who don't stay in the netherworld are generally considered "problematic", the more common form of mononoke are possession by vengeful spirits. These spirits don't have to be dead; living people can also become mononoke when their spirits separate from their bodies and start possessing things or other people. Gods (the higher form of kami) also become mononoke when they possess creatures in the material world and act hostile to humans. The ke in mononoke refers to disease or illness, so possession is usually an explanation for mental health issues in humans. In the case of kami becoming mononoke, the ke usually refers to mass hysteria, plagues, or general pestilential events (a horde of locusts is also considered pestilence by the Japanese). Generally, mononoke are things that must be appeased and persuaded to move along. 

 

Other than those (and the specific case of mamono below), generally, yes, everything is a yokai until the specific category is identified.

 

Ma in mamono actually means demon or evil spirit, so mamono refers to things possessed by demons or the physical manifestation of demons. Unlike potentially neutral bakemono or obake, mamono are beings clearly hostile to humans. They are also not usually considered yokai because traditional origins of the mamono don't exist. Mamono was a specific religious term used by Japanese Zen Buddhism to designate physical manifestations of the denizens of makai (the Buddhist hell) and later adopted by Shintoism to refer to "evil" spirits (Shinto originally had no concept of evil).

 

P.S. 

 

Interestingly, Japanese folklore has different suggestions on how to handle each of the above. Bakemono and obake are generally ignored. The belief is that they don't bother you if you don't bother them. They can be asked to help at a price, but this is not advisable. Basically, they're the mafia.

 

Mononoke are negotiated with and appeased. Exorcism can be done for particularly stubborn mononoke, but even then the method of exorcism is to identify the source of the grudge and eliminate it. As a result of this appeasement strategy some mononoke occasionally get elevated to actual godhood. The Tenjin (Sugawara no Michizane) is the posterboy for this. People who watch Noragami might also be familiar with Yato, who was traditionally also an elevated mononoke.

 

Mamono are exorcised with extreme prejudice. These are literally evil beings, so people generally don't try to communicate with them.

Very interesting and helpful. I think in the Japanese version of Chrono Trigger, the Mystic/Fiend race was called the Mazoku (Slayers, Violinist of Hameln, etc). Mazoku of course are somewhere between monsters and demons I think, and are regarded as a family of sorts (i.e. the magic race). However, the humans called them Mamono, which was used as a pejorative, and enraged them to no end. And it seems their human form isn't really to blend in so much as it is to disguise their true power and bodies. Any thoughts on Kaiju and the Oni? Oni especially have had their status altered frequently (and there are so many sub-types too).

Thanks jag

I had my eyes on this one for a while, good to know it's a interesting work, but please don't disappoint me and turn into generic trash like Black Torch as this one seems to be one of the most interesting works on Jump SQ on the moment.

I'm certain that the mangaka will give your comment careful reading and reflection. /s

I had my eyes on this one for a while, good to know it's a interesting work, but please don't disappoint me and turn into generic trash like Black Torch as this one seems to be one of the most interesting works on Jump SQ on the moment.

Oh... pretty nice, I kinda like how they don't show any female core character in the first chapter mmm...

Oh yes, if the author can keep the quality of future big cases as good as the one on first chapter, then we will get one hell of a ride!

oooh man that was good.

But I also should not have read this at night!

I cant wait for more updates!!!

*sits in the corner in the fetal position*

Is this published weekly or monthly?

Monthly.

Is this published weekly or monthly?

DAT DEEERR

TOO SPOOKY

This one is not friends!

Don't have time to read it right now, but will later. I trust Psylocke Scans' taste in manga.

 

EDIT: I wasn't disappointed. The panel with the monster deer was really well drawn.

yeah they have good taste, and if it's from Jump Square at least you gonna have good quality in the art

but most of all I knew I recognized some of the drawings, it's the author from Hokenshitsu no Shinigami (the school nurse that fighted disease demons), so I hope for at least a 3 year series here (he's style is more suited for monthly, specially cause he can draw even better with more time in his hands)

Youkai refers to the category of spirits(mononoke), ayakashi(spirits that appear above bodies of water) mamono(monsters with a feminine theme) and many others. 

 

Bakemono and obake are the same thing: they refer to youkai (here you can see it becomes a general term for spirits) that have the propensity to shapeshift or transform. It can be a spirit, a goblin, a minor deity or a monster or even an item; but once someone witnesses its transformation, it generally tends to be called a 'bakemono' or 'obake' instead of a youkai.

 

The rule there I guess is if you don't know what to call that supernatural thing, it's a youkai. Once you see it's properties, you call it something else (e.g. youkai on water = ayakashi, umbrella suddenly becomes a youkai = kasa-obake).

A minor correction. Mono means "thing" and refers to physical objects and/or creatures. Bake refers to lesser spiritual beings not classed as kami. Generally obake is used when referring to spirits in non-corporeal form and bakemono is used to refer to spirits taking corporeal form, either through possession or just by manifesting itself physically. When the physical manifestation is recognizable as an everyday object, the object is used directly as a prefix to replace the mono suffix, hence kasa-obake. When the manifestation is an ascended/transformed animal (such as foxes, tanuki, or cats) the animal name is used as replacement for the mono suffix (bakegitsune, bakedanuki, bakeneko). It should be understood that, unlike in Western belief system, the spirits here are integral to the object or creature, so it's not an outside being taking over. Instead, a spirit forms inside an object or creature and transforms it into something else.

Mononoke is a specific category of beings generally not considered as Bakemono. Mononoke are classed as kami who have a physical manifestation and can interact directly with humans. Tengu, for instance, are mononoke. However, in Shintoism the spirits of humans also become kami, and because kami who don't stay in the netherworld are generally considered "problematic", the more common form of mononoke are possession by vengeful spirits. These spirits don't have to be dead; living people can also become mononoke when their spirits separate from their bodies and start possessing things or other people. Gods (the higher form of kami) also become mononoke when they possess creatures in the material world and act hostile to humans. The ke in mononoke refers to disease or illness, so possession is usually an explanation for mental health issues in humans. In the case of kami becoming mononoke, the ke usually refers to mass hysteria, plagues, or general pestilential events (a horde of locusts is also considered pestilence by the Japanese). Generally, mononoke are things that must be appeased and persuaded to move along. 

Other than those (and the specific case of mamono below), generally, yes, everything is a yokai until the specific category is identified.

Ma in mamono actually means demon or evil spirit, so mamono refers to things possessed by demons or the physical manifestation of demons. Unlike potentially neutral bakemono or obake, mamono are beings clearly hostile to humans. They are also not usually considered yokai because traditional origins of the mamono don't exist. Mamono was a specific religious term used by Japanese Zen Buddhism to designate physical manifestations of the denizens of makai (the Buddhist hell) and later adopted by Shintoism to refer to "evil" spirits (Shinto originally had no concept of evil).

P.S. 

Interestingly, Japanese folklore has different suggestions on how to handle each of the above. Bakemono and obake are generally ignored. The belief is that they don't bother you if you don't bother them. They can be asked to help at a price, but this is not advisable. Basically, they're the mafia.

Mononoke are negotiated with and appeased. Exorcism can be done for particularly stubborn mononoke, but even then the method of exorcism is to identify the source of the grudge and eliminate it. As a result of this appeasement strategy some mononoke occasionally get elevated to actual godhood. The Tenjin (Sugawara no Michizane) is the posterboy for this. People who watch Noragami might also be familiar with Yato, who was traditionally also an elevated mononoke.

Mamono are exorcised with extreme prejudice. These are literally evil beings, so people generally don't try to communicate with them.

Don't have time to read it right now, but will later. I trust Psylocke Scans' taste in manga.

EDIT: I wasn't disappointed. The panel with the monster deer was really well drawn.

Can someone tell me the difference between yokai, bakemono, mononoke, and obake? The kemono I understand somewhat (the furry eared animal

like yokai, like in the wolf children manga), but I could never grasp the rest. A great read so far.

 

Insta-followed for possible tanuki shenanigans.

There's a few actual definitions, but usually they just mean whatever the author wants them to mean. Kemono just means "beast" but here it's used as a catch-all term for all the supernatural stuff whether it's Japanese in origin or not. It's used as a special reading for 怪物 (kaibutsu) which means "monster" in this series, so it doesn't actually mean animalistic in this case.

Can someone tell me the difference between yokai, bakemono, mononoke, and obake? The kemono I understand somewhat (the furry eared animal

like yokai, like in the wolf children manga), but I could never grasp the rest. A great read so far.

 

Insta-followed for possible tanuki shenanigans.

Long story short : There is no difference.

Can someone tell me the difference between yokai, bakemono, mononoke, and obake? The kemono I understand somewhat (the furry eared animal

like yokai, like in the wolf children manga), but I could never grasp the rest. A great read so far.

 

Insta-followed for possible tanuki shenanigans.

Youkai refers to the category of spirits(mononoke), ayakashi(spirits that appear above bodies of water) mamono(monsters with a feminine theme) and many others. 

Bakemono and obake are the same thing: they refer to youkai (here you can see it becomes a general term for spirits) that have the propensity to shapeshift or transform. It can be a spirit, a goblin, a minor deity or a monster or even an item; but once someone witnesses its transformation, it generally tends to be called a 'bakemono' or 'obake' instead of a youkai.

The rule there I guess is if you don't know what to call that supernatural thing, it's a youkai. Once you see it's properties, you call it something else (e.g. youkai on water = ayakashi, umbrella suddenly becomes a youkai = kasa-obake).

Can someone tell me the difference between yokai, bakemono, mononoke, and obake? The kemono I understand somewhat (the furry eared animal

like yokai, like in the wolf children manga), but I could never grasp the rest. A great read so far.

Insta-followed for possible tanuki shenanigans.