Higanbana no Saku Yoru ni
| Higanbana no Saku Yoru ni | |
 Cover of volume 1 of Higanbana no Saku Yoru ni | |
| 彼岸花の咲く夜に | |
|---|---|
| Manga | |
| Written By | Ryukishi07 |
| Illustrated By | Ichirō Tsunohazu |
| Published By | Fujimi Shobo |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Magazine | Monthly Dragon Age |
| Original run | May 2010 - November 2012 |
| Volumes | 6 |
| Visual novel | |
| Author | Ryukishi07 |
| Publisher | 07th Expansion |
| Genre | Fantasy, Horror |
| Platform | PC |
| Arcs | Dai-ichi Yoru Dai-ni Yoru |
Higanbana no Saku Yoru ni (彼岸花の咲く夜に, lit. On the Night the Red Spider Lily Blooms), subtitled The Unforgiving Flowers Blossom in the Dead of Night, is a Japanese horror manga written by Ryukishi07 and illustrated by Ichirō Tsunohazu. The manga debuted May 2010 and was later adapted into a visual novel released August 13, 2011.
Plot
Higanbana no Saku Yoru ni takes place in an unnamed school setting and is composed of numerous self-contained short stories, each told from the perspective of a student or staff member from the school. These stories feature bullying as a major overlying theme, as each story's protagonist is depicted as being either a victim of bullying or a bully themselves. Higanbana revolves around a series of urban legends caused by supernatural beings called yōkai, each of which claims ownership of a particular "mystery" and kills anyone who tries to investigate it. There are a total of seven "mysteries" at the start of the series, with numerous yōkai fighting each other in an ongoing turf war for ownership of these mysteries, which is granted to the seven yōkai who emerge victorious in the conflict. The stories' protagonists interact with at least one of the school's resident yōkai, who force the protagonists to deal with the consequences of their actions regarding bullying.
Chapters
Mesomeso
Mesomeso follows Marie Moriya and Yoshihito Kanamori. Moriya, a submissive and weak student, is often bullied and falls under the protection of Kanamori, her teacher who uses his status to exploit Moriya. Kanamori frequently uses Moriya to fulfill sexual desires by taking advantage of Moriya's inability to say "no" to others. As their relationship comes to an end, Moriya learns that her cries have become associated with the legend of a youkai; Mesomeso. She encounters a youkai known as Higanbana and desires to become a youkai through death. Moriya briefly considers suicide before eventually being murdered by Kanamori. As Kanamori kills Moriya, he himself claims the title of Mesomeso, throwing the title into contention. Later, Kanamori confronts the spirit of Moriya in the same bathroom he killed her in, which disqualifies him from being Mesomeso. As a result, the legend of Mesomeso comes true and Kanamori is torn apart by having every bone in his body broken. Moriya then ascends to become a youkai known as Mesomeso.
Characters
- Marie Moriya (森谷 毬枝, Moriya Marie)
- Higanbana (彼岸花)