Misumisou
Liverleaf

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This manga definitely isn't for everyone, as it is very often misinterpreted and trivialized. Many mention being lost in the manga, calling the bullies "lunatics" and "insane". Through all manga of Rensuke Oshikiri I've read, no character has been inherently bad, mentally ill nor plainly evil. There has always been a cause, and it is the point of the manga and a common theme occuring in his works - abuse breeds abuse.

Very heavy with a painful message, it requires more from you than passive reading. It is not to be read for enjoyment. I've started reading Misumisou as I've looked for series similar to Higurashi, ... not knowing what I get myself into. Most readers (me included) expected a classic revenge plot filled with gore. It is only an illusion after reading the synopsis.

The characters and bullying are exaggerated, yet the message is painfully real and applying to the world we live in. Each of the kids carried on the abuse they have received from their parents and surroundings - like a curse, it was carried through different vessels. The protagonist wasn't the only victim, violence became a way to cope for many deeply broken characters. The group bullying and flowing violence, turning abused children into monsters themselves is most likely a reflection on Japanese society (although it is most likely a problem in every country, it is not as severe as in Japan where bullying is a subject of many media for a reason).

Rensuke Oshikiri's art is my personal favorite together with widely acknowledged Junji Itou. It is perfect for what it is supposed to visualize - the ugly core of humanity, the part of the world nobody wants to see or think about. Which is shown by most viewers finding it very repulsive, going as far as criticizing the author's skills although they should never be questioned seeing the author's use of flow, perspective and overly realistically shown emotions. It obviously has its flaws (some expressions become repetitive after a longer while), yet calling the art "bad" is blasphemous.

This manga is very heavy, touching subjects nobody wants to think or know about. It is not about bullying and gore, it shows a very real part of society. The children are not mentally ill nor born monsters - they are victims, desperate for affection.

In the end, a very heavy scene occurs where one of the male characters steals the scene with seemingly bizarre behavior. It is very difficult to read, seeing the desperation and thirst for affection and love they have never received from their parental figure, which together with misery and extreme fear of abandonment bred shocking violence.

For someone expecting a "slasher", this is not the right manga. If you look for something very heavy, referring to very real problems of Japanese society and worldwide domestic violence, I sincerely recommend you to read Misumisou.

I changed my mind a lot of times while reading this manga.

At first, I thought it was just a simplistic revenge manga. Then I thought it was a revenge manga with a shallow story. Then I thought it was a story that tries to get a creepy feeling under your skin. Then I thought it was a rather creepy story that shows off a lot of strange and previously unthinkable things. Then I thought…

Well, you get the idea.

The further I read, the creepier it gets. At its core, I still see it as mostly a simple revenge story, but the author sure takes care to ... insert a lot of things along the way. By the end, you’re left wondering if you’re reading a revenge story or a story about a bunch of crazy loons.

I won’t spoil anything, but I will say the story certainly kept the surprises up.

Moving aside from that, the only other thing of note is the art. I’m conflicted here – primarily because I don’t know whether the awful art is intentional or not. On the surface, it seems awful primarily because characters often looked like fanged monsters when angry and, when they’re not angry, they looked indistinguishable from each other.

At first, I disliked it but, later on, I ended up wondering if the author was using the art to make a commentary on the characters.

So…what am I saying? I’m saying I really don’t know how I feel about it. The important part, though, is that I did enjoy reading it. Would I recommend it to others? Yes. Overall, I think it’s a short and enjoyable read. Plus, the fact that it’s so confusing actually lends to its enjoyment, I think.

If nothing else, I would suggest it as a fun romp that can be finished quickly.

Revenge tragedies have proved incredibly popular throughout the ages. Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' is still studied in institutions all over the world while 'Berserk' is one of the best selling manga series of all time. 'Assassin's Creed 2' is one of the most critically acclaimed video games of the 21st century while 'Gladiator' is among the most memorable live-action films of the 2000s. Good revenge stories are filled with captivating characters, intrigue and the potential to elicit an emotional response from the viewer. Rensuke Oshikiri's 'Misumisou' fails to achieve any of this and then some. It is truly one of the worst pieces of fiction I have ... ever had the displeasure of experiencing.

'Misumisou' is about a middle school student, Nozaki Haruka, who moves from Tokyo to a small backwater town following her father's new job. Unfortunately, Nozaki immediately becomes a victim of bullying in her new school. Nozaki's trials and tribulations become increasingly severe with each passing chapter until our protagonist reaches breaking point and goes on a murdering spree. Now, the plot in and of itself is fine, if a little simple. Where the series really falls flat is in its execution. Particularly, the crux of the series' problems can be found in its characters.

The characters in 'Misumisou' suffer from the same weakness that plagued 'School Days'. That is, the characters are essentially caricatures in a series which is supposed to be based in realism. This is most obvious with the bullies. The bullies pierce Nozaki with tacks, steal her possessions, push her into a ditch filled with garbage, call her names, attempt to shoot her with a crossbow, assault Nozaki's father on school premises with tack-studded shoes, invade Nozaki's home and ultimately set her house on fire with her family trapped inside. That's not all: it turns out that Nazoki's home-room teacher is the only recurring member of staff in the series and is revealed early on to be in cahoots with the main bully. All of this takes place within the opening three chapters, no less. Their motives? They did not want the new kid to be part of their graduation ceremony. Sorry, but that is utterly ridiculous. That 14-year-old kids could commit such reprehensible acts and not feel even an iota of remorse is too outlandish an idea for any critical reader to get behind. One simply can not suspend their disbelief while reading 'Misumisou'. None of the bullies have any redeemable qualities and little effort is made by the author to provide any sort of backdrop or fleshing out of these characters. There was one instance where a flashback was shown just before one of the bullies meets their fate, but it was awkwardly tacked on, almost as if an afterthought.

Unfortunately, the rest of the cast do not fare much better. As the protagonist, Nazoki assumes the role of the innocent beauty turned killer. Nazoki's grandfather takes the role of the frustratingly ignorant relative. Aiba is Nazoki's only friend and also just so happens to be a psychopath. It may feel like these one-sentence descriptions are doing the characters a disservice, but in all honesty there is only so much one can say about what are effectively cardboard cut-outs. The mangaka doesn't give the reader much to work with: character development is non-existent and attempts at fleshing out come at a premium. In any other series, seeing the antagonists get their comeuppance would be cathartic, but not here. If the author doesn't put the effort in to making the protagonist likeable or the antagonists realistic, then why should the reader care about their fates? A good indicator of the quality of a cast of characters is how many of them you can remember by name and, in the case of 'Misumisou', it was just one. It is difficult to see any positives in what was a completely forgettable, unrealistic cast of characters. It's an extremely poor effort, it must be said.

If the characters and contrivances of the plot didn't already kill the series off then the art made sure to finish the job. Honestly, the character designs look awful. Eyes are drawn too far apart, the faces are not drawn consistently from panel-to-panel and ultimately it never felt as if the mangaka was comfortable drawing his characters. There is also a disgusting expression that the mangaka draws on all of his characters when they are angry. Needless to say, it looks more amusing than it does threatening, at least until it begins to feel nauseating due to how grotesque it looks. While the character designs were a huge let-down, credit must be given for some of the backgrounds. In particular, there is one panel in chapter three where Nazoki and Aiba are drawn as silhouettes looking up at the starry night sky. It looks stunning, so much so that it feels out of place in a manga of this quality. The mangaka also appears to have talent for drawing weapons - lots of detail went into the crossbow and pistol. These instances are rare and it doesn't make a massive difference to the overall package, but it at least saves it from attaining the lowest possible marks.

Overall, I went into 'Misumisou' with extremely low expectations and still managed to come away from it feeling disappointed. This was my first taste of Rensuke Oshikiri's work and chances are it is going to be my last. 'Misumisou' reads like an amateur's debut work, so to see that Oshikiri is an already established mangaka with a large body of work behind him came as a major shock. The characters are flat and unrealistic, the plot twists are contrived and the art is highly unpleasant, save for the odd panel here and there. I'm still not sure what message the mangaka was trying to convey, but in any event he failed. In all good conscience, I could not and would not recommend this manga to anyone.