Reiko the Zombie Shop: 3
by Rie Mikamoto
One thing we can't say about Rei Mikamoto is that he is a predictable writer. Volume 1 was a series of short stories centering on Reiko, a “Zombie Shop” who can reanimate dead bodies, for brief periods, so that any lingering revenge can be executed. Volume 2 was the first part of an epic tale between Reiko and her evil twin sister, Riruka. Alliances are forged on both sides with other necromancers, and both human and zombie blood spills in buckets. In Volume 3 the war between the sisters is concluded in the first half of the book, and then we are treated to a series of short stories.
The first 100 pages or so of Volume 3 bring us the final battles between Reiko and her allies versus Riruka and her cohorts. The body count is high, and in the end there are few left standing. Mikamoto continues to excite the reader with both epic-sized and face-to-face battles scattered with flying limbs and translated with its wry sense of humor intact. The conclusion of this 300 page story (beginning in Volume 2) is both exhausting and satisfying, and made me want to light up a Mild Seven in celebration.
After this battle we are treated to a short story of Reiko visiting an isolated boarding school in Hungary after a series of bloody animal attacks have left the student body in a panic.
Reiko is hired as an undercover gumshoe to try to find out what really happened to the slaughtered students. Some nice twists give this short story a sound balance between detective thriller and dormitory horror.
What follows in this volume is a trilogy of Reiko-free short stories written by Rei Mikamoto. According to the Afterward by Mikamoto, at least one of these, “The Hair-Check Massacre”, was written while he was still had a day job in his early 20’s (but in no way does the style or quality suffer).
The opening frame of "The Hair-Check Massacre” is a little like a M.C. Escher drawing, but once the reader gets the angle in focus, it’s quite a frightening scene. Three female high-school students fail their school’s hair check, and their psychopathic teacher tries to teach them the ultimate lesson about respect and fear. (Some schools in Japan have rules about hair-length and dye which elicits the occasional all-school hair check.) The “Tales from the Crypt”-like twist at the end sets the stage for the last two stories.
“Elder Sister’s Face” tells the cringe-inducing tale of a twin sister relationship too horrific, thankfully, ever actually come true. The next short,
“God Town”, could have just as easily have been written by Rod Serling. This final vignette is not as gory as the others, but is still a simple and satisfying tale.
One can only wonder what direction the next volume of Reiko the Zombie Shop will go. With its diverse style of (INSERT GENRE HERE)/Horror, it seems like this manga can really go anywhere. Mikamoto seems to have a geyser’s supply of ideas, and being able to mix and match 10-page stories with 300-page stories keeps the readers on their toes. Volume 4 is available now, and Volume 5 is released on December 6.
One thing we can't say about Rei Mikamoto is that he is a predictable writer. Volume 1 was a series of short stories centering on Reiko, a “Zombie Shop” who can reanimate dead bodies, for brief periods, so that any lingering revenge can be executed. Volume 2 was the first part of an epic tale between Reiko and her evil twin sister, Riruka. Alliances are forged on both sides with other necromancers, and both human and zombie blood spills in buckets. In Volume 3 the war between the sisters is concluded in the first half of the book, and then we are treated to a series of short stories.
The first 100 pages or so of Volume 3 bring us the final battles between Reiko and her allies versus Riruka and her cohorts. The body count is high, and in the end there are few left standing. Mikamoto continues to excite the reader with both epic-sized and face-to-face battles scattered with flying limbs and translated with its wry sense of humor intact. The conclusion of this 300 page story (beginning in Volume 2) is both exhausting and satisfying, and made me want to light up a Mild Seven in celebration.After this battle we are treated to a short story of Reiko visiting an isolated boarding school in Hungary after a series of bloody animal attacks have left the student body in a panic.
Reiko is hired as an undercover gumshoe to try to find out what really happened to the slaughtered students. Some nice twists give this short story a sound balance between detective thriller and dormitory horror.What follows in this volume is a trilogy of Reiko-free short stories written by Rei Mikamoto. According to the Afterward by Mikamoto, at least one of these, “The Hair-Check Massacre”, was written while he was still had a day job in his early 20’s (but in no way does the style or quality suffer).
The opening frame of "The Hair-Check Massacre” is a little like a M.C. Escher drawing, but once the reader gets the angle in focus, it’s quite a frightening scene. Three female high-school students fail their school’s hair check, and their psychopathic teacher tries to teach them the ultimate lesson about respect and fear. (Some schools in Japan have rules about hair-length and dye which elicits the occasional all-school hair check.) The “Tales from the Crypt”-like twist at the end sets the stage for the last two stories.
“Elder Sister’s Face” tells the cringe-inducing tale of a twin sister relationship too horrific, thankfully, ever actually come true. The next short,
“God Town”, could have just as easily have been written by Rod Serling. This final vignette is not as gory as the others, but is still a simple and satisfying tale.One can only wonder what direction the next volume of Reiko the Zombie Shop will go. With its diverse style of (INSERT GENRE HERE)/Horror, it seems like this manga can really go anywhere. Mikamoto seems to have a geyser’s supply of ideas, and being able to mix and match 10-page stories with 300-page stories keeps the readers on their toes. Volume 4 is available now, and Volume 5 is released on December 6.
posted by John T at 2:50 PM
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