otakulys's manga / #ghosts(14)

Been ages since I read this, but I still own it. I loved it at the time, probably still would.

I liked the one before this better, but this mangaka always makes me happy. Very strange, dark little vignettes. Some of them have legitimately creeped me out, which is hard to do.

Rather creepy and pretty interesting, though I could have done without the endless, graphic animal torture.

Very, VERY weird. There are definitely some interesting elements that come from understated horror, and some of the stories in the collection are stronger than others, so it's kind of hard to say where I stand with this one. I think the story with the little girl who can't make any decisions on her own is my favorite, just because it's so subtly creepy until the end. But I'm intrigued, nonetheless. The stories feel a bit rushed, but I wonder if that's a cultural thing, as that often seems to be the case in these snapshot types of horror.

Very sad, some more than others. I think this anthology showed strengths and weaknesses among the mangaka involved. Short stories can be challenging, writing something satisfying that fills in the blanks and makes sense in such a limited amount of space. The first story broke my heart into a million pieces. I was ugly crying and my cat came and forced me to hold him, which made me cry harder, so there's that. I was super bummed to see that mangaka has yet to produce anything else. I hope that just means she's new and we'll see a lot more from her in the future. Several stories were a little brief and rushed, but the ones that hit you hit you hard. Definitely a sweet but very heartbreaking anthology. Obviously, haha. But it was a good kind of sad. It felt real and emotional. The stronger stories, at least.

Lmao, so random. I've noticed that's really common in eastern horror comics, the shorts in particular. Often, the snapshot itself seems acceptable as a complete story, but it's a little jarring on this end. Even so, there are plenty like that that are great little scenes. This one had potential to be a lot better. Oh well.

Oh, I didn't realize it was finished. Well, I enjoyed it! I used to be jarred by the snapshot nature of a lot of Asian horror anthologies, no plot or anything, just a glimpse of horror. But now I love it. These were pretty fun. Some weren't as great as others, but the few that were particularly creepy definitely got a reaction out of me. Plus, I love fridge horror, the type of story that becomes more horrifying once you look back at it a second time and think about the implications. The "right behind you" story, for example. Anyway, the stories are short and easy to get through, so the worst that can happen is you waste a few minutes of your life. Nothing profound or amazing, just plain, shallow entertainment. Worth a look.

Is this a duplicate? I feel like I reviewed this one already. It's sweet and cute and sad, and I cry every time.

Hmm.... Interesting, I suppose. I feel like there's something a bit clunky about each story. The fur one was really gross, but it was supposed to be. I hate animal suffering. I wish it had ended with some people paying for being so cruel. Despite that, the fur one, chapter four, was the only one that was really creepy. The end of the grandpa one was definitely eerie, too. They were clever concepts. The other two were okay, also. Not the worst I've read. I'll keep reading, at least. ETA: Lol, I don't now if the fifth story was supposed to be deep or what, but... It was pretty mean-spirited, but it was an interesting idea, like most of the others. I've thought about that before, the assumption that we're the main characters of our story. Kind of a miserable, nihilistic approach, but hey. At least the bikini ended up making sense.

I love the rare occasions when horror/the supernatural is combined with BL. I wish it were more common on a serious level. The most you typically get is crack comedy with ghosts and what not. I want more real drama and horror, like here. The two stories that are out already aren't perfect, but they were intriguing. The first one was more sad than creepy. The second one was undeniably creepy as hell. Even if it wasn't scary in a horror sense, that student's obsession... ugh. Dat painting tho. XD I hope the coming stories are good!