ART OF HIDESHI HINO

by Hideshi Hino

Incredible color artwork by Japanese horror master Hideshi Hino includes three never-before-seen short manga stories, all in full-color. This volume • Memories of the Mermaid tells the tale of a magical encounter between a young boy and a mermaid girl. • The Red Fruit is a disturbing story about the perils of eating a red fruit growing on a dead tree. • Snow Flower is about a boy and his mother living alone in the mountains of Japan and the mother's untimely death. Tormented by twisted spines, deformed eyes and mishapen bodies, Hino's characters populate over 400 Hideshi Hino books. Co-published with Presspop Gallery

Genres: Art, Manga, Horror, Comics, Japan

Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Hideshi Hino (日野日出志 Hino Hideshi, born April 19, 1946) is a Japanese manga artist who specializes in horror stories. His comics include Hell Baby, Hino Horrors, and Panorama of Hell. He also wrote and directed two of the Guinea Pig horror movies which were based on his manga: Flower of Flesh and Blood, which he also starred in, and Mermaid in a Manhole.

Reviews

[Charles Dee Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this would be a meaty introduction to the work of horror manga master Hideshi Hino. Turns out it is a slender tome, mostly full-page color variations on his manga images with three stories added at the back. I discovered Hideshi through his Theater of Horror short films available through Netflix. I was surprised by the tepid to negative viewer reviews. I found them genuinely creepy and oddly touching, either very original in content or inventive re-workings of familiar themes.. His drawings here show his fascination with corrupting corpses, maggots, and other images with a high yuck factor. I suppose they thrill and gross out Japanese 12-year-olds. But the stories in the back are excellent. They have the feel of Japanese folk tales with a J-horror edge, a genre Hideshi had made his own a decade or more before films like The Ring and Ju-on hit the market and defined a genre. I now have 11 of his manga collections from the library, and yes, the woman who usually checks me out looked at me funny when I came to pick them up.

[JP · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not really much to review here as its just a small collection of color illustrations with a couple of bonus short stories. I cherish this book as something to thumb through on a regular basis. Love his watercolor work in this. A must have if you love Hino as much as I do.

[Byron · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Art of Hideshi Hino is a solid collection of artwork for fans of Hino’s distinctive, unsettling style, but it may leave those looking for more narrative depth wanting. The book contains two short comics—The Red Fruit and Memories of the Mermaid—which are both entertaining and showcase Hino's unique, haunting storytelling. However, the majority of the book consists of splash pages and standalone artwork that, while striking, can also be found online.

As a high-priced art book, it feels a bit limited in value for readers who may expect a deeper dive into Hino's narratives or unique comic-style storytelling. The title accurately reflects the book’s focus on art rather than story content, so it's no fault of the publication itself, but a stronger balance of narrative and visuals would enhance its appeal for fans hoping for more immersive storytelling. Nonetheless, it’s still a well-curated collection that die-hard Hino fans will appreciate, especially those who love his grotesque, expressive visual style.

[Katrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freaky embryos and monsters, amazing graphic art with strong black and white along with a one or two other colors. Quite wonderfully disturbing. I love the comics, esp 'snow flower' and the face of the snow lady who kills the kid's mom. i love the Japanese sound effects and how the text, the graphic-ness of Japanese, fits in so perfectly into the composition, looking like blood or motion lines, but really it's a sound effect in Japanese. No wonder the Japanese are the best with graphics and text, because the characters are these interesting aesthetically pleasing graphic shapes to begin with. Cool textured backgrounds and texture on the tatami? mats. Yay for crazy Japanese artists!

[Michael X · Rating 4 out of 5]

Art book of a great Mangaka. Most of it are larger works, but there are three bonus comics in the back. Excellent!!