Seeds of Anxiety*, Vol. 1

不安の種* [Fuan no Tane*] #1

by Masaaki Nakayama

初めに、この場所には人の記憶があった。悲しい記憶であった。時が経ち、隠れていたその記憶が、ごくたまに奇異な光景として日常に立ち上がる時がある。なにゆえか…。その悲しみを知る代弁者の叫びか、それとも…。悲しみの場所に違和がある時、不安の種がまた芽吹く…。映像化もされた伝説のオムニバス・ホラー「不安の種」「不安の種+」に続く第三シリーズ「不安」再発芽!!

Genres: Manga, Horror, Graphic Novels

162 pages, Paperback

First published January 20, 2020

About the author

Masaaki Nakayama (中山昌亮) is a horror manga artist, and author of the series Fuan no Tane (Seeds of Anxiety).

Reviews

[Raaven💖 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to edelweiss and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!!

This is a pretty straight forward horror manga. These are very very short stories about urban legends and rumored spirits. I liked a lot of the imagery even though it wasn’t really something I was super into.

[Benjamin Bauer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is Masaaki Nakayama the Kōji Shiraishi of manga? I'm starting to think he may be.

It seems the events recounted by Nakayama at the end of PTSD Radio didn't put him off writing horror manga for long. Less than a month after Radio's final chapter, Fuan no Tane* began serialization. Fast forward to Summer '26 and volume one is translated, finally giving us a Fuan no Tane series in English. Albeit, the third series, for reasons unclear. The good news is that, much like the more frightening PTSD Radio, Asterisk is a series of episodic frights. Nothing you need much continuity for, not even having the unifying power of something like Ogushi's mythos to tie its tales together.*

But what is the subject of this series? Supernatural encounters, of the sort made famous by J-horror. Ghost stories, each chapter a micro-horror tale, sometimes framed with interview-like narration by the character who experienced it. With these tales, Nakayama stitches together a portrait of a modern Japan rife with agitated, creepy spirits.

It's also, perhaps surprisingly, funny? I laughed out loud more than once at the twists and reveals the stories ended on. Certainly creepy, but not the all-out assault of primal terror PTSD Radio sometimes felt like. I even held off reading this for a few nights, since I'm easily kept awake by J-horror ghosts. Instead of sleeplessness, I more than once found myself putting the book aside and falling asleep with a goofy grin on my face. Great stuff, though considering it's ongoing and at ten volumes and counting, I have to wonder if it might not get repetitive. I guess I'll find out, because I can see myself at least grabbing volume two when it drops in the winter.

I wonder, is the truth about why Nakayama stopped PTSD Radio that he was frightening himself as much as his readers? Is Asterisk his way of letting off steam, of wrangling his ghosts into a form he can laugh at?

Recommended viewing: The Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi! series of films.

*There is a cameo, I think. One of the book's spectres had a visage I recognized from earlier research into the series. No clue who they are or whether they'll appear further in this iteration of Fuan no Tane.

[Mizzy Mint · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really great. All the stories are all so short, but still tell really spooky or impactful stories that don't get solved at all. I like the shading for ghost it's very eerie. I also love seeing the spirits upside down either of the those dead or the about to die. That attention to detail. On the topic of details, I love how the living people are drawn very simply, but the ghost and spirits are drawn with so much detail, unique face and body shapes, intense shading, that really ups the level of spook. I definitely love this book and I cannot wait to see what horrors are in store for me in the next volume.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read more graphic novel reviews at The Graphic Library.

This volume was full of very short, “anecdotal” horror stories that capitalized on the page turn reveal/jump scare brilliantly. I would have loved for more of these stories to be longer. Most did an excellent job of exploiting a commonplace human fear an inserting a disturbing image that will sit with me for a while.

This review was made possible with a digital reader copy from the publisher through Edelweiss.

Sara’s Rating: 8/10
Suitability Level: Grades 10-12

[Jaiden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liked it a lot. Altho I was looking through the chapter titles bc they are supposed to add up to mean something (and I had been wondering about them) and I got ‘Unease re-emit buds’ and I found that translation of the intended phrase ‘anxiety buds again’ to be a bit confusing as a translation choice.

[Ebony · Rating 3 out of 5]

This reminded me of the "two sentence horror stories" from reddit or wherever. Just ok. They're pretty hit or miss. Some give that unsettling feeling and others just kind of fall flat for me. I appreciate the art and some of the more creepy images.

[Angustia⋆Cósmica · Rating 5 out of 5]

After all these years? Still peak f*cking horror.
Fuan no Tane(*) they could never make me hate you.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is basically "two sentence horror stories: the manga." It's a mixed bag, but interesting enough.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

genuinely strange and unsettling. i love how much can be told in just a few panels and pages.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

A volume full of tiny nightmares. If this art style doesn't give you the shivers I honestly don't know what will.