Warau Kyuuketsuki

Warau Kyuuketsuki isn't about plot, and it's important that you go into this manga without expecting some sort of genius story or touching character development. The brilliance of this manga is the art. Every page arranged panels in the most delicately calculated position, and within each panel, you'll find an absurd amount of detail. Suehiro Maruo's genius lies in the way he guides the eye across a page, the way he alters an image's message just by drawing an extra line somewhere. There's not a single centimeter of wasted space in this manga; there's not a single drop of ink unaccounted for. And the scenes arelike an art movie. The characters' poses, the movement in their hair, a slight fold in the curtains, everything is so elaborate and deliberate. It sets the stage for some pretty incredible drama. Ero-guro is about sexual corruption, hedonism, and evil. I'd say that the primary function of Warau Kyuuketsuki is catharsis, and what a decadent feeling Maruo creates. I might as well address the story and characters here. They're one-dimensional because they're supposed to be simple and shallow, blank mannequins for Maruo to butcher. That's pretty much what he does: take a dull axe to the classic archetypes of a hero story. And by "butcher" I also mean that they meet pretty gruesome ends. It's probably clear by now that I'm not an artist, since I don't have the words to describe exactly what I'm seeing, so I highly recommend you take a look for yourself. It almost has historical significance, as Maruo's magnum opus, a landmark contribution to the world of horror manga.

boy oh, BOY is the art so so viscerally good. my favorite part of this manga is just how nice the art is to look at. so high-effort. the story veers into slightly-too-much territory for me. I read this for the first time as a child and that terrible (from a 'wow, that's disturbing' perspective) scene with the girl and the clown stuck in my head for weeks, I swear to god. I don't really care for vampire horror or child protagonists who act like adults. maybe? some kids? are like that? but I never knew any child like that. tanks the believability a little bit,but eh whatever. check it out if you like good art and (perhaps nowadays turned typical) subversion of the sparkling vampires trope.

So I found out about this story through Joey’s video he uploaded recently (Some Great Horror Manga To Read This Halloween is the title on YouTube, check it out!) and I am literally in a state of confusion right now cause my bros, this story made my reading experience like a floor trip hazard that kept on going through the very end lol! Yet I don’t know how I feel about the ending lol. I like the vampire genre so this story is pretty unique in a sense where it didn’t need the signature fangs and the cloak, but it had just the vampires smilingand chewing people with their pearly whites (that sounds odd from me but ok). It’s messed up but there’s a lot going on so I’m 50/50 with this story. The animation was really greatly detailed, I wasn’t spooked at all, I was so memorised instead haha. Definitely check out if you like the vampire genre and want to get lost without worrying about the plot!