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みらい文庫版 絶叫学級
みらい文庫版 絶叫学級 禁断の遊び 編 (集英社みらい文庫)
『りぼん』の大人気マンガ、初のノベライズ！ 私の名前は黄泉。恐怖の世界の案内人です。あなたを授業にご招待しましょう。眠くて退屈な昼間の授業ではありません。あなたが、これまでに体験したことのない授業です。何気ない日常の中で、ぽっかりと大きく口を開けて待っているもう一つの世界。その先に待ち受けているものを、あなたの目でたしかめてみてはいかがでしょうか。それでは、恐怖の授業を開始します……。 【目次】１時間目 悪魔のゲーム/２時間目 エンドレス鬼ごっこ/３時間目 処刑教室/４時間目 生けにえクラブ/あとがき
178 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 8, 2011
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 22, 2022
tl;dr Very fun book with four spooky supernatural tales. If you're into books like "Goosebumps", this has a similar vibe. I'd put this at an N3 level for Japanese learners.
Not tl;dr:
I was so excited to read this book, and of course I had to read it this month for the spoops! When I first saw this book series, I was immediately reminded of the English book series "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark", which was a childhood classic with horrifically frightening art. And while the art in this series is...very much tamer, haha, a standard 'manga' look that matches the cover, I was nevertheless looking forward to reading it. And I certainly wasn't disappointed!
The novel is broken down into four short stories. They're connected via our guide through this 'Screaming School'--Yomi, who provides prologues and epilogues for each one, and also opens and closes out the book.
(I discuss the Japanese level at the end of this review.)
Story #1 - 悪魔のゲーム: Mio comes from a struggling family and can't afford the latest games, which makes things difficult for her at school, feeling left out amongst her friends. But one day walking home, she stumbles upon a game system lying by the side of the road. Thinking herself lucky, she decides to play the game. But she quickly learns that how she plays reflects in her real life too, and things soon turn too real.
This one was a fun one. Very good introduction to the series. Even though I quickly could guess the ending (and effectively get it right, though there was a little twist I didn't consider), it was still a blast reading through everything to get there. So many tropes also reminded me of other stories or media I grew up with, which also made me feel more connected to it. The author did a good job building up the tension, and when the first dark twist happens, you're like, "Damn, there it is!" xD
I think this one has more of a scary vibe for kids, because of the modern-ness of it. Plenty of kids have gaming systems or play games on their phones/computers, so to have that potentially play a mystical role in your life, especially a dark twisted one, can definitely be frightening.
I do love the epilogue, and the touch of analysis of the character Mio and her decisions.
Story #2 - エンドレス鬼ごっこ: An expert at the game of tag, Chika always outplayed everyone. But one day, her friend tells her of a spooky dream, where an unknown figure with skinny legs and bare feet chases you around the school at night, and the only way to not have the dream is to tell someone else about it. What happens if the figure catches you? Well, you'll have to find out.
Ooooh being chased is always a scary thing for me. And the concept is a fun one too, especially for a kid's book. I know it's not original, but it's still a scary idea, haha. The rumor of the dream spreads quickly, as more and more people have it. I will say I was a little disappointed at the reveal of the potential source of the "oni". I feel like it loses its magic a bit there, being an overused trope imo, but I suppose not a bad lesson to still instill upon children.
The ending with this one--oof x'D
Story #3 - 処刑教室: What would you do if your classroom had a cursed chair, one that would punish anyone who sits in it for their misdeeds? How would your classmates act? Would you turn on them? Or would they turn on you?
I loved the concept of this one. The build up was pretty slow, but definitely worth it. It's a morbidly fun idea to think about as a story, and it being set in a school with children made me think of 'Lord of the Flies'. I won't spoil the ending, but I will say it kept me wondering what was going to happen, and I certainly didn't expect it to go the route it did. This is for sure one taking up free real estate in my mind, haha.
Story #4 - 生けにえクラブ: If you could make someone you hate disappear from this world, would you? Ayuko has an opportunity to get rid of a girl she hates, one who always talks with her crush, and when she finds out her friends want her gone too, they devise a plan.
Definitely the weakest of the bunch for me. I think it's in large part because all the supernatural stuff happens at the end, so the bulk of the story is just girls being bitter about each other. I think the concept had potential, but it would've been neat if there were more little drops of the supernatural throughout the story. The ending was a bit of an out of left field twist. I think more could've been built up for that too, to make it feel less like, "Uh...okay???"
Shame the book ended on a weaker note, when I did enjoy the rest of them. Still 5 stars for the overall concept of the series, and the ones I enjoyed I really liked and still have me thinking about them days later. (I'm sure they'll float around in my head for a while too, they're fun ideas to play with.)
If you're into spooky stories, and don't mind that the target audience is younger girls, I'd say this series is worth picking up! I might check out later volumes too, this seems like a fun book series to dive in to.
For Japanese Learners:
I found this novel comparable to 時をかける少女. More of an N3 level (early intermediate), probably too difficult with only N4, and definitely easy at N2+. But given the fun nature of the stories, and how short they are, if you're somewhere in between N4 and N3, I think it could be worth checking out this series. Because of that, I'd say this may be a touch easier than 時をかける少女. (Especially for me, since there were more kanji, thankfully. But don't fret, all kanji have furigana!)
I will say the last story is a tad more difficult than the rest, since there is a bit of slang or shortened/contracted words, as well as vocabulary around festivals, shrines, etc.
If you think this novel is too difficult but love the idea of it and would like more approachable media to consume, I can recommend "Nightmares For Sale", or "Hell Girl". Both manga follow similar concepts to this novel. :)
Not tl;dr:
I was so excited to read this book, and of course I had to read it this month for the spoops! When I first saw this book series, I was immediately reminded of the English book series "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark", which was a childhood classic with horrifically frightening art. And while the art in this series is...very much tamer, haha, a standard 'manga' look that matches the cover, I was nevertheless looking forward to reading it. And I certainly wasn't disappointed!
The novel is broken down into four short stories. They're connected via our guide through this 'Screaming School'--Yomi, who provides prologues and epilogues for each one, and also opens and closes out the book.
(I discuss the Japanese level at the end of this review.)
Story #1 - 悪魔のゲーム: Mio comes from a struggling family and can't afford the latest games, which makes things difficult for her at school, feeling left out amongst her friends. But one day walking home, she stumbles upon a game system lying by the side of the road. Thinking herself lucky, she decides to play the game. But she quickly learns that how she plays reflects in her real life too, and things soon turn too real.
This one was a fun one. Very good introduction to the series. Even though I quickly could guess the ending (and effectively get it right, though there was a little twist I didn't consider), it was still a blast reading through everything to get there. So many tropes also reminded me of other stories or media I grew up with, which also made me feel more connected to it. The author did a good job building up the tension, and when the first dark twist happens, you're like, "Damn, there it is!" xD
I think this one has more of a scary vibe for kids, because of the modern-ness of it. Plenty of kids have gaming systems or play games on their phones/computers, so to have that potentially play a mystical role in your life, especially a dark twisted one, can definitely be frightening.
I do love the epilogue, and the touch of analysis of the character Mio and her decisions.
Story #2 - エンドレス鬼ごっこ: An expert at the game of tag, Chika always outplayed everyone. But one day, her friend tells her of a spooky dream, where an unknown figure with skinny legs and bare feet chases you around the school at night, and the only way to not have the dream is to tell someone else about it. What happens if the figure catches you? Well, you'll have to find out.
Ooooh being chased is always a scary thing for me. And the concept is a fun one too, especially for a kid's book. I know it's not original, but it's still a scary idea, haha. The rumor of the dream spreads quickly, as more and more people have it. I will say I was a little disappointed at the reveal of the potential source of the "oni". I feel like it loses its magic a bit there, being an overused trope imo, but I suppose not a bad lesson to still instill upon children.
The ending with this one--oof x'D
Story #3 - 処刑教室: What would you do if your classroom had a cursed chair, one that would punish anyone who sits in it for their misdeeds? How would your classmates act? Would you turn on them? Or would they turn on you?
I loved the concept of this one. The build up was pretty slow, but definitely worth it. It's a morbidly fun idea to think about as a story, and it being set in a school with children made me think of 'Lord of the Flies'. I won't spoil the ending, but I will say it kept me wondering what was going to happen, and I certainly didn't expect it to go the route it did. This is for sure one taking up free real estate in my mind, haha.
Story #4 - 生けにえクラブ: If you could make someone you hate disappear from this world, would you? Ayuko has an opportunity to get rid of a girl she hates, one who always talks with her crush, and when she finds out her friends want her gone too, they devise a plan.
Definitely the weakest of the bunch for me. I think it's in large part because all the supernatural stuff happens at the end, so the bulk of the story is just girls being bitter about each other. I think the concept had potential, but it would've been neat if there were more little drops of the supernatural throughout the story. The ending was a bit of an out of left field twist. I think more could've been built up for that too, to make it feel less like, "Uh...okay???"
Shame the book ended on a weaker note, when I did enjoy the rest of them. Still 5 stars for the overall concept of the series, and the ones I enjoyed I really liked and still have me thinking about them days later. (I'm sure they'll float around in my head for a while too, they're fun ideas to play with.)
If you're into spooky stories, and don't mind that the target audience is younger girls, I'd say this series is worth picking up! I might check out later volumes too, this seems like a fun book series to dive in to.
For Japanese Learners:
I found this novel comparable to 時をかける少女. More of an N3 level (early intermediate), probably too difficult with only N4, and definitely easy at N2+. But given the fun nature of the stories, and how short they are, if you're somewhere in between N4 and N3, I think it could be worth checking out this series. Because of that, I'd say this may be a touch easier than 時をかける少女. (Especially for me, since there were more kanji, thankfully. But don't fret, all kanji have furigana!)
I will say the last story is a tad more difficult than the rest, since there is a bit of slang or shortened/contracted words, as well as vocabulary around festivals, shrines, etc.
If you think this novel is too difficult but love the idea of it and would like more approachable media to consume, I can recommend "Nightmares For Sale", or "Hell Girl". Both manga follow similar concepts to this novel. :)
Displaying 1 of 1 review