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We're kicking off this year's countdown with a short review of a work by one of my favorite horror manga artists: Junji Ito. If you'll recall last year, we did a review of his 3 volume series, Uzumaki, and to tell you the thruth, the manga still brings chills to my spine reading it.
So this year, thanks to the lovely folks over at FFTranslations, there's a translated version of a comic he did for the game series Siren.
For the uninitiated, Siren is a horror game series that's so impossible to beat, it doesn't have an ending.
.....Ok, I'm lying my ass off. Siren is actually a very well-done game, utilizing a unique play mechanic called "sightjacking". In its basic description, sightjacking allows a player to view things from another nearby characters' vision, such as another human or shibito (the enemy type of not-zombie-but-creepier ilk). Its tricky, but useful. Using this, one can pinpoint location to fulfill objectives in each character's story. All the characters are interconnected, so hold onto your Ashton Kutchers, cuz things you do as one character can end up affecting another in a brutal butterfly effect. If you've never played a Siren game before, now is the time to do it.
The series has 2 books published for it, called Siren Maniacs and Siren 2 Maniacs. Like the title implies, its for the Siren maniac inside all of us, chockfull of concept art and other goodies. The only downside is that its heavy in text, and only available in Japanese.
However! This is where the aforementioned FFTranslations site comes in handy! Known primarily for translations for some of the Fatal Frame series of books (like capture guides and fan books), it also sports translations for the japanese sites and interviews from FF's creators. Recently, the Siren series has been getting mucho love on the site, so please check out the various sections on Siren and other JP horror.
But let's get to the meat of the story. Ito-san (or Mr. J/J-kun as he's known in his AMAZING slice of life work) did a short one-shot manga story in Siren Maniacs called "Demon's Voice". It concerns a fishing boat in the waters of Japan, far from the coast, and the strange happenings that occur aboard.
Koji, a newbie on the fishing boat, struggles with the crew, as the recent harvests have been exceptionally poor. With their livelihood on the line, the crew tenaciously stays out at sea, casting nets. One night, however, a siren blares out of the sea, confusing the crew. The next morning, the crew makes a huge haul, but its not quite what it seems....
Ito-san's in fine form, as usual. Its part of his older works (compare to the clean style of Cat Diary, for example), but its no less full of impact and drama. His line work is strong and very clear, with the excessive hatching for shadows and form reserved for the more grotesque details. There's more straighter lines in this work, comparing to Uzumaki, where there were, of course, much more curves, curlicues and spirals.
For a short manga (its only about 24 pages), "Demon's Voice" is a perfect slice of Siren, with original characters that doesn't require knowledge of the game. If you're looking for a bite-sized manga to whet your appetite for horror manga (and Ito-san), look no further than this chapter.
For the download, please visit FFTranslations, in the Specials Section. Siren Full listing here. (its a media fire file).
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