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librarianpenguin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
quinnster's review
4.0
These books are terrifying!! The first book merely sets up the story. A huge earthquake lasting three minutes rips through the town and when it's all over an entire school and everyone in it has disappeared, leaving a giant hole in the ground. When we next see the students and teachers the school is surrounded by sand with nothing else as far as they can see.
As reality sets in the adults seem to go nuts while the kids hold it together and try to save each other. By the time the second book comes around it's just simply madness! Complete edge of your seat, disbelief and horror. Quite fantastic!
As reality sets in the adults seem to go nuts while the kids hold it together and try to save each other. By the time the second book comes around it's just simply madness! Complete edge of your seat, disbelief and horror. Quite fantastic!
cristina_isabel's review
1.0
What the hell was this first volume please?
Apart from that absolutely uselessly disgusting argument between Shou and his mother, he kept acting like a brat.
Also, after
Apart from that absolutely uselessly disgusting argument between Shou and his mother, he kept acting like a brat.
Also, after
Spoiler
they discover that the school is basically floating in a void, that one teacher had no business behaving like that. Stabbing a child in the arm is, for sure, going to calm down the younger children. The same goes for Shou's home room teacher... telling him his whole family is dead will definitely not help to ease his mind, man.adhley's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
this story takes so many twists and turns but has me on the EDGE, I couldn't just stop reading, I HAD to finish it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Violence, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
emkoshka's review against another edition
2.0
Ahh! Aieee! Eeyaaa! Aggh! Waaah!
And this being a Japanese book, it would be remiss of me not to add 'Banzai!'. I came across this randomly on the library catalogue and liked the premise so I read this first volume in one sitting tonight. Well, it was like being punched repeatedly in the stomach while hundreds of sailor-suited Japanese schoolchildren run around you in waves, screaming shrilly, and you start to feel the effects of a psychadelic drug high (or more likely, a massive headache). Hey, it did come out of the 70s. I want to say that this manga is 'frenetic', but I'm not sure the English word does the vibe justice. This is pure Lovecraftian dread done up in Japanese hysterics and histrionics via Dali surrealism. Do I dare read on?
And this being a Japanese book, it would be remiss of me not to add 'Banzai!'. I came across this randomly on the library catalogue and liked the premise so I read this first volume in one sitting tonight. Well, it was like being punched repeatedly in the stomach while hundreds of sailor-suited Japanese schoolchildren run around you in waves, screaming shrilly, and you start to feel the effects of a psychadelic drug high (or more likely, a massive headache). Hey, it did come out of the 70s. I want to say that this manga is 'frenetic', but I'm not sure the English word does the vibe justice. This is pure Lovecraftian dread done up in Japanese hysterics and histrionics via Dali surrealism. Do I dare read on?
cosmicjellies's review against another edition
2.0
i might continue with the series just to see where it goes and because ive heard good things but the characters/interactions really annoyed me and it all seemed very... false? i dont like the art style either
typewriterdeluxe's review against another edition
3.0
In this famous series, The Drifting Classroom, the people in a school are teleported to another dimension. The children are in danger due to the hostile and strange environment, but also because the adults have lost their composure and the chaos is creating a free-for-all violence situation for both kids and adults.
Despite the glaring "Parental Advisory Explicit Content" label on the book, I feel like YA horror readers are the best audience for this story. Who better than a kid to understand the danger of adult incompetence (and/or adult predation) and the struggle of being a powerless kid and trying to get other kids to listen to you? Yikes!
Here's why I only rated this volume as 3 stars:
I enjoyed the book, but the teleportation plot device felt very random. I readily accepted the human violence in the book because it could easily happen after any real-life disaster, but I found myself 'pulling out' from The Drifting Classroom, Volume 1 a few times because I was wondering why and how this teleportation event came about.
I just read the first volume in a sort-of-similar series, Dragon Head, that did hold my disbelief because the author-illustrator gave some clues for me to munch on until more information was given out in later volumes. I wish that had happened here, too!
But plot device clues (or no clues) aside, I'm looking forward to reading more of this series. Kazuo Umezu's art is stylish, detailed and wonderful. The human interactions he wrote into The Drifting Classroom are well-written, and I latched onto Sho and his mom immediately.
Despite the glaring "Parental Advisory Explicit Content" label on the book, I feel like YA horror readers are the best audience for this story. Who better than a kid to understand the danger of adult incompetence (and/or adult predation) and the struggle of being a powerless kid and trying to get other kids to listen to you? Yikes!
Here's why I only rated this volume as 3 stars:
I enjoyed the book, but the teleportation plot device felt very random. I readily accepted the human violence in the book because it could easily happen after any real-life disaster, but I found myself 'pulling out' from The Drifting Classroom, Volume 1 a few times because I was wondering why and how this teleportation event came about.
I just read the first volume in a sort-of-similar series, Dragon Head, that did hold my disbelief because the author-illustrator gave some clues for me to munch on until more information was given out in later volumes. I wish that had happened here, too!
But plot device clues (or no clues) aside, I'm looking forward to reading more of this series. Kazuo Umezu's art is stylish, detailed and wonderful. The human interactions he wrote into The Drifting Classroom are well-written, and I latched onto Sho and his mom immediately.
overdueshrew's review against another edition
5.0
This entire series is amazing. I would highly recommend it to those who enjoy creepy dystopian future lit.