The Death-Stench Fades...



Gyo
Volume 2
by Junji Ito

Any Junji Ito in English is a blessing and Viz's rereleases of Uzumaki and Gyo are scarring a new generation of fans and keeping the horror-manga genre alive in America.

I will try and keep this review as spoiler-free as possible, but if you haven't read Gyo 1, you may get more information than you want.



Gyo 2 picks right up in the horrible, stinky world were Volume 1 left off. Tadashi wakes up in the hospital, and the invasion of intestinal gas-powered arachnid machines hasn't let up. Tadashi has been out of it for a month or so, and has woken up in Japan in even worse shape than he when he passed out in the gutter. The machines are everywhere and have moved up from only using fish as their fuel source.


Part 2 of Gyo is divided into nine chapters, and it essentially a showcase in stink. The story is global in setting but kept local as we follow Tadashi on his selfless quest to rescue his girl, Kaori. The story really takes a backseat to the repulsive images and situations Ito prenests so well. We knew from the first volume that Tadashi's rescue of Kaori couldn't possibly have positive results, and those conclusions are confirmed in spades.



The play is the thing, and Ito does it perfectly. Hardly a frame is devoid of gaseous odor, and the world that is created is thankfully bound within the pages. The two volumes of Gyo feel a little like a story that could have been wrapped up in one, and the first volume reveals probably too much to justify a complete second volume. Satisfying in a disgusting way, the second volume is more about mood than twists. Let's be honest, Kaori wasn't exactly the nicest person to begin with, so the reader is hardly invested in her impossible "rescue". We want to rubber-neck into the repulsive world Ito has created.

One of the saving graces of Gyo Volume 2 is the inclusion of two short stories that give more insight into Ito's madness. The first one, titled "The Sad Tale of the Principal Post", is thankfully short, but "The Enigma of Amigara Fault" maybe one of the most original and captivating short stories in horror manga history. Like the Devil's Tower in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" people are drawn to a geological phenomenon. In this case it is a long fault opened up in an earthquake. The revealed wall of rock contains holes the size and shape of human bodies. What happens as individuals who find themselves at the wall is surprising, and the final frame gives the creeps in the way all good horror should. Gyo Volume 2 is available now.

Merry Christmas!

I hope Santa brings what you are wishing for!

This is the cover of the card sent out by the fine folks at Broccoli Books and I thought I would share it with you as it seemed appropriate, and I like it a lot.

This Parasyte is Getting Infectious...

Parasyte

Volume 2

by Hitoshi Iwaaki

***POSSIBLE SPOILERS if you haven't read PARASYTE 1***

I described Parasyte's first volume as a skilled mix of horror, comedy and sci-fi spread on the familiar genre of teenage turmoils mirroring worldwide turmoils...in this case an alien invasion. I really enjoyed the first volume as it took familiar ground from several places and mashed it brilliantly.

This kind of brilliance can carry a first volume, but can't often carry a series, and we have seen examples (which I won't go into here) where good series go bad when a good idea is sucked of all it's lifeforce, but is forced to carry on.

Is the second volume of Parasyte as earth-shattering as the first? No. However, it does something that many high-school horror titles don't dare to do, and that is to grow and evolve, and for that reason Parasyte 2 is in some ways (Jeezus, am I really going to use this reference?) an "Empire Strikes Back" to Volume 1's "A New Hope". The reason I say this is that the first volume is as much about the situation as it is about the characters, where the second volume is all about the main dude, Shin, and his "growth" and changes. Shin goes through some personally horrific situations, yet the way he deals with them begins to "mature". The reader catches on just a little quicker than the characters around him that something is happening to Shin. Is it "good"? Is it "bad" (Dark Side/Jedi...which is sexier?)...These are questions that are up to the reader to decide. Shin and Migi's forced alliance, like intergalactic Siamese-twins, is the root of the story, and despite the reduction in splatter scenes, the way they work together (or don't) gives a new angle on the horror.

The early-90s stylings of the fashions and hairstyles title add a positive nostalgic and reversely ominous tone, as the past always seems more innocent. We can imagine a Blue Hearts and Boowy soundtrack as Shin is beat up by bullies from a neighboring school. I would like to say this volume focuses on the family, and it does, but more in a reverse-Norman Bates sort of way. It is the way the main characters change (with hints from the author in Q&A essays) that makes Parasyte more than a high-school horror title and very much worth reading.

2007 Holiday Gift Guide

Have an otaku on your gift list? Or are you the Japan fan not sure what to ask for? For this annual guide I will give you a variety of gift ideas in a range of categories and prices.

Recently we have started seeing giant one-shot releases of some manga classics. I have reviewed Ode to Kirihito as well as the more recent Tekkon Kinkreet here, (both are excellent, and are still great gift ideas), and two new-to-English releases by the godfather of manga, Osamu Tezuka have recently released. Both Apollo’s Song and MW open as tragic and dark tales, and both explore themes of love versus hate and good versus evil. These are a very different from Tezuka’s more famous titles like Astro Boy, and neither of these books is directed at children. Apollo’s Song is the tale of the violent young Shogo who never received love from his mother and ends up in a mental hospital. The shock treatment he receives sends to bizarre places, from Germany during WWII to a deserted island to a futuristic Japan where humans are hunted. But what Shogo discovers about himself is what makes this bittersweet tale so moving.

MW is considered Tezuka’s darkest work, and it is a tragic and epic story. Filled with government cover-points and some pointed political opinion, MW is essentially the tale of an evil man who tries to find good in himself, and a good boy who enjoys growing up to become evil. Never overtly graphic, the horror comes through in Tezuka’s masterful story-telling. At 500 pages long each, the respective $19.99 and $24.99 price-tags are a real bargain.

A unique and fun gift is giving a completed series as a gift. While all 28 volumes of Lone Wolf and Cub might be a little extreme, an excellent series that just wrapped up is 2007 Eisner award-winning Old Boy. This urban revenge thriller is about a man trapped in an apartment for a decade, only to be released and armed with nothing but a cell phone and a belly full of vengeance. With some great twists and violent scenes this hard to put down epic ran for eight big volumes, and the whole collection will run about $100.

Another series that recently reached completion to much fanfare is Death Note. This moral tale of a high-school boy who finds a notebook which kills whoever’s name is written in it has reached massive attention in Japan and all over the world. This led to an animated series running now dubbed on Cartoon Network, and is also available on DVD (much better subbed), and two live-action films. In all its forms, the original manga is the most satisfying, and the very reasonably priced 12-volume series can be purchased for under $100.00.

Junji Ito’s name has come up more than once here, and he appears high on any short list of horror-manga masters. Two of his classic short series have just had their first volumes re-released with slick, new, “none more black” covers. Uzumaki showcases Ito’s originality as a small Japanese town is attacked by . . . spirals. Bizarre episodes build up as the story unfolds. Volume 2 comes out in January. Gyo is a fish tale of a whole different category, and this very original and gory scarefest literally brings the rotting stench of the ocean and its deadly inhabitants to your doorstep. Volume 2 comes out this month. Uzumaki and Gyo are both listed at $9.99

Shojo comics are mostly directed at girls, and there is no shortage of titles available, but two recent releases stuck out to me. Junior-high school life can be hell, and sometimes students can feel invisible to their peers. For young Shizuka of Translucent, it is because she actually IS invisible, at least for a couple days a month. This manga really hits the nail on the head of issues teens go through anywhere in the world, and her friend, Mamoru, maybe one of the funniest, most awkward, and most real characters in recent manga memory. Two volumes of Translucent are out now and go for $9.99 each.

Different from Translucent in almost every way, is the fantasy manhwa, Bride of the Water God. To end a long drought, young Soah is drowned by her town in sacrifice to the Water God. She is surprisingly rescued by him, and becomes her bride, but some bizarre twists and a difficult mother-in-law make for a tough new life. Bride of the Water God is gorgeously drawn and the story unfolds slowly and beautifully. The first volume is also $9.99.

Most Japanophiles are familiar with Ultraman in all of his forms. A smaller and trippier live-action hero series was “Kikaida 01”. This lesser known 70s show is like Ultraman on acid. With a great soundtrack, psychedelic monsters and robots, and some very athletic stunts, the entire “Kikaida 01” series of 46 episodes has been collected into a single six-DVD box-set. This subtitled set runs for $165.00.

Wondering what will be the anime cosplay hit at next year’s Kumoricon? Without a doubt there will be loli-goth fans dressed as Sumire and Lucia from the new anime release “Venus Versus Virus”. Not since Vampire Knight have there been school uniforms this darkly cool. The opening episodes play off like a lighter, funnier, more shojo Blood+. This demon-fighting duo, master and student, learn more about each other and their talents as their episode progresses, and it isn’t always good news. The story unfolds slowly and this is a very stylish title getting some much deserved attention. “Venus Versus Virus: Volume 1” lists at $29.99, but it wasn’t hard to find it for less than the cover price.

Finally, I have the perfect anime DVD for the truly hard-core, shut-in otaku on your shopping list. I wasn’t a huge fan of the “Welcome to the N.H.K.” manga, the original form of this story, so I was surprisingly impressed by the deeper and funnier animated version. College dropout Sato is a hikikomori, an extremely anti-social geek who hasn’t left his apartment in three years. A chance encounter with a cute young girl, (she came to his door, if you must ask), pulls him out of his shell and into a bigger conspiracy than most nerds could even theorize about on their own. “Welcome to the N.H.K.” takes advantage of the medium to deliver a lot of visual humor and this more mature title runs for $29.99.