Hey all! Joe Pascullo here! I’m a colleague of The Library Lady’s at the New York Public Library. And when I’m not there, I can be found hosting the monthly manga booktalking podcast, Manga Monthly! Well, we’re in October here, and that means Halloween is right around the corner. The Library Lady asked me to provide a blog post full of recommended titles that go hand in hand with All Hallows' Eve, and I was more than happy to oblige for my friend. Manga features some great titles that fall under the horror genre. So without further ado! Here are some titles that complement Halloween well!
1. Tohyo Game: One Black Ballot To You - Many things out there can prove scary to others. How about a game amongst classmates that winds up seeing them get picked off one by one? That’s exactly what goes down in Tohyo Game! What starts off as a vote over cell phones for amusement to determine just who is the most popular of them all turns for the worst when the students who place last begin to inexplicably die. Who is behind it? It’s up to them to find out, before there aren’t any of them left! 2. The Promised Neverland - What about if your entire purpose for being born a human was just to be eaten by a ferocious demon? Unfortunately for our friends at the Grace Field House, that is their only intended purpose in life. They’re raised under the subterfuge of happiness and love. However when the time is right, they become dinner before they even realize what is happening. Well, when the 3 brightest, and most promising prospects of the Grace Field House do discover what’s up, their move to turn the tables and rescue everyone from an untimely death makes for a great story! 3. Ibitsu - We’ve all been taught that talking to strangers isn’t always the most advisable thing to do, especially when said stranger is dressed in a super creepy getup. I mean, have you seen or read Stephen King’s IT? So, if late at night, you came across a stranger decked out in a gothic lolita outfit, who then asked you if you’d like to have a little sister….would you consent? You ask me? I’d tell you to make like Our Lady Peace and run as fast as you can! Cause that’s exactly what the urban legend says happens in Ibitsu! 4. I Am A Hero - All right how about zombies? We’d all poop a brick if an actual zombie apocalypse broke out. Let’s color ourselves lucky that there isn’t such a thing, and just enjoy zombies in books and other media. Manga has no shortage of zombie tales, and I Am A Hero falls right into that category. A deadly virus (sorry that I had to go there) known as 'zqn' begins to turn Japanese citizens into zombies. Armed with a shotgun, our lead character Hideo is going to have to rely on himself and himself alone if he is going to aim to survive this pandemic (ah, went there again…sorry!). 5. Elfen Lied - Have you guys seen Stranger Things? Well the creators of that show have listed Elfen Lied as an influence of theirs! It's about a human chosen by God known as the Diclonius. That person is destined to unfortunately be the one who destroys mankind and life as we know it. In this case, a telekinetic named Lucy is our Diclonius, and is locked up by the government for experimental purposes. She manages to escape, but is shot in the skull in the process, and loses all her memories. Just what’s in store for her now?! 6. Deadman Wonderland - In real life when you commit a bad crime, you get sent to prison. In this book, you get sent to Deadman Wonderland, a privately operated prison that doubles as an amusement park that anyone can visit and enjoy. But sometimes, those imprisoned at Deadman Wonderland are used in cruel displays just to entertain park guests. And even more disturbing, it seems that some of those who’ve become locked away at Deadman Wonderland, are innocent having had evidence manipulated to prove them wrongly guilty. It’s going to be up to our protagonists to get to the bottom of what’s going on at the warped and corrupt Deadman Wonderland! 7. Btooom! - In the last entry, folks got sent to Deadman Wonderland. This time? They’re getting sent to the real life version of the video game Btooom!, set on a mysterious island somewhere. And Btooom! is a deadly game, one where anyone can send anybody else there, regardless of whether they’ve broken a law or not. Btooom! is a game where explosives and detonations are at the heart, and you can bet your bottom dollar with all of these captured “participants” looking to make it back home in one piece, they will stop at nothing to come out victorious. Fans of the Battle Royale franchise will surely enjoy! 8. Dolly Kill Kill - Ahhhh, this one starts off nice. We’re sitting back, checking in on a high school baseball game, watching young love blossom. But that serenity is not to last! All of a sudden in Japan, these strange bees appear. And when they sting a human, their skin begins to dissolve and their flesh falls off. On top of that these enormous doll-like creatures come to terrorize the planet. When all is said and done, we fast forward to 6 months later in the story. 99% of the world’s population has been wiped out. So...yeah! We’ve got big problems here! As well as proof that it can always be worse I reckon! 9. Uzumaki - Of course we’ve got to cover Junji Ito! Folks, if you haven’t heard of this mangaka before, please do check out all of his works! He’s won his fair share of awards, is one of the most notable creators in the industry, and centers his work in the horror genre. There were tons of other Ito works I could have used for his entry, but I landed on Uzumaki since it was my first foray into his world, plus there’s an anime adaptation based off of it coming out in 2021! And what is Uzumaki about you ask? It’s about folks who live in a city cursed with spirals...and they aren’t able to leave. Kowai! 10. The Drifting Classroom - Before Junji Ito, we had Kazuo Umezu! A big influence to Ito, Umezu himself had many a title released in the horror genre. But of course, his magnum opus is hands down The Drifting Classroom, a work he won the 1974 Shogakukan Manga Award for. It starts off with an unusual earthquake, one that causes an entire grammar school to vanish completely. It turns out they’ve been transported to a wasteland in the middle of nowhere, with no explanation given whatsoever. Can the students and faculty figure out just what is going on? Or will the stress and confusion get the best of them all… Happy Halloween everybody! *Thank you for your recommendations, Joe! Happy Halloween everybody! - Library Lady
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Hi everybody! After being featured on Manga Monthly, Joe and I began to learn about each other’s types of anime and manga. I also learned that, like myself, Joe is a big music fan. So we got to talking about our favorite musical anime, created Top 5 lists of our personal favorites, what were our mutual Top 5, and the one musical anime we just don’t like. Without further ado, here we go! A conservation about musical anime. *spoiler warnings!* J = Joe R = Me ^_^ Top 5 Musical Anime (Loved by both of us) 1. Carole & Tuesday J = More recently, my heart has been taken by Carole & Tuesday. It was phenomenal. It takes place on Mars, where these two girls get together and become a song-writing duo. It was written by Shinichirō Watanabe, he is obviously fantastic (Note: AGREED!). He did Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo (Another note: both are just amazing!!!). As of right now, I really love Carole & Tuesday, even though there’s a lot of good musical anime out there. R = I absolutely agree with you 100%. I love the story, the drama, and seeing more diversity. I’m absolutely all for it. Even some of my friends who are musicians, they’re like, we absolutely love the songs and Carole & Tuesday is amazing. When I was on a bus trip and lacking sleep, just putting on the first episode, where Carole & Tuesday started to harmonize when they first met was so soothing. J = I’m looking forward to getting the soundtrack. What’s your favorite song from the show? R = Oh God, there’s so many! I loved their debut song. J = “Army of Two?” R= YES and “After the Fire.” So good! J = The manga for Carole & Tuesday is coming out at the end of the year, but it’s not the same without the music. R = Yeah, the music makes the show, and when creating music-based manga, you want to hear the soundtrack. J = And that’s what makes Carole & Tuesday endearing. 2. Your Lie in April J = It’s very heartfelt. R = This anime had me in tears! How could you not love it. J = Understandable. 3. Nana J = This is a great series. I know that the mangaka (Ai Yazawa) has been ill and it has been a decade and ended on a really good cliffhanger. I hope to one day read the conclusion of it. R = Yeah. When I last read it, I remember Hachi (Nana K) and Takumi *spoiler*, and… J = Before Takumi…. I won’t say it *laughs* R = Yeah… I’ll say it. Takumi’s an a******! *laughs* J = Yeah *laughs* Won’t spoil it for the readers. R = But it was such a good series. It was a great story, it’s realistic. Both Nana’s had it rough, and Hachi needs to develop a better taste in men. There, I said it. J = Yeah, Takumi’s a mess. 4. Kids on the Slope J = Also done by Shinichirō Watanabe, the opening and story were just amazing. R = I still have to finish it (*I finally did!*), but I agree with the story and opening. Loved the music, I was so hooked into it, especially being a jazz fan. J = Watanabe does put a lot of thought into the music in his productions. With the openings and endings of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, he has a knack for music. He’s so meticulous when it comes to music, whether it be jazz or hip hop, he just gets it. 5. Given R= There was so much hype for this anime, and I really enjoyed it. J = I know the film is on its way. I enjoyed it as well. It’s a pretty nice coming-of-age story. R = Coming-of-age, more representation, and Boys Love, oh give me that! I still have to read the manga because my teens still take it out, and I’m like, “give it back!” I started watching it, and love it. It keeps you riveted and it reminded me of another anime that I love, Gravitation. Joe’s Top 5 Musical Anime 1. Carole & Tuesday 2. Sound! Euphonium J = Popular series among fans of KyoAni (Kyoto Animation). Definitely cool. It was great, and featured a high school concert band, and I was in a high school concert band. R = Which instrument did you play? J = I played the glockenspiel, marimba, xylophone, and chimes! (Library Lady is very impressed by this ^_^) I loved seeing all of the different instruments in the series. 3. Your Lie in April 4. Nana 5. Kids on the Slope The Library Lady’s Top 5 Musical Anime 1. Carole & Tuesday 2. Your Lie in April 3. Aggretsuko R = Give me my metal! Honestly, this anime came three years late for me. It came after a sh***y experience, and everything she sang, I felt! *laughs*. Even though the second season tapers off a bit, the third season was great. Retsuko becomes part of an idol group, and learns the glamour and pitfalls of being in an idol group. The overall message of this show is clear: being an adult is HARD. 4 . Given 5. Gravitation R = Before Given, there was Gravitation. Yuki and Shuichi’s relationship is so relatable, it hurts. Each deals with success and failures in their own way, while trying to define their relationship and discover how much they mean to each other. I just love it. And the anime Joe and I both disliked was… K-ON! R = It’s dumb. It’s absolutely dumb and so ridiculous. It’s like a trainwreck you can’t look away from. J = Yeah, it’s not my cup of tea unfortunately. R = And yet, everybody LOVES it. J = I remember one guy in my college anime club who was obsessed, OBSESSED, with it and I probably watched it because he hyped me up to watch it. And I was like, “this is not the kind of anime I like. You’re totally allowed if you want to.” We hope you enjoyed our conversation on musical anime. If there is a genre or anime you would like discussed, please let me know. Extra special thank you to Joe Pascullo, who will be contributing a special post to get us into the Halloween spirit. Until then, stay safe and healthy! |
Who am I?The Library Lady is a Young Adult Librarian and reviewer. She's also a music, anime, and film nerd. Archives
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