Otsuichi (乙一, Otsuichi?), also known as Eiichi Nakata and Asako Yamashiro, is the pen-name of Hirotaka Adachi (安達 寛高), born 1978.
He is a Japanese writer, mostly of horror short stories. He made his debut with Summer, Fireworks, and My Corpse while still in high school.
Major works include the novel Goth, which was made into a manga, and the short story collection Zoo, which was made into a movie.
Tokyopop has released his short story collection Calling You, and will release Goth in November. His short story F-Sensei's Pocket appears in the English language edition of Faust.
2.5/5 A decently entertaining collection which sadly wasn't enough to fully sell me on this author. Otsuichi's writing flows nicely but I found most of the stories here somewhat lacking. Good as a quick light read, but I don't think I'd be thinking a whole lot about what I read here.
Kazari and Yoko - Cool introduction to the collection, but a bit lacking in substance. Depicts abuse at home and school in a terrifying way but doesn't really go anywhere. SEVEN ROOMS - A cool premise with a boring execution. A bit too long for what it was, too. SO-far: Conceptually the most interesting story of the bunch, it kind of trips over itself in the last 2-3 pages and gives up a lot of its unique traits for something more pedestrian. I liked it, but wish it had just ended a few pages earlier. Sunspot Poem - A pretty conventional, but sweet story about a robot living in a world where humanity has gone extinct, the plot discussing the topics of death, life, joy, etc etc. I've always liked stuff like this and Sunspot was no exception. ZOO - I liked the premise when reading about it (man gets a new photo of his dead girlfriend's decaying corpse in the mail every day) and found it to have a lot of promise, but I didn't really like the execution or direction of the story very much. It was intriguing from a psychological point of view, but I kind of just wanted it to end already about 10 pages in.
Overall, I think Otsuichi's style is really readable but it has enticed me with little else. The stories here were just kind of okay and I mostly just found them forgettable. I'm also reading Eliza Clark's She's Always Hungry currently, and I fear that I will probably come out of that one with a similar opinion, which is both kinda funny and a bit of a shame. I've got a copy of ZOO 2 so I'll probably read that one in due time as well. Hope I'll like it better than this one if I do!
I would like to give it 4,5★ but I can't so I'm giving this book 5★ since I did really enjoy it and would love to read ZOO(2).
Kazari and Youko: Youko and Kazari are identical twins but they don't look so much alike. Youko is being physically and emotionally abused by her mother, while Kazari is being adored and pampered by her.
Youko has been told by her mother that she created her, so she can kill her whenever she wants. Youko knows that day will come and has accepted her fate.
What I thought: Good story! Just wasn't totally satisfied with the ending.
SEVEN ROOMS:A brother and sister who don't really get along, get plucked from the road and locked up in a room. Who did this to them and why? Will they be able to get along and find a way to escape?
What I thought: Interesting story! Really enjoyed it, just not the ending (again)!
So far:A boy's parents tell him that that the other parent died, but why is that he can see both of them?! He decided to help them to communicate and becomes their messenger.
What I thought: This was an interesting story but the ending was kind of confusing. I get it but I also don't (not completely). So in short, very good, would have been excellent if it had another, better ending.
Hidamari no Shi:Someone mades a robot because he's sick and wants someone to take care of him during his last days on earth.
What I thought: I loved this story. I'm still not sure if robots can have feelings but this was an amazing story.
ZOO:A man receives pictures of his dead girlfriend in his mailbox daily. He decides to find out who killed her
What I thought: At first I wasn't sure if I would like this story at all, but I ended up really liking it.
Quyển sách này tớ lúc đầu nghĩ là để đọc giải trí, nhưng không ngờ lại cần nhiều concentration hơn tớ nghĩ. Nhưng cũng khá là vui, có các mẩu chuyện khá thú vị.