Scary Book Volume 1: Reflections

Scary Books #1

by Umezu Kazuo

The spine-chilling influence of Japanese horror films has taken hold in Western audiences with hit films like The Ring and based on Japanese films themselves based on classic manga stories. And the master of horror manga is Umezu Kazuo - known as the "Stephen King of Japan," with several of his stories being adapted to film - and Dark Horse Manga is proud to bring his Scary Book horror anthology to Western readers for the first time. This first volume, Shadows, features two feature-length tales, "The Mirror" and "Vengeance Demon." Find out what Japanese readers have known for many you haven't been scared until you've been scared my Umezu Kazuo!

Genres: Manga, Horror, Comics, Graphic Novels, Japan, Supernatural, Weird Fiction

232 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2006

Reviews

[Melissa Chung · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh...this manga was kind of weak in the scary department.

This manga is made up of two different stories. First story is about a girl named Emi who lives in a house with a giant mirror. Emi is fascinated with her reflection and gazes at herself daily. One day her reflection escapes the mirror and wreaks havoc on Emi making her friends and family turn against the real Emi. It was a little creepy but mostly childish. There is a funny part where a boy from her school continuously gets beaten up by his baby sister. I didn't really care for the story.

The second story is about a spoiled brat of a prince who is in hiding. The king's best swordsman is in charge of protecting him. The swordsman's son is also there to befriend the young prince. Instead of playing with him the prince tortures him in various ways. One day the swordsman feels his son's life is being threatened by the prince and he pushes him aside in doing so the prince is injured and the wrath of the king is great.

This story was also very silly and not scary at all.

I will give this author another chance. I have Cat Eyed Boy to read as well. Hopefully it is better.

[Orrin Grey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely not as good as the other Kazuo Umezu stuff I've read so far. This volume is just two stories, a longish one about a vain girl whose reflection comes out of the mirror to get her and a shorter one about revenge in feudal Japan. Neither are bad, but neither are really great. Not as creepy or strange as the stories in Cat Eyed Boy, nor as good as the stuff in The Drifting Classroom. Still, not too bad, I'll read the other volumes, if I get my hands on them.

[Laura (ローラ) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This hits all of the right notes for me.

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very soft three stars. Never fully clicked for me, but a fun enough pair of yarns that I suspect younger readers would have a good time with. “The Mirror” is a bit too long, and kinda thin on substance and explanation. But there’s a good turn near the end that opens things up in a way that helped me overall enjoy the tale.

[M.A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay. I thought the concept was really good, but it was ruined at the end. It didn't leave me with any kind of dread sensation at all.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. I expected more in more than one way--this is only two complete stories and both are serial manga with meandering plots. Hoping The Drifting Classroom suits me better.

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was just okay. I was hoping for more horror and the girl was way too obsessed with being pretty which was annoying

[Damon · Rating 1 out of 5]

This sucked. I was excited to read it because a couple years ago I'd gotten some Japanese capsule toys which depicted little horror scenes, but since all the print on the box was in Japanese I never knew what the context was. When I saw one of these Umezu books in a store, I recognized the art right away, and being a fan of horror manga I thought these would be great. This one, however, was total crap. It was trite and obvious, and the art looked like it was from 50 years ago, but most importantly it was really really boring. The main character repeats the same line of dialog about 5400 times in the book, and any attempts at scares or laughs totally miss the mark. I've heard that this guy is a master of scary manga, but if this is representative of his work, there's no way that's true. I have book 2 as well, so I'll give him another chance.

[Leila Anani · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was rather disappointed with this - from the title "scary book" I was expecting it to be scary and dark in keeping with the works of people like Junji Ito of whom I'm a big fan. This is very tame by comparison. The first story tells of a vain girl who's reflection comes to life and starts taking over her life. Its an interesting concept but feels more like a cautionary tale than a horror story. The second shorter story looks at a Samurai and the lengths he will go to, to get revenge.

This has none of the weirdness and freaky body horror that most of the genre has. Very lacklustre, although the artwork isn't bad.

[Lune_blanc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Realmente me gustó el manga y fue el primer volumen que empece a leer de Umezu, las historias me gustaron mucho y considero que fueron más que todo de terror psicológico, la verdad puedo disfrutar mucho este tipo hasta llegar a los extremos y ver las cosas más bizarras (en el sentido anglosajón de la palabra) y sangrientas y no tener problema, da una perspectiva diferente del horror y me recuerda mucho a stephen king; de hecho, a Umezu se le ha proclamado ser el stpehen king pero del manga, lo cual encuentro muy adecuado y a su vez apoyo. Si quieres saltar al terror y ver cosas mórbidas y que te asusten, este manga no es para ti.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very low 3. Nice title eh? The first (longer) story about the reflection bore many similarities to stories like Tomie by Junji Ito. Apparently its a huge staple in horror manga to have beautiful doppleganger girls who are also violent and good at picking up guys. Anyway it wasn't that scary of a story. Nice concept, but never builds to a fever pitch or presents a real aura of danger. I do like how he drew the main character(s) though.

The other story was paced better, and took place in feudal japan so that was cool. However the narrative was meh and the ending was unsatisfying.

[Emilia P · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. Umezu's illustration skills are a bit color by numbers (can I say that for a manga?! Do I perhaps know what I'm talking about? Have I read that much manga!) The first story in this book is very scary kids movie scary -- ooh Evil Mirror Girl. The second one is a bit more brutal and consequently compelling and suspenseful. But the combination of...basic predictability and uninspired illustrations was...kind of a snoozer. I'd be willing to try more Umezu, though, I need all the Japanese horror I can get.

[Marissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is pretty ok. Doesn't have the energy and interesting characterization of Cat-Eyed Boy (who actually makes a cameo here), and is more on a par with Museum of Terror by Junji Ito in its approach to horror. The tales are both cruel and weirdly repetitive and capture a familiar energy to that in Edogawa Rampo's short stories. I'm still an Umezu junky though and will stay on the look out for Volume 2 and 3 of the series.

[Mara Cee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Mirror: (Rating: 3) A girl obsessed with her beautiful reflection in the mirror must face her doppleganger when it escapes into her world. The plot is a bit predictable and dull, not all that scary.

Demon of Vengeance: (Rating: 4) Much better than the first story. A lord's subject sets out for revenge against the cruel and unusual punishment that was exacted on his son as the result of an accident. Very upsetting and sad.

[Magenta Cooly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know why a lot of people didn't like this volume. I really enjoyed it! I was unexpectedly pulled into it's story, especially that last one in the back. I thought the whole thing was very captivating.
It's the best out of the trilogy, I think.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had heard that Kazuo Umezu was a master of horror manga and inspiration for creators of The Ring and other Japanese horror movies, so I checked this volume out. It was ok; not too scary but interesting nonetheless. I'll have to read some of his other manga to get a better impression.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw this compared to Stephen King. Since I was looking for something scary to tide me over til Junji Ito's new collection, I gave it a shot. It was just kind of blah. Not scary, awkward translation. Not terrible, but extremely forgettable.

[Nick Tramdack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool horror comic. The mirror story got into some really Lacanian territory.

[Viviana · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit silly, but I liked the stories and the art.

[Sera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eeeeh. Okayish. Bit predictable. More like a 2.5.

[♡ Ruby ♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really scary at all, but the initial plot as well as the psychological aspect of the story is awesome! It's worth reading if you're into horror.

[Grace 🎻 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Needless to say, this manga did not keep my interest for very long...

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Manga! I really liked it!

[Justin M]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was expecting a somewhat cliche horror manga, but what I got was unique and original. I enjoyed the twist of her reflection coming to life and the reflected birthmark being the key to disposing of the reflection. Overall, this book was pretty good.