200https://cdn.myanimelist.net/images/manga/2/89667.jpg MINOR SPOILER Thats not one of the wholesome queer manga be warned about that. But then again... what would you expect looking at the genres and the synopsis. I even dont really know how to write a review on this without spoilering but I try to. The Ghost Tower / Yuureitou is a manga that I have never or very rarely seen in that form and truly one of a kind. Its a perfect mix of a noirmystery and queer horror that is written in such a compelling manner. The atmosphere itself is mesmerzing and fascinating. The whole setting is made for me because Im a sucker for all things steampunk dark academia and co. and the setting including the clothes people wear: I love it. This thing is made for me haha. chefskiss Also the mystery was a lot of fun to read and I enjoyed how queer this manga has been and it felt its a very natural part of it but its also hard describing the story in detail since I dont want to set a spoilertag either. Let me conclude the whole manga by describing it as beautifully fucked up in a very good way I want to add. The mangaka also surely knows how to pull off an intense horror atmosphere. In general I really need more queer horror manga if thats actually a thing and not only a rare phenomenon of the very few manga I stumbled into ...? 240https://i.ur.com/a1ryM3a.png The second main character Tetsuo is absolutely compelling too and really fascinating to read. He is complex very charming and interesting and has a lot of grey morality to him but he is also to me as a reader very approachable and I can understand where his motivations are coming from. He is capable of some gruesome actions but we also see hes anything but a monster either... And damn hes also looking fine af. And while the protagonist is Taichi and hes okay as a protagonist Tetsuo really steals the spotlight from him. Not saying that Taichi is a bad protagonist tho Ive been okay with him and he developed an interesting relationship with Tetsuo. What I dont like is how Tetsuos body pretransitioning is portrayed in a sexualized way and I have mixed feelings about this. I mean sure quite lot of trans and nonbinary people including me dont really have strong body dysphoria and liked their body before they transitioning and I dont even know if I plan to but I dont know if I got the impression that Tetsuo is comfortable with this. He gives me mixed feelings about this. I still might add that this sexualization doesnt look like in any random cheap ecchi. It rather has a rough and mature tone to it and reminds me more of actual noirmedia too. Its not that typical panty shot or anything you would typically see in most ecchis and also emphasizes a lot on portraying Tetsuos charme and personality. Aside that I overall like how the manga handles the trans topic and includes it into its story. Tetsuo being a trans man is an important part of the story and his character motivations aka why he does things he does without going into spoiler territory but there is much more to Tetsuos whole character too and hes beautiful and fascinating in lot of ways to me while not being the most morally white protagonist either. There are also some other interesting characters as well which are not all likeable either but they are compelling and interesting too so you will see for yourself. The art itself adds a lot to the noiratmosphere that I enjoyed a lot and looks absolutely gorgeous. Its fitting the mangas themes and genres a lot but its not too dark and edgy per se its just... yes a bit more realistic not photorealistic tho with a bit of dark grey tones that are fitting the noir setting and the mystery and of course the murders. Aside from some minor issues I fell in love with this manga. 320https://i.ur.com/Hs8S0vq.png