Reading Japanese Horror + Thriller Books 🇯🇵 [and reading manga for the first time!!! 😍✨]
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- Опубліковано 12 тра 2022
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I read an article that I wish I could find again about Japanese vs American horror and it talked about how American horror is external, usually the fear is an outward thing coming in (like a murderer, slasher, etc), but Japanese horror is usually internal with body gore or a psychological enemy. Just an interesting difference in the way it’s handled around the world!
That’s so interesting!! I can definitely see that! 👀
I read a similar article and it relayed that western horror is more masculine. It involves physical threats of violence (slashers, monsters, ect.), whereas eastern horror is feminine, its more psychological or cerebral from a ghost or spirit stalking you and usually there is no defeating the threat because it becomes apart of you. Dark Water, Ringu, Ju-on and Pulse all happen because the protagonist accidently enters a room, building, or they watch something that was always there. It was just waiting for its next victim. It doesn't seek you, you find it.
Junji Ito definitely shines with short stories, not that I don’t like the longer ones (like Uzumaki, Tomie and Gyo) but he tends to have difficulties wrapping up longer stories, just a heads up if you continue reading his longer works
Japanese Mangas are usually backwards and you gotta read it from right to left. I was waiting for this video to be uploaded. I rely on your recommendation so much😌
Also, manga recommendation for you Gabby: 1) Death Note
2) Monster
3) 5 centimeters per second
4) Orange
5) Attack on Titan
6) Spy Family
7) Taisho otome fairy tale
You can also follow along the corresponding animes if you would like🥺
Spy family's the best!!!
YES MONSTER
Spy family is the best 👍👍👍
omg i loved orange… if you couldn’t tell from my pfp 😭
Junji Ito's art style is incredible, it just gets under your skin - Uzumaki was made into a Japanese movie back in 2000, It's worth checking out just to see how they translate the art direction. The Drifting Classroom is another horror manga that's worth checking out!
There's a Manga called Battle Royale - Angel's Border that expands on the relationship of the girls in the lighthouse scene from the book
Please do a part 2! Japanese horror is sooo good. I would recommend looking into Ryu Murakami’s books, Audition and In the Miso Soup tend to be favourites for most people, and they’re short. Another by Yukito Ayatsuji is pretty fun. Loved this video 💜
Every volume of a manga usually starts with some coloured pages, so since you're reading a bind up of several volumes, you're getting the coloured pages interspersed in between whenever a new volume starts.
Also, what I absolutely love about Uzumaki is how visual the story is! This horror story works so well only because of Ito's masterful illustrations I feel - so for example if someone told me the story of Uzumaki only through words, I'd neither find it scary nor be able to visualise it properly. So Uzumaki is a perfect balance of beautiful storytelling/plotting and skillful illustrations, and that's what makes it stand out as a "best of the best" horror manga.
Recs
1. Convenience Store Woman
2. Hotel Iris
3. The Nakano Thrift Shop
4. The Miracles of Namiya General Store
Firstly I got confused that this is going to be up on morning for which I woke up early and then realised that the time is scheduled for night ...and I really can't wait to see it ❤️❤️
I love your reading vlogs, especially those dedicated to thriller and horror books! You made me excited for Battle Royale and Penance 💜 but I think I’d get to The Confessions first because I’ve had it on my tbr for a quite some time but haven’t gotten to it yet.
I absolutely love these vlogs where you focus on one specific country! It’s epic! 🥰🥳
The book Ring is part of a trilogy, Ring, Spiral and Loop. All very disturbing.
(Also I think the Japanese movie version of The Ring is way better than the American. Not to mention The Grudge and One Missed call 😱 Those Japanese movies are messed uuup)
I also want to recommend the novel Out by Natsuo Kirino. But also the other manga collections by Junji Ito; Gyo and Tomie
I really hope you do a part two!
Hi gabby i love your videos and have been a subscriber for years! :)
I'm Japanese/Canadian and grew up in Tokyo so I'm so happy to see that you enjoyed these books.
To give context, I can tell you that
1) Japanese books are bound backwards to western books so we read right to left (and even top to bottom in Japanese text).
2) "Middle school" here is 3 years (7th, 8th, 9th grade) and high school is 3 years as well (10th, 11th, 12th grade), so the students in Battle Royale were probably in their last year of middle school so around freshman year of HS in the west.
I'd love to see you read thrillers as well and would recommend Keigo Higashino
Can't wait! I got exams in 6 hours so this video will be up by the time I come back home. Perfect timing!
This video was so fun! All of these books sound so good and I want to read all of them.💚
Your reactions in this video are unmatched, I'm so glad you had such a great time reading in this vlog!
would love to see a part two. this was so much fun!!
I’m so glad you loved Junji Ito!! During early quarantine my sister made me read his books and I actually loved them so much!!!❤️
I’m really glad you read Junji Ito! I’m enjoying these Korean and Japanese book videos you’re doing! ❤️
This was a blast! Definitely a Part II is in order ❤️🔥
The video preview😂😂 perfection!!
I was so excited for this and it did not disappoint. I started reading manga for thr first time in January 2021 and I LOVE it...its just such different storytelling than you get from other stuff. I would HIGHLY recommend checking out I Hear the Sunspot...it is my favorite series I've read in manga. There are 5 volumes but it's probably shorter than Uzumaki if you read them all at once. I loved it for the disability rep and the romance and friendships just...so good. For Junji ito...I'd recommend Smashed as a short story collection as that was my favorite and Gyo (which was the last one I read because I thought it sounded stupid...but it ended up being my favorite) is more like Uzumaki with the way the stories are all connected.
I read the second book in the Ring series for Spring Fling O Ween and really enjoyed it. I have to admit that I'm not sure this series is for everyone...I dont think you will like the main characters in Ring...but it was 5 stars for me and the creepy imagery really worked for me. Koji Suzuki has a short story collection called Dark Water I think that im excited to read but havent yet.
I'm excited to check out Battle Royale as that wasnt on my radar before.
But manga is a whole new exciting world for me that I started reading last year and I highly recommend branching out and trying lots of different genres of manga. Some of my other favorites besides I Hear the Sunspot are:
I Want to Eat Your Pancreas
A Man and His Cat
Way of the Househusbad
Perfect World
The Girl from the Other Side
Your Lie in April
A Silent Voice
Suga my bias!!! 😍 I got way too excited when you mentioned him 😂
Definitely do a part two. Years ago I used to watch at midnight on Sunday on the Sundance channel called Asian Extreme. I don't know if they do it anymore. They would spotlight original Asian horror films. America has remade a ton of their films. They're are very good at scaring the s*** out of you! Even though I would lose sleep. I would still stay up till 3:00 a.m. watching an Asian horror film and have to go to work as a teacher the next day lol. You should do a vlog on Asian Horror films. Japan definitely has their fair share but there's a lot from different countries.
Ahhhh yay so glad you liked Uzumaki!!! I totally agree with you that the first part of the book was a lot better than the second part. I thought the ending was ok. It definitely wasn’t as creepy as the beginning! I want to read Tomie next by Junji Ito. I’m definitely going to read Shiver now! I love these nationality themed videos! Keep it up, and I would LOVE to see Japan part 2!
YESSSSSS to part 2 for sure!!!!!!! 😃👏
Hi Gabby, looking forward to a part 2 😊 enjoyed your vlog
Reading vlogs are so fun 🥰👌
Omg really enjoyed watching this! Do more of these videos ❤️
As a huge fan of Asian literature I’m so happy to know you liked all of the books. I just recently read battle Royale and uzumaki. Loved both of it especially uzumaki, I’ve already read some other stories from the author. I’m genuinely hoping for part two of this kind of video)
Finally some manga up here love it girl 👌
All books in Japan are read backwards and the other side from U.S. books. Because Japanese script doesn't go horizontal but vertical. I'm glad you've been enjoying some Japanese literature.
I’m currently reading Shiver and I love it so far!
The way I immediately dove into this vlog. I apologize for the novel this comment has turned into but Battle Royale and Uzumaki were formative parts of my youth as a Japan-obsessed teen (which led to my degree in Japanese culture) and I was excited to see where this journey took you. The vlog did not disappoint! I have lots of thoughts and comments, so here goes:
The reason your physical copy of Battle Royale doesn't match is because the audiobook was released in 2012 and is from the 2009 revised translation by Yuji Oniki, but your physical copy is the 2014 translation by Nathan Collins. While it might not be as accurate to how people naturally speak English, the Collins translation is widely considered the better one because it's more accurate to the actual Japanese text. You noted the use of first or different names, which is also a case of being more accurate to the original - in Japanese, you use last names with people you don't have a close relationship with, so the 2009 version changed the perceived relationships between some of the characters by using their first names instead of the last.
The Battle Royale film is a cult classic and one that I cannot recommend enough. I was a teenager when it first released in 2000 and it's so hard to describe what it was like back then to try watching a movie like this. Most people who see it now don't realize how difficult it was to even get hold of - it didn't receive an official US release until 2012 because Toei was worried it would end up with legal troubles because of the violence, so anyone who wanted to see it had to import copies from other countries or find one of the underground bootlegs being sold at indie film shops.
The sequel, Battle Royale II: Requiem, is unfortunately not great. It's not the worst sequel ever made but it doesn't have the same impact as the first film. (Btw, Suzanne Collins denies having had any knowledge of Battle Royale while writing The Hunger Games.) And Battle Royale really did have a huge cultural impact, as you mentioned in the vlog. One of my favorites examples is how Quentin Tarantino loved the film so much that he cast one of the leads in Kill Bill: Volume 1 as Gogo Yubari (the schoolgirl). Gogo was actually meant to have a sister who would have been played by another lead from Battle Royale, but she wasn't available at the time.
The film adaptation of Uzumaki also released in 2000 and is a fun time. It's not high cinema by any means, but it has a lot of creepy atmosphere mixed in with the cheesy special effects, so I always advise people to go in expecting to laugh a bit and enjoy themselves rather than be spooked. (I also recommend checking out the music video for Do As Infinity's "Raven", which was used as the ending theme song and has a cool rock vibe with clips from the movie. Little shoutout for my favorite Japanese band.)
If you'd like to enjoy more Japanese horror, these are my recommendations (J-horror was also a formative part of my childhood):
- The Ring trilogy (Ring, Spiral, Loop) by Koji Suzuki and the film adaptation Ringu directed by Hideo Nakata. The Japanese film has a very different vibe to the American adaptations - and the Japanese films are not all connected because of multiple productions happening at the same time, so wiki before diving in further. Also, definitely keep in mind that the book is very scientific and has a male protagonist, whereas the movie obviously features a female protagonist and has a more emotional vibe to it.
- The Ju-On film series by Takashi Shimizu. This is THE Japanese ghost story to watch if you want to be scared and unnerved. There are some novelizations but this is really best consumed as a visual story. My top recommendations are Ju-On: The Grudge, the first Japanese theatrical film, and the American adaptation The Grudge. Normally, I am anti-remake, but in this case it was adapted and directed by Shimizu himself and was filmed in Japan, and rather than being a straight remake, the story incorporated some other bits of story from the earlier Ju-On stories Shimizu made. Both versions are phenomenal and perfect for spooky summer movie nights. And if you'd like a book element for a future vlog, there are novelizations available by Kei Ohishi - the first one, Ju-On, would be especially good because it elaborates on things from those earlier stories that aren't in that first theatrical film.
- Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When They Cry) manga and anime series. This is another horror series involving school-age kids and is set in a small village during an annual festival. The series involve a collection of arcs that retell the story of a particular summer and an event that happens (lots of blood and gore) from different perspectives and with different outcomes. Some of the stories are connected to each other, offering two sides in question arcs and answer arcs, and it's very confusing... until it suddenly isn't. The manga is sprawling with 20+ volumes and the anime is absolutely incredible - check out the opening sequence here on UA-cam, the song has an eerie vibe and the clips they use are perfection.
Okay, fangirl moment over. Thank you for an incredible vlog! I wish you well on your future journey into the depths of Japanese storytelling.
Oh wow thanks sm for sharing this! It's interesting how language is formed and how we perceive is the correct way as English speakers compared to non English speaking countries. I'm definitely checking out these recs too! I've been obsessed with Korean dramas for a while now and want to branch out a little.
Want to thank you for introducing me to Battle Royale. Finished it last week. 5⭐️ attempted pairing the audio while reading same edition as you, but realized as someone else commented that the narrator was using first edition translation. So I abandoned the audio and still flew through physical book.
I definitely need to read Battle Royle. Also, great song recs in this video!
Awesome vlogs lately!!!!
Thank you!!
Just got the Battle Royale book! I'm super excited to read it. Thanks for the recommendations ❤️
Also, there’s a Manhwa that’s called Tales of the unusual which is a collection of short stories. The artwork is kind of simple compared to Ito’s but the chills and horror are definitely there. Also recommend if you liked Cursed bunny
This Battle Royale cover is insanely pretty
I would recommend:
1) The Ring by Koji Suzuki
2) Out by Natsuo Kirino
3) Goth by Otsuichi
4) No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai
And then some manga:
1) The Drifting Classroom by Kazuo Umezz
2) Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba
3) Ibitsu by Haruto
4) Perfect Blue by Yoshikazu Takeuchi
5) Bizenghast by M. Alice LeGrow
Loved this vlog and yes please do a part two as there are so many good Japanese Horror/thriller books. Glad you enjoyed all of the books you read and I love your channel 🖤🥀.
Great list! Natsuo Kirino,Yoko Ogawa, are awesome writers. No Longer Human, manga addition drops in November.
I’m so glad you’re enjoying some Japanese horror! I haven’t read nearly enough manga (I’m half Japanese but haven’t read much manga, how scandalous) haha! In Japan their reading/writing system is different, they read right to left while we read left to right, and in Japanese books they read vertically top to bottom, right to left, and we read horizontally left to right 😂 it can be a bit confusing sometimes when you’re not used to it! I haven’t read Junji Ito yet but I plan to buy some manga when I go back to Japan! Love this video! -Ellen
Part two of this please! OMG. Japanese and Korean thriller/horror is another level. Please do check Holy Mother by Rikako Akiyoshi. Still haven't read that but the reviews are great. ♥️ Can't wait for the part two of reading Japanese books reading vlog.
Just added Shiver and Battle Royale to my tbr! And I would definitely love a part 2! Uzumaki is coming out as an anime in October and I’m so excited to read the manga and watch the show!
I LOVE JUNJI ITO , I have Frankenstein story collection, I have Uzamaki , I have tomi , and I have shiver! I LOVED FRANKENSTEIN, gave it 5 stars
I’m currently reading Uzamaki
My next read is shiver
And then Tomie
Uzumaki is one of my favorite books and makes me happy to see you reading it. 😃
Ok . I ordered Shiver. I totally trust your book recommendations. ☕️
Awesome vlog! 🙂 The reactions whilst reading 😂
Credits for following Battle royale audio when reading physical as well. Sounded very difficult to follow!
Excited for you to read more manga!
Emiko Jean also wrote well never be apart. I'll def check out Tokyo ever after.
I am SO glad you read Junji Ito!! The short story grease was DISGUSTING🤢! Also, glad you enjoyed Uzumaki!😌
I really loved reading Erased. It’s a manga and also an anime. As well as a live action tv series. Such a great story!
i think since you also tried music and k-dramas in the korean one, you should definitely try some anime.
the ones i would most recommend based on your preferences in thrillers and horrors but that are still among the staples of anime and very illustrative of what an anime as a media is like would be
1. psycho-pass
2: future diaries
3. assassination classroom
another reason why i think these would work the best is them being finished stories and with two out of the three being a manga adaptations, they follow the manga pretty closely [which my fellow anime lovers will confirm can be a real pain when the anime strays from the manga and then does some bs and you are just left there like okay, what is the story though and how does it end now?]
I’m so glad I found this video! I’m half Japanese and so happy to see you loving Japanese horror. As a heads up, in Japan they read right to left and that’s normal for them, just like left to right is normal for us ☺️ Japanese books also have their sentences vertical as well! Middle school in Japan is different than the US; for us high school is 9-12th grade whereas high school in Japan is 10-12th grade, so middle school is 7th, 8th and 9th grade which explains why the characters are 15. I hope this makes sense! Great video and I definitely have to check out Battle Royals and Junji Ito!!
I read Battle Royale for the first time when I was in high school and watching you enjoy it is making me want to reread it!
Yes please to a part 2
Great video. Loved it so much. And all Manga is that way, but they are so good. 👻👍🏻
FINALLY 😍
Yes manga is always “backwards” 😊 it’s backwards to us but the right way for them. Weird the very first time you read it but I think you get used to it quick
Edit: Kaichou wa Maid-Sama by Hiro Fujiwara for the cutestttt romance 😍 it’s a shoujo manga
I'm so glad you liked Tokyo Ever After!
What a nice surprise to see you reading Junji Ito. One of my favorite horror authors. After reading Uzumaki I couldn't stop seeing spirals everywhere. The book definitely stuck with me. Another good one is Remina. I read that one in one setting. It's f*ed up. You'd probably like it lol
I read Battle Royale in 2019 and I absolutely obsessed. It's great to know that you also love it 🥰
I loved this and I hope you do a part 2! Uzumaki set off my love for Manga. It was so disturbing, and now I can't get enough of Junji Ito's work. I've had Battle Royale on my shelf for years and this was making me want to finally read it! I read Ring last year and it's really good, but different than the films. As for other suggestions, I've heard great things about In the Miso Soup and Audition. I also recommend the short story collection Goth by OTSUICHI!
Since you're really into short stories right now I'd definitely recommend checking out Revenge: Eleven Dark Tales by Yoko Ogawa ! The short stories in this one are also interconnected !
I love these books so much. Classics.
Out, rings, audition, under the midnight sun for recommendation if u do another one
I watched the mini series based on Penance so long ago I had forgotten the name! I’ve been trying to figure out what it is was!! Had no idea it was based on a book how cool:)
same facial reactions while reading the spiral story 😁👍
Thank you for reading books from Japanese authors! I love you read Penance. Even we have slightly different opinion about it, I'm glad you gave Penance a chance. I hope you read more book from Japan 🔥
Uzumaki was my first Ito read. I definitly recommend itos adaptation of Frankenstein. A long with the short story collection Deserter and lovesickness. Other stories of itos that got the deluxe edition treatment are Gyo and Tomie. I'm happy you enjoyed both shiver and Uzumaki. 😊❤📚
I LOVED this vlog! I definitely want to check out Battle Royale, I've only ever seen the movie.
Great vlog I love reading manga I got a nice size collection and these mangas are now in my wishlist..and yah I have that same wholes bugs fear it's a real illness ugh never google it the pics make me shiver so bad lol
Haven't read too much Manga/Comics but I love having a visual to a really good story....stays with you for a very long time, big fan of Junji Ito and his crazy imagination...Clive Barker's Books of Blood have some comics made out of his short stories.... artwork is crazy in these 2 and must reads "Son of Celluloid & Rawhead Rex"
My favorite junji ito short story is The enigma of Amigara fault. I also am quite partial to hanging balloons. So glad you enjoy them! I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on Remina.
in battle royale, the students are technically freshman in high school if you’re thinking about the american school system. in japan, junior high (middle school) is seventh-ninth grade.
I love Kanae Minato’s books. I rarely re-read books but I do with her books. Her books always have heavy atmosphere but very easy to read somehow.
The good turn off the check them books out thank you for sharing that 👍🏼👍🏼😊
You should definitelyyy read Tomie and Lovesickness by Junji Ito! Both are about obsession!
If you read the Ring you also have to watch the Japanese movie adaptation. It's the creepiest horror movie I have ever seen!
Pushing my Battle Royale agenda has finally paid off. BLESSED. I literally read that book in middle school lmao.
Also for manga I think you'd really like anything by Shuzo Oshimi!
Also Also yes the collector's/deluxe editions of manga tend to have some colored pages!
FYI, Netflix is in process doing anime adaptation from 10 best Junji Ito stories.
A manga series I reccomend is the spy family series. The anime recently just came out as well!
One of my favorite Japanese authors is Keigo Higashino. A horror one I would have to say Earthlings by Sayaka Murata but there is content warnings it.
i loved this vlog! as you were reading the mangas i was reading Remina it's by the same author as Shiver. and btw you should definitely check out Attack On Titan if you haven't already. it's the best of the best! :)
Manga are backwards bc Japanese books are traditionally written that way! I also recommend watching the film for Battle Royale (second one isn’t worth it)
I also recommend Blood on the Tracks. It is super creepy.
I just finished the sequel of Tokyo ever after 🥺
Please read more thrillers and horror books from Japan, so that I can add them to my TBR
omg i want to read battle royale now!! that sounds right up my alley.
I added battle Royale to my tbr because of you Gabby
There's 3 different versions of Battle Royale published in the US, all with 3 different revised text. Your audiobook is from the very first edition, and your physical book is the most recent "remastered" edition so that's why they don't match up exactly.
Look at the tank!!!! 😅❤😂
If it helps, when you said "Before we go to the gym and stuff" I heard "Before we go with Jimin and stuff" lol, the Bangtan life is real lol! I totally suggest trying Death Note! also, if you're interested in slice of life Manga, Dreamin' Sun is a good one as well :)
Omg lmaoooo I love it 🤣🤣🤣
Not me watching while I eat dinner as you talk about the skin holes🤦🏽♀️🤣😂
Oh no 🤭
HOW did i not realize before now that you have never read manga?!
The whole reading in reverse is second nature to me now, i cant tell you how many times ive started reading a webtoon and gotten so confused, only to realize i was reading it backwards!🤣🤣 🤣
I read Uzumaki last year. It messed me up 😂. I’m still not over the snail thing. Then I read Venus in the Blindspot and Loveless. Disturbing imagery
Uzumaki has stayed on my mind two years later haha :P
I love Junji Ito. I have his current collections to date. His lastest release drops in July :-)
Ibitsu by Ryo Haruto is a very good horror manga I think you will love!!
I haven't read much Japanese horror yet but I really enjoyed Ring by Koji Suzuki. I read that one earlier this year