No, he is a ghost, just a ghost who's also Shinigami. It may be something weirder than what would have happened to Takuto.
I'll have to send you the manga (it's not licensed, so I downloaded the whole thing). It's a little different and I liked the anime better, but it does have some explanations. Like who Meroko really is, and what's up with Izumi, and such.
You mean what Izumi's problem is?
I guess he was slightly less evil at the end, but only slightly.
Plus his theme music creeped me out.