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Orochi #1
Orochi: The Perfect Edition, Vol. 1
A deluxe edition of Orochi , featuring all nine of the classic interconnected short stories by horror master Kazuo Umezz, the creator of The Drifting Classroom !
A mysterious young woman slithers her way into the lives of unsuspecting people like the legendary multitailed serpent for which she is named—Orochi.
Umezz’s classic horror manga opens with “Sisters,” in which Orochi affects the lives of two wealthy siblings who couldn’t be more alike…or more different. Next, in “Bones,” Orochi helps a man come back to life after a terrible accident, but resurrection can be a deadly business…
A mysterious young woman slithers her way into the lives of unsuspecting people like the legendary multitailed serpent for which she is named—Orochi.
Umezz’s classic horror manga opens with “Sisters,” in which Orochi affects the lives of two wealthy siblings who couldn’t be more alike…or more different. Next, in “Bones,” Orochi helps a man come back to life after a terrible accident, but resurrection can be a deadly business…
320 pages, Hardcover
First published November 30, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 184 reviews
January 22, 2023
A mysterious young woman stumbles across an eerie mansion during a stormy night and meets a pair of haunted sisters with a horrible secret - and what’s that strange noise coming from the attic? Then, a widower remarries only to find her first husband returned from the dead - and looking for revenge against her new family? Only Orochi, the mysterious young woman, knows the truth behind these tales.
Kazuo Umezz’s (or Umezu, as it’s written elsewhere - no idea where the extra Z comes from here, or what makes this book the “Perfect Edition”) first volume of Orochi, his horror manga from 1969-70, collects two complete stories: Sisters and Bones. I like the art style and aspects of the stories are compelling, but overall the stories are melodramatic to the point of silliness and poorly constructed so that entire plot points are absurdly contrived and undermine them so they come off as goofy more than scary.
Orochi herself isn’t so much a character as a framing and plot device. She’s part stand-in for the reader as observer, and then a story catalyst when needed. Who she is, what she wants, what she’s doing, all of that stuff that usually comes with a character is left unexplained. Her powers are undefined so that Umezz can have her do whatever when the plot calls for it. So, at various times, she can mind control characters, have super strength so she can punch through walls with her bare fists, psychically see through the eyes of subjects in paintings, create human-sized life-like dolls and then imbue them with life by dripping her blood on them, bring back the dead, and use strands of her hair as a makeshift GPS!
It’s lazy, bad writing as Umezz can write himself out of any corner he finds himself in by adding another power to the “character”. It also gives the story an air of childishness, like you’re listening to a story by a kid who hasn’t thought things out and is just making up nonsense as he goes along.
Similarly, the stories themselves are more than a tad bonkers. The teen sisters in the first story believe their family is cursed so that when they turn 18, they lose their looks and become ugly. Because their insane mother said so. This leads to increasingly unhinged behaviour and an almost comically hysterical finale.
The second story, Bones, sees a troubled woman called Chie escape her horrible life by marrying the seemingly flawless Saburo who then dies after a series of accidents. Chie makes a big show of grieving his death before suddenly remarrying shortly after Orochi (who’s working in this story as a nurse for no reason) tells her she can bring him back to life, and then magically does.
In the same way that he doesn’t explain anything about Orochi’s powers, Umezz glosses over the fact that when Saburo is brought back from the dead, most of his body is rotted, as you would expect from a corpse who’s been dead for some time, but then he somehow regrows his flesh so that he looks less like a skeleton and more like he was prior to his death. But only parts of him regrow - conveniently, his tongue doesn’t, so he can’t speak to Chie and try to understand what’s going on, or talk to her about his wants or what happened. Also, parts of him are completely skeletal but other parts are normal - he even looks chubby at times!
Like the first story, the ending to the second story builds to a manic flurry of odd choices, confusing motivations, daffy twists and anticlimactic grimness for grimness’ sake. You can really see Umezz’s limitations as a writer here and it’s this low-level ability that might have been why his manga wasn’t published in English for decades until the mid 2000s.
I enjoyed Sisters more than Bones. The first half of Sisters is decent and aspects of Sisters are pretty fun, like the sounds from the attic, and the general air of gothic-ness. The art is very accomplished though you can tell it’s old-timey manga. Maybe it’s the effect of Osamu Tezuka’s popularity from back then but the character designs are overly cutesy, particularly the women. The choice not to reveal the mother’s face in Sisters was a clever and effective one.
Junji Ito has said that Kazuo Umezz was an influence on his work, so maybe Ito fans will get something out of Umezz’s manga as they share a penchant for over-the-top storytelling that doesn’t concern itself with things like plot holes. I wasn’t that impressed with Orochi, Volume 1, which was a far from perfect manga full of bad writing and clunky storytelling - it’s not an amazing book but, if you’re interested in reading something from this creator, I recommend checking out Umezz’s slightly better later series, The Drifting Classroom, instead.
Kazuo Umezz’s (or Umezu, as it’s written elsewhere - no idea where the extra Z comes from here, or what makes this book the “Perfect Edition”) first volume of Orochi, his horror manga from 1969-70, collects two complete stories: Sisters and Bones. I like the art style and aspects of the stories are compelling, but overall the stories are melodramatic to the point of silliness and poorly constructed so that entire plot points are absurdly contrived and undermine them so they come off as goofy more than scary.
Orochi herself isn’t so much a character as a framing and plot device. She’s part stand-in for the reader as observer, and then a story catalyst when needed. Who she is, what she wants, what she’s doing, all of that stuff that usually comes with a character is left unexplained. Her powers are undefined so that Umezz can have her do whatever when the plot calls for it. So, at various times, she can mind control characters, have super strength so she can punch through walls with her bare fists, psychically see through the eyes of subjects in paintings, create human-sized life-like dolls and then imbue them with life by dripping her blood on them, bring back the dead, and use strands of her hair as a makeshift GPS!
It’s lazy, bad writing as Umezz can write himself out of any corner he finds himself in by adding another power to the “character”. It also gives the story an air of childishness, like you’re listening to a story by a kid who hasn’t thought things out and is just making up nonsense as he goes along.
Similarly, the stories themselves are more than a tad bonkers. The teen sisters in the first story believe their family is cursed so that when they turn 18, they lose their looks and become ugly. Because their insane mother said so. This leads to increasingly unhinged behaviour and an almost comically hysterical finale.
The second story, Bones, sees a troubled woman called Chie escape her horrible life by marrying the seemingly flawless Saburo who then dies after a series of accidents. Chie makes a big show of grieving his death before suddenly remarrying shortly after Orochi (who’s working in this story as a nurse for no reason) tells her she can bring him back to life, and then magically does.
In the same way that he doesn’t explain anything about Orochi’s powers, Umezz glosses over the fact that when Saburo is brought back from the dead, most of his body is rotted, as you would expect from a corpse who’s been dead for some time, but then he somehow regrows his flesh so that he looks less like a skeleton and more like he was prior to his death. But only parts of him regrow - conveniently, his tongue doesn’t, so he can’t speak to Chie and try to understand what’s going on, or talk to her about his wants or what happened. Also, parts of him are completely skeletal but other parts are normal - he even looks chubby at times!
Like the first story, the ending to the second story builds to a manic flurry of odd choices, confusing motivations, daffy twists and anticlimactic grimness for grimness’ sake. You can really see Umezz’s limitations as a writer here and it’s this low-level ability that might have been why his manga wasn’t published in English for decades until the mid 2000s.
I enjoyed Sisters more than Bones. The first half of Sisters is decent and aspects of Sisters are pretty fun, like the sounds from the attic, and the general air of gothic-ness. The art is very accomplished though you can tell it’s old-timey manga. Maybe it’s the effect of Osamu Tezuka’s popularity from back then but the character designs are overly cutesy, particularly the women. The choice not to reveal the mother’s face in Sisters was a clever and effective one.
Junji Ito has said that Kazuo Umezz was an influence on his work, so maybe Ito fans will get something out of Umezz’s manga as they share a penchant for over-the-top storytelling that doesn’t concern itself with things like plot holes. I wasn’t that impressed with Orochi, Volume 1, which was a far from perfect manga full of bad writing and clunky storytelling - it’s not an amazing book but, if you’re interested in reading something from this creator, I recommend checking out Umezz’s slightly better later series, The Drifting Classroom, instead.
March 8, 2022
Psychologically weird, slightly disturbing, but if you like Junji Ito you'll probably like this. But I feel like I maybe missed who Orochi is. Or maybe the advance copy didn't I got cover all of the pieces? Now I need to find a hard copy.
April 3, 2022
So this is my first encounter with Kazuo Umezz's work. And I can absolutely detect parallels between Junji Ito's work and his since, as we all know, the former is influenced by the latter.
In terms of the two stories included in this collection, the premise is sound, but the execution and impact were lacking at times. The artwork is rather good. I'm hoping that the remaining volumes feature interesting stuff.
In terms of the two stories included in this collection, the premise is sound, but the execution and impact were lacking at times. The artwork is rather good. I'm hoping that the remaining volumes feature interesting stuff.
March 18, 2022
Orochi is a mysterious, clearly supernatural woman who serves as our guide through the two stories in this volume, a little bit like old American horror comics had a stock character to fill the same function. But unlike those books, in this one Orochi is a participant in the horrors, and in one case the instigator of it all, albeit an unwitting one. In Bones, the second, longer story, Orochi's attempt to give a woman with a miserable life the happiness she lost backfires horribly in a case of "be careful what you wish for," while in Sisters Orochi finds herself living with two sisters who fear the impending loss of their beauty when they turn eighteen due to a family curse.
It's hard to say that one story is better than the other, because both are strong in their own ways. There's more of a delicious irony to Sisters that's missing from Bones, which takes a more traditional horror path, and readers should be aware that it involves kidnapping and the death of a child alongside gore and body horror. What both stories do well is get across the sense that Orochi (named for a mythical eight-headed, eight-tailed Japanese dragon) really does mean well - it's just that she's not human, and that makes it difficult for her to understand human nature. Her help is the worst sort of hindrance, and it's made tragic by the fact that her intentions are always, always good.
With art that's easier on the eyes than Junji Ito's and stories that, like his, walk the fine line between terror and horror, this is a solid work. It may not be as visceral as some other horror manga, but it does still make its points, even if they're a little too on-the-nose at times.
It's hard to say that one story is better than the other, because both are strong in their own ways. There's more of a delicious irony to Sisters that's missing from Bones, which takes a more traditional horror path, and readers should be aware that it involves kidnapping and the death of a child alongside gore and body horror. What both stories do well is get across the sense that Orochi (named for a mythical eight-headed, eight-tailed Japanese dragon) really does mean well - it's just that she's not human, and that makes it difficult for her to understand human nature. Her help is the worst sort of hindrance, and it's made tragic by the fact that her intentions are always, always good.
With art that's easier on the eyes than Junji Ito's and stories that, like his, walk the fine line between terror and horror, this is a solid work. It may not be as visceral as some other horror manga, but it does still make its points, even if they're a little too on-the-nose at times.
May 14, 2022
"I’ll spend the rest of my life in misery. Hahaha!"
Horror manga is one of my favorite things to read. I’ve noticed that the authors who create these horror masterpieces aren’t afraid to push the envelope and that makes for better bloody reading. So I’m always on the lookout for new reads to open up my gory imagination.
This one was recommended to me by a friend who knows what I love to read and how wicked my mind is. But things can get tricky for me when I try reading something new, I can’t help myself from comparing new reads to books by Junji Ito. It’s a terrible habit that I have to learn how to break.
With that being said, this was a pretty good book. The art was spooky and the stories were just as creepy. They all had that creep factor that really hits you deep down inside. That’s what I love about these books, they know how to suck you into a story and then destroy you from the inside.
Orochi was a decent read and lovers of horror manga will enjoy this one. It has its own creep qualities that will stick out and I’m excited to try more by this author. I just have to always remember to not push my husband off a cliff and cry about wanting him back…..
Horror manga is one of my favorite things to read. I’ve noticed that the authors who create these horror masterpieces aren’t afraid to push the envelope and that makes for better bloody reading. So I’m always on the lookout for new reads to open up my gory imagination.
This one was recommended to me by a friend who knows what I love to read and how wicked my mind is. But things can get tricky for me when I try reading something new, I can’t help myself from comparing new reads to books by Junji Ito. It’s a terrible habit that I have to learn how to break.
With that being said, this was a pretty good book. The art was spooky and the stories were just as creepy. They all had that creep factor that really hits you deep down inside. That’s what I love about these books, they know how to suck you into a story and then destroy you from the inside.
Orochi was a decent read and lovers of horror manga will enjoy this one. It has its own creep qualities that will stick out and I’m excited to try more by this author. I just have to always remember to not push my husband off a cliff and cry about wanting him back…..
December 13, 2022
Orochi is a young woman with supernatural powers and a tendency to wander into other people's life to watch them self-destruct.
In the first tale, "Sisters," she uses mind control of some sort to convince two sisters living in a big old house that she is their maid. She then watches them fall apart and turn on each other as they count down the days to the older girl's 18th birthday, a day when a family curse will cause her to start turning ugly.
In the second tale, "Bones," Orochi is posing as a nurse when she promises a grieving widow that she will resurrect her dead husband. It plays out in a wildly bizarre variation of "The Monkey's Paw."
The storytelling here is too outlandish and strange for my taste, with people who don't talk or behave like normal humans and a protagonist who is a cipher with undefined supernatural abilities. Despite that, I'll probably pick up the next volume if it wanders into my local library.
In the first tale, "Sisters," she uses mind control of some sort to convince two sisters living in a big old house that she is their maid. She then watches them fall apart and turn on each other as they count down the days to the older girl's 18th birthday, a day when a family curse will cause her to start turning ugly.
In the second tale, "Bones," Orochi is posing as a nurse when she promises a grieving widow that she will resurrect her dead husband. It plays out in a wildly bizarre variation of "The Monkey's Paw."
The storytelling here is too outlandish and strange for my taste, with people who don't talk or behave like normal humans and a protagonist who is a cipher with undefined supernatural abilities. Despite that, I'll probably pick up the next volume if it wanders into my local library.
March 15, 2022
Tomie is the Yassification of Orochi
Umezz is such a good artist. People make fun and say he only draws one face when characters scream but when that face is the platonic ideal of a screaming face how can you complain? Love the two stories in this and what they reminded me most of were old EC Comics stories. Morality tales where people do bad things and meet gruesome poetic ends. Some of the artwork is even reminiscent of those old EC artists.
I highly recommend this to any fan or horror. If you like Junji Ito’s work you’ll like this because Umezz is Ito’s biggest influence. To the extent that Ito’s Tomie is just his version of Orochi. Both are about a beautiful supernatural girl in episodic stories where everyone involved suffers. Buy this so I can have more classic manga printed in English please.
Umezz is such a good artist. People make fun and say he only draws one face when characters scream but when that face is the platonic ideal of a screaming face how can you complain? Love the two stories in this and what they reminded me most of were old EC Comics stories. Morality tales where people do bad things and meet gruesome poetic ends. Some of the artwork is even reminiscent of those old EC artists.
I highly recommend this to any fan or horror. If you like Junji Ito’s work you’ll like this because Umezz is Ito’s biggest influence. To the extent that Ito’s Tomie is just his version of Orochi. Both are about a beautiful supernatural girl in episodic stories where everyone involved suffers. Buy this so I can have more classic manga printed in English please.
February 15, 2024
straight junji ito vibes
January 3, 2024
This featured two gruesome Tales From the Crypt-type stories. The first story was good but a little confusing but the second one was a lot more fun and twisted.
March 16, 2022
(3.5 stars overall????)
There are two stories within this first volume; Sisters & Bones. Both tales featuring a very peculiar woman with some kind of powers, Orochi. Everywhere she goes it seems things get a bit dicey. Maybe wrong place at the wrong time? Or something more.
Sisters I enjoyed quite a bit more than Bones but both were quite a ride - very disturbing for sure. If you’re unfamiliar with Kazuo Umiezz’s works but enjoy Junji Ito, then you should like this as well! The artwork is reminiscent of Junji Ito for sure and a significant factor in my enjoyment of this volume was the artwork.
My favorite part of this though was trying to unravel what exactly Orochi is. She seems like a well-intentioned girl who accidentally makes matters worse when trying to help but I’m not too sure on that. She has some magical sort of qualities about her too and I’m not sure of her limits or goals either. I hope I never know in a way. Not knowing makes it fun trying to determine on my own through her actions if she is “good” or “bad”. Though I feel she’s not really either.
Looking forward to more volumes of this one! Here’s my rating for the two stories individually if you’re interested and specific thoughts.
- Sisters (4 stars): The twist at the end of this was brilliant. While not entirely shocking, it completed this story on a real high note. My favorite of the two for its twisty-ness and for it’s disturbing sister dynamic + family curse.
- Bones (3 stars): This one had a strong start but my interest started to wane until it picked up speed again at the end. I can’t specifically pinpoint anything I didn’t like about this one I just feel okay about it. Maybe just because Orochi was less of a focus in this one.
There are two stories within this first volume; Sisters & Bones. Both tales featuring a very peculiar woman with some kind of powers, Orochi. Everywhere she goes it seems things get a bit dicey. Maybe wrong place at the wrong time? Or something more.
Sisters I enjoyed quite a bit more than Bones but both were quite a ride - very disturbing for sure. If you’re unfamiliar with Kazuo Umiezz’s works but enjoy Junji Ito, then you should like this as well! The artwork is reminiscent of Junji Ito for sure and a significant factor in my enjoyment of this volume was the artwork.
My favorite part of this though was trying to unravel what exactly Orochi is. She seems like a well-intentioned girl who accidentally makes matters worse when trying to help but I’m not too sure on that. She has some magical sort of qualities about her too and I’m not sure of her limits or goals either. I hope I never know in a way. Not knowing makes it fun trying to determine on my own through her actions if she is “good” or “bad”. Though I feel she’s not really either.
Looking forward to more volumes of this one! Here’s my rating for the two stories individually if you’re interested and specific thoughts.
- Sisters (4 stars): The twist at the end of this was brilliant. While not entirely shocking, it completed this story on a real high note. My favorite of the two for its twisty-ness and for it’s disturbing sister dynamic + family curse.
- Bones (3 stars): This one had a strong start but my interest started to wane until it picked up speed again at the end. I can’t specifically pinpoint anything I didn’t like about this one I just feel okay about it. Maybe just because Orochi was less of a focus in this one.
May 4, 2023
junji ito meets alfred hitchcock meets david lynch
”THIS IS THE STORY OF A WOMAN CONSUMED BY OBSESSION. IS THERE ANY OTHER TYPE OF TALE AS TERRIFYING?”
one of the most cinematic mangas i have ever had the pleasure of reading and each included story was absolutely fantastic. i would pay CASH MONEY to see each of them developed to film they are truly such stunning works of art in their own rite. orochi herself is SO FUNNY? her humor >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> i can’t wait to learn more about her and the lore of this world in the further volumes. i can see why junji ito sensei has called kazuo umezz sensei one of his heroes and *the* chief influence upon his work, even before collaborating with him on The Drifting Classroom. head over heels in love with this world, this character, and umezz-sensei’s style. pure bliss on the page and a perfect read for the fall spoopy season <3 highly recommend!
”THIS IS THE STORY OF A WOMAN CONSUMED BY OBSESSION. IS THERE ANY OTHER TYPE OF TALE AS TERRIFYING?”
one of the most cinematic mangas i have ever had the pleasure of reading and each included story was absolutely fantastic. i would pay CASH MONEY to see each of them developed to film they are truly such stunning works of art in their own rite. orochi herself is SO FUNNY? her humor >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> i can’t wait to learn more about her and the lore of this world in the further volumes. i can see why junji ito sensei has called kazuo umezz sensei one of his heroes and *the* chief influence upon his work, even before collaborating with him on The Drifting Classroom. head over heels in love with this world, this character, and umezz-sensei’s style. pure bliss on the page and a perfect read for the fall spoopy season <3 highly recommend!
March 21, 2022
It is completely unfair to compare any horror writer in any genre, nevermind horror manga, to Junji Ito. Ito's work is inventive, often weird, and almost never predictable. His work makes up almost all of the horror manga I've read that I've enjoyed. But I liked Umezz's The Drifting Classroom: Perfect Edition, Vol. 1 and I love the cover design on this book. Viz Media did a spectacular job with it.
However, it wasn't too long after I cracked the book open that I realized it wasn't going to come close to reaching the high bar of Ito's work.
This is a perfectly mediocre horror book. Volume one contains two stories linked by a character who sort of has magical powers, but is mostly just a narrator, used to connect the various stories. Think The Crypt Keeper, Old Witch, or Drusilla from EC Comics. They occasionally pop up in the story to offer exposition between scenes.
There are several pages where the art is filled with word bubbles containing the narration of the off-camera Orochi. For the most part, we're led to believe this character is supposed to be some sort of impartial, unfeeling magical creature, but in both of the first two stories she is empathetic to the other characters and tries to help them, accidentally making everything worse each time. Otherwise, she doesn't seem to have much of a personality.
I don't want to get into the plot of either story, but each of them felt like something from a 20th century horror anthology TV show. A simple premise with an obvious twist. They're morality plays that fell flat to me, and were never either frightening or even weird.
I do like Umezz's art but wish it wasn't so covered in word balloons. Regular narrative text would have blended better into the story.
If you like horror, you may love this book. I found it clunky and expectable but never eye-rollingly bad. I imagine manga fans who also enjoy The Twilight Zone (particularly the mid-20th century run) will enjoy this.
However, it wasn't too long after I cracked the book open that I realized it wasn't going to come close to reaching the high bar of Ito's work.
This is a perfectly mediocre horror book. Volume one contains two stories linked by a character who sort of has magical powers, but is mostly just a narrator, used to connect the various stories. Think The Crypt Keeper, Old Witch, or Drusilla from EC Comics. They occasionally pop up in the story to offer exposition between scenes.
There are several pages where the art is filled with word bubbles containing the narration of the off-camera Orochi. For the most part, we're led to believe this character is supposed to be some sort of impartial, unfeeling magical creature, but in both of the first two stories she is empathetic to the other characters and tries to help them, accidentally making everything worse each time. Otherwise, she doesn't seem to have much of a personality.
I don't want to get into the plot of either story, but each of them felt like something from a 20th century horror anthology TV show. A simple premise with an obvious twist. They're morality plays that fell flat to me, and were never either frightening or even weird.
I do like Umezz's art but wish it wasn't so covered in word balloons. Regular narrative text would have blended better into the story.
If you like horror, you may love this book. I found it clunky and expectable but never eye-rollingly bad. I imagine manga fans who also enjoy The Twilight Zone (particularly the mid-20th century run) will enjoy this.
June 4, 2022
3.5/5
I picked this up because it was giving me strong Tomie vibes. There's a similar heavy lined and gory art style, and an equally mysterious woman of unknown origin, though Orochi appears to at least mean well in her interactions. However, this doesn't have quite the same intensity or depth as Ito's masterpiece. Perhaps it's unfair to compare them, especially since I believe Orochi preceded Tomie, but the two stories included here felt much more predictable. I do believe this would be a good starter for someone interested in dipping their toes in horror manga, however. And I will be picking up volume two when it is released.
I picked this up because it was giving me strong Tomie vibes. There's a similar heavy lined and gory art style, and an equally mysterious woman of unknown origin, though Orochi appears to at least mean well in her interactions. However, this doesn't have quite the same intensity or depth as Ito's masterpiece. Perhaps it's unfair to compare them, especially since I believe Orochi preceded Tomie, but the two stories included here felt much more predictable. I do believe this would be a good starter for someone interested in dipping their toes in horror manga, however. And I will be picking up volume two when it is released.
July 25, 2022
The first story in this edition was only mediocre, so I was planning on giving this three stars. Then, the second story was so much better and made me raise the rating to a four. This wasn't what I expected and I'm starting to think that's a good thing. Orochi is such a fascinating character I want to see what more she can do. Even though this wasn't the greatest and the plots were kinda predictable I still enjoyed the outcome. I hope I enjoy more of the stories in the next edition of this series. Four out of five. Also be aware that there is the kidnapping and death of a child which was a little alarming so beware that going in.
January 6, 2024
Five stars for the first story—a perverse, masterfully controlled chamberpiece of familial cruelty—four stars for the second, somewhat overstuffed and less psychologically precise than its predecessor but still grimly compelling in its overwrought, melodramatic manner. Both abound in immaculate funereal atmosphere and muscular horror imagery. This could be a new obsession.
March 6, 2022
This is my first experience with this author and won’t be my last l. The storylines and artwork in these two stories were engaging and I would definitely recommend to horror manga readers. Thank you to the publisher for providing me a drc of this soon to be released work.
March 28, 2022
Quite a good horror manga I think, I like how the volume is split into 2 stories with orochi being a spectator to both
April 23, 2023
Quite good reads. The second story had some panels that were very cool! While being horror they also kept mystery and twists in places. So, that is the magic of Umezz. Let's see if I am right about it! I will know once I read all the other books in this series.
June 30, 2022
The first of three deluxe editions featuring all nine of the classic interconnected short stories by Kazuo Umezu serialised in Weekly Shōnen Sunday from June 1969 to August 1970.
A mysterious young woman slithers her way into the lives of unsuspecting people like the legendary multitailed serpent for which she is named - Orochi.
A mysterious young woman slithers her way into the lives of unsuspecting people like the legendary multitailed serpent for which she is named - Orochi.
May 3, 2022
Do you like creepy, short stories?! I do! And Orochi does NOT disappoint!! I’m am very excited to pick up the next volume releasing in July! I highly recommend this for fans of Kazuo Umezz or Junji Ito!! My favorite short story was the one about the sisters.
December 9, 2023
girly pop stop MEDDLING!!
March 15, 2022
When it comes to horror, it’s very hard to scare somebody, whatever medium is used. Although horror comics have been around since the birth of the medium, there aren’t many in the west that get much recognition as opposed to their Japanese counterpart— horror manga. Although I have polarizing thoughts towards authors like Junji Ito, their brutal artistry can leave an impression, even if the storytelling doesn’t live up to the art. In this case, Kazuo Umezu, who made a splash in the 1970s with The Drifting Classroom, delivers work that is very much is a product of its time, including 1969’s Orochi.
Please click here for my full review.
Please click here for my full review.
August 7, 2022
It’s kind of absurd, but I quite enjoyed it. The second story was better than the first one.
February 1, 2022
I received an eARC of this title through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Wow, the two stories in this edition were intense. I had never read Kazuo Umezz before this, but I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for more titles by them. This edition was a beautifully horrific. I felt it captured the worst in humanity through the eyes of Orochi, who appears to innocently try to help those she crosses paths with in her own way. Both stories in this collection were equal in idea, plot, and conclusion.
The first story is titled "Sisters" where the reader finds Orochi make her way into this interestingly empty mansion-esque home. However, there is a dark secret the two sisters are hiding, and Orochi is determined to figure out what is going on. Nothing could prepare Orochi for what the sisters were attempting to keep secret, and even more horrifying is the conclusion. I was not prepared for how this story ended, and I mean that in the best way.
The second story is titled "Bones" where the reader is introduced to a poor child who grew up in a terrible household life where her father and step mother treated her abysmally. When she becomes "more beautiful" it is only then that her father sees her value and marries her off for money. For a while, she was happy with this husband who was said to treat her well. However, he ends up dying unexpectedly. This is where Orochi meets the girl and tries to help her by bringing her husband back to life. While innocently doing so, she puts into motion a more horrific ending to the story than she ever imagined.
I loved this edition. I thought it was a well done horror manga. It gave me hope then took it away. The art was amazing. If you love Junji Ito's work, I think you will 100% enjoy this title.
Wow, the two stories in this edition were intense. I had never read Kazuo Umezz before this, but I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for more titles by them. This edition was a beautifully horrific. I felt it captured the worst in humanity through the eyes of Orochi, who appears to innocently try to help those she crosses paths with in her own way. Both stories in this collection were equal in idea, plot, and conclusion.
The first story is titled "Sisters" where the reader finds Orochi make her way into this interestingly empty mansion-esque home. However, there is a dark secret the two sisters are hiding, and Orochi is determined to figure out what is going on. Nothing could prepare Orochi for what the sisters were attempting to keep secret, and even more horrifying is the conclusion. I was not prepared for how this story ended, and I mean that in the best way.
The second story is titled "Bones" where the reader is introduced to a poor child who grew up in a terrible household life where her father and step mother treated her abysmally. When she becomes "more beautiful" it is only then that her father sees her value and marries her off for money. For a while, she was happy with this husband who was said to treat her well. However, he ends up dying unexpectedly. This is where Orochi meets the girl and tries to help her by bringing her husband back to life. While innocently doing so, she puts into motion a more horrific ending to the story than she ever imagined.
I loved this edition. I thought it was a well done horror manga. It gave me hope then took it away. The art was amazing. If you love Junji Ito's work, I think you will 100% enjoy this title.
April 18, 2022
This feels VERY VERY Junji Ito-esque to me... and if I wouldn't have known it wasn't him, I would have assumed it was. I don't know if it's Horror Manga that I don't like... or if its the authors I have read that I don't like. I find that the topics come across as shallow and cheesy because they aren't being explored enough. I also didn't like the writing style with this. It almost feels like it was written in a different language and then really poorly translated. (After doing some research, I think this is the case.) I also felt exactly the same about Orochi as I did with Tomie. Who was she... what exactly was she doing.... what were her motivations. For being a key part of these stories, I have no understanding of who she is at all. And don't even get me started on the onomatopoeias... LOL.
But the art was top tier.
But the art was top tier.
June 23, 2023
Some pretty gruesome EC Comics style horror comix that predate Kazuo Umezz's more famous "Drifting Classroom." The two stories here both focus on resentments and mistrust between family members that explode into over-the-top violence. The first one, "Sisters," is just so-so, but "Bones" is a minor masterpiece and one of the most genuinely frightening comics I've read to date.
I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this series, and I really liked Helen Chazan's TCJ essay on its themes of horror inside the family: https://www.tcj.com/im-sure-their-wou...
I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this series, and I really liked Helen Chazan's TCJ essay on its themes of horror inside the family: https://www.tcj.com/im-sure-their-wou...
November 26, 2023
Orochi was originally serialized in Japan from 1969 to 1970 and featured a young-looking woman named Orochi. Each of the chapters has her appearing in someone else's life and are paranormal or psychological suspense tales. One of the things I am enjoying is the transitions from highly detailed and intricate to subtle and simple art.
Kazuo Umez also leaves a lot of the horror, and "monsters" in shadow, allowing the reader to fill in the blanks with their own imagination--sometimes it works and sometimes it is frustrating. Still, overall, the story is masterfully done. I can see why Junji Ito marks him as an inspiration.
Kazuo Umez also leaves a lot of the horror, and "monsters" in shadow, allowing the reader to fill in the blanks with their own imagination--sometimes it works and sometimes it is frustrating. Still, overall, the story is masterfully done. I can see why Junji Ito marks him as an inspiration.
March 4, 2024
Стилът на автора е доста, доста класически откъм арт. Донякъде се отнася и до представянето на историята. Има много неща, които остават неясни и са някак несъвършени, което е голям минус. Това особено се забелязва в първата история. "Кости" е малко по-добра, макар че и там логиката на места е абсолютно пренебрегната.
Орочи би трябвало да не е човешка девойка, щом разсъждава по толкова глуповат и нелогичен начин. Вероятно е нещо друго, но така и не разбираме какво, поне от този първи том. В противен случай замисълът на някои места се губи още повече, отколкото се губи по принцип. А какво ли да кажа за останалите образи... някои от тях са абсолютно неадекватни, дори и като замисъл като че ли.
"Спасих" тази книжка от една разпродажба, в противен случай едва ли щях да си я взема. За мен хорърът е жанр, в който психологическата игра трябва да играе повече роля, така че историята да е наистина страшна. В "Орочи" имаше гнусотийки, но не и психологически натиск. Донякъде разбирам защо пише, че авторът има голямо влияние над други поколения хорър автори - дори стилът на арта веднага ме накара да си спомня за Джунджи Ито. Но възприемането ни на жанра определено се отличава драстично, така да се каже.
Орочи би трябвало да не е човешка девойка, щом разсъждава по толкова глуповат и нелогичен начин. Вероятно е нещо друго, но така и не разбираме какво, поне от този първи том. В противен случай замисълът на някои места се губи още повече, отколкото се губи по принцип. А какво ли да кажа за останалите образи... някои от тях са абсолютно неадекватни, дори и като замисъл като че ли.
"Спасих" тази книжка от една разпродажба, в противен случай едва ли щях да си я взема. За мен хорърът е жанр, в който психологическата игра трябва да играе повече роля, така че историята да е наистина страшна. В "Орочи" имаше гнусотийки, но не и психологически натиск. Донякъде разбирам защо пише, че авторът има голямо влияние над други поколения хорър автори - дори стилът на арта веднага ме накара да си спомня за Джунджи Ито. Но възприемането ни на жанра определено се отличава драстично, така да се каже.
April 20, 2024
As a big fan of Junji Ito, I was very eager to read Kazuosensei's works. This was my first one, and I'm not disappointed. The art looked a bit weird to me because I'm not used to the older manga form, but it grew on me, and I had a good time reading this volume. Umezz is a very visual storyteller and uses a minimal amount of text in his works.
This volume has just two stories: Sisters and Bones. Whilst Bones was the chunkier of the two and offered a more complex story, Sisters had a creepier vibe and thus is my favourite from the two.
This volume has just two stories: Sisters and Bones. Whilst Bones was the chunkier of the two and offered a more complex story, Sisters had a creepier vibe and thus is my favourite from the two.
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