Wikipedia

Reptilia(manga)

Hebi Onna(へび nữ,transl."Snake Woman" ),published in English under the titleReptilia,is a Japanesehorrormangatrilogy written and illustrated byKazuo Umezu.It is composed of three series –Scared of Mama,The Spotted Girl,andReptilia– which were originally serialized in theshōjomanga(girls' comics)magazineShūkan Shōjo Friendfrom 1965 to 1966. The individual series were not originally conceived as an ongoing story but were later revised to form a connected trilogy, which was published as a single volume byShogakukanin 1986. An English-language translation of the trilogy was published byIDW Publishingin 2007.

Reptilia
Cover toScared of Mama
へび nữ
(Hebi Onna)
GenreHorror
Created byKazuo Umezu
Manga
Written byKazuo Umezu
Published byKodansha,Shogakukan
English publisher
MagazineShūkan Shōjo Friend
DemographicShōjo
Original runScared of Mama
August 10, 1965 –
September 7, 1965
The Spotted Girl
September 14, 1965 –
November 9, 1965
Reptilia (Hebi Shōjo)
March 15, 1966
–June 21, 1966
Adaptations

The trilogy follows a monstrous woman who is able to transform into a snake-like being. Umezu drew inspiration for the series fromJapanese folklore,particularly stories aboutyōkai(supernatural beings), and conceived of a story about a monstrous mother figure as a critical response to the recurring motif of loving mother-daughter relationships common inshōjomanga of the 1960s. The series was Umezu's first major critical and commercial success and is credited with provoking a boom in the production of horror manga in the late 1960s. Two of the three stories in the trilogy have been adapted into live-action films.

Synopsis

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The trilogy is composed of three series:Scared of Mama,The Spotted Girl,andReptilia,the lattermost of which was originally published in Japan under the titleHebi Shōjo(へび thiếu nữ,"Snake Girl" ).The following summarizes the plot of the Shogakukan edition, though other editions have minor differences in plot and setting (seeOriginal publicationbelow).

Scared of Mama(ママがこわい,Mama ga Kowai)
Yumiko, a young girl living in Tokyo, visits her hospitalized mother. Her mother discusses rumors among the patients of an institutionalized woman in the hospital who believes that she is a snake, which Yumiko investigates. Yumiko discovers the rumored patient, who transforms into a snake-like being and breaks out of confinement after Yumiko obliges her request to show her a picture of a frog. The snake-woman usurps the place of Yumiko's mother, though Yumiko is ultimately able to expose her deception, and the snake-woman is re-institutionalized.
The Spotted Girl(まだらの thiếu nữ,Madara no Shōjo)
A sequel toScared of Mama.The snake-woman escapes from the hospital and pursues Yumiko, who is on vacation in the mountains ofNagano Prefecturewith her cousin Kyōko. Kyoko and her family are transformed into snake-people, though Yumiko is ultimately able to defeat the snake-woman at the conclusion of the story.
Reptilia(へび thiếu nữ,Hebi Shōjo)
AprequeltoScared of Mama.In 1907, a man encounters a snake-woman in a swamp while hunting. He flees after shooting her in the eye, but turns manic and dies shortly thereafter. Decades later, the snake-woman seeks revenge on the hunter's granddaughter Yoko by killing Yoko's caretaker aunt, adopting the newly-orphaned girl, and transforming Yoko into a snake-girl by feeding her one of herscales.The transformation is witnessed by Yoko's best friend Satsuki; they pursue Satsuki, but Yoko turns on her mother and both are washed away in flooding from a heavy rain. The story concludes in the hospital fromScared of Mama,where doctors discuss an institutionalized patient who was recovered from a river twenty years prior, and who believes that she is a snake.

Production

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Context

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The Okameike Moor, the setting ofOkameike Densetsu

As a child, manga artistKazuo Umezu's father told him horror stories fromJapanese folklore.The story he found most terrifying wasOkameike Densetsu(お quy trì vân thuyết,lit."The Legend of the Turtle Pond" ),which tells the story of a woman who goes to the Okameike Moor inSoni, Nara,and is transformed into a snake. The story significantly influenced Umezu, and snake-women became a recurring motif in Umezu's manga beginning withKuchi ga Mimi Made Sakeru Toki(Khẩu が nhĩ までさける thời)in 1961.[1][2]

During the 1960s,shōjomangawas typically published either inmanga magazinesor in books offered atkashi-hon(book rentalstores); horror stories were popular inkashi-honbooks but were not published in manga magazines.[3]Umezu, who had already created severalshōjostories, stated that he "harbored suspicion" toward the recurring motif of close mother-daughter relationships inshōjomanga of the era, explaining that "mothers often think of their daughters as their own possessions, which is a scary thought".[4]He sought to create a story that subverted this motif by depicting a mother as a monstrous rather than loving figure, drawing inspiration from the snake-woman ofOkameike Densetsu.[2][4]

Original publication

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All three entries in the trilogy were originally serialized in the manga magazineShūkan Shōjo Friend,published byKodansha:[5]

  • I'm Afraid of Mamawas serialized from August 10, 1965 (#32) to September 7, 1965 (#36)
  • The Spotted Girlwas serialized from September 14, 1965 (#37) to November 9, 1965 (#45)
  • Reptilia (Hebi Shōjo)was serialized from March 15, 1966 (#11) to June 21, 1966 (#25)

The individual chapters of the series were also published askashi-honby Sato Production(Tá đằng プロダクション)in itsHana(Hoa)collection.[6]

The stories were not originally conceived as forming a trilogy: whileThe Spotted Girlwas a direct sequel toI'm Afraid of Mama,Reptilia (Hebi Shōjo)was originally published as part of Umezu's seriesYamabiko Shimai(Sơn びこ tỷ muội,transl."The Sisters of the Mountain" ).Yamabiko Shimaiis a series of stories set in Nara in which sisters Satsuki and Kanna are confronted with various paranormal phenomena that originate from legends associated with the region. The series consists ofKitsune-tsuki Shōjo(Hồ つき thiếu nữ,transl."The Girl with a Fox Spirit" )in 1963,Hebi Oba-San(へびおばさん,transl."Aunt Snake" )in 1964,Kitsune ga Kureta ki no Happa(Hồ がくれた mộc diệp っぱ,transl."The Fox That Gave me a Tree Leaf" )in 1965, and finallyHebi Shōjoin 1966.[7][8]

The series also had several plot differences in its original publication run, chiefly its setting ofYoshino District, Nara,rather than Nagano.[9]TheYamabiko Shimaiversion ofHebi Shōjoalso has a happier ending, in which Yōko is turned back into a normal girl with the help of Satsuki and her friends.[10]

Later editions

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After their serializations concluded, all three stories were subsequently published in various anthologies of short stories by Umezu. In 1986, the publishing companyShogakukanpublished all three stories in a single volume titledHebi Onna: Umezu Kazuo Kyōfu Gekijō(び nữ ・ kỳ đồ かずお khủng phố kịch tràng,transl."Snake Woman: Kazuo Umezu's Horror Theater" )[11]The Shogakukan edition modifies the artwork and dialogue of the stories to make them into a connected trilogy, most notably altering the setting of the series and Yōko's fate at the conclusion ofReptilia (Hebi Shōjo).[9]Shogakukan republishedHebi Onnain 2005 as part ofUmezz Perfection!,a complete collection of Umezu's works to mark the 50th anniversary of his debut as a manga artist.[12]Kadokawa Shotenpublished the trilogy in 2000 under the titleHebi Shōjo.[13]

In North America, an English-language translation ofHebi Onnabased on the Kadokawa Shoten edition was published in 2007 byIDW Publishingunder the titleReptilia.The series, which was published as a singleunflippedomnibus edition,was the first manga series published by IDW.[14]The omnibus features an original cover illustration by artistAshley Wood.[15]

Analysis

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Narrative and themes

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The trilogy is apsychological horrorstory focused on "the dark recesses of the human soul" to the general exclusion of displays of blood and gore, though it nonetheless utilizes typical horror story conventions of suspense, anticipation, surprise, and the placing protagonists into situations from which they are menaced or cannot escape.[12]The story also utilizes someclichéstypical of the horror genre, such as a female protagonist with little to no backstory[16]and authority figures who are unhelpful or absent.[12][7]

Transformation is a common theme in many works by Umezu, as inNegai[ja](1975) andMushi-tachi no Ie.[12]In this case, the transformation concerns that of the "monster that dwells in us",[12]which novelistHitomi Kaneharadescribes in her postface to a collected edition of the series as a "mysterious being, unable itself to explain its behavior, which sets up a dark and troubled atmosphere, and has something repulsive about it."[17]Kanehara attributes the fascination and fear of characters who suddenly transform to theJapanese ghost storiescollected byKoizumi Yakumo—particularlyMujinafromKwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things,which features thenoppera-bō,a humanoidyōkaithat can make its face disappear.[2]

Family similarly recurs as a common theme in Umezu's manga and appears as a major theme in all three stories in the trilogy.[18]In the 1960s,shōjomanga regularly focused on mother-daughter relationships, and thehaha mono(Mẫu もの,lit."story of maternal love" )story formula of a daughter searching for her beloved missing mother was especially popular.[16]In the trilogy, Umezu subverts this story formula by creating a monstrous mother figure who seeks to actively harm her daughter.[19]By placing a mother character in a negative light, Umezu is seen as breaking down the idealized image of the mother common inshōjomanga of the era.[16][20]

The "snake-woman" archetype

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Yama-uba,the likely inspiration for the snake-woman

The snake-woman is ayōkaiwith serpentine physical and behavioral characteristics, including skin covered in scales and a deformed mouth filled with sharp teeth. She is able to assume a human appearance, a technique she uses to approach her prey, whom she then devours. The snake-woman may also seek to pass her curse along to others and create a family in her image.[18]

This tendency of the snake-women to turn others into snake-people has been likened to the westernvampire,a creature which does not appear in Japanese folklore. Critic Stéphane du Mesnildot argues this tendency introduces afeministdimension to the snake-women figure that makes it representative of "the dark side of femininity, and very often, its revenge on an unjust and authoritarian masculine society".[18]The figure is likely inspired by theyōkaiYama-uba,which, like the snake-woman, represents the archetype of the socially maladjusted woman in Japanese folklore.[16]

Visual style

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In contrast to the dark andrealiststyle of Umezu's later works, the art style of the trilogy is simple, bright, and occasionally child-like.[12][18]The girls who serve as the protagonists of the stories are drawn in a style typical ofshōjomanga of their era: influenced by the art ofMacoto Takahashi,with basic designs that emphasize their beauty, innocence, and purity. Particular emphasis is placed on their eyes, which are large, bright, and possess a star-shaped detail next to their pupil.[21]Their design starkly contrasts that of the grotesque snake-woman; this was a visual innovation forshōjomanga, which at the time almost invariably depicted only cute and beautiful characters.[16]

Reception and legacy

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Scared of Mamawas a critical and commercial success upon its release, and its popularity is credited with prompting a boom in the production of horror manga in the late 1960s.[3]Manga scholar Hiromi Dollase attributes the series' success to Umezu's subversion of the loving maternalshōjomanga figure, which broke the artistic codes and conventions ofshōjomanga of the era.[16]The monstrous mother became a common motif in horrorshōjomanga in the wake ofScared of Mama's success.[4]Horror manga artistKanako InukiconsidersReptiliato be her favorite horror manga: "This scared me so much when I first stumbled on it during kindergarten that I wanted to cry. But it was also the gateway to my horror manga addiction."[22]

Two of the three stories in the trilogy have been adapted into films.Scared of Mamawas adapted along with Umezu'sAkanbon Shōjo(Xích ん phường thiếu nữ)into the 1968 filmThe Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch,[23]while the 2005 filmKazuo Umezu's Horror Theater: Snake Girl(Kỳ đồ かずお khủng phố kịch tràng まだらの thiếu nữ,Umezu Kazuo kyōfu gekijō: Madara no shōjo),also known asKazuo Umezu's Horror Theater: The Harlequin Girl,contains an adaptation ofThe Spotted Girl.[24]

References

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  1. ^Fasulo 2017,p. 69.
  2. ^abc"［ＡＬＬ ＡＢＯＵＴ］ kỳ đồ かずお nhật bổn の tích thoại すごい! Cô độc って tố tình らしい" (in Japanese). December 6, 2006.
  3. ^abNishimura-Poupée 2013.
  4. ^abcDollase 2010,p. 62.
  5. ^Umezu 2016,p. 7.
  6. ^Hosokawa 2009,p. 206.
  7. ^abHosokawa 2009,p. 201.
  8. ^Umezu 2019,p. 126.
  9. ^abHosokawa 2009,p. 210.
  10. ^Hosokawa 2009,p. 209.
  11. ^へび nữ ・ kỳ đồ かずお khủng phố kịch tràng.Tiểu học quán. 1986.RetrievedMay 29,2022.{{cite book}}:|website=ignored (help)
  12. ^abcdefGuilbert 2007.
  13. ^"へび thiếu nữ: Kỳ đồ かずお khủng phố kịch tràng".National Diet Library.RetrievedMay 29,2022.
  14. ^Cha, Kai-Ming (November 15, 2007)."IDW to Publish Umezu Horror Manga".Publishers Weekly.RetrievedMay 29,2022.
  15. ^"IDW Publishing Unleashes" The Father of Horror Manga "on U.S."(Press release).IDW Publishing.Comic Book Resources.October 8, 2007.RetrievedMay 29,2022.
  16. ^abcdefDollase 2010,p. 61.
  17. ^Kanehara 2016,p. 322.
  18. ^abcddu Mesnildot 2017.
  19. ^Fasulo 2017,p. 70.
  20. ^Hosokawa 2009,p. 203.
  21. ^Dollase 2010,p. 60.
  22. ^Inuki, Kanako (2022).Be very afraid of Kanako Inuki!.Kevin Gifford, Phil Christie. New York. p. 26.ISBN978-1-64651-651-3.OCLC1294285675.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  23. ^"Xà nương と bạch phát ma".Natalie(in Japanese).RetrievedMay 29,2022.
  24. ^"デジタル đại từ tuyền プラス “まだらの thiếu nữ” の giải thuyết ".Kotobank(in Japanese).RetrievedMay 29,2022.

Bibliography

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  • Dollase, Hiromi Tsuchiya (2010). "ShōjoSpirits in Horror Manga ".US-Japan Women's Journal(38).University of Hawai'i Press:59–80.JSTOR42772010.
  • du Mesnildot, Stéphane (2017). "La Femme-serpent".Atom(in French) (1): 126.ISSN2552-9900.
  • Fasulo, Fausto (2017). "Kazuo Umezz: L'horreur est à lui (entretien)".Atom(in French) (2): 66–75.ISSN2552-9900.
  • Guilbert, Xavier (January 2007)."Hebi-onna".du9(in French).RetrievedMay 29,2022.
  • Hosokawa, Ryōichi (2009). "Kỳ đồ かずおにおける mẫu と nương".Mẫu と nương の lịch sử văn hóa học: Tái sinh sản される, bạch địa xã.Shirochisha.ISBN978-4893592514.
  • Nishimura-Poupée, Karyn (2013). "Shojo manga: le monde du manga se féminise".Histoire du Manga: L'école de la vie japonaise.Editions Tallandier.ISBN979-1-02100-216-6.
  • Umezu, Kazuo(2016).La Femme-serpent(in French). Translated by Slocombe, Miyako. Le Lézard noir.ISBN978-2-35348-088-3.
  • Umezu, Kazuo (2019).Kỳ đồ かずお mỹ thiếu nữ コレクション(in Japanese). Genkōsha.ISBN978-4-7683-1218-6.

Further reading

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