Ring Series

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Synonyms: Ring, Rasen, Loop, Birthday, S, Tide, Spiral

Japanese: 「リング」シリーズ

Information

Type: Novel

Volumes: 6

Chapters: 31

Status: Finished

Published: Jun 1991 to Sep 5, 2013

Genre: Horror

Serialization: None

Authors: Suzuki, Koji (Story)

Statistics

Score: 7.45¹ (scored by 481 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #3361²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #9759

Members: 1,976

Favorites: 23

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Jun 14, 2015

crispymaster

Recommended

If you're not familiar with Ringu, the novel, you're almost certainly familiar with it's legacy. Spawning the cult film adaptation by Hideo Nakata, and its American remake, The Ring. Ringu single-handedly set the stage for countless future horror films (both western and Japanese) to follow in its wake, and rocketed Sadako into a Japanese pop-culture icon. The franchise has had rocky areas, most notably the release of S and it's adaptation Sadako 3D which singlehandedly ranks as the biggest bastardization of a beloved character I have ever seen. Going back, though, before all of the CGI and questionable design choices (spider Sadako, why?), you'll find ... a gem of a novel that stands out from the films in it's own right.

Story (9/10):
Ringu follows Kazuyuki Asakawa, a reporter. After a niece of his dies under mysterious circumstances, he begins to investigate. The story is vastly different from that of the film's, most notably instead of being purely supernatural, it mixes both supernatural and the all-too natural (to say what, exactly would spoil a major plot development). It's kind of like The Shining (book) vs. The Shining (film), both very different, but both still incredible in their own rights. The story is a solid mystery that unfolds itself slowly and skillfully, with twists and turns, but nothing coming quite out of nowhere. The story is perhaps not as scary as the films, being a mystery first and horror second, but the few creepy moments are done well. Each setting and person is described in detail, but without being too detail heavy (except during some of the science-y portions, into which sometimes a little too much explanation was put).

Art (8/10): Grading the art is nearly impossible considering this is a novel and not a manga, but the original cover designs are nice. Simple but serviceable. Although the cover for the first edition of the English translation is a little strange at first, it's charming in a strange 90's way.

Character (9/10): One of the advantages the book has on the film, each character is well developed throughout the book. There's no black and white morality and no character is "evil for the sake of evil." Even the most despicable of characters is given some semblance of humanity. Perhaps the most impressive characterization in the book, though, is that of Sadako. Instead of being the very incarnation of evil she's made out to be in the films, she's portrayed very tragically and very sympathetically, while still making her actions despicable and still making her a genuinely creepy character. The only caveat I have is that certain issues: rape, sexuality, abuse, which are present in the books are not portrayed perhaps as heavily as they should be.

Enjoyment (10/10): Probably a bit bias here because I am such a big fan of the original film, but the story is definitely not easy to put down and I enjoyed it immensely.

Overall (9/10): It's an excellent intro into the other two books and sets the stage well. It's more mystery-focused than the films and not as creepy as it could be. The handling of certain character issues may make some readers uncomfortable, as well. However, it's still an excellent horror novel and definitely deserves a read by any fan of the genre.

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Jul 1, 2011

meticulousJoker

Recommended

Mod Edit: This review was originally posted for Loop (13586) and has subsequently been merged into Ring Series (13583).

TL;DR Version: Not the most engaging book in the trilogy and a bit disillusioning, but still definitely worth a read for fans of Ring and Spiral.

Wall of Text Version: Santa Claus is your parents.

This is a revelation that most children in the western world experience eventually. It can be a bit harsh and it’s almost always a disappointment. Yet you have to admit it makes a fair amount of sense. The letter you so painstakingly wrote for Santa? Never got mailed, but gave ... your parents a nice shopping list. The presents under the tree? Purchased with the others and dragged out by your parents after you go to bed. The missing milk and cookies? Mom and Dad split the cookies 50-50 and played rock-paper-scissors to see who got to wash it down with a glass of milk. The nibbled carrots? Hate to break it to you, kid, but not all grown-ups like to eat their vegetables. But what about that guy whose lap you sat in at the mall when you were five? Sorry, kiddo, just a stranger who probably isn’t getting paid enough. Once the initial shock is past, you find yourself wondering how you believed in some fat guy in a red suit delivering presents with his flying reindeer in the first place. You feel upset and disillusioned, but some part of you is a tiny bit satisfied because now you know the truth.

That’s the feeling you get from reading Loop, the final installment in Koji Suzuki’s Ring trilogy. Loop attempts to deconstruct a compelling horror/supernatural thriller by providing a scientific explanation for the apparently paranormal phenomena in Ring and Spiral. The feeling that the victims of the videotape got that some presence was watching them? A perfectly scientific explanation. A virus-type curse thingy that kills in exactly seven days? A perfectly scientific explanation. All of that eerie “Ryuji’s talking from beyond the grave WITH CODED MESSAGES” nonsense in Spiral? A perfectly scientific explanation. Sadako herself? We’ll never know for sure, but there’s probably a perfectly scientific explanation. Perhaps a better analogy would be if Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ended with Scooby-Doo and the gang making an appearance and unmasking Voldemort, revealing that he was really some innocuous space-filling character the whole time. A series where science and the paranormal made rather comfortable bedfellows ends with science stabbing the paranormal while it sleeps. The psychic Sadako is barely mentioned except in passing, while the logician Ryuji looms large in everyone’s minds.

Now, I’ve done a fair bit of hating on a book that I actually enjoyed very much. While I was disappointed with the way certain aspects of the series were handled in the end and it was definitely my least favorite book in the Ring trilogy, Loop was still an extremely entertaining (and in some ways, fitting) end to a series that I spent more than one late night with, desperate to know what happens next. I had some really high expectations for Loop and was somewhat disappointed.

Now, one more word of criticism before I move on to talking about the parts I liked: Because Loop was written as a book that could either stand alone or be read as the conclusion of the trilogy, there are multiple chapters that do nothing but summarize the first two books. While there is a logical reason for this, other than trying to expand the readership, it makes things a bit tedious at times for someone who has already read Ring and Spiral. However, Loop drops several bombshells that can only be fully appreciated by someone who has read this book. Yes, if you aren’t familiar with the names Asakawa, Takayama, and Yamamura, you’ll miss out on the biggest “holy shit” moment of the entire book. There’s really no winning in this situation, but I recommend reading the books in order and skimming through the recap chapters when you get there.

Now that I’ve thoroughly explored Loop’s flaws, I’ll talk about its strengths. It’s every bit a page-turner as its predecessors with fast pacing and suspense at every turn. The “holy shit” moment I vaguely alluded to before is by no means the only “holy shit” moment (Suzuki seems to have had fun devising various plot twists to throw in), so “boring” is definitely not a word that could be applied to this book.

After reading Loop, I’ve become convinced that Suzuki has played favorites with his characters and his favorite is also incidentally mine: Ryuji Takayama. Come on, who doesn’t enjoy reading about a college professor and maybe serial rapist whose lifelong dream is to view the extinction of humanity from atop a hill and ejaculate upon it? Okay, usually I don’t either, but somehow Ryuji became the exception. It isn’t that he’s likeable so much as he’s just fun to watch. He’s probably supposed to be symbolic of the dual nature of humanity, but sometimes I prefer my supernatural thrillers de-intellectualized and he works just fine whether you’re looking for symbolism or looking for a story. Ryuji dominates Loop more than any other character from the previous books and leaves you wondering until near the end exactly what his motives are.

Also, this may be either a good thing or a bad thing for you, but Loop contains more than its fair share of mindfuck. I personally enjoy the sensation, but I know not everyone does, so I give you fair warning. Hey, at least no one turns into Tang.

And so ends the Ring trilogy. As stated before, Loop makes a somewhat logical, but somewhat disappointing ending. And yes, the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy are also your parents.

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Mar 19, 2016

tomateunmate

Recommended

While still being a pop-culture itemthis novel shows the big gap that exist between a LN and a regular novel. Just from this work come multiple movies and adaptations the skip big parts of the source material while usually a light novel results in 2 or 3 anime episodes, maybe 4 or 6 if they really stretch it out. While I really liked some of the changes made on the main character (making it a female, single parent, without any residual esper powers) I really disliked taking out the original side kick and reducing the supernatural to just Sadako.

While the movies are pretty accesible for ...

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