It's that magical time of year again, but even if it weren't, the spiritual feeling is everywhere, every time. Literally. At least as far as these two short Japanese manga series, “;Lagoon Engine”; and “;Omukae Desu,”; would have us believe.

'Lagoon Engine'

Twelve-year-old Yen Ragun and his 11-year-old brother, Jin, have been trained since infancy to carry on the duty that the Ragun family has borne for generations: As spiritualists known as “;gakushi,”; they eradicate evil spirits called “;maga.”; With mystical heirloom weapons called “;gakuki”; in hand and special maga that have been bound to serve them, the brothers not only deal with demons, but also help restless souls of the dead who have unfinished business on Earth.

The action starts almost from Page 1, first with a rowdy weekday morning at the Ragun residence, then a dizzying maga fight sequence accompanied by a bewildering number of untranslated Japanese terms, leading into serious sibling squabbles between the more cautious Yen, an analytical type of gakushi, and his far more aggressive brother, a battle-type gakushi. All in the first part of the first story.

Normally, these wild action-packed scenes and the brothers' near-constant arguments would have caused my eyes to cross about two panels in. They still do, but there's enough calm storytelling, characterization and mystery between the frantic fighting to keep my interest. And the name-guessing aspect of the maga battles keeps them from being a matter of simple overpowering brawn.

Five volumes of “;Lagoon Engine”; have been released in English by Tokyopop—starting in 2005 and with long hiatuses between several volumes—with the latest in April of this year and Book 6 promised for last July. We're still waiting.

A July blog post on the Publisher's Weekly Web site noted that a Tokyopop distributor announced the cancellations of Books 6 and 7, but no official word has come yet.

So what happened to 19 stolen books that had maga sealed inside? What's up with the Ragun brothers' 12-year-old cousin Ayato, who is somehow able to hold gakuki weapons without the electric shock that normally hits non-gakushi who touch them? And what is the goal of young Shinno, a classmate of Ayato's who, unknown to the Raguns, is opposing the brothers as part of enemy mask-wearing gakushi known as Kamen Kugutsushi?

The non-Japanese-reading part of the world might never know.

'Omukae Desu'

If you'd rather go for a spirit series that's finished its run instead of waiting on pins and needles for books that might never officially be released in English, try the five-volume “;Omukae Desu,”; by Meca Tanaka.

High school senior Madoka Tsutsumi has been cramming for his college entrance exams and is heading home late one night when he sees an unusual—to say the least—scene. A gigantic pink bunny is chasing after and grappling with an old man. The student recognizes the old man as his neighbor's father, whose wake Tsutsumi attended recently.

That's right: The old man is a ghost, and the pink bunny is not a bunny. It's the spirit of a young man named Nabeshima who works for an afterlife-based company called GSG, locating and helping souls who have some kind of regret chaining them to the world of the living.

It's currently “;cute”; theme month at GSG, so he's dressed up in a human-sized rabbit suit while he and his already-cute female partner Yuzuko try their darndest to get Gramps to come to the Other Side.

Nabeshima explains all this to Tsutsumi, who gets roped into part-time work for GSG. And he proves extremely useful: The young man has such a high spiritual strength that ghosts can possess him to finish their earthly affairs, but cannot completely take over his body.

In this way, Tsutsumi resolves the old man's trouble, and Nabeshima finally can escort him to the other side—on a motorbike.

Nabeshima constantly exploits Tsutsumi's inherent kindness to get him to handle the more problematic souls who usually face tricky situations. One must dress as a member of the “;Visual Five”; (think Power Rangers, but cheesier) and go onstage to finish what would have been the dead person's final performance. Another spirit uses him to exact revenge on a karate rival—and Tsutsumi's body ends up horribly bruised and abused.

Everyone in “;Omukae Desu”; is easily likable, from the surly grandmother who treasures the ring of her first love to tough high school girl Sachi Aguma, another living GSG part-timer suffering from unrequited love for Nabeshima. Tsutsumi has a hint of lechery that cuts nicely into his wholesomeness, while Nabeshima's insistence on wearing some kind of crazy animal getup just defines the series.

Comic relief aside, “;Omukae Desu”; reminds us that everyone has a special someone who has touched their heart in a way no other person has. Nabeshima and Yuzuko themselves come upon people who once meant something to them and painfully come to grips with the memories. And even Tsutsumi, although he is still alive, has a loose end.

It's also a bittersweet reminder that life goes on for those left behind, and that all you can really do is tell those people how much you love them—before something more permanent than mere shyness takes away your ability to say the words.