Saat der Angst

Fuan no Tane #1

by Masaaki Nakayama

生ぬるい風、落下する不快感、背中に刺さる冷たい視線…。闇の種が発芽する時、非日常のモノ共が出現する！！

Genres: Manga, Horror, Comics, Graphic Novels, Short Stories, Supernatural, Japanese Literature

406 pages, Hardcover

First published June 24, 2004

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

[daph pink ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I think that this comic has a minor creep factor, it is repetitive. Because the same scenarios and a very similar kind of art are frequently used, it is frequently formulaic.

[Mendhak · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's a creepy manga that's done well enough to give you the creeps. It is, however, extremely formulaic.

Person is doing something.
Person notices something nearby.
Distorted ghost face appears.
Repeat ad nauseam.

[Sagar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seriously short.

From Playful man to Faceless women, from huge floating face to single eyed creature lurking from the window, the illustrations give a sense of creepiness. But as they are very short, the feeling fades away quickly.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5

Un tomo de terror psicólogico interesante.
Me han gustado las escenas, el dibujo, la atmósfera que crea este mismo, la sensación que se aborda en cada historia como de estar siendo acechado, la paranoia de los personajes y los momentos "paranormales" que van experimentando.

Pero al ser tan cortas me ha faltado más, más abordaje, algunas recién comenzaban y habían terminado. Pero la expresividad y algunas situaciones extrañas se me han hecho interesantes.

Lo que más destaco es el nivel de expresividad y conectividad de las escenas, las que sin necesidad de diálogo logra expresar muy bien.

[Sully (sully.reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

What are the seeds of anxiety? First of all, anxiety is the displeasing feeling of fear and concern. And the seeds of anxiety (at the time I was reading this) is the horrors brought to you by this manga. (DUN DUN DUN)

This is the first time a manga has seriously given me the chills and made me paranoid to look around dark corners for days (specially at night). Although this manga is very simple like all the chapters practically span a mere of two (2) to three (3) pages only
Another thing about this manga is that it draws from urban legends, superstitions and the like.

So yes. If you’re a fan of horror, check this out. It definitely won’t be a disappointment.

AN OUT OF THIS WORLD HORROR MANGA. FANTASTIC!

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

✮ Read this review and more like it on The Last Page ✮

Fuan no Tane is a unique entry into the horror genre. The manga is comprised of a series of vignettes featuring regular people coming into contact with the paranormal. All of the stories are extremely short, some comprising of no more than two pages. The books are divided into small sections with a cluster of stories relating to a central theme. A few examples include invasion, being followed, and shadows spied from the corner of your eye.

It is clear that the stories are based off of urban legends and local folklore and definitely have a very Japanese feel to them. Readers will have to keep this caveat in mind while reading. A person that is unfamiliar with the folklore might find that the collection has less of an impact compared to a person that grew up hearing whispers of these stories throughout their life, which was probably the case for me.

“Sometimes, there is some truth hidden in an urban legend.”

Now that that’s out of the way, I’ll be direct in saying that this collection, initially, seemed lackluster to me. While many of the concepts are very good it felt like the execution could have been better. As I was reading I kept thinking that this brand of jump scare horror is held back by the medium particularly in the first volume. Many of the stories ended the same way and it got to be incredibly repetitive. I think that the eerie chills presented in this manga would have been better suited to either film or a video game, something that would give it motion.

Nakayama’s art style is quite clean, and instead of gore readers are presented with a distortion of what’s normal. I wouldn’t consider the things in the stories to be scary per say, but it’s more just the idea of them, the uncanny valley. Things that take human shapes but clearly don’t know what a human looks like, so instead you get a mockery of one. This style of artwork can be extremely hit or miss, with some of the things looking cartoonish and ridiculous, breaking the tension built by the story.

As I read, I felt pretty neutral the entire time. There was the occasional story that had a really great panel that unsettled me, but overall I was pretty meh about things. I didn’t realize the effect of the manga until much later, when I found myself standing in my kitchen during the small hours of the night, the unease that settled over me when I was surrounded by the dark. It was then that the intended effect of this manga hit me. For a week I felt just a little more skittish walking alone in the dark, so in a way the manga was successful.

The horror in this series is subtle, and on it’s surface it doesn’t seem all that scary. It is an atmospheric collection that doesn’t leave you feeling shocked or horrified, but instead instills a sense of dread that isn’t easy to shake off. Fuan no Tane roughly translates to Seeds of Anxiety and it is a perfect explanation of the stories. Each story is a snippet that comes quickly and leaves you with an ellipses, planting that small seedling of worry as to what would have happened next. The dreadful feeling of catching the attention of something that you really don’t want.

It is also very easy to see the way that Nakayama develops his premise over the course of the three volumes with each volume getting progressively better than the one before. Story pacing improves, more variety between the stories, and sometimes the occasional “after” panel that shows a person’s reaction. Some of these were actually funny and helped to ease the tension. It is an exploration into a different kind of horror, one that doesn’t rely on extreme gore to incite a visceral reaction from readers. Instead, Fuan no Tane presents an interesting sort of horror that plays on paranoia, on a fear of the dark and the unknown. While this hasn’t been a scare fest I can appreciate the way that this manga was crafted.

[小さな N (.❛ ᴗ ❛.)⊃ [_|_] ♡ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ich wollte mal etwas für mich komplett Neues probieren und dachte, eine Horror-Kurzgeschichtensammlung wäre dafür das Richtige. Ich bin jemand, der sich sehr leicht gruselt und hinter jeder Ecke etwas Unheimliches vermutet, daher hatte ich erwartet, dass mich diese Geschichten mitnehmen würden. Das war aber überhaupt nicht der Fall. Ich fand sie in der Regel selbst für Kurzgeschichten viel zu kurz und mir fehlten Erklärungen oder Ausführungen zu den Geschichten um mich gruseln zu können. Die gruseligste war für mich tatsächlich die mit dem Mönch und den abgeschnittenen Ohren, aber selbst da war das Grauen schnell verflogen. Des weiteren waren die Geschichten oft repetitiv.

~*~

I wanted to try something completely new for me and thought a horror short story collection would be the right thing for that. I am someone who gets creeped out very easily and suspects something scary around every corner, so I expected these stories to captivate me. But that wasn't the case at all. I usually found them far too short (even for short stories) and I felt like they lacked some explanations in order to be able to creep me out. The scariest one for me was actually the one with the monk and the cut-off ears, but even then the horror quickly faded. Furthermore, the stories were often repetitive.

Translated with the help of www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version).

[Lujain · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish these were a little longer. They're very... summarized, if that's the correct way to put it.

[zy忍 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall comment: Like reading a blurb or watching a movie trailer but it's the entirety of the manga, so nothing happens.

Average score: 1.8 ≈ 2 stars

This could have been good if all the stories had a proper storyline. This manga series consists of collections of horror stories with a specified theme but it honestly doesn't feel like these were tied by a theme since basically nothing happens.

Ones with an asterisk (*) are the ones I think have potential to be creepy or scary had the mangaka did something with it. The the ones with question marks were the worst ones since those are basically incomplete, so I was confused.

"Ascent", no doubt, is the best one in this volume and I think is the only one I'm fine with being short since it's understandable.


Volumes 1:
• School (2 stars)
° The Playful Man
° Giant
° Tension
° The Rear Guard's Decision
• I'm Following You... (2 stars)
° The Ear-Slashing Man*
° The Stingy Buyer
° Peeping
° Mr. Newt
° The Present (?...)
° The Customer
• Visitors (1 star)
° Bye-bye
° The Visit (?...)
° Cover*
° The Visit II
° Ring and Run
• Roadside Shadows (1 star)
° Look
° Rain Falling?
° Hopping
° Apparition
° Living on the Streets
° Farewell Party
° Along the Kanda River
• Something Strange (3 stars)
° Rainy Day*
° Message*
° Strolling (what? was this even complete?)
° Ascent*

[Derodidymus · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was indeed atmospheric but kind of repetitive?
I mean not that scary and although the art was nice the stories were too short for me to actually get immersed in them.
I appreciate the connection between the title and the stories in general- seeds of anxiety so it shows peculiar moments in people's everyday lives, for example, the fear of being followed by some supernatural being.
will be reading the other volumes as well maybe something changes?

[scar · Rating 3 out of 5]

it took me a bit to get used to the extremely short stories, but once i did, it was fun. the art was great, all those creepy creatures made it a whole different experience. there wasn't much plot or build-up, it was more about those unexplainable momentary fears, short-lived anxieties, the feeling of something lurking just around the corner, barely visible.

[Niki · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's my 3rd or 4th time re-reading this series. I love it, from the stories to the art to the "urban legend" feel.

P.S. Erin Megan just mentioned the author's other series, PTSD Radio, so I figured I might as well re-read Fuan one more time before delving into that one, which I've never read before.

[penta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Troszkę zjebałam, bo zaczęłam nie od tej serii – oryginalna bardziej mi się podoba, bo jest zorganizowana tematycznie zamiast wrzuconych wszystkich razem.

[Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very atmospheric indeed. Nice collection of brief short stories.

[Sem · Rating 5 out of 5]

A marvelously creepy collection of vignettes that range from weird to legitimately spooky, most of them scaring through the sheer power of the art and the atmosphere this book creates. You could, ostensibly, page through it in 5 minutes. But the lingering dread of some stories and the way these horrible "things" show up, again and again, does reward taking your time and reading slowly, taking in the everyday horrors depicted here.

[Rylei B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot different then PTSD radio or any Junji Ito book I’ve read. I would recommend this series as a introduction to Japanese horror manga. Its drawn really well and is definitely unsettling at points but I didn’t find it scary at all. Very interesting as a psychological horror though If you think about the different meanings behind the stories.

[Eva · Rating 2 out of 5]

Série engraçadita de histórias super curtas (em média 3 páginas) sobre aparições e encontros com o sobrenatural. Não achei assustador mas gostei do estilo tipo "wow cenas estranhas acontecem a pessoas normais, anyway o meu nome é Rod Sterling..."

[Aina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awfully short and actually quite adorable, to be honest :3

[Trine Knudsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A series of well executed, chilling short stories that gives the reader an interesting insight to the author's own personal fears. I enjoyed the art style very much. The way Masaaki Nakayama draws scary monsters is both frightening and at times even amusing. By that I mean some of the creatures aren't scary in the traditional sense yet still disturbing despite their goofy expressions. The stories always left me wanting more, and days after I've stopped reading they would still stick with me. Very easy to read, with very light dialog. A good read for some good scares!

[Meri · Rating 3 out of 5]

These shorts stories have a lot of potential to be creepy and awesome - but the whole thing suffers from some terrible pacing issues. There are too many stories and they are all WAY too short. For some reason there is more appropriate pacing in the beginning of the stories and the important parts feel like I'm just skimming by, because there aren't enough panels to really understand what's happening or let it sink in. I know the author probably means to add to the confusion of the inexplicable paranormal, but every story suffers greatly from this. Many stories were completely lost on me because it went by too fast for me to understand any of it. I tried to pause between panels, but readers should not have to do this. This mangaka should learn something about pacing from the works of Junji Ito. He does similar shorts that are longer and let the story have its impact on the reader.

[Ярослава · Rating 5 out of 5]

Колись вже читала, нині перечитую італійською.
Неймовірної прекрасності збірка горорних замальовок на 2-3 сторіночки - жодна з них не страшна окремо, але кумулятивний ефект таки є.
Замальовки на основі дрібних постфольклорних форм, биличок різних - всі ці темні постаті поруч зі школами, безликі тіні, коротше, на наші гроші - чорні руки і жовті фіранки. Плюс багато того, що бачиш краєм ока перед сном, надивившись жахастиків. Починаються всі замальовки однаково: місце і дата ("Токіо, 1993"), бо всі билички мають бути локалізовані ("сестра мого сусіда..."). Закінчуються теж однаково: за мить до того, як найгірше почнеться.
І дуже гарно намальовані.

[Lynnea van Echentail · Rating 2 out of 5]

Die "Kurzgeschichten" sind wirklich kurz. Maximal 4 Seiten lang.
Für alle die Horror (wie Junji Ito) gewöhnt sind ist das Buch äußerst underwhelming. Die Geschichten wiederholen sich gelegentlich und gruselt vielleicht ein 12 Jährigen. Klar sind es nur "Geistersagen"- aber man hat nicht mal genug Zeit nachzudenken, was sein könnte, da dann die Geschichte halt einfach zu Ende ist. Die Zeichnungen sind Semi-Realistisch weshalb es noch 2 Sterne gibt. Aber ansonsten? Die schlechtesten 30 Euro die ich in Manga bisher investiert habe.

[Axel Soto · Rating 2 out of 5]

Se me hace un concepto demasiado aburrido. ¿Ansiedad? Estoy ansioso pero de terminar esto!!! Siento que muchas de las premisas que maneja Nakayama (el ver de reojo, la tensión de lo inesperado, la alteración de lo común) son "viejas". Me da ansiedad saber que no voy a poder comprar una pinche casa, no si de repente al bañarme de la taza del baño va a salir un tipo chistoso con ojos raros y sin boca. Es más, lo invito a bañarme conmigo. Si me mata me está haciendo un favor. Si no, bueno, una anécdota más.

Voy a terminar el segundo, porque se leen demasiado rápido, y por ésto mismo, además de lo ya mencionado, no causan mucho impacto en mí. Además, parece que se recarga mucho en ese cliffhanger que, quizás hace 20 años era interesante, ahora ya no. ¡Me interesa saber qué rayos pasa! ¡Por qué! Siento que si llegara a meterse más en eso, en la verdadera ansiedad de tratar de entender algo incomprensible, en la realización de que no se puede entender, algo llegaría a sentir. Como en un buen cuento de Lovecraft. Pero así como van las cosas, termino diciendo ¿y eso fue todo? o autor hijo de puta, te odio, me hiciste perder mi tiempo.

Curiosamente, las fotografías que (supongo) tomó Nakayama y deja entre capítulo y capítulo me generan una verdadera ansiedad, un sentido de desesperación; imágenes deprimentes de un Japón extraño, ajeno y totalmente indiferente. Imágenes de alto grano, en blanco y negro, de lugares en los que la actividad humana ha sido removida totalmente: esto sí tiene significado!!! O al menos eso considero. Son súper significativas.

Hay algunos dibujos que encuentro fascinantes. Pero no dejan de ser un dulce de ojo. Siento que en PTSD Radio el hecho de que Nakayama hila las historias con las frecuencias me invita más a vivir el mundo, tratar de entenderlo, y darme cuenta de que no puedo. Mehhh, también me aburre, pero no tanto como ésto.

[Libby · Rating 3 out of 5]

📚👁️Spooktober 2024👁️ 📚

Book #6 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Great artwork but I wanted more from these short stories.I wish some of them were longer because they had a really good premise and creepy body horror. Overall several were pretty repetitive and some were kind of confusing. Initially I rated this at 2 stars but I reread a few and understand the kind of story the mangaka us trying to tell especially knowing the title translates to “Seeds of Anxiety.” The characters are usually going about their lives and suddenly encounter frightening ghostly creatures, inexplicable incidents, or a dark presence that shocks them to their core. We don’t know how they deal with the aftermath of these occurrences as these are super short stories which end when the creepy phenomena is revealed. I see these stories as something readers could ask themselves: “What would you do if this happened to you?”

Some stories I liked:
“The Visit II” -ghost visits the wrong house and leaves by disappearing through a wall. Thought it was funny. I’m not describing well on purpose so you gotta read it for yourself.

“The Message” - the teddy story was really cute which surprised me. I though it was going to be about a homicidal stuffed animal.

“Roadside Shadows” -I can’t tell if the road signs somehow caused a car accident or if they were pissed off because someone wasn’t listening to their sign and ended up being hurt/killed. It’s creepy and ambiguous and it’s a story that stood out to me.

“Ascent” -kid observes people being taken up by lightening. I love the concept of this because it’s not something I’ve seen before (usually there are stories of people taken up by UFOs or hurricanes)

🎧 Now Playing - Toguro by Dir en Grey

[Francesca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Era da un po' che quest'opera soggiornava nella mia libreria online ed ero curiosa di approfondirla... devo dire che è stata un’esperienza di lettura particolare, diversa dal classico horror narrativo, e proprio per questo estremamente affascinante. I tre volumi sono composti da una miriade di storie brevissime. E quando dico brevissime intendo davvero mini mini: a volte poche vignette, a volte una singola idea disturbante lasciata lì, senza spiegazioni, senza contesto, senza consolazione.
Non tutte funzionano allo stesso modo. Alcune sono talmente rapide da risultare quasi dimenticabili, semplici bozzetti di inquietudine che svaniscono subito. Ma poi… ce ne sono altre che colpiscono fortissimo, che ti restano in testa anche dopo aver chiuso il volume. Quelle storie da sole valgono la lettura. In particolare, ce ne sono un paio che mi hanno davvero colpita: la storia dell’orsetto Maya, uno piccolo sprazzo di luce nell'angoscia delle altre storie, e quella delle infermiere nei reparti neonatali di un ospedale, inquietante proprio per il delicato contesto.
La forza di Fuan no Tane sta proprio nell’ansia quotidiana, nelle crepe della normalità, in quel tipo di orrore che potrebbe esistere dietro l’angolo di casa o nel corridoio di un ospedale. È un horror minimale, spesso ambiguo, che non cerca di impressionare ma di insinuarsi lentamente.
È anche una lettura velocissima, che si divora in pochissimo tempo. Eppure, paradossalmente, è uno di quei manga che rileggerei volentieri all’infinito. Proprio perché le storie sono così brevi, volano e non bastano mai…
Nel complesso, ho dato 4 stelle a tutti e tre i volumi: non è un’opera perfetta e non ogni storia colpisce allo stesso modo, ma quando funziona, funziona da paura! 🖤

[Dwale Dwale · Rating 5 out of 5]

(I have read this entire series, including the sequel manga. However, I will only post an entry for the first volume, so as to avoid flooding.)

"Fuan no Tane" (aka "Seeds of Anxiety") is a horror short collection. As other reviews point out, there is an emphasis on the word "short" here, as chapters are frequently no more than a couple of pages long. They are vignettes and there is no overarching storyline (although the sequel series does play with multipart stories some, it is still by and large a collection of vignettes).

Bluntly, this is one of the creepiest works of fiction I've encountered in any medium, possibly the creepiest of all. While not every vignette is a winner, and some readers may not appreciate the disconnected nature of the individual stories, the overall effect is powerful. The faint of heart might want to avoid this one. Even those with stouter constitutions may find themselves unnerved if they were to tackle it alone at night.

This series takes the concept of "fear of the unknown" and runs with it. A given story will raise questions, but rarely if ever answer them: this approach will be a turnoff for some. I should note also that it draws more on traditional Japanese horror than modern, which is to say this is closer to Kwaidan than it is to Ringu. The horror is more implicit than stated, relying on ambiguity, and the reader is left to ponder the ramifications of what they have seen.

Strongly recommended for horror fans; you should know after a few short pages whether this is for you or not.

[Artur Coelho · Rating 3 out of 5]

Estas Sementes de Ansiedade são um livro curioso. O grande tema é o horror, mas não aquele violento, forte ou escatológico. Não há aqui grandes narrativas de personagens assombradas ou monstros tenebrosos. As histórias são curtíssimas, duas a quatro pranchas e já está. E não são especialmente assustadoras, antes, tocam na inquietação com o banal.

Sabem, aqueles arrepios súbitos sem justificação? A estranha sensação quando acordamos no silêncio da noite com a intuição que algo não está bem? Ou passar por uma rua deserta, com a sensação de se ser observado. O pensamento que estamos a olhar para algo que mais ninguém vê. O arrepio quando estamos num edifício vazio. Sabemos que está tudo bem, que impera a normalidade, mas há algo dentro de nós, profundamente arreigado na nossa alma, que nos faz sentir que talvez não seja bem assim.

É esse o foco do horror neste mangá. Nakayama olhar para os temores fugazes, cruza com lendas urbanas, e uns polvilhos do rico mundo sobrenatural japonês. As histórias são curtas porque os temores são fugazes, centram-se precisamente naquelas emoções momentâneas que nos arrepiam. A nível gráfico, o traço não se afasta do estilo normal no mangá. O único cunho distintivo desta série é o ponto de vista pouco habitual do autor.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tenho algumas considerações muito rápidas acerca dos contos deste volume: 1) eles só ficam bons a partir do sétimo; 2) isso não significa que todos são compreensíveis para o público ocidental.

Eu gosto muito de como o conceito de terror acontece no Japão, e, talvez por isso, por essa se tratar de uma obra específica de lendas urbanas, supostamente vivenciadas por alguns leitores japoneses que entraram em contato com o autor, o fator cultural pese mais para a compreensão do final de, pelo menos, uns três contos que compõem o volume. Eu me lembro de não conseguir pegar a ideia de alguns deles muito bem, embora as imagens sempre fossem claras o bastante. Senti falta de algumas notas de rodapé, mas esta me parece ser uma obra um pouco "underground", seria pedir demais.

Há um outro aspecto que muito me agrada quando se trata de terror japonês, que é a consistência do que supostamente foi visto. Existem algumas temáticas centrais nestas páginas, como "visitantes", que me deixaram uma forte impressão de que, se um número considerável de pessoas relata ter passado por experiências com eles para que essas histórias fossem feitas, o medo se instaura com mais facilidade dentro de uma determinada sociedade, em seu próprio contexto.

[Pedro Plasencia Martínez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este es el tipo de terror japonés cotidiano que me enamoró hace décadas, es verdad que estaría mejor con historias más largas que tuvieran un remate porque queda muy abierto o muy abstracto a veces, pero la esencia está ahí. Los escenarios, las obsesiones y el dibujo son exactamente como tienen que ser en este tipo de obras macabras. Si el autor ha conseguido que se te quede en la cabeza una de cada tres historias, con eso ya ha triunfado y creedme, hay unas cuantas situaciones en este manga que son para salir corriendo o para gritar a pleno pulmón.

ENGLISH
This is the type of everyday Japanese horror that I fell in love with decades ago, it is true that it would be better with longer stories that had a punchline because it is very open or very abstract at times, but the essence is there. The settings, the obsessions and the drawing are exactly as they should be in this type of macabre works. If the author has managed to make one out of every three stories stick in your head, with that he has already succeeded and believe me, there are a few situations in this manga that make you run away or scream at the top of your lungs.

[Matt Gonzalez Kirkland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read volumes 1-3 of this, rolling all those reviews into here; relatively PG horror manga which I enjoyed but didn't get a ton out of. I like the focus on an extremely specific form of horror/anxiety/discomfort (shapes in periphery of vision, unwarranted feelings of wrongness/strangeness when wandering alone), but the extremely truncated length of all of the pieces (3-4 pages max) keeps from any sort of real dread buildup, and also makes them all feel a little samey (person walking alone, person sees something in their peripheral vision, turns to see floating head/shapeless figure/person with weirdly distended facial features, end and repeat). The first volume was by far the best for me, with some of the school-based ones (real good freaky floating faces in those) standing out as my favorites.