血骨の謝肉祭 (ぶんか社コミックス)

by うぐいす祥子

幼少期の記憶をなくした少女・ユメ。ひょんなことがきっかけで、ユメが幼少期を過ごしたと思われる村にクラスメイトと肝試しにやって来た。ゴーストタウンと化した閑散とした町に、突如として現れた人を食べる化け物たち……。逃げ惑うユメとクラスメイトたちだったが、ある一軒家に逃げ込んだユメに変化が起きて――…。戦慄のスプラッターホラー作品集!!

Genres: Manga

213 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 2, 2015

About the author

Sachiko Uguisu.

Reviews

[The Artisan Geek]

2/6/21
Doing some digging into Uguisu's work :).

You can find me on
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[Ya Boi Be Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 rounded up. I’ve recently read a couple of Uguiso Sachiko’s oneshots and I vibe a bit with her stuff. Her oneshots normally are more creepy horror than gory horror and have fun premises, have a bit of dark comedy, and usually have strong twists in them. Her writing makes it feel like she knows what she is writing is fantastical and there is some inherent goofiness in horror and she seems to play into that which I enjoy. You tell she has fun with her work. So I figured I’d check out one of her collected one shots volumes.
Overall this was a strong collection. Each one had nice spookiness and that signature oddness and sudden twists that her one shots usually have. Somehow it didn't come off as repetitive though which probably speaks a bit to Uguiso's ability. Compared to her more recent stuff there is a lot more body horror and gruesomeness but it's done well. You also get her signature strange wacky twinge and twist endings galore.
Individual Reviews below. Average score was a 3.66/5.
Carnival of Blood and Bone - 3.75 This would likely be higher but the scan quality seemingly took out a lot of the detail. This is the namesake oneshot and I can see why. It's a nice abandoned village survival set-up and the twist is really strong. As many of Sachiko's oneshots it does get a bit goofy in the end but it's fitting and still enjoyable. This was unafraid to get gross and gory as well which fit the story it was telling. A lot of these also incorporate abandoned areas which she draws really well with strong choice detailing to sell the atmosphere, grime, and how unsettling it can be.
On Your Right - 3.75 The concept of this ghost slowly stealing body parts until it replaces you is really neat. The body horror is more identity-horror but it works really well and the one scene of explicit body horror is excellently done. It's all just a tad strange or bizarre in execution but that is her sorta signature style.
Our Secret Base - 4/5 The premise is fun and the execution pays off. You can tell this guy is psycho and there is a bit of an attempted stockholm element that plays into the horror nicely. As usual there is a tad bit of gruesomeness in this like much in this collection in a very well-written salt rub scene. The twist was also good.
Naughty Games - 4/5 What can I say kids can be creepy and weird. Sachiko plays into that here. There was some good comedy when they visited her house and you wonder if she's imagining bits because of how they act near the Mom. The Frankenstein-like twist was good and again shows off her strong use of gore. It's never overly-detailed or splatter-y but it's still effective and strong. The rendering on this one was a bit odd as everyone was drawn with heavy eyeliner under their eyes. I got what they were going for but it looked awkward to me.
The Familiar Tower - 3/5 The spooky tower and hallucinations that force one to unintentionally or intentionally was interesting but something about this one just didn't connect. The ending was good though!
Creepy Crawlies - 3.5/5 This was the goofiest one so far. The concept of this new student mucking things up with the spiders showing it as well was really good. Then you get the silly twist with the snake girl at the end. But it was still good leading up to it even if the ending was a bit too out there. Though the ending did a good job of capturing those bickering arguments kids can get into.
A Pleasant Nightmare - 4.25/5 honestly would've been a 4.5 if not for the final page. It's a great look into running into escapism versus the hard work to achieve one's dreams as well as the merit of achieving one's dreams and the unattainability of many with how we deal with that. I honestly thought the twist was in the final third with the hypnosis deal but that final page sorta killed the vibe by taking away the somber and slightly hopeful ending.
The Rose Bride - 3/5 This one was just weird. The intrigue and back and forth was strong and it was creepy. The twist was just a bit odd and felt like it was trying to be spooky with the song and everything as well as being a bit too nonsensical even for this mangaka which made it just sorta lame and weak as an ending.