Staff Pick
Nijigahara Holograph is dark psychological horror elevated to the sublime — not only as manga master Inio Asano's masterpiece, but as a profound and timeless classic regardless of medium. There's a Lynchian quality to it that works in dreams, creating terror that can't quite be encompassed by the things that can be fully seen or comprehended. What I can say is that the town is overrun with shimmering butterflies, and it seems that something monstrous lurks in the tunnel that the children think will bring about the end of the world. Beyond that, you'll have to discover for yourself. Recommended By Cosima C., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Fantagraphics is proud to welcome the great Inio Asano (, ) to its acclaimed literary manga line. Even as butterflies ominously proliferate in town, the rumor of a mysterious creature lurking in the tunnel behind the school spreads among the children. When the body of Arié Kimura's mother is found by this tunnel's entrance, next to apparently human traces, the legend seems to be confirmed. Is the end of the world coming? In order to appease the wrath of the beast, the children decide to offer it a sacrifice: The unfortunate Arié, whom they believe to be the cause of the curse, is shoved into a well that leads to the Nijigahara tunnel -- an act that in turns pushes Komatsuzaki, the budding thug who has carried a torch for Arié for a while already, entirely over the edge. But this is only the beginning of the complex, challenging, obliquely told , which takes place in two separate timelines and involves the suicidal Suzuki; Higure, his stalkerish would-be girlfriend; and their teacher Miss Sakaki, whose heavily bandaged face remains a mystery; and many more -- brothers, sisters, parents, co-workers, teachers, aggressors and victims who are all inextricably linked to one another and all will eventually -- ten years later -- have to live with what they've done or suffered through.
Review
"If you saw Shane Carruth's and want a similar combination of technical brilliance and emotional weight in your manga, then should definitely be in your 'to read' stack... It carries a palpable dread that will haunt you well after you put it down." Kevin Church
Review
"The story unfolds asynchronously, creating a sense of mystery. Why does the kids' teacher, Miss Sakaki, have bandages on her face? Why is the class bully so affected by what happened to Arié? Why is the new kid at school, Amahiko, willing to jump out of his classroom's window? And why are there glowing butterflies everywhere?" Unshelved
Review
"It's a brilliant piece of psychological horror that is both deeply intimate yet expansive in scope, with a large cast of characters that are sucked into the terror in different ways. The cyclical, abstract story is challenging, but greatly rewards rereading, and it's easy to get lost in Asano's intricate art, which does outstanding work realizing the setting that is so important to the plot." Oliver Sava
Review
"This beautifully drawn but elliptically told story is almost relentless in its depiction of the evil that lurks behind everyday life, but it's impossible to put down. Fable and film-noir crime mix in a small town where the children believe a beast living in a tunnel is a sign of the end of the world, and adults cope with the aftereffects of a hideous crime. This is a book that rewards repeated readings..." The A.V. Club
Synopsis
In this manga, acclaimed cartoonist Asano tells a complex, oblique tale about how an tense atmosphere, symbolized by proliferating butterflies, lead schoolchildren to "sacrifice" a fellow student, and how that act impacts various characters across two timelines.
Synopsis
Fantagraphics is proud to welcome the great Inio Asano (Solanin, What a Wonderful World ) to its acclaimed literary manga line. Even as butterflies ominously proliferate in town, the rumor of a mysterious creature lurking in the tunnel behind the school spreads among the children. When the body of Ari Kimura's mother is found by this tunnel's entrance, next to apparently human traces, the legend seems to be confirmed. Is the end of the world coming? In order to appease the wrath of the beast, the children decide to offer it a sacrifice: The unfortunate Ari , whom they believe to be the cause of the curse, is shoved into a well that leads to the Nijigahara tunnel -- an act that in turns pushes Komatsuzaki, the budding thug who has carried a torch for Ari for a while already, entirely over the edge. But this is only the beginning of the complex, challenging, obliquely told Nijigahara Holograph, which takes place in two separate timelines and involves the suicidal Suzuki; Higure, his stalkerish would-be girlfriend; and their teacher Miss Sakaki, whose heavily bandaged face remains a mystery; and many more -- brothers, sisters, parents, co-workers, teachers, aggressors and victims who are all inextricably linked to one another and all will eventually -- ten years later -- have to live with what they've done or suffered through.
About the Author
INIO ASANO was born in 1980 in the Ibaraki Prefecture. The Japanese national Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper described him as one of the voices of his generation.