Five more serials means five more write-ups! Starting with Konoshima Ruka's "Utsuranain desu" which is a strong foot forward for the Spring serials despite it feeling like it should be a Halloween story. This one is another series based on a prototype oneshot which are always interesting from a comparison standpoint.
The Author
Konoshima Ruka
Left: Sora wo wataru ikimono, Right: Ringoame
Konoshima-sensei has been drawing oneshots for Sunday Webry since 2022 or so. They have a very distinctive style that permeates all of their works, though they take on a variety of subjects in their storytelling. Above are two of their oneshots Sora wo wataru ikimono and Ringoame. In English the titles are The Thing that crossed the sky and Candied Apple.
Despite it's fantastic title, Sora wo Wataru Ikimono is a down to earth tale about a mismatched pair of students who are left in charge of the classroom fish. One is a moody girl who doesn't think much of her classmates, and the other is a boy who doesn't talk to people, and instead finds himself much more interested in animals. ...Okay maybe they're not that mismatched, as they're both outcasts who would rather have nothing to do with anyone much less each other, but find through taking care of the class pets that they have one thing in common --that they'd like to leave their town after graduation "cross the sky" so to speak, and into bigger, better things.
The lack of a supernatural element doesn't take from the strong storytelling --the leads feel like fully actualized characters in their interactions, even with the limited time granted in a one shot I feels as if I really got to know them. From the little things like them fighting over how to take care of the fish leading into them stating their dreams, to the boy noticing that the girl removed her piercings some time ago which he thought was a shame because they were really cool -- I feel like these two are people I could meet in real life, evidence of Konoshima-sensei's strong character writing.
Ringoame is a much shorter work clocking in at a mere 8 pages, but again Konoshima-sensei packs them full of character writing. In this oneshot, the protagonist Ryousuke has an aversion to getting close to people --specifically women because of his mother who would leave him to house sit as a child while she went out to have what's implied to be affairs with men. She had a particular red lipstick and nail polish she favored which became a traumatic memory for him to a point that when he got the role of making candied apples for an upcoming school fair, he could only think about how his mother let him down. However, one girl loves his work and praised him for how delicious the candied apples were --something he didn't take seriously until he saw how pretty she was at the festival and upon her happiness at eating his confectionary work the "spell" his trauma had on him was broken. Concise, but sweet is the theme of this one. Ending it on this hopeful note allows the reader to fill in the blanks which is a powerful sentiment that I really like. Ryousuke can now heal from his past trauma, and possibly find love himself.
This was all preamble for the upcoming oneshot I'll be discussing, because Utsuranain desu had a prototype that ran in WSS!
I'll only briefly touch on the oneshot since it's almost exactly like the first chapter of the serial. Running in issue #16 of Weekly Shonen Sunday in 2023 is Utsuranain desu which means something along the lines of "It doesn't show up (in photos)" which is a far less catchy so I'll be referring to the work using its Japanese title. It's described as an occult boy meets girl story, which is well...putting it lightly.
Some of the character designs remain the same from the oneshot to the series --the lead Kurokiri and the homeroom teacher being the more prominent ones. Tachibana the heroine ends up getting the biggest makeover --a shame to me personally as I liked the way she looked in the oneshot. Though her role in the story mostly remains the same.
The basic premise is Tachibana is a girl obsessed with the occult who wants nothing more but to catch a ghost on camera, but due to reasons whenever she gets close to ghosts they (re)? die horribly. Keep in mind however she can't actually see ghosts while the hero Kurokiri can much to his chagrin. Think Mieruko-chan except there's an additional party here who wants to be a part of the world where things go bump in the night. The oneshot ends with Kurokiri deciding to give the occult club at school a chance if only because if Tachibana can kill that which is dead, maybe he'll have peace of mind at last. The oneshot had a great reception so it's no wonder the editorial wanted to turn it into a serial right away --and while again, the first chapter more less builds upon the oneshot Konoshima-sensei modifies things a bit more so that the undead can live a little longer in weekly format.
The Serial
Utsuranain desu
Starting in issue #18 of 2024 is the serial version of Utsuranain desu. The blurb on the above color page describes it as an "Adolescent Occult story" which, like MizuPolo before it, is a difference with a distinction. Then again, while Tachibana and Kurokiri do get close in the oneshot, it's hard to call it a romantic type relationship. In the series it's even moreso, especially since now the pacing slows down a bit due to it needing to fit a weekly magazine.
The Premise
Not much has changed in the move from oneshot to series --Kurokiri is plagued by ghosts, Tachibana wants to have a ghost problem, the two meet and shenanigans ensue. There are a few minor differences, in that Kurokiri is far more explicit in his desire to be rid of his curse, and is straightforward in that he only wants to hang out with Tachibana because something about her makes monsters run in the opposite direction. Another difference is the phenomena surrounding Kurokiri is much more pronounced and not limited to the undead kind.
Here for example, the guy vomits up moths because Kurokiri shoots him a nasty look, which also implies Kurokiri has some control over what's happening to him.
And due to the pacing, more of Kurokiri's past is explored --in this first chapter, the demonized version of a dog he had in his childhood is possessing him, and because he was involved in it's death not only is the sight of the beastie causing him no end of anguish, the guilt is also a huge part of his misery too. Luckily for him, Tachibana's anti-ghost constitution is still as strong as it was in the oneshot, and all it takes is one touch for Kurokiri to be free. Kurokiri comes off as more self serving in this but that's understandable --he has to grow as a person after being stuck in stasis for so long. It's this arc he goes through from bewilderment to truly caring about Tachibana that is the crux of the series vs the oneshot. Though what about Tachibana? She doesn't have much going on character wise in the oneshot, which is fine since she's more of a means to an end, even if she is a lot of fun --but she'll need more than that in the series proper.
The nice thing about writing this late (sorry!) is that more of the series has been able to unfold --and thus I can get a better idea of Tachibana's character trajectory. Since she doesn't have any idea of what world she's stepping into with the occult, she thinks that Kurokiri is out to help her without any ulterior motive. Her earnestness starts to rub off on him, and eventually he wants to become a stronger person for both her sake and more importantly his own. The story up until that moment feels like a prologue and from then on is when Utsuranain desu really begins.
Though revisiting Tachibana, perhaps the best element of the series proper is the reveal that her father is the reason she loves the occult. By the time the story takes place, he's passed away some time ago, but he's certainly not been forgotten --nor will he allow himself to be forgotten. He appears to Kurokiri as a ghost which is bad enough, but he's the ghost of an overprotective Dad who thinks Kurokiri likes his daughter and is only getting close to her because all boys only want one thing and it's gross. To make this more complicated, he's also shy and despite knowing his daughter can't actually see him, he freaks out anytime she's nearby and runs to hide like a frightened animal. It's so bizarre that it loops back to being hilarious, which is really the spirit (heh) of this series --Konoshima's ghost designs are terrifying, but Tachibana oneshotting them, the situation with her Dad and the overall tone of the series keeps things from being overbearingly heavy.
Oh, and yeah --Konoshima-sensei has the creepy monster designs down pat. Don't let the hilarious content fool you --these creatures ararer terrifying (up until Tachibana deletes them, anyway.) I like that they're not just ghosts any more too --lending themselves to varied designs and origins.
Even Tachibana's singing causes ghosts to head for the hills.
The Verdict
As of current writing, Utsuranain desu has taken the success from it's oneshot and transitioned that into being a well received serial. The first volume isn't out yet, but I feel like the trajectory is similar to that of Ogami Tsumiki to kinichijo in that the character writing is the main draw of the series --in fact, I'd say that's perhaps one part of what makes a WSS series successful. In that regard Konoshima-sensei flexes their best traits in a series that's one part silly, one part terrifying, and in another relatable as the protagonist --Kurokiri seeks the easy way out of his problem at first by isolating himself from others, but instead finds that by seeking out comrades, he can bring out the best part of himself, one scare at a time. I personally hope that Utsuranain desu keeps this tempo of being a horror comedy series going, but it has potential to be much more should it choose to --including of course being the next popular Sunday serial.
Comments
Post a Comment