(!! Spooky imagery if you are not really prepared !!)

For all of October, I dropped Sayonara, Zetsubou Sensei temporarily to read through my backlog of horror manga (which I already chose out to read for October beforehand!) in the mood for the spookiest month. The mangas I chose were the best choices I had since all of them were rather uncomfortable or scary in a way that I enjoyed a ton! Mainly from what I've read was uncanny ghost stories or the classic body horror trope.

Having nothing else to say, enough rambling here are the stuff I read (or at least memorable to pick out for this blog to say about it lol)

Fuan No Tane (Seeds of Anxiety (original and plus)

As mentioned earlier, I've read ghost stories that were uncanny, which is basically mentioning all of Fuan No Tane because it fits that description damn too well. Written and drawn by Masaaki Nakayama, it basically is just an anthology of ghost stories that, from the author, was from second-hand sources. Which in turn, gave creation to one of my favorite (kind of) horror mangas I read. 

The content basically leans from pure uncanny-type horror to straight-up supernatural horror and sometimes body horror. While the supernatural stuff was cool itself, it does develop better in Fuan No Tane Plus besides the original, but for both it's really the uncanny horror. The way that Nakayama draws the ghosts in places that we are familiar with, the bathroom, cityscapes, school, the feeling of either knowing or unknowing dread of a ghost, that is unexpectedly what we expected. Is that even worded right? I'm just trying to say, the author executes so damn well, I curled up a few times reading. But I can't just gush over the psych-horror aspect, the supernatural stuff is cool. While in the original Fuan No Tane leans more toward tamer aspects sometimes, Fuan No Tane PLUS increases it by tenfold. Along with psych-horror being even more terrifying, I won't be describing that for Plus, you find out yourself. 

The supernatural horror is without a doubt more terrifying in PLUS, as shown by this funny creature pictured on top. That is what I mean by body horror, just pure disfiguration by the way. I feel that every panel that involves the supernatural in the PLUS manga is mainly body horror in a way thinking about it, makes it even more unnerving. 

But yes! That is all I have to say for Fuan No Tane, the original, and plus, unless I have more to say I'll edit more. Please read it if you love disturbing ghosts or something like a fan of Scary Stories to Tell In The Dark (the drawings remind me of the illustrations from the book!) I think now I should talk about Nakayama's other work, which is in vein of the Fuan No Tane series

PTSD Radio

Nakayama's other work, written after Fuan No Tane PLUS (and another manga called Flagman, which he was the artist for, unrelated but it's there lol). Like in a similar vein to Fuan No Tane series, it's an anthological work consisting of ghost stories. But here's the thing! All the stories are interconnected in a way, and it's all because of this one being that curses people through their hair. Yes, hair plays an important role in the manga (at least for a good 2/3 of it from what I've seen). The horror in PTSD Radio plays out more body horror than Fuan No Tane, involving hair or some relevance of it. I originally thought it would be techno horror especially with the cover being a disturbing face on an amalgamated radio, as along with the other volume covers. But, it was just a representation and an overarching style to the manga, being like a radio transmitter you can switch through stations, much like switching from story to story. It's a cool manga overall

Kono Yo no Owari e no Tabi (Journey to the End of the World)

Another favorite I read during October, mainly because of its insanely unique art style that reminds me of Czech or Russian art styles, and its weirdly philosophical and surreal story it companions with. The story, written by Nishiokas Kyoudai (consisting of brother and sister authors) follows an unnamed protagonist that basically travels through various unique places that eventually build up to the bigger picture. I have to gush over the Nishiokas' art style. I don't know any other adjectives I can't use more than two times in this blog, but it genuinely is the most unique, surreal, abstract, fucking cool even. 

They said their works are basically just dramatized childhood books for a seinen audience, which I can definitely see in Owari e no Tabi. 

I see it as like if it's Kino's Journey and Cat Soup being shoved into a blender, then turning into a disturbing version of a Dr. Seuss book. It's honestly an amazing read that I wish I have more to say without spoiling much of the experience, (that or maybe the story didn't impact me much, which is not true at all I love the story a lot.) If you like quick philosophical manga with a neat art style, definitely check out Kono Yo no Owari e no Tabi or the Nishiokas' other work...

Kami no Kodomo (God's Child)

This is another manga by them that I read right after Owari e no Tabi. Compared to the other manga, the story is insanely darker and more grounded. In a short nutshell, the main character is a misanthropist and kills people, and weird stuff happens as well. Probably the weirdest, and in a way, the most disturbing I read out of the stack. There is a bigger philosophy in Kami no Kodomo, but it's not as huge or climatic as in Owari e no Tabi. Still, the art style makes up a ton of the manga. 

I can't say much for Kami no Komodo, it's a good manga but be forewarned that it does have rather sensitive topics and themes that is actually rather disturbing than the story itself. Some people say it's the Nishokas' better work but I'm definitely taking Owari e no Tabi over this, not bad just not as good. 

Daidai wa, Hantoumei ni Nidone suru (The Bitter Orange, Translucent it Goes Back to Sleep)

Now here's a tone shift that I would love to talk about. Daidai wa, Hantoumei ni Nidone suru is an episodic manga that examines a bizarre town through the different unique stories of the people living there. It has some horror aspects, but overall it was actually much more of a surreal comedy that feels comfy and even heartwarming at some points. Written and drawn by Youichi Abe, who is also a fan of Dowman Sayman, a manga artist I take a lot of inspiration myself! Dowman Sayman's work is absurd and surreal, which I can see the inspiration in Daidai, as many chapters have that absurdism down to the point. 

The art style and theme combo is where the manga feels very welcoming. Much like Higurashi in a way (I have never read Higurashi my friends just love talking about it), it's a rural environment with bizarre cases that involves tragedy, murder, aliens even in this case. Albeit it is tamer and executed in a way that's more leaning comedy. And it is the best thing ever, I loved most of the chapters, just the way some stories were outrageous and over the top is amazing, and I love myself some slapstick stuff. I don't think anything was generally scary or disturbing, there is gore, but it's more of "oooh there's blood" sort of way. It's just plain fun.

Daidai wa, Hantoumei ni Nidone suru is without a doubt one of my favorites I read for October. While it has horror aspects fitting for the season, it was just a nice comfy comedy that really threw me off my expectation, for the better. For people who want to read a comfy comedy manga, I definitely recommend Daidai for sure.

Gyo (and The Enigma of Amigara Fault)

Yup, now going to deep dive into the classics of Junji Ito. Beforehand, I only heard a lot about Junji Ito's stuff, sometimes being regarded as one of the best horror manga artists. I actually read The Enigma of Amigara Fault a few years ago and fell in love with it. Wanting to read it again for the month of October, I stumbled upon Gyo, which included Amigara Fault as one of the bonus chapters included. 

I enjoyed reading Gyo a lot, while it was kind of slow for me in the beginning of the manga, though as things got more out of control, it picked me up a lot.

Before reading Gyo, I was only so much aware of the ending of Amigara Fault, which was terrifying on its own. What I didn't know much about was how insane Junji Ito can draw the expression of dread and fear. Other than that, I would never have known that sea creatures with robotic-esque insect legs could actually be terrifying, it's a dumb idea, but Ito really executed fucking horrifyingly. 

12/28/2022 Update

Written this blog back in very early November right after Halloween, mainly as something for myself to practice writing and to give out recommendations (still holds up!) 

For some I reason I gave up writing it near the end of the first week, afterwards eventually abandoning it. Today now, I just want to make it public and not make my incomplete work unpublished in vain. 

The other manga I read I remember fondly was Junji Ito's adaptation of No Longer Human (in summary an amazing adaptation, and probably my second favorite next to Amigara Fault) and Uzumaki (also amazing but reading it after the emotional rollercoaster of No Longer Human just left me kind of meh on it lol, but it was still a good read).

All in all, this is all my thoughts and recommendations of horror manga I read, and want to publish it for everyone to see. Thanks :3