Tales of the Hundred Monsters Next Door Vol. 3

となりの百怪見聞録 [Tonari no Hyakkai Kenbunroku] #3

by Yoshiko Watanuki

「紐が垂れてんのさ」怪異に縁あるモノを蒐める原田織座に見える「紐」。その正体が明かされる、“オバケ先生”の過ぎし日の出来事。

Genres: Manga, Queer, Horror

224 pages, Paperback

First published August 19, 2024

Reviews

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

hanahaki disease appearing in a queer story? fork found in kitchen~

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find each of these volumes kind of confusing, frustratingly open-ended, but also intriguing.

Part of it may be my lack of familiarity with Japanese superstitutions and folktales; I'd like to read some more of those to try to establish more of a base to get all the subtleties. The context provided inside the covers does help, although sometimes it raises more questions.

My biggest confusion so far is one I share with Jinpachi...I don't understand Oriza at all.

I was really enjoying the main storyline in this volume, which was a pretty deep dive into Oriza's childhood. It confirmed that originally disconnected storyline at the end of the previous volume was about his grandparents, and it showed his family life and the isolation of always feeling misunderstood and different - but still loved.

And then, at the end, he tells Jinpachi it was all a lie, and according to official records, Oriza was an orphan. So when he cut the threads of that childhood friend, did he have to pay for its disappearance with the loss of his entire family? That's grim, even for a story about the supernatural. I was assuming it might've been trading in his little brother, which would've been bad enough, but his parents and his history were wiped, too?

I genuinely have no idea if any of these questions are going to be answered, or if the author even has answers, because a lot of it seems to be seat-of-your-pants storytelling instead of a planned out narrative structure. But we'll see. Jinpachi does say it's his mission to try to figure out this old man.

The romance angle was feeling pretty discarded in this volume, but the final story brought it back, with a ghost tale of unrequited love, and Jinpachi wrestling with his own jealousy and impossible feelings. I liked that. This is in general a kind of oddly written story but I always end up enjoying trying to puzzle my way through its tangles.

[Leh ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good manga, but I think sometimes it was missing some development and continuity for the chapter/history. And in this volume it showed more about Oriza-san (the old man).

(English is not my first language)

[Pandan · Rating 4 out of 5]

ยืนยันคำเดิมว่าน่ากลัวที่สุดในเรื่องก็คุณปู่เนี่ยแหละ ความลึกลับทะลุปรอทไปแล้วว