The book is set in the midst of the Barsburg Empire, which is divided into seven districts, each with its own cities, rulers, and culture.
Zaiphon
Zaiphon is the "magic" of 07-Ghosts world, the ability to convert life energy into various forms of power and is the force which keeps the continent afloat in the sky. Zaiphon is controlled by converting strong emotions into power, often taking the shape of words, though people may use weapons to channel said energy. Those who have the ability to use Zaiphon are rare and thought of as having been blessed by God. Every user's capabilities are different, and in many cases, reflect their nature. Zaiphon is generally categorized into three types: It is possible for a person to use more than one version of Zaiphon; however, people who can successfully do so are few and far between.
There are a variety of weapons used to manipulate Zaiphon, one of these being the bascule. With the bascule, people can channel their Zaiphon and use it for several purposes. Different types of Zaiphon have different effects when used through a bascule: those with healing Zaiphon cannot directly attack a Kor, but they can restrict and remove Kor from afflicted people, and those with offensive Zaiphon can directly attack a Kor.
- Healing Zaiphon: People with healing Zaiphon are capable of healing wounds as well as sharing and/or transferring their Zaiphon to others. Characters who primarily use healing Zaiphon are Labrador, Assistant Archbishop Bastien, Ouka, and Capella.
- Offensive Zaiphon: People with offensive Zaiphon can strike enemies at different ranges and protect themselves from attacks directed at them. Characters who primarily use offensive Zaiphon are Teito, Mikage, Ayanami, Hakuren, Frau, and Capella.
- Manipulation Zaiphon: People with manipulation Zaiphon (which is even rarer then those who can use Zaiphon) can alter the shape and/or nature of things. So far, Labrador and Castor are the only known users of this type of Zaiphon.
07-Ghosts and Verloren
According to a centuries-old myth, the God of Death, Verloren (Dutch or German for Lost), "killed" the daughter of the Chief of Heaven and was forced to escape to the earth. In retribution, Verloren invaded the hearts of the people, who slipped into despair. Lamenting over the people's suffering, the Chief of Heaven dispatched seven heavenly lights in order to punish Verloren. Called the "Seven Ghosts", they are said to have sealed Verloren on the earth and served forevermore as the guardians of the Empire. Mothers often tell their children that if they are naughty, the Seven Ghosts will come to take them away.
Though Verloren has been sealed away in Pandora's Box for over 1000 years, his messengers, the Kor, find and contact humans to bring them under his influence. If a contract is made, a mark appears on the person's chest. This is known as "Verloren's curse", and it indicates one's heart has been consumed by darkness. One of the duties of the "07-Ghosts" is to fight against Verloren and his curse and stop contracts from being fulfilled. Only the Bishops can remove Verloren's curse.
The 07-Ghosts are embodied in humans with such extraordinary Zaiphon abilities that they are considered to be blessed by God. They were originally fragments of Verloren, and they were sent down to the earth by the Chief of Heaven in order to stop Verloren. Each of the 07-Ghosts has died in his previous life, and they all retain their memories of their past lives. Frau, Castor, Labrador, Fea Kreuz and Lance have been revealed to be Ghosts thus far; all of them have the mark of their Ghosts on their hands. The Ghosts' names are Zehel, Fest, Prophet, Landkarte, Reliquie (or Relikt), Eher and Vertrag, all of which have Dutch or German origins. Each of the Ghosts has a specific power:
Some editions may translate the Ghosts name wrong. Since all their names come from German, the names have a meaning in this language, and are not just a name. For example, it is common to see the name "Randkalt" ("Rand" meaning "Edge" whilst "Kalt" means "Cold") making the name meaningless. On the other hand, the name "Landkarte" means "Map", which corresponds with Landkarte's ability.
The Three Wishes
When a person is given a life from the Chief of the Heavens, they choose three dreams to complete over the course of their lifetime. When all the dreams are granted, their souls will be called back to the Chief and be reincarnated. However, when people are born they do not remember the dreams they chose, and finding out the dreams is supposedly the joy of life.
There are evil beings who want to interfere with this process; among them are Verloren's messengers, the Kor, who steal dreams and drag humans into darkness. When a human's first dream is granted by a Kor, the person's heart becomes unstable and unable to be satisfied no matter what he or she does. When the second dream is granted, the person falls into a state of starvation or addiction. When the third dream is granted, the soul has indulged in too much darkness and becomes forever unable to return to the Chief of Heaven. The Kor then takes the body; a possessed body with all three dreams fulfilled by the Kor is called a Wars ( means "evil" in Japanese), and they serve Verloren. A dark magician who can control the Wars is called a Warsfeil.
It is the duty of the church to protect people from the Kor, because the feeling of addiction is very difficult to remove. There are cases when a Kor may grant a wish that is not one of the three dreams, but it upsets the equilibrium and the Kor may be punished for it.
The Eyes of Mikhail and Raphael
The Eyes of Mikhail and Raphael are a set of holy stones that can be embedded into the body, allowing the Archangels Mikhail and Raphael to descend into a host's body for a limited time. They are undetectable until they possess their host's body, whereupon the stone appears in the host's hand, the host's eye color changes, and they become able to wield godlike powers with Zaiphon. Before the storyline of "07-Ghost," the royal family of the Kingdom of Raggs held the Eye of Mikhail and the Barsburg Empire held the Eye of Raphael. A pact was established between both countries never to seize the other Eye; however, the Barsburg Empire broke this pact ten years prior to the storyline.
The Eyes' full usages are unknown; however, thus far, the Eye of Mikhail has been used to seal Verloren's original body in Pandora's Box, and the Eye of Raphael has been said to be able to reincarnate Verloren's soul in human bodies.[3]
Style
The overall style for 07-Ghost fits into the fantasy manga genre. Although the plot is serious, there is a lot of comic relief, giving the story a more lighthearted tone. The characters are all complex, varied and entertaining, and the story is extremely emotional. It is often disputed as to whether it is a shōnen or shōjo manga, since it has qualities that appeal to both demographics.
"'Character designs tend towards the bishōnen type. Even within our circle of bishops, [there's] the naughty rebel, the eyeglass character, and the lolishouta type. Despite the angst filled and mysterious storyline, the manga also includes quite a bit of humor from Teito's and Mikage's horseplay and our three bishops' quirks, and chibis and deformed expressions are used for these scenes.'"
