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 self-proclaimed NEET and owner of the paranormal blog Kirikiri Basara, unexpectedly becomes entangled in a supernatural conspiracy tied to the mysterious "256 Incident." This event, involving the mass suicide of 256 people by drowning at Inokashira Park, triggers a series of bizarre occurrences in Kichijoji. Yuta and his eccentric group of acquaintances—including his bubbly friend Ryoka Narusawa, investigative journalist Toko Sumikaze, introverted doujin author Ririka Nishizono, ESP-researcher Sarai Hashigami, high school fortune teller Miyuu Aikawa, medium Aria Kurenaino, and detective Shun Moritsuka—become embroiled in the mystery after encountering strange phenomena and a cryptic coded list tied to the victims. This list was left behind by Sarai's father, Professor Isayuki Hashigami, a physicist investigating the occult and supernatural, who had recently theorized the possibility of ghosts existing. Hashigami’s brutal murder was predicted three days beforehand during a public internet livestream by Miyuu.

As the group investigates these incidents, they uncover ties to a secret organization called the Society of Eight Gods of Fortune. (Hachifuku-shin Circle) This shadowy society has been conducting clandestine experiments blending science and the occult. Using advanced technology, they manipulate electromagnetic frequencies and even use chemical injections of scandium to control people’s perceptions and actions . These methods allowed the Society to orchestrate the mass suicide at Inokashira Park, making ordinary people kill themselves without understanding why. The end goal of the Society’s project is the implementation of a so-called “World System”, a network intended to synchronize the physical world with the spirit realm, effectively erasing the boundary between life and death. In pursuit of what they see as a form of immortality, the Society plans to use this system to freely move souls between planes of existence. The investigation also reveals a critical piece of hardware: “Odd Eye,” a large antenna array in Kichijoji that broadcasts the Society’s mind-control signals. This device is the final linchpin in their plan for world domination via the World System, posing a grave threat to reality if not stopped.

Before long, Yuta and his friends make a chilling discovery: they themselves were victims of the 256 Incident and have been dead without realizing it. Their bodies were among those recovered from the lake, and the group has been operating as astral bodies (ghosts) ever since the mass drowning. Existing in this liminal state of suspended death, they appear alive to each other but cannot be perceived by ordinary people. This explains various phenomena they experienced and why some clues (like the coded victim list) were accessible only to them. They also learn that time flows at a vastly different rate for the astral plane: roughly one day in ghost form equals only one minute in the physical world. This time dilation means that although they have experienced days of activity since the Incident, only minutes have passed in the real world. The realization of their ghostly status tests the resolve of the group. Additionally, Yuta learns that Ryoka Narusawa is not an ordinary girl at all – she is actually Aveline Tesla, a spirit medium (or “spirit guide”) who has been covertly guiding and protecting him. Ryoka/Aveline had been communicating cryptically (under the nickname “Zonko”) and is linked to the Society’s experiments, yet she chooses to help Yuta’s group after growing attached to them. With her insider knowledge and the late Professor Hashigami’s research, the protagonists piece together how the Society’s technology works and how they might reverse its effects.

With the Society of Eight Gods’ plan nearing completion, Yuta and his friends confront the organization at the Odd Eye antenna facility. In a final showdown, they use Tesla-inspired devices – including Yuta’s father’s custom radio (nicknamed the “Skysensor”) and an unlocked form of Yuta’s toy Poya-Gun (revealed to be the potent Wardenclyffe Gun) – to disrupt the Society’s signal. During the battle, Yuta heroically sacrifices himself to destroy the Odd Eye antenna, overloading it with energy from the Wardenclyffe Gun and Skysensor. This blast of energy severs the link between the physical and astral realms. As a result, the souls of Yuta’s friends are forcibly propelled back in time to re-enter their bodies at the moment of the drowning. Thanks to the astral time dilation, only about nine minutes have elapsed in the real world since their deaths. This brief gap means their bodies are not yet beyond saving – the group awakens back in the lake just after the suicide incident, and each person manages to swim ashore or get rescued before permanent death occurs. In effect, they are revived: the 256 Incident is partly undone for them, and they return to life with full memory of the ordeal. This timely resurrection thwarts the Society’s ambitions, dismantling the World System and preventing the collapse of the boundary between life and death. However, Yuta’s fate is bittersweet. Having expended his energy to ensure the others’ revival, he remains behind as an astral being, unable to revive his own body. In the aftermath, Yuta’s friends mourn his loss yet carry on living, thanks to his sacrifice. The ending implies that Yuta finds peace in the spirit realm – he reunites with his late father there – and continues watching over the living world as a guardian spirit. The occult conspiracy is brought to light and halted, and the once disparate group of nine lives on, forever bound by their extraordinary experience of life, death, and second chances.

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 March 2016, with the cast from the game reprising their roles for the series.^[1] 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 home video release volumes containing 2 episodes each, totalling 12 episodes.^[27] Aniplex of America has licensed the anime series for North America^[28] and released it dubbed in two Blu-ray sets with six episodes each on 26 September and 26 December 2017.^[29] The dub was also made available through Crunchyroll on 5 February 2018.^[30]

No.	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 sits in a cafe in his hometown Kichijōji, working to increase traffic to his website, which aggregates news and stories of the occult around Japan. The annoyingly cheerful Ryoka Narusawa shows up as Yuta catches a glimpse of the young fortune-teller and classmate Miyu Aikawa on a TV commercial. The two decide to invite her for an interview to raise traffic for his site. Elsewhere, Sarai Hashigami abruptly leaves a lecture hall, reluctantly following the advice of a fortune-teller to see his father before it's too late. Touko Sumikaze chats with the editor-in-chief of her occult-themed magazine, where he talked about receiving Professor Hashigami's latest manuscript from an old woman, even though Hashigami's mother is dead. Touko offers that it could be a ghost. Later, Aria Kurenaino helps a customer curse someone to death, then discovers someone shoved a bloody scalp in her mailbox. The next day, Yuta and Ryoka meet up with Miyu after school and take her back to the cafe. Miyu claims that her future would be greater with Yuta. After Yuta decides to make Miyu part of the team, the girls pressure him into interviewing Professor Hashigami about his occult research. Yuta plays with a bloody knife on the Professor's desk, then discovers the corpse of the Professor himself.
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)
In the past, Miyu begins doubting herself after receiving calls for fortune-telling that try to prove her as a fake. When Sarai calls her, she sees visions of him standing over his dead father's body, and tearfully begs him to visit his father, as she can only see the future, not change it. In the present, Yuta notices that Professor Hashigami wrote the word "CODE" in his own blood before expiring. An impatient female voice commands Yuta via his shortwave radio to yank out a golden tooth from the Professor's lower jaw, which he manages just before Shun Moritsuka enters the room. Later, Shun fills in the police on his findings, including a doujinshi with a story oddly familiar to the events that took place. When the police dismiss him, he calls an unknown man about a list that he is searching for. Elsewhere, Ryoka and Miyu try to test the rumor of a girl who can curse others, by placing a curse on Yuta. As Shun tries to get statements from various persons of interest, he hears from Toko the tale of Ria Minase, whose brother died. Ria refused to accept her brother's death, so she kept his corpse with her for a year before anyone else reported it.
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 classmate and producer goes missing after meeting a strange boy in an alley. Shun visits Ririka to ask for more details about her doujin, and she responds that the scenes for her drawings appear in her dreams. Toko talks to her editor-in-chief about Ria Minase, as a flashback elaborates Aria's past. Yuta stumbles around the city, randomly testing keyholes he finds for the odd-shaped golden key he pulled out of Professor Hashigami's mouth, while afraid of being labelled a murderer. As Yuta tries to pick up a call, he is attacked by a mysterious being. Yuta then wakes up to hear the voice from his shortwave radio yell at him to turn on the news where a tragedy is being reported.
4	"Psycho Daisies" Transliteration: "Hannin wa Gamon Yūta da" (Japanese: 犯人は我聞悠太だ)	30 October 2016 (2016-10-30)
Toko arrives at the office for an emergency meeting and watches the report of a tragic mass suicide in Inokashira Park on the news. She is sent by her Editor-in-Chief to investigate the happenings. The following day, all the bodies were reported to be found, and investigations into the identities of the deceased were underway. Conspiracies about the incident being caused by mass hypnotism abound, which Yuta refutes, pushing instead for the theory that the deaths were a result of a suicide volunteer offline meeting. Returning home, Yuta does research on the death of Professor Hashigami, which led him back to Kiri Kiri Basara where he once made a post regarding the late professor. In the comments, he noticed a post made by Shun, which pointed him to a dojin drawn by Ririka, titled "A Dark Water's Bottom". Meanwhile, Miyu consults Toko on advice about her still-missing friend, and the latter learns about the owner of Kiri Kiri Basara. The episode ends with Sarai confronting Yuta as the owner of Kiri Kiri Basara.
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 requests for Yuta to tell him about the circumstances surrounding Professor Hashigami's death, which was revealed to have happened shortly after the professor's study was ransacked. Yuta convinces Sarai to allow him to search for clues in his father's study, in which he discovers a coded message in the roof of the room. Ririka realizes that she had been drawing her own perspective underwater. The next day, Shun tails Ryoka and Yuta to Bloo Moon, cornering Yuta in the café by asking him about his experience in molar extractions. Aria and Kiryu discuss about this meeting between the three at Bloo Moon as witnessed by Kiryu, before being visited by Shuu himself. Meanwhile, Sarai had deciphered parts of the code in the ceiling as names related to the Inokashira Park incident, while Yuta shares Ririka's dojin with the group.
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)
The group continues trying to figure out the importance of the coded message that Professor Hashigami left in his study, when Aria appears to tell them of a kotoribako at a temple in Anmeji. Miyu and the group rush off to the location, thinking it might contain another clue to Chizuru's location, when they find an albino boy holding a bloody box. After bragging he can't be prosecuted for crimes, being a minor, he runs away as Miyu opens the box to find her friend's hairpiece inside. Elsewhere, a shadowy organization talks about running a successful test to enter the "spirit realm," based on Nikola Tesla's research. Shun decides to interview Aria at her office but finds himself completely ignored by everyone in the police station upon returning. Yuta finishes transcribing several names from the Professor's coded message when he discovers his own name among those who died in the mass suicide. Meanwhile, a blonde girl is called into action.
7	"The Dream's Dream" Transliteration: "Jōei Kaishi" (Japanese: 上映開始)	20 November 2016 (2016-11-20)
Asuna Kisaki, a highschool-aged girl who happens to be an FBI agent skilled in psychometry, is called in to pick up where the now-dead Shun left off. Meanwhile, Yuta tries to square his being dead with being able to interact with solid objects, yet he is ignored by almost everyone on the street. Toko theorizes that their souls have been separated from their bodies somehow, while Sarai tries to find a logical explanation. Asuka tries to pick up Shun's trail, while Shun considers his next move. Later, Zonko appears through Yuta's radio again, pushing him to go to Inokashira Park to confirm if his body is among the dead. Asuka tries to use her psychometry on some of the bodies but finds she cannot "hear" their thoughts as they slowly walked into the lake one-by-one. As she goes to touch Yuta's body, she briefly sees the active form of Yuta staring at his own dead body.
8	"Happiness Is a Warm Gun" Transliteration: "Wareware no Tadoritsuita Kyūkyoku no Iryōna noda" (Japanese: 我々のたどり着いた究極の医療なのだ)	27 November 2016 (2016-11-27)
Yuta breaks down after seeing his own body, while Miyu shuts herself in her bedroom. Elsewhere, the albino boy brags to Ririka that he's a "chosen one" who cannot die due to the "Society of the Eight Gods of Fortune" injecting him with "scandium" so that he can live on after dying, but Ririka questions how far his abilities go if he can only see her. Later, Yuta wanders over to his late father's old radio station, only to be met by Asuka who probes him for information, mentioning that his father was formerly a high-ranking member of the Society, and that Society might be involved in the mass suicide case. Meanwhile, the members of the Society talk about using scandium in their plans for world domination. Later, Toko discovers that the editor-in-chief of her magazine is also involved with the Society's conspiracy and copies his flash drive to study the data. Miyu then receives a 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)
A strange photo is sent to Miyuu. Thinking it could be proof that Chizu is still alive, she heads to Anmeiji Temple.
10	"Another Girl, Another Planet" Transliteration: "Hontou no Watashi" (Japanese: 本当のワタシ)	11 December 2016 (2016-12-11)
Ryoka seems so different than usual that she feels like a different person. Yuta is bewildered by her attitude. What is going on?
11	"We Want the Airwaves" Transliteration: "Ooi naru Mokuteki no Tame yor" (Japanese: 大いなる目的のためよ)	18 December 2016 (2016-12-18)
At last, Ryoka explains why she hasn’t been herself lately. The plot thickens...
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)
As the boot up of the New World System is drawing near, will Yuta and his friends find a way to come back to life?

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.