Dragon Head 3
December 9, 2006
So yes, this volume blew my mind. I don’t know what I was expecting would happen when everyone got out of the tunnel. An explanation, and perhaps some sort of dystopian direction for the series with a focus on a new culture.
The genius of this series is that nothing is explained. You never get an explanation for absolutely anything that goes on. You have to take everything at face value, just like the characters, and as a result, there’s kind of an extra level of immersion for the series. Once out of the tunnel, there are no people, no supplies, and Nobu and Ako are almost worse off. There are a small group of people, and they help some, but not much, and not before they do some truly disturbing things. They, along with a brief television broadcast, suggest that society is finished and it’s every man for himself. They offer an explanation that whatever happened to Japan may have something to do with the devil. Nobu sees things. Both Nobu and Ako hallucinate and have bad dreams, and this volume honestly scared me so bad I didn’t sleep last night.
I’m into horror manga, but the gory, over-the-top kind. Psychological horror tends to turn me off because I can’t quite get into it to the level that you need to enjoy it. This one is the first and only exception so far, and is the first manga that has ever truly scared me.
No explanations, no apologies, and no hope. Visions of the dead coming back to life, and somehow Teru has come to represent death in his painted glory. It’s deranged, and I love it.
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