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In this collection of carefully selected short stories, Kanako Inugi Shared some of her story favorites, including one about a little girl who wants too much to grow up, a sister who manages to stop her older sister from bullying, and a villain who fulfills a wish that perhaps should have no answer. magic.
Be Very Afraid of Kanoko Inuki!
was translated by Kevin Gifford and written by Phil Christie.
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Synopsis: |
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In this collection of handpicked short stories, Kanako Inuki shares Some of her favorites include a story about a little girl who wants too much to grow up, a sister who manages to stop her older sister from bullying, and a demon who grants a wish that perhaps should have no answer.
Be Very Afraid of Kanoko Inuki!
was translated by Kevin Gifford and written by Phil Christie.
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Despite being a prolific creator of horror comics, few Kanako Inuki of The work has been published in English – dark horse 2006 translation and The now-defunct CMX publishes
presents , already2006 and100; Both series are currently out of print. Which means fans can hope Kodansha is testing the waters (re)issuing her work, as this slim volume is a collection of some of Inuki’s favorite short stories she has written. Each of the six stories is from a different series, with the oldest going back to 205. If you don’t know they’re from different series, you won’t necessarily be able to tell them apart, as the stories stand on their own even though each has a recurring theme or character.
Of these, the strongest and in many ways the earliest, “Happiness Hidden in the Dark” from 100′ s
wish come true |
. The story follows a blind princess who leads an enchanted life – she is doted on, loved by a kind man, and never wants anything. But she keenly felt that she had lost her eyesight and believed that her life would be just
that
if she had it Much better, so she moves on to the leading plot of the larger work: She traps a wishful demon at midnight on a moonless Friday th hold Two mirrors face each other. While we can guess what the unintended outcome of her wish was, the reveal is still popular, and part of the reason it works so well is Inuki’s early maiden 2006 and grotesque. It’s a mix she often uses, mixing idyllic doll-like girls with elements of body horror and gore, but it works especially well in this production, clearly showing Kazuo Umezz as creator effect on her. She repeatedly mentions him as her favorite and she 192189 girl – The affected art does have hints of his style.
“Lolita” in the book
Wu Xijun , also works well with this juxtaposition, although it takes on a more decidedly tragic tone. The story follows a five-year-old girl who is convinced that she should become a woman as soon as possible. This belief is driven in large part by her attraction to the opposite sex, and her precocity is exactly the title of the story: she is a sexualized child, although in her case it is definitely herself made. When she meets Bukita-kun, the creepy loner easily comes from Junji Ito story, he gave her a growth potion he had concocted that would speed her aging without shortening her lifespan. If you’ve seen where things might go wrong, you’re not alone, the story works not because it’s cleverly planned, but because we can see the ending coming but be powerless to prevent it. Even Takeshita-kun had reservations, but he felt he couldn’t stop the girl from breaking into the adult life she so wanted. The ending is horrific, but its horror is partly due to the tragic element present in the plot, which can also be read as a warning to children eager to abandon their childhoods.
This is a recurring theme in Lovesickness, originally from Haunted Exam Room
about the misadventures of a psychiatrist whose patients tend to be bizarre and supernatural. Like “Lolita,” the heroine of this work longs for something she considers out of reach; in this case, the perfect man. (The heroine of “Lolita” will fall for any man she finds attractive.) Because she is ignored or bullied by her classmates, the girl begins to fantasize about her true love and eventually becomes convinced that she is cultivating him in her heart. Part of it is because part of her subconsciously realizes that the perfect man she wants can’t exist, but the horror of this story is that she thinks he’s in her heart Far
literal meaning.
Looking at all three of these stories together, it seems that one of Inuki’s persistent themes is the idea of being poisoned by societal expectations. The princess believes she must be happier because she is indeed as beautiful as everyone tells her, the little girl longs to be charming and to get the kind of satisfaction she thinks only a man’s attention can give her, and the schoolgirl is convinced She would not be happy without her own true love, who is perfect in every way. All of these are societal beliefs that people who socialize as women are often forced to swallow and internalize, and in all three of these essays, Inuki suggests that they are actually unhealthy and could lead to our downfall. Horror, as a genre, is often good at pointing out insidious social issues and fears, and while the other three stories in the series are not bad, it’s the way these three really tie the themes of the book together.
Not as visceral as some other horror flicks, but still a solid read. It does feel like a sampler rather than a full collection, but hopefully it has opened the door to (re)releases in English of the longer pieces these stories come from. Inuki is a creator worth knowing if you’re a fan of Kazuo Umezz and Junji Ito , it’s well worth a try.
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2006
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