|
Dark Metro Volume 1
Posted 15 Feb 2008
Writer: Tokyo Calen
Artist: Yoshiken
Publisher: Tokyopop
4.00 out of 5 Stars
Reviewed by Tim Janson
|
|
I have been a fan of Asian horror films for some time now. Not
just the well-known Japanese ones imported to the States like The
Grudge and The Ring, but also those films being produced in
Korea, Thailand, and Singapore. Their films have a level of suspense
and pure chills that are often lacking in American horror films which
tend to rely more on gore. However, I have rarely found this level of
suspense and fright in horror Manga titles. Dark Horse’s Museum of
Terror has always had a high degree of chills and there’ve been a
few others. We can now add Tokyopop’s Dark Metro to the
list.
“Underneath Tokyo lies a dark world inhabited by
malicious spirits, just waiting for an unsuspecting victim to stray too close.”
|
Dark Metro is an anthology series that you don’t see
enough in Manga but you are starting to see more and more. This debut
volume presents five stories in its 200 pages and while the
stories are separate, they all take place in the Tokyo underground
subway stations. Underneath the city lies a dark world inhabited by
malicious spirits, just waiting for an unsuspecting victim to stray
too close. The stories are tied together by a mysterious young man
named Seiya who tries to help those who have unwittingly entered this
terrifying underworld.
The five chapters are each named after a different subway station.
The opening tale, “Ginza”, is the best in the first volume. A dancer
named Anna is heading home but misses the last train. Making matters
even worse is that someone has locked her in the station and she’s
virtually trapped. Soon Anna is on the run from a terrifying spirit
who wants her soul.
In “Shibuya” an attractive woman invites a group of high school
pimps to a rave party in the train station. She promises lots of her
friends will be there as well. One of the boys begins receiving text
messages on his cell phone, warning him to leave before it’s too late.
Will he leave or will he suffer the same grisly fate that awaits his
friends?
“Ikebukuro” finds Aoshima-Kun on his first day of work
as a new train operator. The other operators tell him about the
ghosts that haunt the subway but he thinks they are just trying to
scare him… until he encounters something that causes him to
doubt his own sanity.
Tokyo Calen has managed to grasp on to the feel of Asian horror
films with his stories. There is some gore but largely the stories
work on the strength of the setting, the suspense, and the brisk pace.
He serves up five ghastly tales in the best tradition of gothic ghost
stories with a modern slant. Yoshiken’s art is the perfect
complement. His style is less cartoony than most Manga art and has
a stronger look of realism. This book came as a pleasant surprise.
If you’re looking for a solid Manga horror title, then look no further
than Dark Metro!
—CCdC—
Cover image used without explicit permission in accordance with the "Fair Use" provision of US copyright law.
|
