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scans_dailySo when I began this new series of posts about Fuan no Tane, I said that I always envisioned the author as a mousey little guy who lived in a state of constant bewilderment and fear. Don't get me wrong: I have the highest respect for the man and his work. But he's still a major wuss.
Why would I say such a thing? Well, I mean, just look at him.
That there is TERROR SWEAT, baby! There's even the standard, jaggedy triangles, Fuan no Tane "horrifying moment" background behind him!
The title of this story is "My Town?"
So a while back Masaaki Nakamura visited his old home town. He describes it as more beautiful than he remembered it... similar in some ways, but oddly different in others. Anyway, he goes to visit his old home street of Furukawa street. But WHAT'S THIS?
Oh, man. Could Masaaki Nakamura have simply remembered the name of his old street wrong? No! Impossible! And so his terror mounts, and the sweat drops begin to fly, until...
Dun
Dun
DUN!
"B-but my letters prove me right! And yet, it is equally impossible that the town's records were wrong. It is as if I have stumbled into some eerie parallel dimension or something! Is this really... MY TOWN?"
Um, yeah. Take a chill pill, Nakamura! Sure, that's a little weird and everything (and I do mean a LITTLE weird), but I'm not sure it's a story that belongs in a horror manga.
This, however, was not the only scary experience that the author has had, or even the worst. There was also the horrifying case of... THE FRENCH LANGUAGE!
Even reading a map can be a frightening experience for poor Masaaki Nakamura. Observe his young son/nephew/whoever wondering what incredibly minor thing is causing him to sweat-drop this time.
Holy mother of god! It's the FRENCH LANGUAGE... inexplicably appearing right where we least expected it! Well, I can certainly see why this anecdote was frightening enough to put in a horror manga.
We don't get to see what happens next, since this is actually the end of this two-page story. But I like to think that had there been another page, it would have featured Nakamura screaming "AHAAHAHHAHAHA! It's a sign! And it says FRENCH LANGUAGE on it! AAAAARRRRghhhhhh...." before running home to hide under his covers.
I know what you're thinking: "Fungo, your analysis is obviously correct in all details. But what in the world could have made Masaaki Nakamura grow up to be such a marshmallow?"
Well, this next story just might shed some light on the matter. It's a tale from Nakamura's childhood...
Lady, I think it's safe to say that your cutesy "bwoo" crap scarred your son for life. Well done!
I like the story, though. It's a neat, slightly eerie tale of a child's imagination running wild.
If you will humor my reminiscing for a moment, it reminds me of the lockdown procedure at a school I used to work at. During our first lockdown drill, the principal came on the intercom to issue the fantastically creepy proclamation, "Mr. Dwight is in the building" (since the school was called Dwight Elementary). Naturally, all the first graders wanted to know who the hell Mr. Dwight was, and why his presence in the building meant that you had to hide under your desk while your teacher locked the door. Within a couple of weeks, there were stories going around about how if you were alone in the bathroom and the lights went off, "Mr. Dwight" would appear and eat you. Apparently the principal caught wind of the budding urban legend that she had inadvertently created, since by our next lockdown drill the code phrase had been changed to something incredibly innocuous and non-threatening.
But I digress. On to today's bonus story, presented with minimal snark interruption, because it is so goddamn beautiful.
First kid: "Is that guy talking to a freaking teddy bear?"
Second kid: "Maybe he's some kind of furry, like I saw on CSI."
Beautiful imagery, there.
Har, little Maya named her teddy bear after herself!
Oh, so big brother Toshi kidnapped Maya Jr. just to dick around with his house-bound little sister? What a bastard!
OR IS HE?
Dammit! Can't... read those last two pages... without crying... ;_;
In conclusion, Masaaki Nakamura is a brilliant writer and artist, able to produce stories that are scary, sweet, or just plain WTF? as his whim dictates. I may rag on the man from time to time, but trust me, I kid because I love.
(Of course it's not all horror! For our bonus this time, it's the incredibly sweet story of the haunted teddy bear. Yes, you heard me.)
Why would I say such a thing? Well, I mean, just look at him.
That there is TERROR SWEAT, baby! There's even the standard, jaggedy triangles, Fuan no Tane "horrifying moment" background behind him!
The title of this story is "My Town?"
So a while back Masaaki Nakamura visited his old home town. He describes it as more beautiful than he remembered it... similar in some ways, but oddly different in others. Anyway, he goes to visit his old home street of Furukawa street. But WHAT'S THIS?
Oh, man. Could Masaaki Nakamura have simply remembered the name of his old street wrong? No! Impossible! And so his terror mounts, and the sweat drops begin to fly, until...
Dun
Dun
DUN!
"B-but my letters prove me right! And yet, it is equally impossible that the town's records were wrong. It is as if I have stumbled into some eerie parallel dimension or something! Is this really... MY TOWN?"
Um, yeah. Take a chill pill, Nakamura! Sure, that's a little weird and everything (and I do mean a LITTLE weird), but I'm not sure it's a story that belongs in a horror manga.
This, however, was not the only scary experience that the author has had, or even the worst. There was also the horrifying case of... THE FRENCH LANGUAGE!
Even reading a map can be a frightening experience for poor Masaaki Nakamura. Observe his young son/nephew/whoever wondering what incredibly minor thing is causing him to sweat-drop this time.
Holy mother of god! It's the FRENCH LANGUAGE... inexplicably appearing right where we least expected it! Well, I can certainly see why this anecdote was frightening enough to put in a horror manga.
We don't get to see what happens next, since this is actually the end of this two-page story. But I like to think that had there been another page, it would have featured Nakamura screaming "AHAAHAHHAHAHA! It's a sign! And it says FRENCH LANGUAGE on it! AAAAARRRRghhhhhh...." before running home to hide under his covers.
I know what you're thinking: "Fungo, your analysis is obviously correct in all details. But what in the world could have made Masaaki Nakamura grow up to be such a marshmallow?"
Well, this next story just might shed some light on the matter. It's a tale from Nakamura's childhood...
Lady, I think it's safe to say that your cutesy "bwoo" crap scarred your son for life. Well done!
I like the story, though. It's a neat, slightly eerie tale of a child's imagination running wild.
If you will humor my reminiscing for a moment, it reminds me of the lockdown procedure at a school I used to work at. During our first lockdown drill, the principal came on the intercom to issue the fantastically creepy proclamation, "Mr. Dwight is in the building" (since the school was called Dwight Elementary). Naturally, all the first graders wanted to know who the hell Mr. Dwight was, and why his presence in the building meant that you had to hide under your desk while your teacher locked the door. Within a couple of weeks, there were stories going around about how if you were alone in the bathroom and the lights went off, "Mr. Dwight" would appear and eat you. Apparently the principal caught wind of the budding urban legend that she had inadvertently created, since by our next lockdown drill the code phrase had been changed to something incredibly innocuous and non-threatening.
But I digress. On to today's bonus story, presented with minimal snark interruption, because it is so goddamn beautiful.
First kid: "Is that guy talking to a freaking teddy bear?"
Second kid: "Maybe he's some kind of furry, like I saw on CSI."
Beautiful imagery, there.
Har, little Maya named her teddy bear after herself!
Oh, so big brother Toshi kidnapped Maya Jr. just to dick around with his house-bound little sister? What a bastard!
OR IS HE?
Dammit! Can't... read those last two pages... without crying... ;_;
In conclusion, Masaaki Nakamura is a brilliant writer and artist, able to produce stories that are scary, sweet, or just plain WTF? as his whim dictates. I may rag on the man from time to time, but trust me, I kid because I love.
(Of course it's not all horror! For our bonus this time, it's the incredibly sweet story of the haunted teddy bear. Yes, you heard me.)
no subject
Date: 2009-03-15 02:10 pm (UTC)It feels good when my inner cynic is wrong :)
no subject
Date: 2009-03-15 03:32 pm (UTC)Not me.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-15 04:14 pm (UTC)Message is very cute, though. And totally unexpected.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-15 05:03 pm (UTC)And that, my friend, is precisely why I love Fuan no Tane.
I don't actually LIKE horror, except when extremely stylized and/or in very small doses. Which makes Fuan no Tane perfect for me.
As someone said in one of the earlier posts, those bewildering "okay, so?" moments are half the fun.:D
no subject
Date: 2009-03-15 05:57 pm (UTC)I like Mushishi the same way--it can be extremely creepy, very beautiful, very powerful, but it always achieves whatever its effect speaking in a quiet voice.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-16 07:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-15 08:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-15 04:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-15 06:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-16 02:50 am (UTC)The second was scary...
The third one was simply cute =D
no subject
Date: 2009-03-16 04:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-16 10:36 pm (UTC)- Noirsensei