Gift ± #9

Volume 9 of Yuka Nagate's unsettling psychological series delivers another dose of beautifully crafted dread, with a cover that places a lone schoolgirl in her blue uniform at the center of a corridor dissolving into dark, ink-splattered chaos. The contrast between her composed, quietly vulnerable expression and the ominous abstract shapes closing in around her captures exactly the tension that makes Gift ± so compelling. If you've been following this series, volume 9 is exactly the kind of entry that keeps you turning pages well past a reasonable hour.