In conjunction with the New York Asian Film Festival, PopCultureShock is giving away three passes to the international premiere of Tamami: The Baby’s Curse, based on manga by Kazuo Umezu.

To enter, email ninjaconsultant@gmail.com between now and 5 PM tomorrow (Friday, June 20th), and we will select three winners by a random drawing.

You might remember Umezu for titles such as Drifting Classroom and Cat-Eyed Boy. Tamami: The Baby’s Curse, was directed by Yudai Yamaguch, whose Cromartie High School film was in the NYAFF in 2006. Yamaguch also directed the gory sports comedy Battlefield Baseball.

Here’s a description of Tamami: The Baby’s Curse from the NYAFF website:

Birthed in trauma, Yoko (Nako Mizusawa) is a fifteen-year-old orphan who suddenly discovers that she isn’t an abandoned child after all: her birth family are still alive and they want her back. She arrives at the family mansion to discover that her mother is insane, the housekeeper is a creepy old ghoul and her dad is a kindly, but distracted, professor of…we’re never quite sure. Oh, and there’s a crazed mutant baby in the attic that has the mind of an adult but the body of a killer infant with claws and fangs. And it’s not happy to have a big sister.

Here’s the scoop on VIZ Media’s big spring releases, including an example of comeuppance theater, a new series from Kaori “Godchild” Yuki, an old-school classic from Kazuo “Drifting Classroom” Umezu, and two series starring vampires. Yes folks, this spring… THERE WILL BE BLOOD! (Hah! Take that, Daniel Day-Lewis!)

From the VIZ Press Release:
The new releases are aimed primarily at Teen and Older Teen readers, which form the core of the manga market, and encompass a unique selection of genres ranging from action/adventure and shojo romance stories to darker, more twisted tales that exemplify the gothic and horror genres that have become extremely popular. The new series will include GUN BLAZE WEST, HARUKA: BEYOND THE STEAM OF TIME, NIGHTMARE INSPECTOR: YUMEKUI KENBUN, B.O.D.Y, FAIRY CUBE, THE RECORD OF A FALLEN VAMPIRE, ROSARIO+VAMPIRE, GIMMICK! and CAT EYED BOY…

GUN BLAZE WEST
Rated “T+” for Older Teens • MSRP: $7.99 • Available April 1, 2008
A brand new addition to the SHONEN JUMP imprint from Nobuhiro Watsuki, the creator of the successful samurai manga series RUROUNI KENSHIN and BUSO RENKIN (both published domestically by VIZ Media), GUN BLAZE WEST puts a new twist on the genre as it is set in 19th century America. Legend has it that in the far West lies a sacred land called Gun Blaze West, where only the strong can set foot. Viu Bannes, a cheerful and persistent boy, aspires to become a great gunslinger and yearns to travel to the West and test his strength. He befriends a vagabond, Marcus Homer, and they both decide to set off on a journey to find Gun Blaze West. The new title is VIZ Media’s first Western/Wild West series and will also be previewed in SHONEN JUMP magazine. Nobuhiro Watsuki’s critically acclaimed previous series RUROUNI KENSHIN is a fan favorite that has sold more than 1.1 million copies in North America and his BUSO RENKIN series likewise enjoys a wide and growing following.

HARUKA: BEYOND THE STREAM OF TIME
Rated “T+” for Older Teens • MSRP: $8.99 • Available April 1, 2008
HARUKA: BEYOND THE STREAM OF TIME is a highly anticipated new series based on a popular PS2 and Nintendo DS video game that is hugely popular in Japan. Akane is your typical teenage girl, until she swallows eight Dragon Jewels and is transported to the Heian period of ancient Japan! There in the Capital City, Akane learns that she has been preordained to lead the people as the Priestess of the Dragon God. But all is not well: Akram, the head of the Demon Clan, has sworn death and destruction on the Capital. So Akane is appointed Eight Guardians to stand by her side as she faces the danger that waits. HARUKA: BEYOND THE STREAM OF TIME is a new addition to VIZ Media’s SHOJO BEAT imprint and is currently being serialized in SHOJO BEAT magazine. The original Haruka video game was created by Ruby Party (aka Ruby Patty), the same group that designed the wildly popular Neoromance video game Angelique, and helped to define the modern Neoromance dating RPG format. Bandai Visual USA is also releasing the anime in April 2008.

NIGHTMARE INSPECTOR: YUMEKUI KENBUN
Rated “T” for Teens • MSRP: $9.99 • Available April 8, 2008
For those who suffer nightmares, help awaits at the Silver Star Tea House, where patrons can order much more than just Darjeeling. Hiruko is a special kind of private investigator, he’s a dream eater, and he’ll rid you of your darkest vision – for a price. Each chapter of NIGHMARE INSPECTOR is a self-contained story that offers a glimpse of mankind’s folly and gradually reveals a little more about Hiruko and his dark past. A highly anticipated new series with a gothic edge, NIGHTMARE INSPECTOR was published in Japan by Square Enix, the publisher of the first manga series from Shin Mashiba. Fan-buzz has abounded on this series and comparisons have been made to Neil Gaiman’s Sandman and DC’s classic House of Mystery/House of Secrets.

B.O.D.Y.
Rated “T+” for Older Teens • MSRP: $9.99 • Available April 8, 2008
Everyone thinks 16-year-old Sakura has weird taste in guys because she can’t stop drooling over Ryunosuke, the strong silent type who sits next to her in class. When she discovers he works for a host club, where women actually pay men to date them, will she finally wise up? Will he leave his job to be with her? Or will she take a job at the club so he can quit so she can be with him so…? Only one thing’s for sure in B.O.D.Y. - you can’t put a price on love! B.O.D.Y. originally appeared in the Japanese shojo monthly Bessatsu Margaret was created by Ao Mimori. It is her third shojo manga series and is also currently serialized in SHOJO BEAT magazine.

FAIRY CUBE
Rated “T+” for Older Teens • MSRP: $8.99 • Available May 6, 2008
Ian and Rin used to just see spirits. Now Ian is one. Using the Fairy Cube, Ian must figure out how to stop the lizard spirit Tokage from taking over his life and destroying any chance he has of resurrection. FAIRY CUBE is the long-awaited new series from gothic manga mastermind Kaori Yuki, who created ANGEL SANCTUARY, GODCHILD, and THE CAIN SAGA (all published by VIZ Media). A new addition to VIZ Media’s SHOJO BEAT imprint, FAIRY CUBE will be previewed in the April 2008 issue of SHOJO BEAT magazine.

THE RECORD OF A FALLEN VAMPIRE
Rated “T” for Teens • MSRP: $9.99 • Available May 13, 2008
Thousands of years ago, Vampire King Akabara Rosered Strauss lost both his kingdom and his queen. Since humans were unable to kill the queen, they sealed her away, erecting thousands of fake seals so that the king would never find her true location. Despite being pursued by relentless humans and half-vampires alike, Akabara continues to search for his queen to this day. Akabara’s quest takes a sinister turn when an entity called the Black Swan appears. The Black Swan inhabits the body of a young human girl every 50 years, giving her the power to destroy the Vampire King and his queen. With each incarnation the Black Swan grows stronger –will the 49th Black Swan mean the end of Akabara? THE RECORD OF A FALLEN VAMIRE is illustrated by Yuri Kimura and written by Kyo Shirodaira, the award-winning writer behind the popular mystery manga and animated series SPIRAL – BONDS OF REASONING.

ROSARIO + VAMPIRE
Rated “T+” for Older Teens • MSRP: $9.99 • Available May 13, 2008
All-around average teenager Tsukune can’t get accepted to any high school save one, but on his first day, he finds the rest of the student body doesn’t appear average in the least. Best of all, the cutest girl on campus can’t wait to fling her arms around his neck! Wait a sec’, are those her teeth around his neck too? Tsukune’s going to have one heck of a hickey when he gets home from Monster High! But does he have a chance in hell of raising his grades at a school where the turf war isn’t between the jocks and the nerds but between vampires and the werewolves? Find out in the new series from Akihisa Ikeda.

GIMMICK!
Rated “T+” for Older Teens • MSRP: $9.99 • Available June 10, 2008
Gimmick! is an interesting new series by Youzaburou Kanari and focuses on Kohei Nagase, a genius in the realm of movie make-up and special effects. With his stuntman buddy Kannazuki, Kohei helps various people in need get out of tough situations through the use of his brilliant make-up skills. This series has action, mystery, and lots of insights about the technical aspects that go into doing really cool movie make-up.

CAT EYED BOY
Rated “T+” for Older Teens • MSRP: $24.99 • Available June 17, 2008
Cat Eyed Boy is a half-human, half-monster child whose mostly human appearance bans him from the demon world. He lives hidden in the shadows of the human world, hated by humans and demons alike. Wherever he goes, awful events occur as the humans and demons interact. In 11 stories of revenge and retribution full of disturbing images, Cat Eyed Boy acts as a trickster, saving the innocent and helping the wicked receive the punishment that fate metes out. The first volume contains four stories and the first part of a fifth and longer story. CAT EYED BOY was created by Kazuo Umezu, the undisputed master of Japanese horror manga and creator of the critically acclaimed DRIFTING CLASSROOM (also published by VIZ Media). Cat Eyed Boy offers up a concoction of dark vignettes dripping with the macabre and the absurd.

Planning to attend New York Anime Fest this weekend? If so, you need a strategy for getting the most out of this three-day extravaganza. Here are five fun things to do… besides shop ’til you drop and nab autographs, of course.

5. Watch a live-action adaptation of your favorite manga.
Sounds like a counter-intuitive thing to do at a festival celebrating animation, but Viz Pictures is screening a terrific line-up of movies that includes Honey and Clover, Lovely Complex (a.k.a. Love*Com) and both Nana flicks. Catch ‘em here before Viz releases them on DVD next year!

• Friday, Dec. 7th: Lovely Complex (5:00 PM, Live-Action Screening Room)

• Sunday, Dec. 9th: Nana (1:00 PM, Live-Action Screening Room)
• Sunday, Dec. 9th: Honey and Clover (3:00 PM, Live-Action Screening Room)

4. Tour Japan with a tall girl (and maybe pick up some cosplay tips, too).
Aimee Major Steinberger, one of this year’s Guests of Honor, will preside over two panels. The first celebrates the release of her charming travelogue Japan-Ai: A Tall Girl’s Adventures in Japan. (Dramacon creator Svetlana Chmakova explains, “It’s a sketchbook, it’s a story, it’s a warmly humorous and often downright beautiful glimpse of Japan through the eyes of a fellow geek.”) The second might best be described as Cosplay 101. Aimee will cover the basics from wig styling to adapting outlandish character designs into something you can wear to a convention… without being arrested for indecent exposure, that is.

• Saturday, Dec. 8th: Aimee Major Steinberger’s Japan Ai (4:00 PM, Anime Culture Panel Room)

• Sunday, Dec. 9th: Cosplay Workshop (11:00 AM, Anime Fandom Panel Room)

3. Break into journalism.
Whether you’re an armchair critic or cub reporter, the folks at Anime News Network have you covered with two panels offering would-be Pauline Kaels and Lois Lanes tips on breaking into the biz. The first, Getting Into Anime Journalism, focuses on making the transition from casual fan to anime insider, while the second, The Art of Reviewing Anime, explores the “differences between a good anime review and a bad LiveJournal post.” (Hint: spelling and grammar are major contributing factors!)

• Friday, Dec. 7th: Getting Into Anime Journalism (6:00 PM, Anime Culture Panel Room)

• Saturday, Dec. 8th: The Art of Reviewing Anime (11:00 AM, Anime Culture Panel Room)

2. Go mano-a-mano with Mothra.
Imagine an event that combined your favorite monster movies with your favorite pro wrestling moves, and you’ll have some idea of what’s in store for you at the Kaiju Big Battel panel. Go behind the scenes with the Kaiju Regulatory Commission to learn more about this “maximum security” sporting event in which “maniacal villains, ominous alien beasts, and gigantic, city-crushing monsters who are fighting for control of the globe” unleash “pent-up monster rage” without harming humans.

• Sunday, Dec. 9th: Kaiju Big Battel (4:00 PM, Anime Fandom Panel Room)

1. Learn something about Japanese culture.
Sure, your extensive knowledge of anime and manga has made you into an expert on maid cafes, cultural festivals, and White Day gift-giving. But there’s a lot more to Japanese culture than ramen noodles and cute boy bands. Expand your horizons by attending one of many panels exploring Japan’s rich history and traditions. Here are some highlights:

• Friday, Dec. 7th: Gekiga: Dramatic Manga (3:00 PM, Anime Culture Panel Room)

• Friday, Dec. 7th: Symbolism in Anime (4:00 PM, Anime Fandom Panel Room)
• Saturday, Dec. 8th: Anime & Manga Research Roundtable (1:00 PM, Anime Culture Panel Room)
• Saturday, Dec. 8th: J-Horror with David Kalat (5:00 PM, Anime Culture Panel Room)
• Saturday, Dec. 8th: Sake and The City (6:00 PM, Anime Culture Panel Room)
• Sunday, Dec. 9th: Samurai and Feudal Japan (11:00 AM, Anime Culture Panel Room)
• Sunday, Dec. 9th: Noh, Kabuki and Bunraku (12:00 PM, Anime Culture Panel Room)
• Sunday, Dec. 9th: Japanese Woodblock Prints (1:00 PM, Anime Culture Panel Room)

The organizers of NY Anime Fest have posted a complete schedule of panels, premieres, and screenings on their website. There are also more interactive ways to get your geek on: cosplay contests, artist signings, haiku slams, and a maid cafe. Click here for a full schedule of events and contests. And if you’re planning to duck out of the Javits Center, consult Erin F.’s map for the best places to find manga and munchables in midtown Manhattan.

Welcome to the first installment of The Otaku Bookshelf, an occasional feature reviewing books of interest to the avid anime and manga fan. Our inaugural column looks at three very different titles; Dragon Sword and Wind Child (Viz), a Japanese fantasy novel steeped in Shinto mythology; J-Horror: The Definitive Guide to The Ring, The Grudge, and Beyond (Vertical, Inc.), an overview of Japanese horror films; and Parasite Eve (Vertical, inc.), a medical thriller that out-icks Michael Crichton in its Grand Guignol finale.

Dragon Sword and Wind Child

By Noriko Ogiwara; Translated by Cathy Hirano
Viz, 286 pp.

Noriko Ogiwara’s Dragon Sword and Wind Child is an old-fashioned fantasy novel whose pages teem with wood spirits, handsome princes, magic swords, and talking animals. The story begins in a remote village in the kingdom of Toyoashihara, where an elderly couple have been raising Saya, a headstrong orphan. From childhood, they have taught Saya to worship the Children of Light, an immortal race of deities who preside over the heavens. At the village’s annual courtship dance, Prince Tsukihiro, the moon god himself, appears before the village to claim Saya as his bride. Before Tsukihiro whisks her away, Saya encounters a strange group of spirits who warn her not to follow him. They tell her that she is the reincarnation of the Water Maiden, a warrior destined to lead the Children of Darkness—the ancient spirits of the forests, mountains, and oceans—against the Children of Light with the aid of the powerful Dragon Sword….

Click here to read the rest of Kate’s review.

J-Horror: The Definitive Guide to The Ring, The Grudge, and Beyond

By David Kalat
Vertical, Inc., 320 pp.

I’m not a horror buff. Maybe it’s because I don’t scare too easily at the movies, or maybe it’s because the idea of undying mythological creatures and ridiculously competent psychopaths don’t mesh well with my hyper-logical world view. I get far more tense with carefully crafted plot developments that have huge ramifications for the characters involved, like when Lex Luthor took control of the Watchtower’s laser cannon in Justice League Unlimited and fired at a city, or when Sousuke Sagara seemingly leaves Kaname Chidori in Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid. That stuff makes my skin tingle and gets my blood flowing. So-called “horror” does not…

Click here to read Carlos’ review.

Parasite Eve

Written by Hideaki Sena, Translated by Tyran Grillo
Vertical Inc., 319 pp.

Originally published in 1995, Parasite Eve is a cross between a medical thriller and a horror novel, a combination that brought it widespread attention and acclaim in Japan. In fact, it was so highly regarded that it was the first novel to win the Japanese Horror Novel award. Despite the strong sales and awards, however, the two Playstation games based upon made it to the US sooner than the source material. Still, better late then never, right? Well…

Click here to read Ken’s review.

Book Review: J-Horror: The Definitive Guide to The Ring, The Grudge, and Beyond

By David Kalat
Vertical, Inc., 320 pp.

I’m not a horror buff. Maybe it’s because I don’t scare too easily at the movies, or maybe it’s because the idea of undying mythological creatures and ridiculously competent psychopaths don’t mesh well with my hyper-logical world view. I get far more tense with carefully crafted plot developments that have huge ramifications for the characters involved, like when Lex Luthor took control of the Watchtower’s laser cannon in Justice League Unlimited and fired at a city, or when Sousuke Sagara seemingly leaves Kaname Chidori in Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid. That stuff makes my skin tingle and gets my blood flowing. So-called “horror” does not.

J-Horror: The Definitive Guide to The Ring, The Grudge, and Beyond, written by David Kalat, delves into the world of horror movies, and the impact that Ring, in its many forms and via its many knockoffs, had on the genre. And while it hasn’t made a horror buff out of me, it did offer a very provocative look into the successes and failings of horror movies the world over, and why movies like Ring and Tomie succeeded in reviving a genre grown stagnant and predictable.

David Kalat’s writing style is easy to follow and well-paced. With very little knowledge of or interest in horror films, I initially thought this was going to be a difficult read. I needn’t have worried; J-Horror ensured that I was brought up to speed, explaining the motivations and “isms” of horror movies in a manner easily understood. Yet the book never comes off as condescending. Nor does it exhibit a pro-Japanese bias. Kalat doesn’t pander to fanboys here; he looks at the phenomenon of Japanese-style horror movies in an objective light.

Interestingly, perhaps inevitably, given the common elements often found in good film, Kalat touches upon quite a few issues that not only apply to horror movies, but also to just about any narrative work. When discussing the subtlety of The Ring compared to more gory horror flicks, Kalat–maybe inadvertently, maybe not–reminds you of the importance of subtlety and grace, and that the best way to illicit emotion in storytelling is not with over-the-top violence or melodrama, but with more intimate settings and engaging characters.

J-Horror isn’t perfect. The editors chose to use endnotes, rather than the more reader-friendly footnotes, relegating citations to the end of every chapter. Yet magazine-style “asides” litter the book, sometimes taking up more than one page. I would have rather seen the sidebars saved until chapter’s end or incorporated into the “regular” text. Another problem with J-Horror is that The Ring is the most fascinating topic presented. While The Grudge, Scary True Stories, and other titles still lend to the book’s appeal, it is really The Ring that steals the show.

But those are all minor gripes at best. I had a great time reading J-Horror. The greatest compliment I can give it is that despite presenting subject matter I have no real interest in, it managed to educate and captivate me. Highly recommended.

Parasite Eve

Written by Hideaki Sena, Translated by Tyran Grillo
Vertical Inc., 319 pp.
Rating: Mature

Originally published in 1995, Parasite Eve is a cross between a medical thriller and a horror novel, a combination that brought it widespread attention and acclaim in Japan. In fact, it was so highly regarded that it was the first novel to win the Japanese Horror Novel award. Despite the strong sales and awards, however, the two Playstation games based upon made it to the US sooner than the source material. Still, better late then never, right? Well…

The basic plot is actually quite good. The driving concept is that the mitochondria within our cells decide to rebel, wrecking havoc in the process. The mitochondria take their time, however, first seizing control of a woman named Kiyomi, then causing her death and manipulating her husband, Toshiaki, into saving some of Kiyomi’s liver cells for a mad scientist experiment. The tragedy isn’t limited to their family, as Eve-1, (the name given to the mitochondrion intelligence), spins a web that ensnares a sick girl named Mariko and her distraught father Anzai as well. What Eve-1 has planned for poor Mariko will make Kiyomi’s death look like a walk in the park. This intricate build-up leads to that horrific climax involving Mariko, a forced pregnancy, and the birth of something more than human.

Though the story holds promise, Parasite Eve is overshadowed by two major flaws: pacing and detail. The first half of the book is incredibly slow, with almost nothing happening for about 170 pages or so. (Well, nothing too horrific.) These early pages are mostly concerned with Toshiaki’s descent into madness and Mariko’s fears about a potentially life-saving organ transplant. (In fairness to the author, the slow pace helps build our sympathy for the emotionally bruised Mariko.)

The amount of detail is also problematic. Sena aims for clinical realism as he describes Toshiaki’s numerous experiments, but drowns the reader in complex medical terminology instead. When Toshiaki decides to dye and examine his wife’s liver cells, Sena relates every single step taken, right down to the type of dye used. The abundance of terms like beta-oxidization levels, HEPES buffer solutions, and hybridoma makes long stretches of Parasite Eve read more like a scientific paper and less like a scary novel. Once Eve-1 ceases to be a pile of strange cells in a tube, however, the book becomes one hell of a page turner. Sena’s attention to medical details becomes an asset as he offers gripping, gory descriptions of some rather nasty acts, including spontaneous combustion.

Given his background as a scientist (he’s a researcher for the pharmaceutical industry), Sena’s penchant for clinical detail is hardly surprising. Still, one can’t help but wish someone had told him to tone it down a bit. On the upside, there is a glossary in the back that does help clarify many of the terms used in the story. On the downside, there’s no way to know which terms are back there short of checking any time you come across a word of phrase you don’t understand. A footnote or annotations system would have been helpful here. In addition to the glossary, there’s also two-page bibliography listing the articles and books that Sena drew on for the story. I suppose it’s nice to have, but I can’t see many people tracking down a 1994 issue of a Japanese medical journal for information on kidney transplants.

In the end, Parasite Eve is a schizophrenic read. The first half is horribly slow and full of jargon that could put many J-Horror fans right off, especially if they picked it up expecting something along the lines of Suzuki’s Ring novels. The second half, the pay off, is absolutely fantastic: gripping, horrific, mind-bendingly twisted. I just think most folks will give up before they get that far.

Presents, Vol. 1

By Kanako Inuki
CMX, 200 pp.
Rating: Mature (18+)

Kanako Inuki, the creator of School Zone, has written a three volume horror series about, well.. presents. If you’re wondering how someone can make the idea of presents scary, you’re not alone. Thankfully, Inuki manages to get some fairly disturbing tales out of a seemingly non-frightening concept.

The book opens with a short tale about Mayuki and Kurumi, two schoolgirls whose birthdays fall in the same month. When this happens, the class usually holds a single party for anyone born during the month and gives presents to each student. But not this time. Mayuki and the other girls have always been jealous of the much cuter Kurumi, so they conspire to embarrass her by not giving her any presents. This one moment of pettiness ultimately dooms an untold number of people. Presentless Kurumi is humiliated and never seen or heard from again. Under normal circumstances, this might simply mean she transferred to another school, but since it’s a horror manga, that clearly won’t be the case. Through some bizarre twist of fate, Kurumi ends up becoming the spirit of presents, staying forever young and acting as an odd guardian angel of presents and those that receive them everywhere.

The rest of the book is made up of short, unrelated stories, which is a trend I’m starting to notice is mature readers horror manga. (Was Tales From the Crypt popular in Japan?) The tales range from the silly–a girl sends away for all the freebies and enters all the contests she can out of selfishness, and meets a gruesome end–to the disturbing–Kurumi attempts to help a neglected and mentally abused child. A lot of the stories fall somewhere in between these two, with Kurumi delivering justice for tormented children or aiding tortured artists through presents: horrible gifts for the selfish or cruel, and nice ones for those in need. More often than not, the presents she gives to seemingly innocent and kind folks backfire. The aforementioned story about a neglected child is a great example of this. The poor girl never sees her parents, who shower her with stuffed rabbits in an attempt to keep her happy. Still, she feels alone, wondering why her parents stay away so much. Kurumi takes pity on the girl and tells her that the presents are filled with her parents’ love for her. Sadly, the next time the child sees her parents they’re anything but loving. This heartbreaking encounter results in the girl going insane and… well… things get bloody. Very, very, bloody.

Despite the seemingly stand-alone nature of the stories, there are a few longer plot threads weaved through the book. Several stories give us glimpses and hints of how Kurumi became the spirit of presents, and there are suggestions that she’s somehow a kindred spirit to another gift-giving cultural icon, Santa Claus. He even appears briefly with the promise of a return in the second volume.

Inoki’s artwork is surprisingly old-fashioned looking. The eyes on the characters are huge, and there’s something incredibly doll-like about all of the children’s appearances. There’s something oddly seventies-ish about the curly hair and the polka dot dresses as well. Still, once you get past this stylistic tic, you realize just how well the artwork works for the stories. Inoki’s faces are incredibly expressive, and the odd style lends itself to the ugliness that results from the some of the more brutal presents.

It’s a pretty good horror book, though some of the stories are a bit hit or miss in nature. Still, when Inuki’s on she’s really, really on and capable of crafting some emotionally powerful tales.

Volume one of Presents is available now.

Uzumaki, Vol. 1

By Junji Ito
Viz, 208 pp.
Rating: Older Teens

In this, the first of a three volume series, we’re introduced to a small town with a big problem: Kurozu-cho is haunted, not by a ghost but by a shape. The shape of the spiral. While that may not sound terribly threatening, Junji Ito shows just how bizarre and unnerving the spiral can be as it weaves its way into the lives of the townspeople with horrifying results.

The volume opens with a two-parter introducing the spiral menace and the two main characters, a school girl named Kirie Goshima and her boyfriend Shuichi Sato. What starts out as merely an odd obsession of Shuichi’s father slowly begins to spread, infecting the town in more and more obvious and outlandish ways. As the story unfolds, Shuichi and Kirie are sometimes pushed the side, watching and relating the tales of others whose lives are affected by the spiral madness. Bizarre, spiral-phobic self-mutilation, possessed pottery, and demonic hair cause just a few of the things we see in the first volume. Some of these tales–the initial madness of Shuichi’s father and mother for example, or the bodily deformation caused by the slow growth of a scar–are disturbing; others don’t quite hit the creepy and freakish mark, but are no less interesting. The possessed hair story that features a hair fight between Kirie and another girl at school misses the horror mark by a fairly wide margin. Scary? No. Cool? Definitely!

Junji Ito’s artwork throughout is magnificent. He incorporates the spiral pattern into the backgrounds of the book from the very beginning, creating the sense that there’s something not quite right with the town. Twisted blades of grass, strange cloud formations, patterns on the walls–all suggest this shape is somehow permeating the town in an unnatural fashion, and lends credibility to Shuichi’s desire to escape Kurozu-cho (not to mention his mother’s fear of spirals). The level of detail in the artwork adds further weight to the body-deforming acts that occur as the story progresses. From the sickening sight of an over-extended tongue, to the writhing, twisting mass of a human body, Ito’s artwork ensures that each is depicted in appropriately creepy and unnerving matter.

With two more volumes on the way, this series is far from over, and I can’t wait to see what kind of horrors await the townspeople of Kurozu-cho as the story progresses. Uzumaki is a must-have for fans of Japanese horror.

Volume one of Uzumaki is available now.

Gyo, Vol. 1

By Junji Ito
Viz, 200 pp.
Rating: Mature

Tadashi and Kaori are two teens looking to have a nice vacation by the sea. Unfortunately for them, the quiet resort town they’re visiting is about to be invaded by fish. With legs. What follows is a fun little monster story about.. well, walking fish. Japan is slowly being overrun by these mysterious creatures. Where do they come from? What do they want? No one knows at this point in the story; they’re just trying to deal with the sheer number of fish, the overwhelming stench, and the strange disease that’s begun infecting humans.

The characters in Gyo are an odd couple. Tadashi, the boy, is likable and level-headed, coping with the madness of the mutant fish as best he can. His girlfriend, Kaori, is a different story altogether. She’s annoying, bossy, and prone to hysterical screaming fits about smells. Sadly, this works against the story, since we don’t care a wit once she’s infected with the fish-borne disease. In fact, I chuckled quite a bit at Kaori’s fate, especially when the mutated, bloated girl attempts suicide by hanging herself from a ceiling fan, only to be propelled around in a circle by noxious gas escaping from her… um, rear. It’s a very silly moment which gives the story a popcorn movie feel. In fact, the entire story is full of moments like that. Between watching people flee from hordes of walking fish and Tadashi and Kaori fending off an attack from a walking Great White, Gyo feels like the kind of action/horror story you’d expect to see on a big screen.

Ito’s artwork here is actually a bit more polished than in Uzumaki. It seems a bit tighter and cleaner, but at the same time, something seems to be missing. Still, it’s strong art that does a great job at depicting all the action and fish. Ito’s fish are amazing; the leg design is surprisingly organic-looking, which lends to the “wrongness” of the situation.

While Gyo isn’t as off-the-wall as Uzumaki, or as gory as some of Ito’s other work, it still manages to be a fun little monster thrill ride.

Volume one of Gyo is available now.

Mail, Vols. 1-3

By Housui Yamazaki
Published by Dark Horse
Rating: Mature Readers

From Housui Yamazaki, the artist for The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, comes the three-volume horror series Mail. Like Golgo 13, Mail consists of vignettes built around a single character. The series’ hero is Akiba, a detective who comes off as disarmingly useless and naive but is, in Columbo-ish fashion, hiding his true intelligence. And his ability to see dead people. We get few glimpses into his past, though Yamazaki does at least provide us with an “origin story” in the first volume, and a rather disturbing flashback to Akiba’s childhood in the third.

Yamakazi sticks to a basic formula for most of the stories: Someone gets into trouble with a ghost. We learn a little bit about the ghost–how and why he (or she) is menacing the living. Then Akiba shows up and takes the ghost out with one shot from Kagutsuchi, his holy gun. Though this structure might sound pretty bland and repetitive, Yamazaki constantly offers fun and creepy takes on the traditional ghost story, from haunted cars to ghostly limbs.

Though I enjoy Yamakazi’s work on Kurosagi, I think his art really shines in Mail. At first glance, the clean line work might not seem to lend itself to horror stories. Once the ghosts begin to turn up, and the first gory images appear, however, any doubts about the appropriateness of the artwork are banished. There isn’t a whole lot of overly graphic gore present in the book; most of the horror relies on Yamazaki’s ability to create a creepy atmosphere. His use of double page spreads provide for some really chilling moments, even when the action in them isn’t what one would think of as visually scary or dramatic. The best example can be found in “Hide and Seek” (volume one), which is set in a haunted apartment. Yamazaki gives us a lovely, two-page spread that consists of a woman looking into an empty room while a ghostly head peeks back at her around a corner–from a ceiling perch. It doesn’t sound like much, but the build up and reveal give it a nice punch.

Dark Horse chose to leave the Japanese sound effects intact with translation notes at the end of each volume. Thankfully, there’s a lot more to these endnotes than just an index of sound effects. As he did for Kurosagi, editor Carl Horn uses these appendices as a dumping ground for all sorts of interesting tidbits: explanations about Japanese terms for World War II, information about locations mentioned in the stories, and a wonderful rant about John Woo’s Windtalkers. Most folks might skip over the endnotes, but they really shouldn’t. They’re interesting, insightful, and funny to boot. It’s a nice little unexpected bonus.

Overall, Mail is a fantastic horror series that’s far too short. Three volumes just weren’t enough for me, especially after some developments late in the third volume. Thankfully, Mail fans can look forward to one more Akiba story, as he makes an appearance in the fourth volume of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service.

All three volumes of Mail are available now. Click here for a preview of volume one.

Portus

By Jun Abe
Viz, 226 pp.
Rating: Mature Readers

A high school girl mysteriously commits suicide, leaving behind only one clue: Portus, a videogame that she mentioned shortly before her death. Her best friend, Asami, is determined to get to the bottom of it all, and with the help of two teachers, Keigo and Mayumi, she sets off to discover the secret behind Portus. Sound familiar? It should, as it’s your standard J-Horror ghost story, but instead of a dead wet girl we get a dead dry boy.

If you’ve seen The Ring or just about any other J-Horror dead wet girl movie then you’ll know exactly what to expect from Portus. The main trio are a fairly flimsy and cliched group: the concerned friend, the motherly teacher, the skeptical but helpful ally. Oddly enough, the most throughly developed character in the entire book is the ghost itself. Large chunks of the story are given to explaining its past, showing why it’s angry, and how it’s connected to the game. Sadly though, these scenes aren’t enough to lift Portus out of the generic ghost story category. It’s a very predictable plot, right down to the “hero” moment in which one of the protagonists saves another in a dramatic and timely fashion. Even the message the story tries to convey, two wrongs don’t make a right, is a bit heavy-handed.

Still, there is one high point to Portus: Jun Abe’s art. His linework is surprisingly detailed with a delicate feel. From the skinny Takashi to the chubby, geeky Sugano, the characters look and feel different from each other and even carry themselves differently from one another–no idealized bodies here, even for the young Asami. The detail pays off in the horrific moments of the book as well. The realistic artwork gives the brutal and disturbing moments a bit more oomph. There is one odd scene, however. At one point during a flashback, we see someone get hit in the head with a meat cleaver, but for some reason the image is pixilated out. Why this was done is beyond me, but it really pulled me out of the story; it took me a moment to figure out what had been obscured. It also made no sense, since the next panel shows the cleaver being removed in all its graphic and disturbing detail. Aside from that one nitpick, the artwork is quite elegant.

Overall, Portus is an okay ghost story that has some good moments, but it feels too derivative for its own good. The artwork is definitely the highlight. Abe creates some some lovely visual moments here and there, but sadly, it’s just not special enough to stand out from the crowd of “Dead Wet Girl” movies and stories already out there.

This review is based on a complimentary copy provided by the publisher. Portus will be released on October 9th.