crookedtreehouse's review against another edition
3.0
It is completely unfair to compare any horror writer in any genre, nevermind horror manga, to [a:Junji Ito|8483|Junji Ito|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1590271033p2/8483.jpg]. Ito's work is inventive, often weird, and almost never predictable. His work makes up almost all of the horror manga I've read that I've enjoyed. But I liked Umezz's [b:The Drifting Classroom: Perfect Edition, Vol. 1|44451891|The Drifting Classroom Perfect Edition, Vol. 1|Kazuo Umezz|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1567950914l/44451891._SX50_.jpg|69036166] and I love the cover design on this book. Viz Media did a spectacular job with it.
However, it wasn't too long after I cracked the book open that I realized it wasn't going to come close to reaching the high bar of Ito's work.
This is a perfectly mediocre horror book. Volume one contains two stories linked by a character who sort of has magical powers, but is mostly just a narrator, used to connect the various stories. Think The Crypt Keeper, Old Witch, or Drusilla from EC Comics. They occasionally pop up in the story to offer exposition between scenes.
There are several pages where the art is filled with word bubbles containing the narration of the off-camera Orochi. For the most part, we're led to believe this character is supposed to be some sort of impartial, unfeeling magical creature, but in both of the first two stories she is empathetic to the other characters and tries to help them, accidentally making everything worse each time. Otherwise, she doesn't seem to have much of a personality.
I don't want to get into the plot of either story, but each of them felt like something from a 20th century horror anthology TV show. A simple premise with an obvious twist. They're morality plays that fell flat to me, and were never either frightening or even weird.
I do like Umezz's art but wish it wasn't so covered in word balloons. Regular narrative text would have blended better into the story.
If you like horror, you may love this book. I found it clunky and expectable but never eye-rollingly bad. I imagine manga fans who also enjoy The Twilight Zone (particularly the mid-20th century run) will enjoy this.
However, it wasn't too long after I cracked the book open that I realized it wasn't going to come close to reaching the high bar of Ito's work.
This is a perfectly mediocre horror book. Volume one contains two stories linked by a character who sort of has magical powers, but is mostly just a narrator, used to connect the various stories. Think The Crypt Keeper, Old Witch, or Drusilla from EC Comics. They occasionally pop up in the story to offer exposition between scenes.
There are several pages where the art is filled with word bubbles containing the narration of the off-camera Orochi. For the most part, we're led to believe this character is supposed to be some sort of impartial, unfeeling magical creature, but in both of the first two stories she is empathetic to the other characters and tries to help them, accidentally making everything worse each time. Otherwise, she doesn't seem to have much of a personality.
I don't want to get into the plot of either story, but each of them felt like something from a 20th century horror anthology TV show. A simple premise with an obvious twist. They're morality plays that fell flat to me, and were never either frightening or even weird.
I do like Umezz's art but wish it wasn't so covered in word balloons. Regular narrative text would have blended better into the story.
If you like horror, you may love this book. I found it clunky and expectable but never eye-rollingly bad. I imagine manga fans who also enjoy The Twilight Zone (particularly the mid-20th century run) will enjoy this.
magnoliophyta's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
rcliffordolson's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
servingupstories's review against another edition
4.0
(3.5 stars overall????)
There are two stories within this first volume; Sisters & Bones. Both tales featuring a very peculiar woman with some kind of powers, Orochi. Everywhere she goes it seems things get a bit dicey. Maybe wrong place at the wrong time? Or something more.
Sisters I enjoyed quite a bit more than Bones but both were quite a ride - very disturbing for sure. If you’re unfamiliar with Kazuo Umiezz’s works but enjoy Junji Ito, then you should like this as well! The artwork is reminiscent of Junji Ito for sure and a significant factor in my enjoyment of this volume was the artwork.
My favorite part of this though was trying to unravel what exactly Orochi is. She seems like a well-intentioned girl who accidentally makes matters worse when trying to help but I’m not too sure on that. She has some magical sort of qualities about her too and I’m not sure of her limits or goals either. I hope I never know in a way. Not knowing makes it fun trying to determine on my own through her actions if she is “good” or “bad”. Though I feel she’s not really either.
Looking forward to more volumes of this one! Here’s my rating for the two stories individually if you’re interested and specific thoughts.
- Sisters (4 stars): The twist at the end of this was brilliant. While not entirely shocking, it completed this story on a real high note. My favorite of the two for its twisty-ness and for it’s disturbing sister dynamic + family curse.
- Bones (3 stars): This one had a strong start but my interest started to wane until it picked up speed again at the end. I can’t specifically pinpoint anything I didn’t like about this one I just feel okay about it. Maybe just because Orochi was less of a focus in this one.
There are two stories within this first volume; Sisters & Bones. Both tales featuring a very peculiar woman with some kind of powers, Orochi. Everywhere she goes it seems things get a bit dicey. Maybe wrong place at the wrong time? Or something more.
Sisters I enjoyed quite a bit more than Bones but both were quite a ride - very disturbing for sure. If you’re unfamiliar with Kazuo Umiezz’s works but enjoy Junji Ito, then you should like this as well! The artwork is reminiscent of Junji Ito for sure and a significant factor in my enjoyment of this volume was the artwork.
My favorite part of this though was trying to unravel what exactly Orochi is. She seems like a well-intentioned girl who accidentally makes matters worse when trying to help but I’m not too sure on that. She has some magical sort of qualities about her too and I’m not sure of her limits or goals either. I hope I never know in a way. Not knowing makes it fun trying to determine on my own through her actions if she is “good” or “bad”. Though I feel she’s not really either.
Looking forward to more volumes of this one! Here’s my rating for the two stories individually if you’re interested and specific thoughts.
- Sisters (4 stars): The twist at the end of this was brilliant. While not entirely shocking, it completed this story on a real high note. My favorite of the two for its twisty-ness and for it’s disturbing sister dynamic + family curse.
- Bones (3 stars): This one had a strong start but my interest started to wane until it picked up speed again at the end. I can’t specifically pinpoint anything I didn’t like about this one I just feel okay about it. Maybe just because Orochi was less of a focus in this one.
nuclearteapot's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
escapinginpaper's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
businessmanson's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0