Happiness

[cyberghostface]

This is less of a traditional post and more of a review/preview of the manga. I enjoy manga a lot but the serialized nature of a lot of series has me seeking out stories that are already completed. As a a fan of Let the Right One In and similar works, I thought Happiness by Shuzo Oshimi looked like something I would be interested in. Having finished it, I find myself conflicted about recommending it. I go into more details (no specific spoilers but I do give an idea of how the narrative changes) and post some pages.

One thing I'd like to commend is the art which is often beautiful. The color scenes are particularly effective.







The main character is Makoto Okazaki who is an errand boy for his friends and kind of a pushover.



Later on he encounters the vampire Nora.











Okazaki, not surprisingly, becomes different afterwards.













All of this is from the first volume. As the series progresses, more characters enter the fray and things become increasingly complicated.

The first half of the series still follows this plot. It's mainly about Okazaki and those around him and it goes without saying we haven't seen the last of Nora here. It's an interesting combination of coming of age and horror. It doesn't really shake up the vampire lore but it does present it in a fairly unique way (for example, vampires are almost impossible to kill but that's not a good thing for them).

Without spoiling anything specific, the series... changes at a certain point. The narrative starts to shift to other characters and it gets pretty weird. There is, for example, a cult lead by a serial killer obsessed with vampires. There's also a lot of disturbing content including sexualized violence, so take that as a warning if need be. (One of the characters is effectively Ramsay Bolton from Game of Thrones to get an idea of where things go.) At times it just feels like the author forgot what the series was originally about.

This is not to say the second half of the series is bad but I do think it gets unnecessarily convoluted and unpleasant at times. I wouldn't not recommend it but I would advise you to go in with tempered expectations. That being said it's only ten volumes and you could probably finish it in a few days if you wanted to.

Comments

[mastermahan]

Hmmm, interesting. I just received a copy of the complete Uzumaki for my birthday, so I'm in a horror manga mood. A Ramsay Bolton shock value character isn't my cup of tea, but some hunger horror sounds enjoyable.

Q: any horror manga recommendations for someone who loves Junji Ito, Berserk, Monster, and Emerging?

[cyberghostface]

It’s not straight horror but ‘Monster’ by Naoki Urasawa can get pretty freaky. The main villain is kind of like Hannibal Lecter.

Also try ‘Fuan No Tane’ which is a series of short horror stories.

[mastermahan]

Monster is a fantastic thriller.

Fuan No Tane I didn't care for. The stories are just so short that they don't leave an impact - it's like reading creepypastas with good art. PTSD Radio was a bit better for the interconnectedness.

[doodleboy]

Soil by Atsushi Kaneko - Kind of a Twin Peaks style small-town weird mystery. Starts off weird and then begins a slow descent into hell.

#DRCL Midnight Children by Shin-ichi Sakamoto - An aggressive remix of Dracula, some of the most immaculate horror sequences I've seen drawn in comics

Yuureitou by Taro Nogizaka - The least horrific of the three. But it's a love letter to mysteries, gothic literature, Giallo, slashers and horror films. It also takes some of the problematic elements of those stories and instead of tossing them away makes them a core-part of the story's themes in a way that works.

[cyberghostface]

Those sound interesting, thanks.

[mastermahan]

Ooh, I'm not familiar with any of those! Thank you - I'll check 'em out.

EDIT: Well I'm loving #DRCL Midnight Children. That is some truly gorgeous art.

[informationgeek]

You can always try the work of the Godfather of Manga Horror, Kazuo Umezz. Viz Media has released...

The Drifting Classroom: elementary school students try to survive in a desert landscape after their entire school is teleported somewhere

Cat Eyed Boy and also Orochi: Short anthology horror series following a fantastical figure entering people's lives and catching a glimpse of the darkness that is surrounding them. Cat Eyed Boy goes for more fantastical and monstrous scenarios while Orochi is more grounded and psychological (though while still dealing with supernatural elements at times).

[doodleboy]

Ah Happiness, kind of a normal vampire story but seeing Shuzo Oshimi flex was nice.