Tomie: Deluxe Edition (2016)

Author: Junji Ito | Illustrator: Junji Ito | Page Count: 745

'Her only real interest is herself. She wants to be desired. To see how far she can lead men. It's not that she wants their love. Just a boost to her ego. That's all she cares about. Men, of course, will take it all wrong and fall for her. Strange thing is, when a man falls too far, too hard, he wants to cut her to pieces.'

In the horror world the true icons are the ones who contain that indefinable mystique, that allure which ensnares your attention and draws out your fears. Tomie Kawakami is one such icon. Her outside complexion may be her greatest killer quality. She's the it girl with the highest standards who's on every man's mind. To even set eyes upon her is a death sentence. Tomie doesn't simply inspire great adulation in her suitors, but awakens a sickening and jealous bloodlust which endangers not only others but Tomie herself. They love her to pieces, literally. 

Junji Ito truly created the perfect monster in Tomie. She's that seemingly immortal sci-fi creature who keeps coming back to life. She's that beautiful, out-of-reach sex symbol. You want her so bad you'll kill your friends to be with her. Unfortunately, you'll kill her too...again and again. 

Included are the 20 Tomie manga stories (originally three volumes) into one hardcover. The book's aesthetic follows Viz Media's previous releases of Uzumaki & Gyo with cover and interior art sprinkled throughout the opening and closing pages. 

Tomie was the first manga Junji Ito ever produced. In terms of artwork, he is still honing his craft in the first few stories. He makes good use of POV and obviously grasps the importance of creatively utilizing B&W, but some movement is awkward and there is a lack of refinement in the lines. By the fourth story Ito is near the top of his game. 

The first third of the collection encompasses one Tomie tale. Each chapter has its own plot and some are direct continuations but certain subsequent stories are linked only by either a location or a significant supporting character. It starts with "Tomie" and ends in chapter six with the fantastic yet bizarre climax "Mansion." After that the most important chapter is "Waterfall Basin", which helps disperse the seeds of Tomie into the world as the stories become more sporadic, stand-alone and in my opinion, lesser. Strength lies in a grand storyline as in Ito's successful epics Uzumaki and Gyo. The concepts for many of the remaining chapters are still strong, but a number of them have abrupt and perplexing endings which lead nowhere. Not every single detail must be explained for a satisfying conclusion, but certain ideas are incomplete at best.

That being said, Viz Media's Tomie: Deluxe Edition is a horror manga fan's dream come true and belongs in every Junji Ito follower's collection. It satisfies a number of different genres including science fiction, horror and guro. Ito's mastery of shock is ever evident in his use of burst climaxes throughout Tomie. The sense of dread and excitement is there as you turn each beautifully drawn page.

3½ beauty marks below the left eye out of 5

Gyo: 2-in-1 Deluxe Edition (2015)

Author: Junji Ito | Illustrator: Junji Ito | Page Count: 400

“What the hell is this?”

Tadashi loves his girlfriend Kaori, though the reader may find it difficult to feel similarly because her inner-bitch rises to the surface often. One of Kaori's defining features is that she has an acute sense of smell. When the ‘death stench’ first hits Okinawa it’s Kaori that's most affected. What’s causing the stench makes its presence known shortly afterwards, and that’s when things go full Junji Ito. You'll be thanking the olfactory gods that the book isn't a scratch 'n' sniff.

The creatures that live in the sea have evolved in weird ways. Their peculiarities make sense when viewed in their own environment, but on land they're so alien looking that they can be terrifying. Even the ones we're familiar with, such as sharks, would take on a whole new level of terror when making a beeline for some poor sap on a street full of cars.

The full horror of Gyo reveals slowly but the story isn't slow. It gets increasingly bizarre and ridiculous, though, helped along by some black humour and hindered by some school-yard humour. The two things are an odd pairing that for me just didn't fit together comfortably, but the artwork is always spectacular.

The Gyo storyline ends on page 358. It's followed by two shorts. The first is The Sad Tale of the Principal Post, a four-page story that's well-drawn but not very good otherwise. It's followed by what's without a doubt the best thing in the whole book, the thirty-two-page The Enigma Of Amigara Fault. Coincidently. it's one of the first Ito stories I ever read; it hasn't lost any of it's creepy power.

The book collects together both volumes of the Gyo manga into one beautifully bound HB edition. It's the same format and size as Viz's Uzumaki: 3-in-1 Deluxe Edition (2013); I tip all my hats to Viz for that. Uzumaki is the better story, so if you can only afford one book it's perhaps the better choice.

4 gashunks out of 5

Dream Fossil (2015)

Author: Satoshi Kon  |  Illustrator: Satoshi Kon  |  Page Count: 426

"Ten years from now, you'll look good holding manilla envelopes."

Fifteen short mangas by Satoshi Kon arranged mostly chronologically from the years 1984-89. Having them presented that way enables a reader to chart the evolution and clarity of vision that bordered the path to peculiarity he walked, a path that led the author into the role of revered anime director.*

Of the fifteen, only about one third of them are what I'd call memorable. Furthermore, with the exception of an opening story that could make a really interesting short film, the better stories don't come until halfway into the book.

Fans of Kon's films will recognise seeds of ideas that he'd develop further and more successfully later in his career. My favourite story, Joyful Bell (1989), reminds me very much of his Tokyo Godfathers (2003) anime, ironically my least favourite of his films and the only one I'm not sad isn't available on blu-ray.

Also notable are the stories Kidnappers (1987), Guests (1987), and Beyond the Sun (1988). The latter is the one where I most felt the music of Susumu Hirasawa as an influence. Coincidently, the book includes a short interview with the musician. Far from being filler, it offers an insightful glimpse into the simpatico the two men shared as it refers to their frequent, creative collaborations.

It’s published by Vertical, who also handled Kon’s Tropic of the Sea (2013) manga. You’d think they’d have had the good sense to make it the same size so that the two can be comfortably shelved next to each other. But no; Dream Fossil is bigger. They did the same with their Makoto Shinkai books. That pisses me off.

The increase in size wasn't accompanied by an increase in paper quality. Looking at Fossil and Tropic side by side I'm half-convinced that it's even lower grade than before. I'm extremely grateful and supportive of Vertical taking a chance on this type of thing, sincerely, but please don't skimp on the presentation. Strive to be the best you can be and I'll happily give you my money time and again.

2½ weathered serials out of 5

*You can find short reviews of Satoshi Kon's films on our sister site, In a Nutshell.

Satoshi Kon's OPUS (2014)

Author: Satoshi Kon  |  Illustrator: Satoshi Kon  |  Page Count: 384

"It's like I was flying forever... but then somehow ran out of forever."

OPUS focuses on a stressed-out writer/artist named Chikara Nagai. His current project is a serialised manga titled Resonance. It's nearing its end but Nagai’s having trouble with some of the characters, they don’t want to go where he needs them to be in order to advance the story. It’s a common problem for fiction writers of lengthy works: the characters either get written into a corner or take on a life of their own and become problematic. In Satoshi Kon’s hands that notion exploded into a wild, spiralling metafiction wherein the pressured creator ends up closer to his creation than he ever thought possible.

It begins with pages from the Resonance manga, meaning our first exposure is both an (almost) ending and a beginning. There are even adverts for previous Resonance volumes, helping to sustain the illusion that it’s a real product. It has its own unique story with purposeful clichés working in tandem with originality, but it's the larger story that'll draw you in a lot more.

There’s no doubt that Satoshi would've used his own experiences within the profession as a basis for the work. Some of the events in Nagai’s life have even been documented as happening in Satoshi's, so it‘s fair to assume that it’s at least partially autobiographical in nature. Most of the best stories are.

NOTE: You ought to know before deciding whether or not to pick up the collection that it’s not finished and it never will be. Sadly, Satoshi Kon passed away in 2010 leaving the anime/manga world a less colourful place. The 2014 Dark Horse edition contains all of Volumes I and II written in 1995-96 but not previously translated into English. Volume I is filled with mind-bending action. Volume II continues in the same vein but also goes to some very dark places.

The DH edition also has a never-before-seen chapter that in some ways eases the ‘no ending’ situation. I like to think that Kon would be pleased it was discovered and included; you'll understand why I say that if you read it.

5 P-MODEL albums out of 5

The Garden of Words (2014)

Author: Makoto Shinkai  |  Illustrator: Midori Motohashi  |  Page Count: 194

"It's not like we had a promise or anything.  But still..."

Every one of Shinkai’s anime works to date is an emotional tour de force that connects to something malleable inside of me.  Each part is carefully orchestrated to elicit that kind of response in a mass audience, but he somehow makes it feel deeply personal.  In the case of TGoW, when presented as a manga it loses not just the fluidity and the precise, measured silences, but something more significant, something soul-stirring that’s almost indefinable.  It’s still an enjoyable read but to really appreciate the subtleties throughout I’d recommend viewing the anime too, before or after, depending on your preference.

It's the story of Takao, a Kyushu high school student with a dream and the drive to realise it.  On rainy mornings he shelters in a wooden gazebo, and works on his skills.  It’s there that he has a chance encounter with an individual who changes his life forever.  (It makes me wonder what lengths the universe goes to to make the simplicity of a ‘chance’ encounter happen.)  Over time their self-confidence grows and they begin to flourish like flowers after a sun-shower.

There’s a Tanka poem deeply embedded in the narrative.  If you can spare the time, some research into the form and history of the style will enrich the work.

There's a danger I'll unwittingly turn this review into a series of wispy musings on self-indulgent concerns, so I'll end it after saying one thing more: with regards the Tanka device, I believe there’s a poem for everyone but not everyone has found theirs yet, or is brave enough to attempt to write it themselves.

3 cautious steps out of 5

Note: You can find spoiler-free, mini-reviews of some of Makoto Shinkai’s films, including The Garden of Words, at our sister site, In a Nutshell.

Lone Wolf and Cub: Omnibus: Volume Five (2014)

Author: Kazuo Koike | Illustrator: Goseki Kojima | Page Count: 712

"Love, affection, obligation, revenge! Joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure! Of the human emotions we choose revenge!"

Three years have passed since father and son set out on the road. In that time there's been much death and there's more to come. The Yagyū letter arc that featured in Volume Four continues into Volume Five. The Lone Wolf, Ogami Ittō, who carries the letter on his person, is hunting for his missing son Daigoro. The perspective is split between his journey and the lost and lonely Cub's search for his father. Even when separated the path on which they walk is unchanged, so neither of them neglects their other duties.

For Daigoro, even being close to death is no reason not to honour a father's teachings. For Ogami and Retsudō, history repeats. For the Yagyū clan, the retrieval of the letter is all-important because if the secret hidden within it is discovered the consequences for them would be grave. Everyone has something to lose and no one is prepared to be the one that does.

One of the things that fascinates me the most about the series, other than the two protagonists, of course, is the way Kazuo Koike is able to put us quickly and directly into the troubled mindset of the people that hire Ogami to kill on their behalf. They've reached the end of their tether and it's snapped, but does that justify paying a man with a child five hundred ryō to kill someone? If we sympathise with their situation, quite often the answer to that is a resounding yes.

The book collects together chapters 53 - 63 of the original Lone Wolf and Cub manga (the remainder of Volume 10: Hostage Child; all of Volume 11: Talisman of Hades; and all of Volume 12: Shattered Stones).

5 wild dogs out of 5

Death Note: Black Edition: Vols I - VI (2011)

Author: Tsugumi Ohba  |  Illustrator: Takeshi Obata  |  Page Count: Approx 400 in each volume (2424 in total)

“We’re both using them as bait to lure each other out...

and we’re both well aware of that…”

At its most basic level, Death Note is the story of two determined individuals, each of whom have people that support them in various ways.

The first is Light Yagami, a seventeen-year-old high school student with a high IQ, an elevated sense of superiority and a tendency to get bored easily. He wants to make the world a better place and doesn't care who he has to step on to achieve it.

The second is his nemesis, the mysteriously named L, a young, reclusive detective with a sharp, analytical and overly-suspicious mind. L never fails in anything he does but he’s never been up against anyone as merciless as Light Yagami before.

What unfolds is a battle of skills, wills and wits between a pair of evenly matched masters of second-guessing and deductive reasoning. When the line between who’s the protagonist and who’s the antagonist begins to blur, the question of what's right and what's wrong grows more and more difficult to answer.

Revelling in the chaos caused by the actions and reactions of the two main characters is Ryuk, a Shinigami. Ryuk’s not the sharpest tool in the box but that trait makes him arguably more interesting: there’s the possibility of a false sense of security being devolved between the Shinigami and the human it attaches to.

Obata’s artwork is amazing. He gives every detail full attention, from the smallest car headlight to the largest building. I could fill an entire post about just it.

I must mention Misa Amane. The story doesn't have many female characters, but even if it had Misa would eclipse them all. For a time she’s one of the most fascinating, tragic additions to any manga I've ever read. It’s a shame that she gets shuffled to the side as the story goes on.

Note: There are six volumes in the Black Edition that when collected together contain all twelve of the original mangas. Alternatively, you can buy a box set for only a few notes more that collects the same twelve books as individual editions. The box also includes a thirteenth volume of character profiles and production art, etc. The reason I chose the Black Editions is because they're slightly larger than the usual manga format (the same as a Viz Big) and seeing the art presented as beautifully as possible is more important to me than shelf-busting packaging.

5 distinctions out of 5

.hack//Alcor (2009)

Author: Kanami Amou | Illustrator: Rena Izumibara | Page Count: 176

“…do you have any quests where you don’t have to fight?”

The .hack// world can accommodate many kinds of stories within its virtual bordered structure. Alcor is just one of the possibilities. It’s a one-shot about Nanase, a young girl who wants to progress in life but is afraid of taking risks and of failure. She uses the game world as an escape, but brings into it her anxieties and failings, making her online world as complicated as her offline one.

Except it’s not complicated at all. The book could easily be summed up in one sentence. I won't do that, so don't worry.

It’s fair to say, though, hopefully without seeming too harsh that it's wishy-washy, angsty, early-teen drama. So if you're an irritating, self-absorbed, angsty teen with troubles of your own making, Alcor might just be for you.

Most everyone else will have trouble connecting because the other characters, of which there are many, are loosely written and two-dimensional. It’s only Nanase who provides any kind of solid gateway into the work. That may have been the author's plan from the outset, because it's clearly targeting a younger, less emotionally discerning demographic. If so. then the book successfully explores another aspect of the hack// versatility that I mentioned previously.

2 lucky animals out of 5

Ghost in the Shell: Vol 2: Man-Machine Interface (2001)

Author: Masamune Shirow | Illustrator: Masamune Shirow | Page Count: 312

"Characters and letters are mirrors on the soul—books are their body. Life can be defined in so many different ways…"

If you've read either of the previous books in the series (Vol 1 (1991) / Vol 1.5: Human-Error Processor (2003)), the first thing you'll notice about M-MI is the difference in art style. The technology needed to fully visualise the future world as Shirow imagined it had finally caught up with his vision. His obsession with depicting the future as detailed and as sexy as possible took him approximately four years and five months to achieve. It's the most perfect blend of traditional manga and digital colouring that I've ever seen. I don't generally like the technique, but it's almost impossible not to be awed by the result.

It’s set in 2035, five years after the events of the first book, but it's not a direct continuation. Section 9 feature occasionally, but mostly it follows the Major, who's now the chief security officer for a huge conglomerate. She protects their business interests while also financing some of her own.

As ridiculous as it may sound, your enjoyment of the book will be partly dependent on your reading speed. If you're a slow reader, the rigid, tech-talk will appear to reduce everything else to a stuttering pace. Conversely, if you can read at a steady and moderate speed, you'll be able to better balance the action that's happening around the information overload. Yes, Ghost in the Shell is about lofty concepts, but it's also about action and about moving from problem to solution in the quickest possible time. Unfortunately, Shirow throws constant interruptions at you in the form of lengthy and atmosphere-breaking footnotes, further impeding the all-important flow.

It's a feast for the eyes, there's no doubt of that, but the plot is much too complicated for its own good, so expect to be overwhelmed and possibly even completely lost on your first read through. For me, the deeper understanding that came with repeated readings was accompanied by a realisation that a sizeable part of the first half could've been cut with no great impact to the resolution.

3½ remotely controlled humanoid terminals out of 5

Ghost in the Shell : Stand Alone Complex : Episode 005 : Not Equal (2014)

Author: Yu Kinutani | Page Count: 282

“He went too far down the rabbit hole and caught a glimpse of hell…”

I can’t be the only person slightly irked that the manga has been leaving out episodes of the anime. Book 005 gives us one of the missing ones (episode thirteen), but that means the two mediums are now presenting the same stories in a different order. Thankfully, the continuity is intact because a minor reference to a previous adventure that was in the anime has been removed from the manga.

A child that was abducted sixteen years previously by an extremist organisation is recently spotted on a surveillance camera, but she hasn't aged. Logic says that a replacement prosthetic body could explain that easily, but things aren't that simple. A mystery needs to be solved and Section 9 is called in to solve it.

The anime episode was split between exploration and dialogue in the first part and action in the second (of the gung-ho kind for some of the team!). Someone must have thought that needed redressed, so additional action scenes have been added in the first half and, not to be outdone, even more explosive moments squeezed into the already combat-packed finale. It's a little overwhelming.

3 flesh supremacists out of 5

Edit: It’s possible that Episode 005 is the final numbered GitS: SAC manga. The release date given by the press for the next volume has come and gone. I've had two separate orders accepted and subsequently cancelled by sellers. I've contacted a number of suppliers, including Kodansha in the US and the UK, but no one seems to know where the hell Episode 006 is or if it even exists. If anyone knows any different, please let me now. I’ll keep checking and will update if there’s any news. It’s also unknown at this stage whether or not we’ll be getting the Laughing Man mangas translated.

.hack//4Koma (2010)

Author: Koichi Sumimaru | Illustrator: Various |  Page Count: 192

“Your morals as a protagonist are being challenged, aren't they?”

A yonkoma, often shortened to 4koma, is a four-panel manga similar to the kind of thing you’d see in a Sunday newspaper, except that most yonkoma are read from top to bottom, not left to right horizontal.

The .hack yonkoma parodies Project .hack and .hack Conglomerate.  The comedy is derived mostly from non-canon meetings, rivalries, awkward social situations and typically friendly people being dicks to other characters.  As such, in-jokes are definitely the order of the day, so if you're not very familiar with each person's usual demeanour, or the .hack world, you'll miss most of the situational humour.

There are a lot of familiar faces, such as BlackRose, Balmung, Mistral, Shino and Atoli (even Lios the system admin gets some page time!), but it’s mostly about Kite and moody Haseo—both of whom are perfect targets for the kind of piss-takes and rebuttals that the format is best used for.  But Haseo’s troubles don’t stop with Kite's frequent slights.  He also has women to deal with, and that gives rise to an entirely different kind of anguish for the G.U hero.

2½ brands of crazy out of 5

Zatoichi (2006)

Authors: Kan Shimozawa / Hiroshi Hirata  |  Illustrator: Hiroshi Hirata

Page Count: 218

“Don’t make me responsible for what’s happening around me!”

A one-shot manga containing two Zatoichi adventures, both adapted from one of the many films starring Shintarô Katsu.* If you’re not familiar with the character, Ichi is a blind masseur (Zato is his title) who’s also a master swordsman.  He tries to avoid conflict but his compassion always seems to place him in the thick of it.

The first story is titled The Ballad of Zatoichi, adapted from the 13th film in the series, Zatoichi's Vengeance (1966).  It has Ichi undertake a dying man’s wish and unwittingly become a role model for an orphan as a result.  It’s largely faithful to the film but some scenes are omitted and some new ones have been added.  Of the missing scenes the most prominent is the story of the whore and her lover, which carried a large part of the emotional weight.  The book is weakened by its absence.  It’s debatable whether or not the additional content makes the story better but it certainly puts a different slant on things.

The artwork is functional.  The style is comparable to Goseki Kojima's work on Lone Wolf and Cub.  If you're going to create a jidaigeki/bushido manga then there's no better influence to take than Goseki, but it’s not as sophisticated.  The backgrounds are often too empty and the facial expressions aren't given nearly enough attention.  It fares better in the action department.  The sword fights are dynamic and the angles are cinematic.  I haven’t performed a direct comparison, so it’s possible they’re copied directly from the film.

The second story is Zatoichi's Pilgrimage, adapted from the 14th film, also called Zatoichi’s Pilgrimage (1966).  The changes this time are significant.  Again, the emotional heart of the story—the reason for the pilgrimage—is lessened, reduced to just a few sentences.  What remains is another simple tale of an honourable man putting himself in danger while attempting to right a moral wrong.  It's still enjoyable but the lesser page count and a story that’s had all the affecting pain filtered out of it make Pilgrimage the weaker of the two.

3 swift deaths out of 5

*You can find mini reviews for many of the Zatoichi films on our sister site, In a Nutshell, including both the ones mentioned above.  It’s an ongoing project and I will eventually have all films covered.

5 Centimeters per Second (2012)

Author: Makoto Shinkai | Artist: Yukiko Seike | Page Count: 566

'I bet you must have changed a lot too.  And bit by bit, you’ll keep on changing.'

The manga adaptation of Makoto Shinkai’s anime of the same name is the story of Takaki Tohno and his love for Akari Shinohara.  The book is faithful to the themes and characters of the source, and in its own way is equally as heartbreaking, but there are also a number of differences.  There’s more dialogue between the couple and a lot of new scenes have been added.  Most of the additions don’t lead anywhere new but each in some way expands or accentuates both the closeness and the distance between the two individuals.

It’s split into three parts, each focussing on a specific period of Tohno’s life.  The first and third eras are the most successful and satisfying.  The middle section was the weakest in the anime.  It was necessary to the story but it felt unfinished.  It gets a lengthy epilogue at the book's end that attempts to redress that but overall it remains the weakest aspect.

I love how Shinkai can elicit opposing feelings simultaneously.  There’s a scene that functions as a rekindling after a period of separation that also highlights differences and connotes the inevitable.  That kind of subtlety is the foundation of the work and unless you pick up on it early on, you may get bored or even depressed with the inaction.  Ultimately, its effectiveness will vary drastically from reader to reader; the idealistic young dreamer will interpret it differently than the hopeless romantic or the aged and injured recluse.  The title is all important to the way that love can be perceived; it’ll make sense in context.

At its most basic level, the book is summed up on two pages, but those pages don’t come at the end because realisation is never an end; it’s another beginning.

3 dividing lines out of 5

Note: You can find spoiler-free, mini-reviews of some of Makoto Shinkai’s films, including 5 Centimeters per Second, at our sister site, In a Nutshell.

Lone Wolf and Cub: Omnibus: Volume Four (2014)

Author: Kazuo Koike | Illustrator: Goseki Kojima | Page Count: 696

"They'll sacrifice anything to further the clan—even their reputation! That's why they're so dangerous!"

It's well-established that Ogami Ittō is a man of action and few words. Kazuo Koike takes that trait to extremes in the first half of Volume Four. I'm guessing the ratio of words spoken to people killed is almost balanced. The land is covered in snow, so even the normal ambient sound effects are muted, but it works because Goseki Kojima is as good a storyteller with his kinetic art style as Koike is with his minimal text. As in life, sometimes words just get in the way.

Retsudō, the head of the Yagyū clan, is a key player this time. It's all well and good to have a nemesis, but unless they have a suitably dramatic reason for wanting to kill the hero, then they're a walking cliché. Fortunately, Retsudō has a reason. We get to see the beginnings of his hatred for Ogami and better understand the fire that fuels his obsession. Drip-feeding info over an extended period of time can backfire if it's not done properly, but Koike has mastered it.

In desperation, Retsudō hires shinobi (ninja) to kill Ogami. The shinobi use tactics that an honourable swordsman wouldn't, tactics both direct and indirect.

No space left to expand upon how Ogami gets handy with the Nagamaki; the bitter-sweet way Koike explores a woman's anguish and the mechanics of personal sacrifice; or Daigoro’s determined countenance.

The book ends with a multipart story that delivered everything I'd hoped for, and more. It became my favourite part of the entire series so far.

The book collects together chapters 41 - 52 of the original Lone Wolf and Cub manga (the remainder of Volume 8: Chains of Death; all of Volume 9: Echo of the Assassin; and the first part of the stories from Volume 10: Hostage Child).

5 weaves out of 5

Uzumaki: 3-in-1 Deluxe Edition (2013)

Author: Junji Ito | Illustrator: Junji Ito | Page Count: 648

“Spirals… this town is contaminated with spirals.”

Some fears are universal, such as the eeriness of an empty corridor or short-cutting through a shadowy graveyard at midnight, and some are more specific, such as islanders and their complicated relationship with the sea; Junji Ito has the uncanny ability to tap into both kinds and use them to full effect.

Uzumaki (Spiral) is the story of a small coastal town, Kurôzu-cho, and a girl named Kirie Goshima. The town has a strange influence upon its inhabitants that most of them are oblivious to, but as the peculiarities escalate Kirie begins to take notice of how horrific everything is and how difficult it is to escape.

Making the source of the horror a shape, the titular uzumaki, as opposed to an entity that can be hunted and killed creates a fine line between bizarre and ridiculous, but Ito seems to be fully aware of that; he takes that invisible line and warps even it into a spiral. The result is that the weirdness creeps from deeply unsettling to just plain silly and back again, sometimes from one panel to the next, but approach it with an open mind and you’ll be drawn invariably and uncomfortably inward. The attention to detail in the environment helps a lot. Everything feels saturated with a Lovecraftian aura. The people that live in Kurôzu-cho are warped but believable.

Each episodic chapter is somewhat self-contained but also adds to the overall arc and moves the narrative forward. Something that I'm certain will divide readers is the abrupt way each one ends. Some people will feel they were cut short. I'm guessing that by withholding a traditional resolution Ito was hoping to leave the reader with disturbing thoughts, thoughts that would wriggle and worm their way around the consciousness until they’re exorcised. In my case that exorcism was sometimes as ineffectual as the attempt at purging malady was for some of the book's characters. (Those mushrooms! Wiggins.)

The book collects into hardcover all three volumes of the Uzumaki manga.

4½ bent shapes out of 5

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (2009)

Author: Akira Himekawa | Illustrator: Akira Himekawa | Page Count: 190

“…everything changed, and nothing did.”

The game (2007) on which the Phantom Hourglass manga is based is a sequel to The Wind Waker (2002)* but WW didn't get a manga, so if you read PH without having played WW you may be wondering why Link is on a sailing ship with a crew.  Alternatively, you may not care very much because the story of PH offers little to connect with.  Of the ten LoZ mangas I've read, it was the least entertaining.  The saving grace, ironically absent from the game, is the inclusion of a dangerous guilt that eats away at the conscience of one of the characters; it plants a seed of unpredictability within the already shaky group stability.

The elongated midriff and stumpy legs design is recreated.  I was prepared for that but without the eyegasm attained from the beautiful cel shading that makes everything glow, the weird perspectives are harder to overlook.  There’s also more chibi but it’s not as frequent as it was in The Minish Cap (2006).

I'm disappointed that the superior Twilight Princess (2006)* was passed over.  TP has a more dramatic story with a dark ambiguity that could've been brought to the fore.  Taking into account how well Akira Himekawa has handled similar themes in previous books, I've no doubt that it would've been better than PH.

2½ monsters with obvious weak points out of 5

*You can read reviews of both The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess games on our sister site, Nut Load.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (2006)

Author: Akira Himekawa | Illustrator: Akira Himekawa | Page Count: 190

"The road you travel will be dangerous.  Take this."

Link is always recognisable in his green duds and pointy hat but he’s not always the same Link.  There are exceptions but usually the character is different in each game.  It’s not a drastic change; it’s more of a variation on a theme.  Akira Himekawa applies the same principle to each of her Links in the books.  The art in TMC is 100% chibi.  It would've made sense to draw certain parts of the story that way but unfortunately it’s used from beginning to end.  I'm not a fan of the style but judging by the level of excellence shown in the previous books, I'm guessing it’s at least good chibi?

Something else I wasn't enamoured with was this version of Link; he’s a moody child in need of a reality check or a swift kick up the ass (if Hyrulian law allows such things).  Fortunately, he gets it (the reality check, not the ass-kick) when a villain casts a spell on Princess Zelda.  Personally, I’d have left her as she was; she’d complain less and the only maintenance required would be a dusting every now and then, but Link wants her back so he sets off to right a wrong.

When child Link is the protagonist, LoZ fans are required to dismiss questions about why a child is sent into danger with a sword to kill and maim but TMC addresses those concerns wonderfully by providing a valid reason for that kind of irresponsibility to be necessary.

I really enjoyed the game's story* because it explores the ordinary from an extraordinary perspective.  I hoped that behind the eye-bleeding cuteness the book would deliver the same.  It does, but in a much shorter span of time.  I also love the changing history of Hyrule that shapes the societal and religious beliefs each time; that part of it is well represented here.

Hopefully I've made it clear that the problems I had with the book adaptation were predominantly of my own making and based on my own preferences, so take that into account.  The story is good and takes some risks that pay off handsomely.  If you love chibi and you love LoZ, then TMC may be tailor-made for you.

3 pieces of happiness out of 5

*You can read a review of the GBA game on our sister site, Nut Load.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (2005)

Author: Akira Himekawa | Illustrator: Akira Himekawa | Page Count: 184

“Somewhere under heaven is the Golden Power…”

All the LoZ mangas can be classed as action/adventure tales but ALTTP* is more traditional than the rest.  Its simplicity reminds me of the classic fantasy movies of the late 80s.  Ironically, that’s also its weakest aspect.  It’s too familiar.

It’s not all bad, though.  The emotional content is increased to compensate for the lack of originality.  From the very beginning, ALTTP grips the reader's sympathies more aggressively than any of the preceding books.  It weighs the immensity of the task ahead against the weight in the hero’s heart.  The hero is (of course) Link; he’s kind, gentle, noble and selfless.  His quest is threefold: save the princess, uncover his own origins and protect the innocent by conquering evil.

Akira Himekawa created an original character to accompany Link on his quest.  It might sound heretical to people that hold ALTTP in high regard but it works beautifully; the relationship between them helps detract from the all-too-familiar nature of the story.  They share common ground but have different motivations.   The praise for Himekawa doesn't end there.  Her artwork gives life to the adventure more successfully than the simplistic dialogue; even during a quest montage!  She's an artist that makes contrasts work in her favour.

Ultimately, if the sensitivity of the protagonists and newly created concerns that drive them hadn't been to the fore as much as they are, the book would've struggled to rise above its failings in other areas.

3 revitalising apples out of 5

*You can read a review of the SNES game on our sister site, Nut Load.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords (2004)

Author: Akira Himekawa | Illustrator: Akira Himekawa | Page Count: 196 + 176

"There’s a new Link in this chain!"

I've not played Four Swords Adventures (2004) because the stores near where I lived didn't stock it and I didn't have access to online retailers back then, but after reading the two-part adaptation I'm wishing that I could play it right now!

After some brief but satisfying establishing of Link’s uppity nature and his close friendship with Princess Zelda, the Big Bad is unleashed and the adventure begins.

The environments will be familiar to anyone that’s played any of the previous games (Castle Town, Mountain / Ice / Desert regions etc) but that familiarity doesn't result in reader apathy because the situations that the Links find themselves in holds the attention completely.  The comedy is situational and more often than not caused by confrontation; it’s rarely the goofy kind that I complained about in Oracle of Seasons (2001), so it’s much more enjoyable.

The art is black and white, so the four colours identifier on the cover is redundant inside.  Akira Himekawa gets around that by giving each Link a unique tone / pattern instead.  She also provides each with a unique personality.  There’s plenty of help in the narrative but frantic battle scenes can be confusing.  Rather than try to remember who the darker gray was and who the dotted pattern was, etc, I found it more engaging to remember which colour was impetuous, which was cautious, etc, and then note the expression on each Link’s face as he responds to words or actions.  The temperaments are so well depicted that it made it both simple and fun to match them to their colour.  At the same time I could note the strengths and weaknesses of each one at specific times.

Book I is fantastic and surpasses all the LoZ books that came before it.  If Book II had kept the same level of momentum then Four Swords would've scored even higher but I need to take an average of the two, therefore:

3½ lucky finds in the toy box out of 5

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons / Oracle of Ages (2001)

Author: Akira Himekawa | Illustrator: Akira Himekawa | Page Count: 194 + 196

"Use your left hand!  Your left!"

Each of the two Game Boy Colour games that were released simultaneously back in 2001 got its own manga adaptation.  The games were connected but also cleverly designed to be enjoyed independently in whichever order the player chose.  You could say the same of the books but it makes slightly more sense to read Seasons before you read Ages; I’ll explain why later.

Oracle of Seasons begins in Hylia.  Link balks at the suggestion that he should practice his sword skills more fervently.  He doesn’t yet understand why Hyrule needs knights willing to lay their life on the line to protect its citizens, but the power of the Triforce will soon change all that…

The main problem I had with Seasons was the exaggerated comedy typical of manga aimed at a younger audience.  I’m aware that the books are targeting a young audience but the previous volumes, Ocarina of Time (2000) and Majora’s Mask (2001), avoided that kind of cliché for the most part.  Having it so prevalent in this volume was unexpected and lessened my enjoyment of the story.

Oracle of Ages is superior to Seasons in every way.  It’s less comical and thematically more satisfying.  There’s also more action but not at the expense of story or character development.  It’s as if the events in Seasons have helped Link grow less foolish, to gain confidence and have faith in his decision making.
The story puts him in a race against time to stop an evil from destroying the present by meddling in the past.  It takes place in a different land than Seasons but the structure is similar in that none of the dungeons from the game are featured and his new-found companions come to his aid when needed.

3 seed abilities out of 5