Of course this does not mean the stories themselves were lacking. Ghastly artwork achieved this effect more immediately than a subtle plot might.
The utmost goal in this kind of manga, especially from the postwar eras which Umezu and other similar artists like Hideshi Hino launched their careers in, was to absolutely disturb the audience. The early days of manga horror emphasized visceral imagery. Masami assumes Rima is the cause of her problems, yet video footage shows a different story. This denial only leads to nightmares, lapses in memory, and a mysterious neck wound. The male students are clearly entranced by Rima, whereas Masami fights her own fixation. She is suddenly awash in emotions she neither recognizes nor understands. Animation director and character designer Junko Abe has a good sense of Umezu’s signature style she communicates the more visible influences, including retro shōjo, ukiyo-e, and Tezuka Osamu.įirst up in this creepy pairing is “ What Will the Video Camera Reveal? ” High-schooler Masami ( Naoko Watanabe ) is not herself when transfer student Rima ( Shinobu Adachi ) enrolls in her class. Whatever conformity can be found here, though, rests in the narratives and art. In fact, every episode has its own closing credits sequence. There is no significant attempt at connecting the two 20-minute segments other than having the host ( Ikuya Sawaki) from the manga, a proxy for Umezu, introduce or wrap up each story. Umezu’s involvement was apparently minimal, but this obscure anthology still manages to capture the spirit of the artist’s oeuvre. Naoko Omi directed each vignette, and Shiira Shimazaki handled the screenplay. The same omnibus eventually inspired two conjoined OVAs (original video animation) in 1990. In 1986, said magazine’s publisher issued a compilation of several of these tales called The Curse of Kazuo Umezu ( Umezu Kazuo no Noroi ).
Strangely enough, less than a handful of Umezu’s manga have been given the anime treatment.Īlong with Umezu’s serialized manga is a mass of standalone stories, of which many first appeared in periodicals like Monthly Halloween. The majority of these adaptations have been live-action, but Umezu’s creations are well-suited for animation.
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The mangaka started getting published in the 1960s, and several of his works have been turned into films and TV series. While Kazuo “Umezz” Umezu is not exactly a household name outside of Japan, his unique style of art is hard to forget.