We left Haruaki Abe and his students of Class 2-3 in Kyoto for their school trip. They could have never imagined that they’d encounter three gods with a bone to pick with Abe-sensei and that they would end up shattering his soul into pieces, that the students had to catch and put back together. However, thanks to this Haruaki finds out the truth about his power and the history behind the school president and the captain of the Tengu troupe, as their lives have been intertwined for centuries.

With Volume 15, the students and teachers of Yakki Academy get a little bit of a break from the ongoing major craziness that usually happens in their lives since Abe-sensei joined the school. Beware, I said major craziness, not no craziness at all… readers are treated to a few episodes of the daily school life from our favourite characters, and of course something has to happen—peaceful is not a word in their vocabulary, after all! From middle schoolers visiting the school in preparation for the following year to parents attending lessons, Abe-sensei not only has to juggle showing his best side, but also making sure that nothing happens that could impact the school, which includes stopping middle schooler bullies, and yokai parents who are natural enemies meeting for the first time. And let’s not forget the mysterious god owner of the island where Yakki Academy sits that makes its first appearance. As you can imagine, some chaos is bound to ensue.

It’s with Volume 16 that the readers get into another (possibly) major arc. Tama-chan has to repeat his spookology test (yes, you read correctly, it’s an actual subject taught at the academy) with Hatanaka-sensei and of course his best friend Nyuudou and Abe-sensei are there to support him. What they all didn’t expect is for Tama-chan to develop a new power that brings all of them to the past. They need to find a way to get back to the present, but Tama-chan is all out of yokai power and encounters with the young Akira Takahashi (the modern-day school doctor) and Yamazaki-san (the modern-day police officer) introduce them to other characters in their younger days, which includes Ibara-chan, Hatanaka-sensei’s wife. Or will she be? Apparently, she is engaged to a yokai from a prominent family. While the team tries to figure out how to stop the engagement and how she fell for Hatanaka-sensei in the first place, they also need to figure out if they can trust Akira as he’s showing murderous tendencies and no interest in medicine compared to his future self.

After all the arcs that we have seen Abe-sensei dealing with so far, it was nice to get a little of a break and witness the students’ daily lives. The author, Mai Tanaka, gives the spotlight to lesser-known students who belong in Class 2-3 and have previously appeared in the story but not as main characters, such as Ogoso-kun who turns out to be an idol. I also enjoyed reading more about Fuji-kun, a male yokai who likes to dress as a woman. I appreciated how the author included a gender non-conforming character in the storyline, and how everyone is ok with it.

Since the past couple of volumes, the backstories of some characters have become prominent in the storytelling. The readers found out about Haruaki’s powers and the people who used to be around Abe No Seimei and how they affected Haruaki’s current life. It seems the author is on a roll with backstories because now the readers get to know why Yakki Academy is situated where it is, how it was formed and even how Hatanaka-sensei married Ibara-chan, an oni, when it’s still uncommon for such different types of yokai to mingle.

The story continues to be full of comedy thanks to the characters’ quirky personalities, but I found one of the chapters quite moving—the students have to write down what they would like to become after graduation and one of the students writes down ‘I want to be a teacher like Seimei’ (Haruaki-sensei). Of course, the discovery of this dream is full of entertaining moments… for the readers (not as much for the student).

A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School! is written by Mai Tanaka and published in the English language by Yen Press with a translation by Amanda Haley. Crunchyroll released the first season of the anime back in 2024, with the first part airing in Autumn and the second part in Winter 2025. No announcement has been made yet for a second season, nor for the release of Volume 17.

Our review copies were supplied by Diamond Book Distributors UK and Yen Press.