Prep Two Horror Fans for a Trip to Japan
January 30, 2023 10:46 AM Subscribe
Hi! I'm that MeFite who posts so many FF movies, especially horror. My kid? Also a horror nerd. Thing is, we've never explored anime or manga horror. But, we're headed to Japan for a few weeks this summer, and if we'd rather know about some of the cool horror titles we might see stuff from before we get there than after we get home and it's too late to do anything about it. We're looking for some guideposts about popular subgenres and some suggestions within them.
A few notes:
A few notes:
- I know Japanese live-action horror well. Yes, I've seen that one. Also that one. That one too. You are raising your finger to tell me about one you think I have not seen. I am humbly asking you not to do that. No one has seen everything, but I've seen a ton. I don't need help with live action. Strictly looking for primers on horror anime and manga.
- Of course I have seen Studio Ghibli's films. I am not a savage.
- We know that the actual books and discs will not generally be in English. We're interested in merch. (Although we do also collect VHS tapes with interesting cover boxes as display items, regardless of language, so knowing where those are would also be cool!)
- Recommendations will be great BUT contextualized recommendations that will help us get oriented are even more useful. Example: "____________ is fun and is a good example of ___________. If you like it, that may be a good road to go down."
- We're aware there are stacks of vampire stuff, though neither of us usually cares for vampire stories. Generally speaking, the gothic/romantic vibe is not our jam.
- The one thing off the top of my head that kiddo is already familiar with is Death Note and I will be checking that out, too.
- Movie recs are terrific, but series are cool too. I tilt more movies, kiddo towards series.
- Open to a variety of tones, but my kid's very favorite thing in this world is over-the-top, stylized, usually comedic horror. He left for school in an Army of Darkness shirt this morning.
- We'll be doing our shopping in Tokyo and Osaka, primarily, but will also pass through Hiroshima and Kyoto. We already have the broad strokes for which neighborhoods to try, but specific/lesser known store recommendations are cool.
- Generalized notes about fun horror-related stuff in the aforementioned towns are also cool.
Others might disagree with the categorization, but I'd consider Neon Genesis Evangelion, Devilman Crybaby and One Punch Man, three very accessible and popular anime to be a good intro.
posted by OHenryPacey at 12:00 PM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by OHenryPacey at 12:00 PM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
The first couple of seasons of Attack on Titan were riveting. It definitely didn't stick the landing but it is hard to find something better than those first few seasons. Both the manga and anime are great. It's all very serious though. The whole thing is available on Crunchyroll but I think the first season or 2 might be on Netflix as well. DO NOT WATCH THE LIVE ACTION MOVIE.
Junji Ito has some really creepy stories. Try to find a copy of The Enigma of Amigara Fault so you can see what I mean.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:12 PM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
Junji Ito has some really creepy stories. Try to find a copy of The Enigma of Amigara Fault so you can see what I mean.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:12 PM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
Another vote for Junji Ito (but seriously: read the manga yourself before giving it to your kid because YMMV). You can try Uzumaki (it's about a small town haunted by spiral shapes in all different ways) and see if the art isn't too gross, because there's... people transformed into snails, vampire-like people that use drills to get blood, things like that.
posted by sukeban at 12:56 PM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by sukeban at 12:56 PM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: DOT Jr. watched and enjoyed Terrifier 2. Gore doesn't faze him.
He is uncomfortable with stuff that is overly horny though. A little sexual content here or there and he just rolls his eyes, nbd. If it's a major part of the story, he's not into it.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:08 PM on January 30, 2023
He is uncomfortable with stuff that is overly horny though. A little sexual content here or there and he just rolls his eyes, nbd. If it's a major part of the story, he's not into it.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:08 PM on January 30, 2023
We'll be doing our shopping in Tokyo and Osaka, primarily, but will also pass through Hiroshima and Kyoto.
Obligatory reminder that Miyajima is a short local train trip and a ferry (included in JR-Pass) away from Hiroshima.
If you go to Kyoto, you can't miss Fushimi Inari Taisha, because the sheer accumulation of torii and small shrines with fox statues is delightfully creepy. Rokudo Chinno-ji is also connected with ghost stories. Seimei Shrine is dedicated to the kami of the onmyouji Abe no Seimei, the Japanese equivalent of Merlin who has appeared in a lot of media.
For Tokyo, you could read up on the frequently pissed off ghost of Taira no Masakado.
posted by sukeban at 1:11 PM on January 30, 2023 [2 favorites]
Obligatory reminder that Miyajima is a short local train trip and a ferry (included in JR-Pass) away from Hiroshima.
If you go to Kyoto, you can't miss Fushimi Inari Taisha, because the sheer accumulation of torii and small shrines with fox statues is delightfully creepy. Rokudo Chinno-ji is also connected with ghost stories. Seimei Shrine is dedicated to the kami of the onmyouji Abe no Seimei, the Japanese equivalent of Merlin who has appeared in a lot of media.
For Tokyo, you could read up on the frequently pissed off ghost of Taira no Masakado.
posted by sukeban at 1:11 PM on January 30, 2023 [2 favorites]
And more recs: Hiroko Yoda and Matt Alt have put out a bunch of "guide books" to Japanese culture appropiate for teen readers. Yokai attack! is about supernatural creatures/ monsters, and Yurei attack! is about Japanese ghosts.
posted by sukeban at 1:19 PM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by sukeban at 1:19 PM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
Horror-adjacent is Aokigahara, aka the suicide forest. It's a couple of hours from Tokyo but especially if you've seen 2016's The Forest, it might be worth a (respecful, as I know you would be) visit.
posted by Threeve at 2:59 PM on January 30, 2023
posted by Threeve at 2:59 PM on January 30, 2023
Re: manga, I'd nth Junji Ito and also suggest The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, which was interesting enough that I read several large compilations years ago. I remember reading one volume of Tokyo Ghoul and thinking I might continue--just tossing that out there as another lead. Re: anime, if Parasyte is still on Netflix, IIRC it was pretty good.
posted by Wobbuffet at 4:47 PM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Wobbuffet at 4:47 PM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
Oh, would written stories work? E.g. Ueda Akinari, Shunkintei Ryūō, Edogawa Rampo (pseudonym), Kōda Rohan, and Ogawa Yōko come to mind. It looks like there are little museums / historically preserved homes related to a couple of them.
posted by Wobbuffet at 5:40 PM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Wobbuffet at 5:40 PM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
I don't really know what qualifies as horror for an anime series because it isn't going to be as scary or unsettling as something in a manga. Attack on Titan works because in addition to how grotesque the titans are people get gruesomely killed in it all the time so there is real danger throughout the series.
Is Demon Slayer horror? It has people turning into monsters in it but it can't be too scary because my kids watched it and they're chickens. I think the basic setup is that there are various demons/oni in Japan about 100 years ago. Main character's kid sister gets turned into one of them and he has to find out a way to turn her back which involves fighting with demons.
Although I don't know if I'd call Death Note horror either. The shingami are a bit creepy looking but the whole thing is the cat and mouse between the main characters along with the rules of what can be done with the notebook.
If either Demon Slayer or Death Note count as horror then I'd say give Full Metal Alchemist a shout. It starts off as a basic adventure series but the whole thing revolves around secret experiments transmuting souls.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 5:40 PM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
Is Demon Slayer horror? It has people turning into monsters in it but it can't be too scary because my kids watched it and they're chickens. I think the basic setup is that there are various demons/oni in Japan about 100 years ago. Main character's kid sister gets turned into one of them and he has to find out a way to turn her back which involves fighting with demons.
Although I don't know if I'd call Death Note horror either. The shingami are a bit creepy looking but the whole thing is the cat and mouse between the main characters along with the rules of what can be done with the notebook.
If either Demon Slayer or Death Note count as horror then I'd say give Full Metal Alchemist a shout. It starts off as a basic adventure series but the whole thing revolves around secret experiments transmuting souls.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 5:40 PM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
Very much on the comedy-horror end, but you may enjoy Q Hayashida's Dorohedoro (which has one anime season available on Netflix and a much longer manga series) and her newer manga Dai Dark.
Dorohedoro visually looks like a serious gritty series with monstrous demons and gratuitous amounts of gore, but the plot is very light-hearted and hilarious (featuring: birthday cakes made by horrifying cockroach monsters, and screaming hell toilets). Dai Dark has a similar tone, but in space. They both have a bit of racy content with occasional almost-nude ladies and boob jokes, but nothing that's plot-centric.
posted by limnerent at 5:49 PM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
Dorohedoro visually looks like a serious gritty series with monstrous demons and gratuitous amounts of gore, but the plot is very light-hearted and hilarious (featuring: birthday cakes made by horrifying cockroach monsters, and screaming hell toilets). Dai Dark has a similar tone, but in space. They both have a bit of racy content with occasional almost-nude ladies and boob jokes, but nothing that's plot-centric.
posted by limnerent at 5:49 PM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
Made in Abyss is a deeply disturbing and horrifying anime (and manga). A quick glance at the title sequence and summary suggest it is a colorful fun children's adventure anime; it is quite the opposite. There are only two seasons, and three movies - the first two movies are a summary of the first season, and the third movie goes right in-between the two seasons. Season two just ended in 2022, and the third season is not expected for several years. No sexual content, but there is a lot of children suffering and crying.
posted by meowzilla at 7:21 PM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by meowzilla at 7:21 PM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
In terms of everyday Japan, Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro is probably THE classic. The show started in the 60s but there was a reboot not too long ago that might be more accessible stylistically. It's about Japanese monsters (yokai). Most Japanese people, even if they haven't watched the show would likely at least know what it is and would be able to sing you the main theme (linked).
In terms of more recent horror titles (as in, from the last two decades or so): Hell Girl (urban supernatural horror/dark fantasy, serious/oppressive in tone) and Pet Shop of Horrors (urban fantasy/quiet monster horror mystery). Hell girl had a fairly long run on TV across Japan (and some of East Asia) in the mid to late '00s, so a lot of East Asian teens-mid 30's today would know it well, or have caught some episodes of it. Pet Shop of Horrors is much more niche but was also a fairly well known title if you were into horror anime in that era.
I'd also like to plug xxxHolic (urban fantasy with a horror bent) - it's mostly funny/goofy, but very charming and some of the episodes are pretty scary, if you're spooked by supernatural horror. Also youkai/Asian mythology/Japanese culture based. All of studio CLAMP's works (one of the bigger and enduring manga/animation studios, you might know them from titles such as CardCaptor Sakura) are in multiverses of each other, so merchandise-wise you're more likely to find something from this series. Maybe less so in horror anime merchandise stores because it's as much urban fantasy as horror, but in more mainstream anime merchandise store for sure.
Junjo Ito as mentioned above is probably the biggest horror mangaka writing today.
posted by womb of things to be and tomb of things that were at 2:57 AM on January 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
In terms of more recent horror titles (as in, from the last two decades or so): Hell Girl (urban supernatural horror/dark fantasy, serious/oppressive in tone) and Pet Shop of Horrors (urban fantasy/quiet monster horror mystery). Hell girl had a fairly long run on TV across Japan (and some of East Asia) in the mid to late '00s, so a lot of East Asian teens-mid 30's today would know it well, or have caught some episodes of it. Pet Shop of Horrors is much more niche but was also a fairly well known title if you were into horror anime in that era.
I'd also like to plug xxxHolic (urban fantasy with a horror bent) - it's mostly funny/goofy, but very charming and some of the episodes are pretty scary, if you're spooked by supernatural horror. Also youkai/Asian mythology/Japanese culture based. All of studio CLAMP's works (one of the bigger and enduring manga/animation studios, you might know them from titles such as CardCaptor Sakura) are in multiverses of each other, so merchandise-wise you're more likely to find something from this series. Maybe less so in horror anime merchandise stores because it's as much urban fantasy as horror, but in more mainstream anime merchandise store for sure.
Junjo Ito as mentioned above is probably the biggest horror mangaka writing today.
posted by womb of things to be and tomb of things that were at 2:57 AM on January 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
If you have a means of playing Region 2 DVDs or Blu-Rays, it's worth looking out for the characters 英語 on the backs of boxes/cases, in the section at the bottom that tells you about the aspect ratio and whether or not it's in Dolby Surround Sound. They're pronounced "eigo" and mean "English language". All of my Japanese Studio Ghibli DVDs have English subtitles, which may be a feature unique to Studio Ghibli but equally, may not be.
Speaking of Studio Ghibli, the various Studio Ghibli shops (and of course the museum) are brilliant for merch, if you happened to want any even though it's outside your genre.
In Tokyo, you might like to head over to Odaiba and visit Daiba Itchome Shotengai, a very convincingly done "retro" floor of the Decks shopping mall. There's a somewhat haunted air to the atmosphere just by dint of its feeling as if you've stepped into the past, there are probably some Kitaro souvenirs to be had (there were when I last visited, but it was some years ago), and there's also a haunted house. Well, school.
Finally, some manga recommendations. Horror is not really my thing, so I can't contextualise these (sorry), but:
Rumiko Takahashi's Mermaid Saga is horror fantasy; some of her other series have monstrous or supernatural elements, but I'd put that one squarely in horror. If you like it and want more, Mao and Inuyasha are the closest of her other works in tone.
Deadman Wonderland got too dark for me about halfway through the manga series, but then I am not a horror fan, and you are. It's set in a prison that's essentially a theme park with a very, very dark underbelly.
Does dystopia count? Ikigami is pretty good: our hero is responsible for delivering letters that tell people they have only 24 hours to live, thanks to a sinister government programme. Some of them take it better than others (and there's an overarching story about the system itself and the people who operate it).
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 4:17 AM on January 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
Speaking of Studio Ghibli, the various Studio Ghibli shops (and of course the museum) are brilliant for merch, if you happened to want any even though it's outside your genre.
In Tokyo, you might like to head over to Odaiba and visit Daiba Itchome Shotengai, a very convincingly done "retro" floor of the Decks shopping mall. There's a somewhat haunted air to the atmosphere just by dint of its feeling as if you've stepped into the past, there are probably some Kitaro souvenirs to be had (there were when I last visited, but it was some years ago), and there's also a haunted house. Well, school.
Finally, some manga recommendations. Horror is not really my thing, so I can't contextualise these (sorry), but:
Rumiko Takahashi's Mermaid Saga is horror fantasy; some of her other series have monstrous or supernatural elements, but I'd put that one squarely in horror. If you like it and want more, Mao and Inuyasha are the closest of her other works in tone.
Deadman Wonderland got too dark for me about halfway through the manga series, but then I am not a horror fan, and you are. It's set in a prison that's essentially a theme park with a very, very dark underbelly.
Does dystopia count? Ikigami is pretty good: our hero is responsible for delivering letters that tell people they have only 24 hours to live, thanks to a sinister government programme. Some of them take it better than others (and there's an overarching story about the system itself and the people who operate it).
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 4:17 AM on January 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
disclaimer: i do not like horror, so most of these will be suggestions from my friends. ones that i have experience with i'll add a little note to.
ito junji definitely. i actually really like the enigma of amigara fault, but the rest of his work really creeps me out. i read hanging balloons once and it still haunts me. ugh.
jujutsu kaisen (呪術 回線)
tokyo ghoul (東京喰種)
berserk (ベルセルク) (i have seen most of this and read quite a bit of it as well, but tw: sexual assault, rape. maybe not horror per se, but definitely very dark.)
the drifting classroom (漂流教室)
gantz (i stopped this one pretty quickly because of gore and body horror)
blood on the tracks (血の轍) (psychological horror)
parasyte (寄生獣)
maybe ajin: demi-human (亜人)? (my friend worked on the translation of the anime, and i had to ask her to stop telling me about it because it was too dark for me)
i wouldn't count gegege no kitaro as horror, personally. maybe the hakaba kitaro (墓場鬼太郎) series though.
if you're looking for merchandise, you're more likely to find things related to more current series like jujutsu kaisen. if i were looking for goods for older series i'd find a mandarake (まんだらけ). nakano broadway, in tokyo, has something like 30 different mandarake stores in it, each with different specialties.
posted by emmling at 4:55 AM on January 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
ito junji definitely. i actually really like the enigma of amigara fault, but the rest of his work really creeps me out. i read hanging balloons once and it still haunts me. ugh.
jujutsu kaisen (呪術 回線)
tokyo ghoul (東京喰種)
berserk (ベルセルク) (i have seen most of this and read quite a bit of it as well, but tw: sexual assault, rape. maybe not horror per se, but definitely very dark.)
the drifting classroom (漂流教室)
gantz (i stopped this one pretty quickly because of gore and body horror)
blood on the tracks (血の轍) (psychological horror)
parasyte (寄生獣)
maybe ajin: demi-human (亜人)? (my friend worked on the translation of the anime, and i had to ask her to stop telling me about it because it was too dark for me)
i wouldn't count gegege no kitaro as horror, personally. maybe the hakaba kitaro (墓場鬼太郎) series though.
if you're looking for merchandise, you're more likely to find things related to more current series like jujutsu kaisen. if i were looking for goods for older series i'd find a mandarake (まんだらけ). nakano broadway, in tokyo, has something like 30 different mandarake stores in it, each with different specialties.
posted by emmling at 4:55 AM on January 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
Just a quick note about Gantz, there's a lot of really gross 'edgy' sexual stuff in there (people of both genders get raped, there's a detail early on where a dog tries insistently to put its snout up a girl's skirt while she's trying to push it away and they decide that it was probably 'trained to do that by a lonely owner', there's a monster and men run in droves to try and stick their dick in it, etc etc). It's not all the time but it definitely can be a very sexual series. Depending on how old your kid is it might be something to wait until 18 for. I remember stopping a fair way in because the misogyny got a bit much but that may not be a deal breaker for everyone. There is a live action though which isn't as frenetic as the manga but probably more sanitised.
posted by womb of things to be and tomb of things that were at 5:37 AM on January 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by womb of things to be and tomb of things that were at 5:37 AM on January 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
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(You can also find a lot of other... things. Very weird and questionable things. Be warned.)
I'm not very into horror manga but you should check out Junji Ito's works if you haven't already - most of it has been translated into English and it's great. Two of his most famous manga are Tomie and Uzumaki.
posted by wandering zinnia at 11:41 AM on January 30, 2023 [4 favorites]