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The Ring (Manga) #5
The Ring 0: Birthday
Thirty years before the setting of the American blockbuster adaptation of The Ring, Sadako Yamamura was just a young girl, thrust from society because of her dangerous and fascinating psychic powers. It's hard to imagine, but the girl who would eventually climb out of your television set and kill you with pure fear was once a very pretty and confused girl. This is the story of Sadako, before she was a dead body in the well, the story of a scary power emerging from a nervous girl.
Based on the Japanese film of the same title, Ring 0 - Birthday goes beyond the visual scariness of previous Ring volumes, delving into society's fear of the unknown, showing two sides to the monster that became Sadako.
Based on the Japanese film of the same title, Ring 0 - Birthday goes beyond the visual scariness of previous Ring volumes, delving into society's fear of the unknown, showing two sides to the monster that became Sadako.
160 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
April 3, 2019
To start off with the synopsis is wrong, it’s actually the synopsis for The Ring Volume 4 Birthday
This is the manga version of the movie, of the same name. Which itself is a retelling of Lemon Heart, Sadako’s origin. It’s a prequel to the ring, set when Sada was in acting school. This kid has a crush on her, which is a little cute. Things don’t go as planned for the pair, as someone’s digging into her mother’s past.
It’s quite a good story but it doesn’t work very well in manga form. In the movie it showed 2 or 3 emotions at time whereas with this they focus on one and move on. In a scene where Sadako is supposed to be happy, confused and then fearful she just comes across as fearful so it didn’t really work. There was also a lot of bit that they chose to shy away from which was disappointing, considering the first few bits are violent then it switches to off panel stuff. You don’t get to know the characters very well either, you have the main two which it spends some time developing but the rest just stay to the background. The interesting bits like the reporter trying to find out how her husband was killed is only mentioned instead of being full developed. If you like the rest of the series, I’d say give it a read but I wouldn't go out of your way to get it.
This is the manga version of the movie, of the same name. Which itself is a retelling of Lemon Heart, Sadako’s origin. It’s a prequel to the ring, set when Sada was in acting school. This kid has a crush on her, which is a little cute. Things don’t go as planned for the pair, as someone’s digging into her mother’s past.
It’s quite a good story but it doesn’t work very well in manga form. In the movie it showed 2 or 3 emotions at time whereas with this they focus on one and move on. In a scene where Sadako is supposed to be happy, confused and then fearful she just comes across as fearful so it didn’t really work. There was also a lot of bit that they chose to shy away from which was disappointing, considering the first few bits are violent then it switches to off panel stuff. You don’t get to know the characters very well either, you have the main two which it spends some time developing but the rest just stay to the background. The interesting bits like the reporter trying to find out how her husband was killed is only mentioned instead of being full developed. If you like the rest of the series, I’d say give it a read but I wouldn't go out of your way to get it.
February 11, 2018
2.9/5
Well it's an improvement over the last two volumes, but not by much, seeing as it regurgitates the same theater scenario from the last two stories in the previous volume. This marks the third time this particular time in Sadako's life has been changed over, now with more tragic romance and a revenge plot. Yayyyy.
So several years ago, when Sadako's mother was being exploited for her psychic powers, journalists flocked to the show, only to ridicule her, call her a fraud. Sadako killed one of the journalists. Well, years later, that journalist's daughter is back and she wants some good old-fashioned revenge by sabotaging her debut as an actress and sparking a witch hunt.
This series has gone places. Meimu's artwork is back, and although still far from perfect, it's better than any of the other visual work this series has seen. I'm glad that out of all the artists they've used, they brought Meimu back. Good choice. Best choice.
But this story has been stretched thinner than paper and its continuity doesn't make any sense now. The same theatre director's fate has changed in every version of this story. Seriously. It's time to stop.
Well it's an improvement over the last two volumes, but not by much, seeing as it regurgitates the same theater scenario from the last two stories in the previous volume. This marks the third time this particular time in Sadako's life has been changed over, now with more tragic romance and a revenge plot. Yayyyy.
So several years ago, when Sadako's mother was being exploited for her psychic powers, journalists flocked to the show, only to ridicule her, call her a fraud. Sadako killed one of the journalists. Well, years later, that journalist's daughter is back and she wants some good old-fashioned revenge by sabotaging her debut as an actress and sparking a witch hunt.
This series has gone places. Meimu's artwork is back, and although still far from perfect, it's better than any of the other visual work this series has seen. I'm glad that out of all the artists they've used, they brought Meimu back. Good choice. Best choice.
But this story has been stretched thinner than paper and its continuity doesn't make any sense now. The same theatre director's fate has changed in every version of this story. Seriously. It's time to stop.
October 28, 2022
I'm glad I read this in addition to the first two volumes of the manga; I think this is proof that while you don't necessarily need to read the novel by Koji Suzuki, it helps a lot if you have read it prior and makes this volume more enriching. A lot of the details in this volume concern time Sadako spent with an acting troupe in a theater, and this is a direct reference back to some of the details learned about her in the novel Ring. While it's detached in the novel as a focus on gathering more information about Sadako, here we get more of an emotional bias as we follow along with her in particular and the fear and struggles she faces in the meantime. I think this could be read as a prelude to the first two volumes, but I still followed just fine reading this as the third. Highly recommended if you're going through the manga adaptations of the story!
May 22, 2021
It jumps around too much -like a horror flick would- but this isn't film so it's just confusing. I had to constantly flip back and forth to understand what was going on. Then the plot itself is difficult to follow on top of that so this is infuriating to read.
The art is sparse and sketchy with very little detail and poor lighting. It's that hurried manga style intended to be flipped through really fast- to be read without really looking at it.
The art is sparse and sketchy with very little detail and poor lighting. It's that hurried manga style intended to be flipped through really fast- to be read without really looking at it.
November 1, 2021
To be honest, wasn’t really scary, considering I’m not familiar The Ring franchise, the manga appears to trying add horror to Sadako Yamamura origin story but falls flat if you never read the original books or films.
December 7, 2019
2,5 stars
June 9, 2012
So really there is not much to say about this book if you're already a fan of the "Ringu" (or "The Ring" in american use) stories/mythology.
It is another 'side' or another story almost, about Sadako. I was interested in what a Manga could do with any of this story, but really it wasn't that much.
That said, the art was actually fairly good. I especially liked how the artist could use shading in single precise line to manage to make VERY realistic 'bystanders', crowds, mobs... without showing any specific faces- it wasn't creepy at all, and wasn't intended to be. It was a way of showing that under some circumstances, people cease to be someone specific and become a part of the proverbial 'faceless' group. The details were there, you could guess what kind of person each was (here a stagehand, there a businesswoman) and yet they had become something else. LOST humanity, in thier behavior.
Very nice, but overall there wasn't enough to keep me enthused about it.
It is another 'side' or another story almost, about Sadako. I was interested in what a Manga could do with any of this story, but really it wasn't that much.
That said, the art was actually fairly good. I especially liked how the artist could use shading in single precise line to manage to make VERY realistic 'bystanders', crowds, mobs... without showing any specific faces- it wasn't creepy at all, and wasn't intended to be. It was a way of showing that under some circumstances, people cease to be someone specific and become a part of the proverbial 'faceless' group. The details were there, you could guess what kind of person each was (here a stagehand, there a businesswoman) and yet they had become something else. LOST humanity, in thier behavior.
Very nice, but overall there wasn't enough to keep me enthused about it.
February 5, 2013
This could've been much better but it was extremely hard to follow. I read reviews on other sites and apparently there are novels and an anime for this same series which doesn't surprise me. Still, I read plenty of manga. It's not uncommon for a series to also have light novels, anime, or even games to flesh out the story yet none but this one have been so choppy that I just couldn't enjoy it much. I read and reread several pages. There are plenty of vague panels with no dialogue. I'm sure if you are a die-hard Ring fan this manga might make more sense. I've only seen the movies and I wouldn't recommend it for the casual fan.
August 13, 2014
This was an impulse purchase the the Half Price Books clearance sale, and it was okay. A manga prequel to The Ring/Ringu it does about what you'd expect from that, though it's frequently a little choppy and hard to follow. Still, it reminded me of how much I like horror manga done well, so maybe it's time for some Junji Ito rereads in my future...
December 31, 2007
Sadako adalah gadis aneh yang mewarisi sifat aneh ibunya yang dibunuh beberapa tahun silam.
Semua buku dan film seri Sadako ini sudah gw baca and nonton.
Tentang bukunya bagus, gak terlalu berbeda jauh dengan filmnya.
Yang dibuat versi america dengan judul yang sama, sepertinya lebih bagus yang versi aslinya.
I like this book.
Semua buku dan film seri Sadako ini sudah gw baca and nonton.
Tentang bukunya bagus, gak terlalu berbeda jauh dengan filmnya.
Yang dibuat versi america dengan judul yang sama, sepertinya lebih bagus yang versi aslinya.
I like this book.
July 21, 2012
I am yet to read the original novel from which this manga was adapted but I must say reading this in the graphic form made it quite intriguing. You turn each page slowly, going over each of the images and then suddenly Sadako comes in. I sat down and finished this book yesterday night and at that time it was pouring and there was a strong wind blowing, so great ambiance for a horror novel.
November 12, 2016
I only read this because I needed to read a book in traditional manga format (back to front) for a challenge I was doing. I didn't like the book, but as it is not in one of my usual genres and I wouldn't have normally read it, I will not be giving it a rating. I don't think it would be fair, as readers of this genre really seem to enjoy it.
September 2, 2010
It was a nice terror/suspense book,I read it on a cloudy afternoon, alone in my house, I just could not stop reading, was so interesting, but I didn´t like the final. The end of the story seems like a bad, quick cliffhanger.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 14, 2011
At the outset, let me clarify that I'm new to manga comics. My exposure to manga has primarily been through Osamu Tezuka's eight volume Buddha, which I enjoyed immensely. But, it seems psychic/supernatural powers, the other world, super-beings etc. will take some getting used to :-(
December 22, 2023
How did it all begin?! The Ring, thats right the Horrific 2002 movie that scared me to hell (thanks Talia) has a sequel. Ringu had a pretty decent run in japan, and because of that, there are quite a few more stories to tell about the killer Video Tape!
October 26, 2011
It was all right. The art was good but the stuff going on in the book was kind of confusing. I had to reread a lot in order to get the gist of what was going on at times.
April 10, 2022
more of a 2.5 tbh. i loved this origin story, but it still wasn’t great.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews