# Dark Gathering

Dark Gathering (Japanese: ダークギャザリング, Hepburn: 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.
By February 2024, Dark Gathering had over 1.5 million copies in circulation, including physical and digital copies.

## Characters
### Keitarō Gentōga (幻燈河 螢多朗, Gentōga Keitarō)

    Voiced by: Nobunaga Shimazaki (Japanese); Clint Bickham (English)
    A young man with a cursed right hand and a natural predisposition to attract ghosts to himself. As a young boy, Keitarō experienced a spiritual encounter that resulted in both him and his friend Eiko 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. It was pointed out by Eiko that although Keitarō 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 Hōzuki (寶月 夜宵, Hōzuki Yayoi)

    Voiced by: Yū Sasahara (Japanese); Natalie Rial (English)
    Keitarō's first student. She was a normal child in the beginning but had developed polycoria (two pupils in the same eye) in both eyes for some unknown reason. Originally, she only saw ghosts as hazy figures but 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 the trio more than once in their search for the embryo ghost.

### Eiko Hōzuki (寶月 詠子, Hōzuki Eiko)

    Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa (Japanese); Karlii Hoch (English)
    Eiko is the childhood friend of Keitarō who possess a cursed left hand as a result of being caught up in the same ordeal as Keitarō. Being in love with Keitarō 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 opted to study folklore so that she could better understand Keitarō's struggles with the occult. She does not have a spiritual sense like Yayoi or Keitarō.

### Ai Kamiyo (神代 愛依, Kamiyo Ai)

    Voiced by: Rina Kawaguchi (Japanese); Alyssa Marek (English)
    Keitarō'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. 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, and is set to resume on April 4, 2025. Shueisha has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on June 4, 2019. As of January 4, 2024, 17 volumes have been released.
At New York Comic Con 2022, Viz Media announced that they licensed the series for English publication.

#### Volumes

| No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN |
| 1 | June 4, 2019 | 978-4-08-881856-6 | May 16, 2023 | 978-1-9747-3894-6 |
| 2 | October 4, 2019 | 978-4-08-882089-7 | July 18, 2023 | 978-1-9747-3903-5 |
| 3 | February 4, 2020 | 978-4-08-882214-3 | September 19, 2023 | 978-1-9747-4039-0 |
| 4 | June 4, 2020 | 978-4-08-882323-2 | November 21, 2023 | 978-1-9747-4077-2 |
| 5 | October 2, 2020 | 978-4-08-882441-3 | January 16, 2024 | 978-1-9747-4284-4 |
| 6 | February 4, 2021 | 978-4-08-882559-5 | March 19, 2024 | 978-1-9747-4317-9 |
| 7 | June 4, 2021 | 978-4-08-882677-6 | May 21, 2024 | 978-1-9747-4556-2 |
| 8 | November 4, 2021 | 978-4-08-882830-5 | July 16, 2024 | 978-1-9747-4602-6 |
| 9 | March 4, 2022 | 978-4-08-883054-4 | September 3, 2024 | 978-1-9747-4875-4 |
| 10 | August 4, 2022 | 978-4-08-883205-0 | November 5, 2024 | 978-1-9747-4922-5 |
| 11 | December 2, 2022 | 978-4-08-883295-1 | January 7, 2025 | 978-1-9747-5148-8 |
| 12 | April 4, 2023 | 978-4-08-883456-6 | March 4, 2025 | 978-1-9747-5216-4 |
| 13 | August 4, 2023 | 978-4-08-883534-1 | May 6, 2025 | 978-1-9747-5487-8 |
| 14 | December 4, 2023 | 978-4-08-883720-8 | July 1, 2025 | 978-1-9747-5533-2 |
| 15 | May 2, 2024 | 978-4-08-883891-5 | — | — |
| 16 | September 4, 2024 | 978-4-08-884180-9 | — | — |
| 17 | January 4, 2025 | 978-4-08-884333-9 | — | — |

### Anime

In July 2022, it was announced that the series would receive an anime television series adaptation. It is 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. The two-consecutive cours series aired from July 10 to December 25, 2023, on Tokyo MX and other networks. 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.
Sentai Filmworks licensed the series, and produced an English dub premiered on December 10, 2023. Muse Communication licensed the series in Asia-Pacific.

#### Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Storyboarded by | Original release date |
| 1 | "Yayoi Hozuki" Transliteration: "Hōzuki Yayoi" (Japanese: 寶月夜宵) | Moto Terada | Shigeru Murakoshi | Hiroshi Ikehata & Dai Fukuyama | July 10, 2023 (2023-7-10) |
| 2 | "Keitaro Gentoga" Transliteration: "Gentōga Keitarō" (Japanese: 幻燈河螢多朗) | Yoshitaka Nagaoka | Shigeru Murakoshi | Wataru Nakagawa | July 17, 2023 (2023-7-17) |
| 3 | "Friends" Transliteration: "Futari" (Japanese: ふたり) | Hideki Takeda | Kenichi Yamashita | Masatoshi Hakata | July 24, 2023 (2023-7-24) |
| 4 | "Eiko Hozuki" Transliteration: "Hōzuki Eiko" (Japanese: 寶月詠子) | Takashi Kobayashi | Kazuho Hyōdō | Hiroyuki Fukushima | July 31, 2023 (2023-7-31) |
| 5 | "The Freshmen Welcome Event" Transliteration: "Shinnyūsei Kangeikai" (Japanese: 新入生歓迎会) | Takuya Wada | Kazuho Hyōdō | Hiromasa Amano | August 7, 2023 (2023-8-7) |
| 6 | "The Promise" Transliteration: "Yakusoku" (Japanese: 約束) | Yoshitaka Nagaoka | Shigeru Murakoshi | Hiroshi Ikehata | August 14, 2023 (2023-8-14) |
| 7 | "S Tunnel" Transliteration: "S Tonneru" (Japanese: Sトンネル) | Masashi Tsukino | Shigeru Murakoshi | Makoto Nakata | August 21, 2023 (2023-8-21) |
| 8 | "Betrothed to Divinity" Transliteration: "Kami no Hanayome" (Japanese: 神の花嫁) | Kazuho Kunimoto | Kenichi Yamashita | Hiroshi Ikehata | August 28, 2023 (2023-8-28) |
| 9 | "Blasphemy" Transliteration: "Tokushin" (Japanese: 瀆神) | Keisuke Warita | Yū Satō | Makoto Nakata | September 4, 2023 (2023-9-04) |
| 10 | "Across Japan" Transliteration: "Nihon Zendo" (Japanese: 日本全土) | Kiyotaka Kanchiku | Shigeru Murakoshi | Yoshitaka Makino | September 11, 2023 (2023-9-11) |
| 11 | "S-Rank Danger: Castle H Ruins" Transliteration: "H Jōshi Kiken-do S" (Japanese: H城址-危険度S) | Yasuo Ejima | Shigeru Murakoshi | Akira Nishimori | September 18, 2023 (2023-9-18) |
| 12 | "The Castle H Ruins, Danger Rank S!" Transliteration: "H Jōshi Sotsugyōsei" (Japanese: H城址-卒業生) | Hideki Takeda | Shigeru Murakoshi | Akira Nishimori | September 25, 2023 (2023-9-25) |
| 13 | "Emancipate" Transliteration: "Shutsugoku" (Japanese: 出獄) | Mitsuo Hashimoto | Kazuho Hyōdō | Tetsuya Kawaishi | October 2, 2023 (2023-10-2) |
| 14 | "Old F Tunnel" Transliteration: "Kyū F Tonneru" (Japanese: 旧Fトンネル) | Masato Uchibori | Kenichi Yamashita | Yoshitaka Makino | October 9, 2023 (2023-10-9) |
| 15 | "Old Old F Tunnel" Transliteration: "Kyū Kyū F Tonneru" (Japanese: 旧旧Fトンネル) | Yoshitaka Nagaoka | Yū Satō | Masatoshi Hakata | October 16, 2023 (2023-10-16) |
| 16 | "House Hunting" Transliteration: "Bukken" (Japanese: 物件) | Masashi Tsukino | Shigeru Murakoshi | Hiroshi Ikehata | October 23, 2023 (2023-10-23) |
| 17 | "The House of the Virgin Conception" Transliteration: "Jutai Kokuchi no Ie" (Japanese: 受胎告知の家) | Shigeki Awai & Mao Yingxing | Kazuho Hyōdō | Akira Tsuchiya | October 30, 2023 (2023-10-30) |
| 18 | "Morning Twilight" Transliteration: "Asa no Tasogare" (Japanese: 朝の黄昏) | Yū Yabuuchi | Kenichi Yamashita | Tetsuya Kawaishi | November 6, 2023 (2023-11-6) |
| 19 | "Within the Brothel" Transliteration: "Tōrō" (Japanese: 登楼) | Yoshikazu Ueki | Yū Satō | Yoshitaka Makino | November 13, 2023 (2023-11-13) |
| 20 | "The Old I Watergate: An Innocent Grudge" Transliteration: "Kyū I Suimon / Muku no Onnen" (Japanese: 旧I水門/無垢の怨念) | Fumio Maezono | Shigeru Murakoshi | Meigo Naito | November 20, 2023 (2023-11-20) |
| 21 | "The Old I Watergate: Resplendence" Transliteration: "Kyū I Suimon / Kairei" (Japanese: 旧I水門/瑰麗) | Kentarō Fujita | Kazuho Hyōdō | Yoshitaka Makino | November 27, 2023 (2023-11-27) |
| 22 | "The Old I Watergate: Pleasure District in Flames" Transliteration: "Kyū I Suimon / Honō no Kuruwa" (Japanese: 旧I水門/炎の廓) | Michita Shiroishi | Kenichi Yamashita | Hiroshi Ikehata & Yasuo Ejima | December 4, 2023 (2023-12-4) |
| 23 | "Scary School Stories: Hide and Seek" Transliteration: "Gakkō no Kaidan / Onigokko" (Japanese: 学校の怪談/鬼ごっこ) | Masashi Tsukino | Yū Satō | Tetsuya Kawaishi | December 11, 2023 (2023-12-11) |
| 24 | "Scary School Stories: Nightmare" Transliteration: "Gakkō no Kaidan / Akumu" (Japanese: 学校の怪談/悪夢) | Keisuke Nishijima | Shigeru Murakoshi | Masatoshi Hakata | December 18, 2023 (2023-12-18) |
| 25 | "Dark Gathering" Transliteration: "Yami ni Tsudō" (Japanese: 闇に集う) | Yoshikazu Ueki | Shigeru Murakoshi | Hiroshi Ikehata | December 25, 2023 (2023-12-25) |

## Reception

In 2020, the manga was one of the 50 nominees for the sixth Next Manga Awards in the print category.
By February 2024, the manga had over 1.5 million copies in circulation.