Shigeru budzi się ze śpiączki, w której tkwił od czasu brzemiennej w skutki wycieczki w góry. Okazuje się, że nic nie pamięta z wydarzeń tamtego feralnego dnia – wliczając w to rolę, jaką ciotka i kuzyn odegrali w jego wypadku. Mimo to w sercu Seiko narasta coraz większy niepokój.
Shuzo Oshimi (押見修造, Oshimi Shūzō) is a Japanese manga creator. Drawn in a realistic art style, his comics tend to be psychological dramas exploring the difficulties in human relationships and often touching on disturbing situations and perversions. Oshimi debuted in 2001 with the manga series Avant-Garde Yumeko, appeared in Kodansha's 'Monthly Shōnen Magazine.' Most of his works since then have been published by Kodansha and Futabasha. Among his first successes the single volume manga Sweet Poolside (2004), later adapted into a live-action film, and the series Drifting Net Café (2008–2011), also adapted for TV. Oshimi reached international acclaims with The Flowers of Evil (2009–2014) and Inside Mari (2012–2016), both adapted into successful anime. Other notable works are Blood on the Tracks (2017–2023) and Welcome Back, Alice (2020-2023) .
So we have been waiting seven volumes for this moment, when Shigeru wakes from the coma. We know cousin Sei was there at the cliff where Shigeru "fell," and Sei's possessive-to-the-point-of-madness mother was there, and we strongly suspect knowledge about what happened has brought Sei to the point of madness. Shigeru does not recognize Sei or his mom at the hospital, but at home, when Sei and his mom visits, that moment? Oshimi stretches this moment out masterfully for several pages. Not annoying, nope, but impressive--superior--atmospheric artwork in every respect.
Sei holds firm to his promise to his mom that he will not see his girl friend anymore, but when Shigeru recognizes them. . . . So next volume, which we will see in translation in a year, maybe, we can again read it in a matter of minutes (but I have studied many of the pages closely for the artwork!).
I don’t even know if I have the words for this volume! This is completely off the wall. She is such a disturbing human. She did all do that manipulation so she could break Sei down and treat him like shit. And this boy knows the truth about his cousin but the way he went to bat for his mom against his aunt shows how much she’s f***** him up. I feel so sad for Sei honestly because at this point he’ll do anything to make Seiko happy and with people like her they’ll never be satisfied. He also has no support. His father is always MIA or oblivious to everything and he gave up Fukiishi for his mother. This is a great manga but also extremely tough to read.
Everything is so intense while I'm reading this book, and it reads so quickly. When I reflect on it, little actually seems to have occurred until the final pages, yet I was held taut the whole time and eagerly await the next installment. Masterful.
The mother's ability to fake emotions is truly terrifying or is she just insane..
Watching Seiichi just stare at his mother so he knows how he's supposed to act is terrifying.
I think the mother has dissociative identity issue.
Gaslighted people tends to agree even if they feel otherwise. they question their own sanity and feel the pressure of doing something just to be useful of the situation, all because of the fear of being neglected. The mother is giving him the silent treatment and guilt tripping him. And the fact that he constantly needs some kind of approval from his mom before speaking is so uncomfortable damn. its like being held at gunpoint...
BRUH AUNTIE BOUT TO GET WHACKED AGAIN AND ACCUSE SEI OF PUSHING HER SON.
Not even Junji ito made my butt clench this hard while reading panels.
Butterflies as an archetype of psychological transformation. Seiko did transform at Mount Chausu, surrounded by breathtaking views and tons of floating butterflies. Seiichi's mom gaslighted him with an altered version of the incident, and when Shigeru finally remembered what happened to him, going on and on about butterflies, another set of butterflies appeared metaphorically to inform us of Seiichi's transformation. This is about to get heavier, lol if it isn't heavy enough for you. From the start, I already had this unsettling feeling, as if there was an evil aura hanging on my shoulders. Isn't it ironic though that the Seis transform into an insect with wings but they don't fly, and rather they fall deeper into the abyss?
Seiko got that gaslighting pack 3000 on her. A master manipulator— and she’s recognizably broken Seiichi down to his core.
Yup, Big Psycho taught him how to be Little Psycho. I’m so disturbed and saddened by his mental break from reality— she is truly molding him into pure insanity.
Even though Seiichi knows the truth about Shige, he can’t outrun Mommy. He succumbs to Mommy.
Ew.
This was one of the most intense volumes thus far— and that ending? My heart wanted to leap out of my chest with anticipation. The build-up continues effortlessly, and I’m over here wondering when mangaka Oshimi will have it all come crashing down.
I’m ready, though. Vol. 7 is definitely a setup for an extremely tense next few volumes or so. Game changer, for real.
Another volume inhaled in about 20 minutes. To my knowledge Blood On The Tracks remains the most masterful depiction of borderline personality disorder and vulnerable narcissism in the history of graphic fiction
Ha tardado en empezar a petardear, pero aquí Oshimi baja el pistón del morbo y lo enfermizo. ¿Para coger impulso? También aqueja un agotamiento al afrontar la narración. En el tomo se echa en falta el ingenio y la mordiente de algunos de los capítulos de tomos anteriores.
These incestual elements are getting really foregrounded. Almost too foregrounded, but Oshimi knows exactly how to sell the cruelty, the dread, the barely suppressed perversity without tipping over into cheap effects. Terrifying books!
La manipulación y el abuso psicológico que sufre Sei lo han convertido en la marioneta de su madre: el chico ya solo busca la aprobación de esta, le da igual a quien perjudique con ello, incluso si es a él mismo.
Read this in about 10 minutes. So yeah… not much happened in this volume but it was still INSANE AF. Both the mom and son are just full on crazy now, and it’s such a psychotic relationship between them. Love it.
This was a phenomenal exploration of the realization of family secrets. Those panels where Shige points to Seiko are full of intense emotion and heightened response to trauma. The panel-to-panel and aspect-to-aspect storytelling is at pique Oshimi here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5 stars Oshimi likes to get dark and uncomfortable. He often makes the reader feel like they don't want to see the story unfold. The ending for this one leaves off on an intense and shocking note. Mom has turned her son insane. I don't see the series ending well for him.
This time we have Shigeru wake up. This sends Seiko into a spiral of crazy fucking emotions. Mad her nephew can't remember her yet...Seiichi carefully watches trying to understand. Trying to grasp what his mother's madness is bringing to the table. By the end of it, Seiichi is now the one acting on raw emotion and losing it all while his mother uses him like a puppet, both scary and fucked up.