The Horror Mansion Vol 1

Le Manoir de l'horreur #1

by Ochazukenori

Genres: Horror, Manga, Graphic Novels

202 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Armand · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're looking for some good, eerie fun to while away a lazy afternoon, this quaint, old-school (and, well, just plain old) manga hits the spot. A beach haunted by deadly ghosts, luxury apartments that serve as a cannibal's hunting ground, love-addled girls possessed by a powerful vampire - these and more populate this strange book.

Some of the images are quite wonky, but that's understandable since this is Ochazukenori's maiden foray into horror manga. I looked at samples of his later art and yes, there is some noticeable improvement. I think that the disjointed, coarse aesthetic of this book does, in a way, effectively underscore the surreal tenor of the stories.

The thing is, it doesn't really offer anything new when compared to horror anthologies of the same ilk. Others have done it better, but taking it as it is I was still entertained. It's cozy, it has clever misdirections, and it has some re-read value. If I ever come across any of the later volumes I'd snap them up in a heartbeat.

Btw, the host is a walking, talking rice bowl, which makes sense since the author's nom de plume is a dish of steamed rice with green tea. Because of the grainy art, I initially thought he was an alien of some sort, but I accidentally found out that delicious (heh) tidbit when I googled the mangaka.

There are ten volumes in this series, and this introductory tome gives a promising taste of the delights to come. I'm rating it 6.5/10 or 3 stars out of 5.

[Teresa · Rating 1 out of 5]

The art was ugly as sin and everyone looked a like which made it hard to follow. The stories were gory but very very very predictable. Nothing I haven't seen a thousand times over. I ended up reading four chapters then kinda skimming. Forget it.

[Sandro Filipe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This manga's pretty interesting, I had never heard of this mangaka or the manga itself, but it has great horror stories. I hope the drawings improve though.

trad.: Este manga é muito interessante, nunca tinha ouvido falar deste mangaka nem mesmo do próprio manga, mas tem histórias de terror fantásticas. Gostava, contudo, que as ilustrações melhorassem.

[Estelle Ldc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bon, je me suis lancée dans ce manga sans trop de convictions, et en toute honnêteté, c'est une pépite.

Ochazukenori nous sert de guide à travers ce premier tome, et nous conte différentes histoires du "manoir de l'horreur".

Le style graphique est très sanglant, et me rappelle beaucoup Junji Ito. Les histoires sont très sympa à découvrir, et on peut même trouver un lien qui les connecte toutes entre elles, un vrai plaisir à lire.

Un peu déçue cependant que l'édition et la commercialisation en France ai été stoppée, ce qui rends difficile l'acquisition de ces livres, mais j'ai vraiment ADORER!

[Vex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Much of the artwork is dark and gritty in a way that makes it difficult to follow along with some of the stories in this. The character designs are atrocious at best. So many pointy chins. SO many.
A few of the stories were creepy enough though, especially with all the gore involved. I’ll definitely be checking out the next volume at some point.

[Krystina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly don't know what to say about this, it wasn't bad but I dont think I'll finish this series

[JL Shioshita · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of horror shorts with an art style that some may like while others may despise.

Communication - classic story of a madness.
Spiders - a girl tries to curse her friend out of jealousy.
Megumi Chan - a spin on the Siren story.
Lift - apartment horror at its finest.
Near You - a girl tries to haunt her crush by committing suicide.
Count Kevin - to flee a snowstorm, some friends wander into a strange mansion and unleash something in the basement.
Cursed Water - body horror monstrosities.