J-horror, it's a thing

My love for Japanese horror, or J-horror, knows no boundaries. We've always known that the Japanese can come up with weird shiz, but the horror stories they're able to conjure is simply inexplicable. But in a good way. In a horrific kind of good way. It's not for everyone though, especially if you're turned off by body horror or perverse sexual elements. But hey, if you're reading horror, then shouldn't you be expecting to be disturbed and made uncomfortable with the story?

I'm not really big on manga, the comics made by Japanese writers and artists, but I will make an exception to Junji Ito, who is now one of my favorite writers and storytellers. I just discovered him this year, when I randomly pulled Shiver, his 2017 collection, from the shelf of a local bookstore. I say randomly because whenever I'm in a reading slump, I usually turn to the graphic novels section of the bookstore and check out titles without any rhyme or reason. I discovered lots of wonderful graphic novels this way—Mazzucchelli's Asterios Polyp, Beauchard's Epileptic, and Brosgol's Anya's Ghost, to name a few. Interestingly, it was the bf who got me into reading graphic novels. Before the bf (B.B.F.), my middle class upbringing taught me to look down at these works, which is totally the fault of my parents.

Perhaps the only reason why I don't have much love for manga is that its stories are terribly slow. I'd probably have more fun watching paint dry or looking for wrinkles slowly develop on my face. But with Junji Ito though, I just never know what to expect. Well, I've read only his short fiction collection so far, but what I've read lets me get my horror fix, which I've been rarely getting from the horror novels I've finished lately. There's just something off right from the first page of the story that you could subtly detect, whether it's the oddly proportioned face of a character, the too-perfect veneer of a house, or the cheery friend who seems to be hiding her broken self. I revel in these stories. It's not at all like "The Twilight Zone," but more like the copulation of Hitchcock (for the suspense), Stirling (for the speculative aspect), King (for the jump scares), and Barker (for the out-of-this-world body horror).

I can't get enough of the body horror that Ito tells in some of his stories. In one story titled "Glyceride," a man pops his many pimples and lets the oil drip onto his sister. In "Dissection Girl," a girl dreams of being dissected alive and goes through great lengths just to make it happen. And those are just the "tame" ones, dear reader. There are far darker and grosser instances of this kind of terror in Ito's work.

Another thing I find unsettling in many of Ito's horror stories is his depiction of women. The way he draws his female monsters amd ghosts gives you that slight icky feeling. The blank eyes and facial expressions, the uncomfortably svelte figure, their hair which seems to have a life of their own—stuff of nightmares, I tell you. And it's because of this that I'm really glad that I'm gay. Anyway, check out these "ladies" in the pictures below. Note how the style of the illustrations also give them both a sexual and a predatory feel. But again, these do nothing for me, sexually I mean.

"Blackbird" from Fragments of Horror (2013-2014)

"Whispering Woman," also from Fragments of Horror

I love J-horror in all its forms. Ju-On and Ringu still remain as two of my favorite horror movies. Coincidentally, both also have elements of body horror and female antagonists. One other thing to note about J-horror is that the horror just happens without having the need for an explanation. So there's usually no tedious back story that we all have to painfully go through. It's the same thing with Junji Ito's stories. Weird stuff just happens, like people being chased by floating heads, a woman being turned on by a house and eventually having sex with it, and a man having all the heads of his ancestors living on top of his head. It's just is, man.

The books in my bag last weekend

My first manga read

So I finally decided to give manga a try when my good friend R. gave me the first volume of Bleach. I must admit that this particular series interested me, as I've heard good things about it and it was turned into a hit animated series soon after it was published.

Bleach Volume 1: Strawberry and the Soul Reapers by Tite Kubo centers on Ichigo Kurosaki who unwillingly becomes a Soul Reaper when a spirit attacks his family one night. Soul Reapers are tasked two things. First, they help wholes (good ghosts) reach the Soul Society. (I'm not really sure whether the Soul Society refers to heaven though, but it's probably similar to it.) Second, and more importantly, Soul Reapers vaporize hollows (bad ghosts). When a hollow attacks Ichigo's family one night, Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper, finds herself in the Kurosaki household to vaporize it. Unfortunate things happen though, which has Rukia giving half of her Soul Reaping powers to Ichigo. But during this transfer of power, however, Ichigo unintentionally manages to absorb all of Rukia's powers.

The chapters in Bleach Vol. 1 focuses on Rukia teaching Ichigo the tools of the trade of becoming a full-fledged Soul Reaper, since Ichigo must now do her hollow-killing responsibilities. Some of the chapters are engaging, especially those that provide further insight into the lives of Soul Reapers and how they can't discriminate as to who to save or not. Eventually, Ichigo surprises Rukia with his intuitiveness as a rookie Soul Reaper. Some episodes and panels, however, I couldn't completely comprehend. They're just plain weird.

And, since this was my first manga read ever, it took me some time before I got used to flipping the pages from the left, and reading the panels from right to left. There's even a warning at the start of the first page that says you're reading in the wrong direction if you opened the book the same way you would open your usual novel. Still, it's a fun experience learning to read the Japanese way.

The first volume of Bleach is one light read that is engaging, quirky, and funny at times. Ichigo provides comedic touches throughout this graphic novel with this sarcastic one-liners to Rukia. Rukia is your fish-out-of-water character with her naivete and clumsiness. These main characters, to Kubo's credit, are well-developed.

Tite Kubo's artwork is so beautifully rendered and detailed, although I think this is typical of manga. The result is a graphic novel with panels that seem to jump from the page. The appearances of the characters are also distinct, even though Kubo switches once in a while to chibi form. One doesn't wonder why there are now more than 20 books in the Bleach series.

Read this book if:

1. You believe that there are good ghosts and bad ghosts.
2. You feel that bad ghosts are out to get you.
3. You've always imagined yourself hunting ghosts for a living.