Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s Hell Screen: The Manga Edition (Tuttle Japanese Classics in Manga) by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa and Mihiro (adapter) is very literary. Being just enough spooky to not be “safe for work” but not necessarily over the top, but it is mature.
And I cannot tell you what I feel about the story because W T F????????????????? It is torture porn (but you know, done nicely). It is the madness of a man who has greatness and those around him who want and envy it. It is all unfolding in some bizarre manner. There are triggers (sexual context, death, bondage, fire, injury, animals in their wild nature), but it is not necessarily gratuitous, but it is shocking. But it can be too much for sensative readers (even adults). Even the black and white illustrations don’t tone it down at times. I can’t say what the story is but I can tell you I was not in a happy place reading it. Yet, I was drawn to it. Couldn’t turn away.
This was in part because those black and white images are disturbing. This is what the sensors let through? What wasn’t allowed!?! The only color is on the cover of the book. The characters are fairly one dimensional with personality and character traits. Most do not have names. They are the “daughter of the artist” or the “Lord of this place” or the “Servant to the Lord.” And most of the servants look all the same, the Lord has some differences to stand out, but it is the daughter and her father who are the only two characters that have real strong markers to their looks. Oh, the monkey does, too. But they are obvious to spot because, you know, monkey.
The Japanese art of Manga, folklore and horror is an odd subject. I know people have done studies on it and I’m sure they could do more. If this book has not been made into some kind of short film, I would be amazed as it is prime for it. I found this book via an interlibrary loan, but I was interested in it because Japanese lore is something I am slightly curious about and I know a couple people who work at this book publisher. I need to ask them what kind of insanity goes on behind the scenes there if this is what comes out into the public!
SLIGHT SPOILER:
What I was not aware of at the time of reading, was that this adaptation was of a short story by Ryunosuke Akutagawa, who is (according to the publisher bio) regarded as the father of the Japanese short story. And Hell Screen is one of the most famous of them. He would take his own life in 1921. This would explain why the book is so dark and harsh. I still feel what I do about the book, but the background helped me understand.
