Occultic;Nine

Occultic;Nine (Japanese: オカルティック・ナイン, Hepburn: Okarutikku Nain) is a Japanese light novel series written by Chiyomaru Shikura, and is a part of the Science Adventure franchise. It was later adapted into a visual novel and published by Mages in November 2017. The light novel series is licensed in English by J-Novel Club. A manga, illustrated by Ganjii, was serialized in Kodansha's good! Afternoon from October 2015 to May 2017. An anime television series adaptation by A-1 Pictures aired between October and December 2016.

Occultic;Nine
The cover of the first light novel volume
オカルティック・ナイン (Okarutikku Nain)
Genre	Paranormal science,[1] suspense[2]
Light novel
Written by	Chiyomaru Shikura
Illustrated by	Pako
Published by	Overlap
English publisher	J-Novel Club (digital) Seven Seas Entertainment
Imprint	Overlap Bunko
Original run	25 August 2014 – 25 September 2017
Volumes	3
Manga
Illustrated by	Ganjii
Published by	Kodansha
Magazine	good! Afternoon
Original run	7 October 2015 – 6 May 2017
Volumes	4
Anime television series
Directed by	Kyōhei Ishiguro
Produced by	Shuko Yokoyama Takashi Saiki
Written by	Morita to Jumpei
Music by	Masaru Yokoyama
Studio	A-1 Pictures
Licensed by	AUS: Madman Entertainment NA: Aniplex of America
Original network	Tokyo MX, GTV, GYT, BS11, ABC, AT-X, CBC
Original run	9 October 2016 – 25 December 2016
Episodes	12
Video game
Developer	Mages
Publisher	Mages
Genre	Visual novel
Platform	PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One
Released	JP: 9 November 2017

Plot

Yuta Gamon, a high school student and self-proclaimed NEET, runs the occult summary blog "Kirikiri Basara," hoping to get rich quick through affiliate links by debunking the supernatural. His life changes drastically when he seeks an interview with Professor Isayuki Hashigami, a controversial physicist researching the existence of the spirit world. Instead, Yuta discovers Hashigami’s brutally murdered and scalped body. At the scene, he retrieves a strange key hidden in the Professor's gold tooth and is guided away by a mysterious voice nicknamed "Zonko," channeled through his late father’s antique "Skysensor" radio.

The murder catalyzes the convergence of nine disparate individuals in Kichijoji. The group includes Yuta’s energetic friend, Ryoka Narusawa; Sarai Hashigami, the professor's staunchly skeptical son; Miyuu Aikawa, a popular high school fortune teller who predicted the murder days earlier; Toko Sumikaze, an editor for the occult magazine Mumuu; Ririka Nishizono, an introverted doujin author whose work eerily predicted the events; Aria Kurenaino, a black magic medium (unknowingly accompanied by Kiryu Kusakabe, whom she mistakes for a "devil"); and Shun Moritsuka, a detective secretly investigating the deeper conspiracy.

The investigation quickly spirals following the "256 Incident"—the inexplicable mass drowning of 256 people in Inokashira Park. Yuta and Sarai discover and decode a list hidden by Professor Hashigami, which chillingly matches the victims of the incident. They uncover a vast conspiracy led by the Society of the Eight Gods of Fortune (also operating as the Musashino Medical Group, or MMG). This organization is conducting clandestine experiments, blending advanced science and the occult. Using technology derived from Nikola Tesla's research, they manipulate electromagnetic frequencies and utilize injections of Scandium to control human perception and action. Their ultimate goal is the "World System," a network intended to synchronize the physical and astral realms, granting them a form of immortality. They orchestrated the 256 Incident to harvest astral bodies for their experiments, utilizing a massive local antenna array known as "Odd Eye" to broadcast their control signals.

The most chilling discovery comes when Yuta, Sarai, Toko, and the others realize their own names are on the victim list. They struggle with denial; Yuta initially believes he is alive because he can interact with the physical world and other people, only to realize those he can speak to—like Saeko Kitaya, whose pass case he returned—are also victims of the 256 Incident, and that the living cannot perceive them. They are forced to accept the truth: they are all dead, existing as astral bodies (ghosts). They are essentially electromagnetic entities containing their memories, as theorized by Hashigami. They also discover a crucial time dilation: roughly one day in the astral plane equals only one minute in the physical world, meaning very little time has passed since their deaths. Furthermore, Yuta learns that Ryoka is actually Aveline Tesla, a spirit guide linked to the Society's experiments, who has been communicating as "Zonko."

With the Society's plan nearing completion, the group confronts the organization at the Odd Eye facility. They use their knowledge and Tesla-inspired devices—including the Skysensor and Yuta’s toy Poya-Gun, now unlocked as the potent Wardenclyffe Gun—to disrupt the signal. In the final showdown, Yuta sacrifices his astral existence to overload and destroy Odd Eye. This blast of energy severs the link between the realms and propels the souls of the victims back in time. Due to the time dilation, only nine minutes have passed in the physical world since the mass drowning. The group awakens back in Inokashira Lake, allowing them to survive before permanent death occurs. The conspiracy is thwarted, but the victory is bittersweet: Yuta, having expended his energy, remains an astral being. He finds peace in the spirit realm, reuniting with his father and watching over the friends whose second chance he secured.

Characters

Yūta Gamon (我聞 悠太, Gamon Yūta)

Voiced by: Yuki Kaji^[1] (Japanese); Erik Kimerer (English)^[3]

A high school boy and self-described NEET living in Kichijoji who runs the blog "Kiri Kiri Basara," which aggregates news and discussion of the occult, with hopes of driving enough traffic to his site that he can live off the money from affiliate clickthroughs. He ends up attracting a strange crew of characters around him.

Ryouka Narusawa (成沢 稜歌, Narusawa Ryōka)

Voiced by: Ayane Sakura^[1] (Japanese); Faye Mata (English)^[3]

An energetic spirit guide with enormous breasts who is Yuta's best friend. Calls herself "Ryo-tas", and Yuta "Gamotan". She wields an electric stun-gun shaped like an old-fashioned raygun which is dubbed the "Poya-gun" according to Yuta.

Sarai Hashigami (橋上 サライ, Hashigami Sarai)

Voiced by: Kaito Ishikawa^[1] (Japanese); Robbie Daymond (English)^[3]

An ultra-realist first-year university student, in contrast to his father who is a widely-known professor who specializes in paranormal phenomena.

Miyū Aikawa (相川 実優羽, Aikawa Miyū)

Voiced by: Hitomi Yoshida^[1] (Japanese); Kayli Mills (English)^[3]

A popular fortune teller and first-year high school student with her own fanclub at school. She has recently decided to get close to Yuta, joining him and Ryoka to contribute to his blog. They all live in Kichijōji and go to the same school.^[4]

Tōko Sumikaze (澄風 桐子, Sumikaze Tōko)

Voiced by: Shizuka Itō^[1] (Japanese); Erica Lindbeck (English)^[3]

A reporter for the occult magazine Mumū.

Aria Kurenaino (紅ノ 亞里亞, Kurenaino Aria)

Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro^[1] (Japanese); Cristina Vee (English)^[3]

A black magic proxy who is said to place curses on others, provided she has a sample of the victim's hair and information. She runs her shop in Hamonika-Yokochō (harmonica alley) near Kichijōji Station.^[4] Her real name is Ria Minase. Her brother Takaharu died while donating a kidney for her. She was unable to accept the loss and stole her brother's corpse and lived with it for a year, believing that he was still alive with her.

Kiryū Kusakabe (日下部 吉柳, Kusakabe Kiryū)

Voiced by: Kishō Taniyama^[1] (Japanese); Greg Chun (English)^[3]

A mysterious individual. Aria thinks he is her ‘devil.’ Claims to have died many times, and appears to be a ghost currently.

Ririka Nishizono (西園 梨々花, Nishizono Ririka)

Voiced by: Mamiko Noto^[1] (Japanese); Michelle Ruff (English)^[3]

A dōjin manga creator with the ability to predict the future. She goes to the same university as Sarai's.^[4]

Shun Moritsuka (森塚 駿, Moritsuka Shun)

Voiced by: Tetsuya Kakihara^[1] (Japanese); Max Mittelman (English)^[3]

A cosplayer and otaku detective. He is small and looks like a child, but he is 26 years old.^[4]

Asuna Kisaki (鬼崎 あすな, Kisaki Asuna)

Voiced by: Satomi Akesaka (Japanese); Erika Harlacher (English)

She is an FBI agent who investigates the deaths of case 256. She specializes in psychometry (Touching the dead or the belongings of the dead and seeing their memories). She seems to have an appreciation for Moritsuka, in the anime they do not tell why, but it seems that something has happened between them so that she has so much appreciation for him.

Media

Light novel

The light novels are written by Chiyomaru Shikura and illustrated by Pako. Overlap Bunko published the first volume in August 2014.^[5] The series was one of four titles originally offered by J-Novel Club, an online English light novel publisher, when the service first launched.^[6]

Three volumes have been released, and there was a planned fourth volume.^[7]

Volumes

No.	Japanese release date	Japanese ISBN
1	25 August 2014[8]	978-4-90686-621-2
2	25 April 2015[9]	978-4-86554-020-8
3	25 September 2017[10]	978-4-86554-112-0

Video game

A video game adaptation of the novels was announced in March 2015.^[11][12] The game was developed by Mages and originally released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita and Xbox One on 9 November 2017; it had originally been planned for 28 September as a digital-only release, but was delayed due to the addition of a physical release following complaints by fans. The physical PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita versions were additionally made available in a limited edition that includes a drama CD and a 64-page materials collection.^[13][14] Shikura has said that he is considering releasing the game in the West.^[15]

A Nintendo Switch port was announced in September 2018. It was set to include additional story content set after the main story, which would have further connected the entry to the rest of Mages's Science Adventure series. The story content was also planned to be added to the previously released versions as a free update.^[16][17] However, following an extended period of no additional information, it was confirmed to be cancelled during a livestream in August 2022. Shikura also stated that, if they were to revisit Occultic;Nine one day, it would be with a remake similar to Robotics;Notes Elite.^[18]

Manga

A manga adaptation, illustrated by Ganjii, was serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine good! Afternoon from 7 October 2015 to 6 May 2017.^[1][19][20] Kodansha collected its chapters in four tankōbon volumes, released from 7 April 2016 to 7 July 2017.^[21][22]

No.	Japanese release date	Japanese ISBN
1	7 April 2016[21]	978-4-06-388133-2
2	7 September 2016[23]	978-4-06-388182-0
3	6 January 2017[24]	978-4-06-388230-8
4	7 July 2017[22]	978-4-06-388276-6

Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced in 2016, with the cast from the game reprising their roles for the series.^[25] The anime was produced by A-1 Pictures and directed by Kyōhei Ishiguro with assistant director Miyuki Kuroki, with To-Jumpei Morita handling series composition, Tomoaki Takase designing the characters, and Masaru Yokoyama composing the music. The opening theme song, titled "Seisū 3 no Nijō", was performed by Kanako Itō, while the ending theme song, titled "Open your eyes", was performed by Asaka. Both theme songs were written by Shikura and were released on 26 October 2016. It premiered on 9 October 2016 on Tokyo MX, ABC, CBC, GTV, GYT and BS11.^[25][26] The series was released across six Blu-ray and DVD volumes containing two episodes each, totalling 12 episodes.^[27] Aniplex of America licensed the series for North America^[28] and released it dubbed in two Blu-ray sets (six episodes each) on 26 September and 26 December 2017.^[29] The dub was also made available through Crunchyroll on 5 February 2018.^[30]

List of Occultic;Nine episodes

Title [a]	Original release date [31][b]
1	"Underwater" Transliteration: "Takusan no Hito" (Japanese: たくさんの人)	9 October 2016 (2016-10-09)
Yuta Gamon, a high school student in Kichijōji, runs the occult blog "Kirikiri Basara" hoping to get rich quick. He and his friend Ryoka Narusawa recruit classmate Miyu Aikawa, a popular online fortune-teller. Elsewhere, Sarai Hashigami is urged to reconcile with his estranged father, Professor Isayuki Hashigami. Touko Sumikaze, an editor for the occult magazine Mumuu, discusses the Professor's work. Aria Kurenaino, a black magic medium, accepts a request to curse someone and later finds a bloody scalp in her mailbox. Yuta arrives at the Professor's office to find his brutally murdered and scalped corpse.
2	"My Cold Dimension" Transliteration: "Unmei o Kaeru Chikara Nante Nai kara" (Japanese: 運命を変える力なんて無いから)	16 October 2016 (2016-10-16)
A flashback reveals Miyu foresaw Professor Hashigami's death and desperately warned Sarai, lamenting her inability to change the future. In the present, Yuta finds "CODE" written in blood at the crime scene. A mysterious voice ("Zonko") on his Skysensor radio instructs him to retrieve a key hidden in the Professor's gold tooth. He succeeds just before detective Shun Moritsuka arrives. Moritsuka notes the crime scene mirrors a doujinshi by Ririka Nishizono; he secretly erases "CODE" and searches for a "list." Shun learns from Touko about the urban legend of Ria Minase (Aria's real name), who lived with her brother's mummified corpse for a year.
3	"She Cracked" Transliteration: "Mōsō Datta no Darou ka" (Japanese: 妄想だったのだろうか)	23 October 2016 (2016-10-23)
Miyu's producer friend Chizuru goes missing after encountering a strange albino boy. Shun interviews Ririka, who says the prophetic scenarios in her doujinshi come from dreams. A flashback details Aria's past: after being confronted with her brother's corpse, she attempted suicide and formed a contract with a disembodied "devil" (Kiryu Kusakabe). Paranoid about being framed, Yuta obsessively searches for a lock matching the key; he is attacked by an unseen entity (Kiryu) executing a curse placed on him earlier. Zonko then alerts Yuta to a breaking news report: a mass drowning at Inokashira Park.
4	"Psycho Daisies" Transliteration: "Hannin wa Gamon Yūta da" (Japanese: 犯人は我聞悠太だ)	30 October 2016 (2016-10-30)
News reports the "256 Incident": 256 bodies discovered drowned in Inokashira Park. Touko is assigned to cover the story. Yuta tries to capitalize on the tragedy for his blog. While researching Hashigami's death, Yuta finds a comment by Shun linking to Ririka's A Dark Water's Bottom, which eerily depicts recent events. Miyu seeks Touko's help regarding Chizuru, inadvertently connecting Touko to Yuta. Skeptical of occult theories, Sarai tracks down Yuta at Café Blue Moon and demands answers.
5	"She's Lost Control" Transliteration: "Koko ga Atarashii Sekai nano ne" (Japanese: ここが新しい世界なのね)	6 November 2016 (2016-11-06)
Sarai interrogates Yuta, who admits finding the body and taking the key. They realize the Professor's study was ransacked. Forming an uneasy alliance, they search the study; Yuta discovers a complex coded message hidden in the ceiling. Ririka has disturbing visions of drowning, realizing her drawings depict her own perspective. Shun tails Yuta to Café Blue Moon and pointedly questions him about molar extractions, revealing he knows Yuta has the key. Sarai begins decoding the message; it is a list of names matching the 256 Incident victims.
6	"She Took a Long Cold Look" Transliteration: "Anta no Hō dattan da ne" (Japanese: アンタの方だったんだね)	13 November 2016 (2016-11-13)
Aria informs the group about a kotoribako (cursed box) at Anmeiji Temple. Seeking clues about Chizuru, they rush there and encounter the albino boy holding a bloody box; he taunts them and flees. Miyu opens it and finds mutilated remains and Chizuru's hairpiece. Elsewhere, the shadowy "Society of the Eight Gods of Fortune" discusses experiments based on Nikola Tesla's research. Back at the station, Shun realizes no one can see or hear him—he is dead. Yuta finishes decoding the list and finds his own name, just as the news confirms him among the 256 victims. FBI agent Asuna Kisaki is mobilized.
7	"The Dream's Dream" Transliteration: "Jōei Kaishi" (Japanese: 上映開始)	20 November 2016 (2016-11-20)
Asuna Kisaki, an FBI agent with psychometry skills, arrives to investigate. Yuta, in denial, tries to prove he is alive. Returning a pass case to Saeko Kitaya, he learns she is also a victim—he can only interact with the dead. Yuta, Sarai, and Touko realize they are ghosts, invisible to the living. Touko suggests they are astral bodies—electromagnetic entities containing memories. Urged by Zonko, Yuta visits the morgue. As Asuna examines bodies, sensing the victims walked willingly into the lake, Yuta finds his own corpse; when she touches it, she briefly perceives Yuta's astral form.
8	"Happiness Is a Warm Gun" Transliteration: "Wareware no Tadoritsuita Kyūkyoku no Iryō na no da" (Japanese: 我々のたどり着いた究極の医療なのだ)	27 November 2016 (2016-11-27)
The group reels from confirmation of their deaths. The albino boy (Ryōzō) confronts Ririka, claiming the Society granted him immortality via "Scandium" injections, allowing his astral body to persist. Yuta visits his father's old radio station, where Asuna—having temporarily induced her own death to enter the astral plane—confronts him. She reveals Yuta's father was a high-ranking member of the Society (Musashino Medical Group, MMG). The Society discusses plans to use Scandium for global control. Touko discovers her editor-in-chief is involved and steals data on their experiments. Miyu receives a cryptic text from Chizuru's phone.
9	"Future Days" Transliteration: "Kitto Sekai wa Owaru ne" (Japanese: きっと世界は終わるね)	4 December 2016 (2016-12-04)
Lured by the text, Miyu returns to Anmeiji Temple and finds further evidence of Chizuru's fate. The group convenes as Touko reveals stolen data: MMG is using Scandium and electromagnetic waves to separate souls from bodies. They discover time dilation—one minute in the real world equals roughly one day in the astral plane—meaning revival is possible if they act quickly. Ririka confronts Ryōzō again; revealing he is the manipulated spirit of her aborted fetus, she visualizes his destruction as an astral being, defeating him.
10	"Another Girl, Another Planet" Transliteration: "Hontō no Watashi" (Japanese: 本当のワタシ)	11 December 2016 (2016-12-11)
Ryoka's behavior turns erratic and cold. Yuta confronts her; she reveals her true identity: Aveline Tesla, a descendant of Nikola Tesla, acting as a spirit guide inhabiting Ryoka's body. She admits she is "Zonko" (via the Skysensor). Aveline exposes the Society's plan to activate the "World System" via the Odd Eye antenna array, merging astral and physical realms, and confirms Yuta's Poya-Gun is the Wardenclyffe Gun capable of disrupting Odd Eye. Having grown attached to Yuta, Aveline betrays the Society to help the group.
11	"We Want the Airwaves" Transliteration: "Ōinaru Mokuteki no Tame yo" (Japanese: 大いなる目的のためよ)	18 December 2016 (2016-12-18)
Aveline details the Society's plan: Odd Eye will use the synchronized astral bodies of the 256 victims to boost World System activation, making their deaths permanent. The group finalizes a strategy to use the Wardenclyffe Gun and the Skysensor to overload Odd Eye before the time limit for revival expires. The Society, aware their plans are compromised, accelerates activation. The group begins infiltrating the heavily guarded Odd Eye facility, racing against time.
12	"We're Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together" Transliteration: "Okarutikku Nain" (Japanese: オカルティック・ナイン)	25 December 2016 (2016-12-25)
The group reaches Odd Eye's core as the World System activates. Yuta, supported by his friends and Aveline/Ryoka, uses the Wardenclyffe Gun and Skysensor to attack the antenna. He sacrifices his astral existence to overload and destroy Odd Eye. The energy blast severs the realms and propels the victims' souls back in time; due to time dilation, only nine minutes have passed in the physical world. The group awakens in Inokashira Lake and survives. The conspiracy is thwarted, but Yuta remains an astral being. His friends mourn his loss while embracing their second chance; Yuta reunites with his father in the astral realm.

Notes

1. English titles based on Crunchyroll simulcasts
2. The series is listed to premiere on Tokyo MX at 24:00 on 8 October 2016, which is effectively 9 October.