Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs


Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tadahiro Miura. The manga was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine from February 2016 to June 2020, and collected into twenty-four volumes.
In North America, Seven Seas Entertainment published the series in English under its Ghost Ship imprint from 2018 to 2023. An anime television series adaptation produced by Xebec aired from July to September 2018.

Plot

The series follows the life of the luckless and homeless high school student Kogarashi Fuyuzora. In his search for a home, he is introduced to the Yuragi Inn, a cheap boarding house and former hot springs inn. The reason the rent is so cheap is because it is haunted by the beautiful ghost spirit Yuuna whose corpse was discovered at the inn. Kogarashi then helps Yuuna with her unfinished business, all while discovering the supernatural secrets of the rest of the female tenants.

Characters

; Kogarashi Fuyuzora
; Yuuna Yunohana
; Sagiri Ameno
; Hibari Ameno
; Urara Kawashima
; Yaya Fushiguro
; Chitose Nakai
; Nonko Arahabaki
; Chisaki Miyazaki
; Oboro Shintō
; Karura Hiōgi
; Koyuzu Shigaraki
; Miria Katsuragi

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Tadahiro Miura, Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from February 8, 2016, to June 8, 2020; a special chapter was published in Jump Giga on July 27 of that same year. Shueisha has compiled its chapters into twenty-four individual volumes, released from June 3, 2016, to December 4, 2020. In North America, the series has been licensed in English by Seven Seas Entertainment, who released the first volume under its Ghost Ship imprint from May 8, 2018, to June 6, 2023.

Anime

An anime adaptation of the manga was announced in the 50th issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine in November 2017, later revealed to be a television series. The anime is directed by Tsuyoshi Nagasawa at Xebec, with Hideaki Koyasu handled series composition, Kyoko Taketani designed the characters, Jin Aketagawa handled sound direction and Tomoki Kikuya composed the music. The opening theme is performed by Luna Haruna, while the ending theme song is "Happen" performed by cast members Miyuri Shimabukuro, Eri Suzuki, and Rie Takahashi. It aired from July 14 to September 29, 2018, and broadcast on BS11 and Tokyo MX. The series is licensed in North America by Aniplex of America and simulcast on Crunchyroll. The series ran for 12 episodes. MVM Entertainment acquired the series for distribution in the UK and Ireland.
An original video animation episode was bundled with the manga's 11th volume which was released on July 4, 2018. A second OVA episode was bundled with the manga's 12th volume which was released on October 4, 2018. A third OVA episode was bundled with the manga's 13th volume which was released on December 4, 2018. A two-episode OVA produced by Signal.MD was bundled with the manga's 24th volume, which was released on December 4, 2020.

Video games

A video game by FuRyu titled was released for PlayStation 4 on November 15, 2018. In November 2023, FuRyu announced that they would release a new PC version of the game, titled Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs: The Thrilling Steamy Maze Kiwami, in English, Simplified and Traditional Chinese on Steam. In December 2023, FuRyu later announced ports for the new version on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, iOS and Android. The new versions are set to release on January 18, 2024.
A smartphone game titled began service in April 2019 and ended service on December 25, 2019.

Reception

Critical reception

Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network gave the first manga volume an overall "B" rating citing the good relationship forming between Yuuna and Kogarashi, some funny moments, and the attractive artwork. She was critical about the side characters being "mostly just annoying", and "dated tropes" that "drag things down". Sean Gaffney from A Case Suitable for Treatment gave the first manga volume a favorable review calling the main male character a “confident Jump hero in the Luffy/Soma tradition". Gaffney noted a-lot of similarities to the series To Love Ru other than this "nice change" from a passive male character, and stated that he liked the way Yuuna was "translated and adapted". Stig Høgset from THEM Anime Reviews reviewed the anime adaptation and gave it a 4/5 star rating saying that it was "old-school" for "both good and bad". Høgset said in his review that he liked the anime for its "unassuming, but still clearly noticeable character progression as more quiet slice-of-lives". He was critical though, about the mixed bag of comedy, and the main character's harassment of "a whole lot of women" even if it was unintentional. Høgset in the end said that while the series rates a "weak 4" the anime adaptation of Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs's "heart more than makes up for its shortcomings".

Controversy

The series attracted controversy in Japan when a "character poll" featuring "sexualized" images ran in a magazine whose readers include children. Lawyer Keiko Ōta urged parents to not let their sons read the magazine, saying that "depicting sexual harassment as pleasure is a problem." A gender studies professor at Osaku University also weighed in on the matter saying that young boys are learning to see females as sexual objects. Those in support of the magazine's images said that seeing erotic images is a necessary part of growth into adulthood. Others which include lawyer Yamato Satō expressed concerns about excessive censorship. Sculptor and manga artist Megumi Igarashi criticized the hype citing "The ego of parents who want their children to remain innocent forever." Manga artist Tatsuya Egawa also criticized the hype by comparing the images to the series Harenchi Gakuen while calling those who want to ban the content "sadly stupid".