Category Archives: dakazu’s reading

Various manga dakazu’s read with some commentary

Super-Dimensional Love Gun

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Super-Dimensional Love Gun

A collection of bizarre stories about pretty girls from Shintaro Kago.

We’ve discussed this on a recent episode.

This is my first Shintaro Kago book and the experience feels extremely similar to when I read Ultra Gash Inferno. Kago’s work has also been called erotic grotesque like Suehiro Maruo but Kago himself says that is actually limiting compared to the wide variety of stuff he creates. If you search for his art pieces you’ll find a wide variety of works that tend to be on the surreal side, which makes sense since Kago was heavily inspired by Salvador Dali.

The problem with Super-Dimensional Love Gun is that some stories focus on really disturbing content. This book contains stories about feeding body parts to others, cutting away skin, and scratching yourself until you skill turns raw. Compared to visuals of extreme violence like decapitations and dismemberment, Kago’s beautifully drawn images invoke relatable injuries that make your skin crawl. Strangely, many of these stories are dark comedies that end with punchlines.

I also want to issue a content warning for this manga because it includes a lot of female exploitation. Rape is abundant in these stories but I don’t think female exploitation is a necessarily a central theme for all of Shintaro Kago‘s works. Super-Dimensional Love Gun just happens to be a collection of these types of stories. I didn’t really like this but it did make me interested in checking out Kago’s other stuff.

Available in English from Denpa Books.

~dakazu

Hell Baby

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Hell Baby

A horror manga about a hideous newborn who is thrown away by the father. After spirits possess her dead body she revives as a monster who must constantly feed on blood and flesh to survive.

This is another out-of-print book by Hideshi Hino. I continue to be impressed by Hino’s distinct character designs and surprisingly beautiful backgrounds. When the hell baby travels into the city the buildings are dark rectangles with bright windows on them. The stark contrast really caught my eye.

I think the story here is more melancholy then some of the disturbing themes in The Panorama of Hell. The hell baby eventually finds her family and beautiful twin sister but is unable to bring herself to take revenge. This is a great sympathetic monster story and a real shame that it’s not available in English anymore.

~dakazu

Demon Deathchase

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Demon Deathchase

A novel where Vampire Hunter D is hired to rescue a young woman from a vampire lord. D must pursue the escaping vampire while competing with the deadly Marcus family bounty hunters.

We discussed the anime adaptation on a recent episode.

This is the third book in the Vampire Hunter D series and was the base for the Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust movie. Compared to the movie, it’s filled with more risque content involving the treatment of Leila within from the other Marcus brothers. I think Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is such a great adaptation of this book that you really don’t need to read this unless you’re a huge fan of the franchise. They’re available from Dark Horse Books.

~dakazu

Shiver: Junji Ito Selected Stories

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Shiver: Junji Ito Selected Stories

A collection of Junji Ito‘s horror comics.

This is a great collection of Junji Ito manga. You get a wide selection that even include some of his most iconic works, like Fashion Model and The Long Dream. I love that Ito did a bonus follow with Fashion Model: Cursed Frame. Some of the other stories aren’t that scary but Greased is the stuff of absolute disgusting nightmares. Actually, if you have trypophobia you should really just avoid this book like the plague. Otherwise I’d fully recommend this to fans of Junji Ito who want to read more of his shorter one-shots.

Available from VIZ.

~dakazu

Fort of Apocalypse

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Fort of Apocalypse

A horror manga about a group of delinquents in a juvenile correction facility who have to survive a zombie apocalypse.

A decent horror series. There’s some tense storytelling and interesting characters from Yuu Kuraishi and really grotesque monster designs from Kazu Inabe. The same creative duo went on do make Starving Anonymous and Denjin N, both of which are decent horror manga.

Fort of Apocalypse is a little similar to I am a Hero in the sense that it starts with regular zombies and then they evolve into more monstrous designs. I think Inabe deserves a lot of praise for his “creepy monster pasta” drawing skills. I recommend this if you’re looking for some good horror art.

Available from Kodansha Comics.

~dakazu

Utsubora: The Story of a Novelist

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Utsubora: The Story of a Novelist

A manga about a veteran novelist who plagiaries the work of a woman. When she commits suicide he is visited by a woman claiming to be her twin sister. What does this woman want and is she who she claims to be?

We’ve discussed this in a recent episode.

This book is more of a psychological thriller than a violent horror manga. Asumiko Nakamura draws equally elegant and erotic art. While the story itself might suffer from some confusion Nakamura’s artwork alone makes this series worth reading.

Available in English from Vertical.

~dakazu

Remina

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Remina

A horror manga about a mysterious planet that gets named Remina after the daughter of the astrologist who discovers it. When the planet reveals itself as a planet eating monstrosity headed towards Earth, people’s fears turn them into a vicious mob blaming Remina and her father.

This is an absolute banger from Junji Ito. It might be one of his few science fiction themed horror series but it’s fantastic. There’s some real cosmic horror stuff happening with the design of the hell planet Remina, terrifying mobs revealing the ugliest of humanity, and strangely comedic world ending situations as Remina escapes hundreds of pursuers pushed by winds and low gravity. The only scenes that bothered me a bit were some extended torture scenes of Remina being restrained and whipped. Still, I personally think Remina is fantastic and might be my go to recommendation for Ito’s work, only second to Uzumaki! It will be available soon in English from VIZ!

~dakazu

Homunculus

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Homunculus

A manga about a man who undergoes trepanation, a surgical procedure of drilling a hole in the skull, and becomes fascinated with the strange visions he begins to see.

Homunculus is a really interesting manga. It really explores this real life hypothesis researchers have about trepanation expanding your sixth sense. After the skeptical main character undergoes trepanation for money, he begins seeing people as strange forms or homunculus that reflect their inner selves. As the story enfolds the man investigates other homunculi while his mysterious background is slowly unraveled.

Homunculus is also a series that’s filled with some problematic content. There’s a story arc that covers some intense sexual assault and there’s a pretty outdated portrayal of a transgender person. Creator Hideo Yamamoto is known for his violent works like Ichi the Killer so I expected this book to be similar but since this series started in 2003 it more or less reflects the time period. I will praise Yamato for his fantastical designs for the various unique homunculi that are tied to character’s backstories.

It was recently announced that they’re adapting this into a live-action movie in 2021. I’m hoping buzz around the film will help Homunculus get an official English release!

~dakazu

The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service

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The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service

A manga about five college graduates who form a company that deals in solving the problems of the dead.

We’ve discussed this on a recent episode.

I know Morgana loves this series but I finally got a chance to read it and I can see why. I love the cast of characters who each have a unique ability that writer Eiji Otsuka created. Each member of the group in versed in a different skill that helps them track down and solve problems of their dead clientele. I also enjoyed Housui Yamazaki fun horror art when the corpses rise to seek revenge. While the series starts as episodic mysteries that jumps from case to case, the 2nd volume is one long story arc that heavily involves the backstory of one of the core members. I really enjoyed that longer story in the 2nd volume so I hope the other volumes will also be longer deeper stories. I look forward to reading more!

Available from Dark Horse Comics.

~dakazu

PTSD Radio

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PTSD Radio

A collection of short creepy stories.

Masaaki Nakayama is very similar to Junji Ito with his ability to draw creepy horror. But Nakayama focuses on even shorter stories than a normal manga chapter. Each story usually presents a setting and victim, and then they see something horrible and it ends. It’s a different kind of scare that honestly didn’t effect me as much. While I appreciated Nakayama’s ability to draw really creepy images it never personally unnerved me. I may be numb to his brand of scares but in that sense this book might be good for someone looking for a milder horror series.

Available from Kodansha Comics.

~dakazu