Holiday Review #5 - OROCHI

Viz has been the biggest beneficiary of the Junji Ito horror manga craze, but it wasn't until this year that they were willing to capitalize on that and bring back some titles from an even older horror mangaka.

OROCHI, by Kazuo Umezz.  First published in 1969 and first published in North America in 2002.

PLOT:

Orochi is a mysterious girl with a timelessly young face and untold supernatural power.  She wanders the world, inserting herself into other people's problems and using her powers to try and solve them.  Sadly, things don't always go as planned, whether it's helping two sisters suffering from a family curse or a tormented young wife who wishes for her beloved husband to return to her.

Holiday Review #4: THE TOWN OF PIGS

 After years of struggling, American publishers have finally figured out that horror manga can be successful and that they don't have to exclusively lean upon Junji Ito for that success.

Nowhere is that more evident than with the up-and-coming publisher Star Fruit Books.  They not only established their own horror manga imprint but started licensing works by some of the horror mangaka who influenced Ito in the first place.

THE TOWN OF PIGS (Buta no Machi), by Hideshi Hino.  First published in 1983 and first published in North America in 2022.

PLOT:

A young boy is horrified when a horde of marauding demons storm into his town, destroy every building, and imprison everyone but him.  Their plan is as cruel as it is senseless: they will turn the townspeople into pigs for the sake of slave labor and food, and anyone who resists is gruesomely tortured to death.  The young boy refuses to flee, choosing instead to try to find a solution - any solution - to this dilemma, all while evading a fate worse than death.

Holiday Review #3: AYAKASHI TRIANGLE

Most shonen romances these days are looking and behaving more and more like their shojo counterparts, but at least one guy is dedicated to making his shonen romances as old-fashioned and pervy as possible.

AYAKASHI TRIANGLE (Ayakashi Torainguru), by Kentaro Yabuki.  First published in 2020 and first published in North America in 2022.

PLOT:

Kazamaki Matsuri is the heir to his family's legacy as wind magic-wielding, ayakashi-banishing ninjas.   In particular, he uses his powers to protect his childhood friend Kanade Suzu, who not only can see the ayakashi but exudes a delicious life force that they crave.  This becomes a problem when she becomes fond of a fat, sassy cat that turns out to be Shirogane, king of the ayakashi.  Matsuri manages to seal Shirogane's power, but not before Shirogane turns him into a girl!  Now Suzu has to figure out a way to turn him back while Matsuri deals with her handsy friends, a rival ninja, and her own confusing feelings for her own friend.

Holiday Review #2: RECORD OF RAGNAROK

 Viz's domination of the manga market continued into this year, but that domination was pretty much entirely on the back of its Weekly Shonen Jump properties.  That's a good thing when their non-WSJ shonen titles includes manga like this.

RECORD OF RAGNAROK (Shumatsu no Warukyure), written by Shinya Umemura with script by Takumi Fukui and art by Azychika.  First published in 2019 and first published in North America in 2022.

PLOT:

The pantheon of gods have decided that humanity is beyond hope and worthy only of destruction.  Only the valkyrie Brunhilde is willing to speak up on behalf of humans.  She convinces them to participate in a series of one-on-one battles, pitting some of the greatest champions of human history against a selection of the most powerful deities.  This is the fated tournament known as Ragnarok.

Holiday Review #1: KAMEN RIDER

 For the second year in a row, I'm able to kick things off with a classic manga from Shotaro Ishinomori, and it might be the best one yet.

KAMEN RIDER (Kamen Raida), by Shotaro Ishinomori.  First published in 1971 and first published in North America in 2022.

PLOT:

Hongo Takeshi was a young man with just as much talent for science as he had for motorcycling.  His life is forever changed when he is captured by a mysterious organization known as Shocker, who seek to transform him into an animal-human hybrid cyborg as part of their plot to dominate all of humanity.  Hongo escapes before the transformation is complete, but he swears to use his super-strong body, strange new powers, and souped-up motorcycle to stop Shocker from conquering all of Japan.