Ours is the century of enforced travel of disappearances. The century of people helplessly seeing others, who were close to them, disappear over the horizon. ~John Berger
Genre: Horror/Mystery
Review Status: Full (3 Volumes/ 3 Volumes)
Licensed: Licensed in the US
Art: Good, solid. Nothing special, but good at conveying a creepy horror vibe.
Summary: Amber and Jeanie, a pair of twin sisters, enroll in an Australian boarding school. But shortly after school begins, the twins uncover a dark, mysterious secret: Students have been known to walk off into the surrounding bushlands, where they have vanished completely, without a trace! (Tokyopop)
Review: A boarding school in the middle of nowhere? A mystery that went unsolved many years ago? Paintings that seem to hold clues to what happened? Sounds like prime fodder for a good mystery! This hearkens back to old Gothic stories, with students that are held at the mercy of a tyrannical principal and mysterious disappearances begin when the students decide to ‘call on the spirits’. “Bleeding” trees and nights as thick as paint add to an atmosphere that’s already full of macabre paintings and Victorian-style furnishings.
The story itself is pretty interesting, with the twins becoming distant as the disappearances become more common. The reveal as to what’s happening is a toss-up as to whether the reader will like it. While did think that it was decent, some will find it and the ending unsatisfying in more than one way.
Overall, this is a pretty good manga. I wish there were more to it, or a slightly different ending, but it’s not too bad.
Recommended: For a quick read, I’d pick it up. 13+ due to some disturbing images (blood, some violence).
Other titles you might enjoy:
Higurashi: When They Cry (anime and manga),
Bizenghast (manga), Red Garden (manga),
Kieli (manga and light novels)
I remember one of my friends recommending it to me, and I feel like giving it a try! I'm curious as to how my response to it will be.
ReplyDeleteI am curious, too. One of the things that made it creepier for me was that the mangaka based it off of one of her friends who disappeared into the Australian bushlands without a trace. She details the story in the back of the first volume. I thought that story was almost better than the manga!
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