阿修羅ガール

by Otaro Maijo, 舞城 王太郎

   『煙か土か食い物』でミステリー作家としてデビューし、第15回三島由紀夫賞候補作となった処女短編集『熊の場所』で、圧倒的な存在感を見せつけた舞城王太郎の長編小説。主人公による軽妙な口語体で、まくしたてるようにストーリーを展開させていく独特の手法はそのままに、『熊の場所』の重要なモチーフであった、危険で暴力に満ちた世界観を、現実と妄想、現世と冥界までをも巻き込んで、さらにダイナミックに押し広げた作品に仕上がっている。

   好きでもないクラスメートの佐野明彦となぜか「やっちゃった」アイコは「自尊心」を傷つけられて、佐野の顔面に蹴りを入れ、ホテルから逃げ出す。翌日、佐野との一件で同級生たちにシメられそうになるアイコだが、逆に相手をボコって、佐野が失踪したことを知らされる。佐野の自宅には切断された指が送られてきたという。アイコは、思いを寄せる金田陽治とともに、佐野の行方を追うが…。

   同級生の誘拐事件、幼児3人をバラバラにした「グルグル魔人」、中学生を標的とした暴動「アルマゲドン」。謎の男・桜月淡雪、ハデブラ村に住む少女・シャスティン、グッチ裕三に石原慎太郎。暴力的でグロテスクな事件とキャラクターたちが交錯する中を全力疾走するアイコの物語からは、限りなくピュアなラブ・ストーリーが垣間見えてくる。純文学やミステリーといったジャンルを遥かに飛びこえた、文学そのものの持つパワーと可能性を存分に味わっていただきたい。（中島正敏）

Genres: Japan, Horror, Fiction, Japanese Literature, Contemporary, Novels, Mystery

284 pages, Tankobon Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Otaro Maijo ( 舞城王太郎) is a Japanese Novelist.

Reviews

[Quiet · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yet another book from Haikasoru that starts out on a very high note and then suddenly comes crashing into a flaming horrible mess.

The first 100 pages of the story--- absolutely excellent. We're put into the mind of a rather normal and typically atrocious, teenage girl who doesn't care about much other than friends, sex, and western movies. From her point of view we get a very hard, insipid, violent, and confused look at the world as is typical of so many teenagers (and no; she isn't aware of how narrow-minded she is like all teenagers neither).
There's built up, rather rapidly, this story about two things; the Round-And-Round Devil, who is a serial murderer loose in the area, and the Voice of Heaven, which is a fanatic internet forum that is used to organize attacks on middle-schoolers, whom they believe will eventually be the Devil. It's all rather ridiculous and, because of our young narrator, excessively over-the-top and exaggerated, but at the same time that's what makes this story so good for those first 100 pages.
There's some debate about teenage narrators. Some want them to be intelligent and young and beautiful and confident and everything---- others, like myself, want them to be actually teenagers, and this means outrageous, reactionary, anxious, confused, and pretty damn stupid. Because that's what being a teenager is, and while so many of us neglect our teenage years, confuse our own selves about who and what we actually were, some of us don't, and I'm one of them. So when I read a teenage narrator, I want a real teenager--- and "Asura Girl" absolutely delivers on this front. It may not be easy to read, you may want to punch her in the mouth, but all the same she, as so many teenagers, simply must go through these phases of excessive and ignorant behavior, and I, personally, find this a refreshing trip down memory lane, even a triumphant one.



But! The story crashes and burns right after. Ultimately our teenager is knocked out cold in an event and the story takes a totally different turn for 90% of the remaining book, or about 100 pages. THere's this 40 page dream-sequence which is very typical of Japanese writers but is something western readers hate (I'm certainly one of them (because nobody cares about dreams because they don't mean anything beyond transitional insight that can only be understood by real activity, which is going to happen in the story regardless wasted time on some silly dream that's always overplayed in terms of lucidity and creativity, which is doubly the case here)), and this is followed by some 40-50 page black Fairy-Tale that, for anyone who has read Haikasoru's "Summer, Fireworks, and My Corpse," will find themselves immediately familiar with in terms of tone and imagery. It's very violent and dreamlike, and while it is enjoyable (albeit over-staying its welcome quite a bit) it's completely alien to the text so far--- it's inappropriate, inapplicable, and, ultimately, a way too lengthy metaphor that should have, and could have, been told organically through the initial story, the one that everyone likes.


It just totally falls off. The story concludes in the last 15 pages by returning to the original protagonist and story which hastily tries to wrap everything up, although one plot, which is in fact the initial plot, is seemingly forgotten about and left unanswered. I should probably give the book a 1 because of this, but because of how awful the second 100 pages were I just really didn't care anymore anyway.


So the first 100 pages are worthwhile; an authentic character, a fun mystery. But after that the story is just trying, as is so usual with Haikasoru novels, way too hard to be creative and edgy. I don't know if Japanese readers respond to this overt drama and extensive metaphor (but that is also very simple metaphor, might I add: it's just long in telling), but I myself don't, and I certainly understand why so many western readers haven't embraced more Japanese writers just yet. The stories are, for one, regularly interrupted with far-too-different styles and structures, usually right at the initial climax, and furthermore the utility of "darkness," whether outrageous violence or soap-opera scenarios, is just so bluntly transparent and dull.


I'll keep searching for more Japanese authors, but Otaro Maijo has certainly left the list.

[Sean O'Hara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a real curate's egg of a book -- parts of it are excellent, but it's mixed in with all the bits that aren't.

The first and last parts of the book deal with a serial killer who's murdered three children in the Chofu neighborhood of Tokyo. Some ass hats on a 2chan type message board, inspired by Sakakibara Seito, jump to the conclusion that the killer must be a young teen, and so set out to kick the ass of all the middle schoolers in Chofu. No, it doesn't make any damn sense, but have you seen the shit 4chan gets up to?

Unfortunately while all this interesting stuff is going on, we're stuck in the head of a vapid teenage girl who is utterly oblivious to everything around her until the shit hits the fan -- or, more accurately, until the spinning motion of the fan blades flicks a bit of shit at her, forcing her to take notice. And even then she keeps getting distracted by thoughts of cute guys. And not even like in crappy YA novels where the heroine is always ignoring dangerous situations to think about the cute guy who's right next to her. No, no, no, our alleged protagonist is constantly thinking about how she might use the situation to lure the guy she likes over.

Oh, and did I mention that there's a guy she slept with -- not the guy she likes, but just some guy she was curious to fuck -- who goes missing and may or may not be a victim of the serial killer. Oh, no, actually I didn't forget that. The book did. That plotline gets dropped about a quarter of the way into the story, and when it's brought up again, it's like it's a thing that happened but nobody cares.

There's also some stuff about psychic powers that makes no sense, comes out of nowhere, and doesn't fit the tone of the story at all.

So, what's the good part? Well, the middle third of the book is a series of short stories that turn out to kinda be related to what's going on, but really feel like the author needed to pad things out to novel length and stuck on a couple incomplete manuscripts. One is a trippy dream sequence where the nature of reality shifts about at random like Naked Lunch, and would be very cool if it ended up somewhere interesting. The better of the stories is a fairy tale -- in the most twisted, unexpurgated tradition of the Grimms -- about a group of kids lost in an evil forest. This felt like a cross between Angela Carter's more whacked-out stories and Ralph Adam Cram's The Dead Valley. If it had been published separtely, I'd give it four stars, but mixed in here, it's only able to bring the book up to two.

[Maddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really want an adaptation of this book directed by Sion Sono!

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

hammer-head in my skull

I'd been hesitant to pick up this book given it's lackluster reviews, and certainly I can see why someone might not like this book. At first I wasn't sure I would like it either—the sex, violence, and edge of Armageddon was certainly the weakest part for me. Which is not to say I disliked it; I was certainly engaged and entertained, but at the same time I found myself asking "Was that really necessary, Maijo?". Though I did enjoy all the references to American movies. (As someone who reads a lot of Japanese novels, you sometimes get used to glazing over pop-culture references that mean absolutely nothing to you.)

But Armageddon ends and gives way to the surrealism, body horror, and insanity of The Gate. I was some mixture of captivated, confused, disgusted, and angry through these three dream sequences. Jump-Start My Heart then gives frankly a more solid conclusion to this madness than I would have expected, as Aiko's journey (?) comes to its monastic end. The calmness of this chapter was almost therapeutic after all that had proceeded it.

All in all, a great read. Please translate more of this man's books.

[Kakuzō Akutagawa · Rating 4 out of 5]

“They told me it would be okay, so I went ahead and did it. But of course it got messed up.”

Some quick thoughts after reading Maijo Otaro’s Asura Girl.


Context:

This book was Maijo’s second attempt at writing “pure literature,” (preceded by his short story collection “place of the bear) and it found success by winning the 16th Yukio Mishima Literature award. This is also, quite sadly, his only officially translated novel in English. Other of his works officially translated into English include The Faust short story Drill hole in my brain, and manga series Like ID: INVADED #BRAKE BROKEN, and spotless Love: This Love Cannot Be Any More Beautiful.

Story:

Sex, violence, destruction, youth.
Aiko, the protagonist, is living in quite a weird time. People are rioting in the streets beating and killing middle schoolers in search of the Round-and-round Devil, a murderer who has been tormenting the city of Chofu. One day Aiko’s classmate disappears and she’s the main suspect, and on top of that someone has asked for her head in a social media site called the Voice of Heaven, what the hell will happen?

Enjoyment:

Well, it was a nice book.
A very short read, but some amazing moments.
I can’t say I didn’t have a lot of fun reading it, some of the scenes had me incredibly on edge, wondering what the hell would happen next and how much more bizarre the entire thing would get.
It was a fun read, for the most part, these are my favorite chapters in order(best to worst):

1. Armageddon (amazing, the end of the chapter was so amazingly good).
2. Kickstart my heart (also quite good, it wasn’t as crazy as the other ones but the conclusion really stuck with me. Also, the name of the chapter is so raw).
3. The gate (quite a lot of fun, it had 3 subchapters, the first one was quite tedious and boring, the second one was such a good horror thriller, and the third one was very great).

Translation:

This is the first time I read a Maijo novel in English (and if this tells you anything, I'll definitely have to give it a reread in Japanese).

Before this I’ve read in Japanese Maijo’s: “Smoke, soil or sacrifices” “The childish Darkness” “The world is made out of locked rooms” and “Jorge Joestar”

The translation of Asura girl is great, it does a perfect job of making the book have a good fast flow, and in general quite a great experience.

The only things that I found of the translation tilting me the wrong way were very minuscule:

-In the end, on the author’s profile, Maijo’s first work “Smoke, soil or sacrifices'' was wrongly translated as “smoke, soil or food.” This makes me quite mad as it’s one of my favorite Maijo books, and just spending 30 seconds looking up the book on the internet would’ve shown the correct name for the book. (as the cover of the Japanese edition of smoke soil or sacrifices has the title already in English). Spend some time doing research.

-A reference to Maijo’s Natsukawa saga was lost in translation. In the context of Asura girl this was a perfect translation, but taking into account Maijo’s previous works it was a wrong way of approaching it. I won't type it out as it would spoil smoke, soil, or sacrifices, but it’s a name whose meaning got lost when translated the way Snyder did it.

-The name of the second chapter was translated to “The gate”. In Japanese, the name for this chapter was 三門 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanmon). I agree, a translation of “Sanmon” is quite complex, but come on, in the context of asura girl, and the contents of the chapter just translating it as “Three gates” would’ve been thematically perfect. As Aiko has to go through “3 gates” through the chapter.

The verdict:

Good book, had quite a lot of fun, and more than anything I’m excited to see how it fits in the context of the maijoverse.
Not the best Maijo book I’ve read (At the moment I would place it at the very end on a list from best to worst, but also, I've only read like 4 Maijo books aside from this one).
Maijo definitely can write amazing stories, but in my humble opinion this wasn’t the Maijo book that should’ve gotten officially translated, it has quite a lot of things people who haven’t read Maijo before may not like, and it’s not a great introduction to his works. I can totally see why people gave it such bad scores in Goodreads.

In any case, it had some amazing moments that I really really loved, and Aiko as a narrator is quite interesting, she doesn’t have the best personality nor makes reasonable choices throughout the story but damn are her monologues fun to read.

I’m definitely going to give it a reread in Japanese when I get my hands on a copy. When I do, I don't think my opinion on the book may change, but I’ll definitely see if more things regarding how it was translated into English pop up.

Asura girl by Maijo Otaro is a 7/10 (ooof, it hurts me to rate it so low when I’m such a big Maijo fan)


UPDATE:

Read the book in Japanese and decided to make a twitter thread pointing out the differences between Japanese and english editions:

https://twitter.com/AkutagawaKakuzo/s...

[ポピ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Hilary Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well that was weird.

[Dylan Bjustrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was fucking insane. Right from the first page there’s sex, and later on a crazy message board, a huge fight in a massive city with causalities, and did I mention that middle schoolers are involved in these brutal fights? All of this is told from the point of view of a teenage girl named Aiko, who is as batshit crazy as the rest of the novel. Her narration was very refreshing, I feel lots of novels try to have teen narrators that are perfect and think like adults, so it’s refreshing to see a young narrator that’s not perfect. The story itself was also very creative, and I was always wondering what was going to happen next.

The story isn’t perfect though. I wish the story stuck with the murder mystery premise and didn’t veer off into bizarre dream sequences and talk of personal Gods and Asura, though I still enjoyed these segments very much. I also wish that Aiko told the story throughout the whole novel, in the second part there are three stories, Aiko narrates one but the other two are different. These new narrators weren’t awful but I loved the way Aiko told the story and was kind of sad to see her not be the prime storyteller.

I also think the novel could’ve been longer, so the parts at the end could have possibly been fleshed out more. Since when you talk about how you view gods, and if this ties into the main story, you do need lots of pages to explain it properly. I still think that Mr. Maijo did a good job with the length of the story, it never felt like it dragged on, the pace was always quick.

I know this book probably isn’t everyone’s cup of tea (judging by the reviews) but I sure as hell enjoyed it. I think that this book would make a good library book, just something you check out when you’re not sure you’ll like it, but the blurb on the back interested you enough that you want to give it a shot. A great book (in my opinion) and one I would recommend to lovers of Japanese novels, and people who like strange, unique, and bizarre books in general.

[Tracy Phan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure I followed the storyline....

Too many stories which are not so well-connected going on in this book e. As a big fan of logical thinking and character development, it failed to convince me and yes, I did skip some sections of the book and just try to see the ending, finally, put together everything afap before getting lost in those details.
In the end, I enjoyed reading the first and last part of it but will not recommend this book for others.

[Christopher Lasasso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disjointed, very imaginative, but highly interesting in the way it manipulates form and content. I found the whole concept of digital communities and the toxicity they can create to be uniquely approached and I want to explore them further. I found the subplots to be very disconnected at first but they tied together in a very thought-provoking way by the end.

[Samantha · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t remember where I picked this book up, but I genuinely had high hopes for it. I am a big fan of messy stories and messy characters, and the chaos that can ensue when they take matters into their own hands. This book, however, is horrible. And I feel bad having to describe it that way, but it is genuinely the only way I can describe it.

Firstly, it’s difficult to read. It’s written informally and oftentimes in short, choppy, repetitive sentences. This is meant to mimic the thinking of a teenage girl, but instead makes it feel like the story is dragging rather than getting to the point. The protagonist is also almost never focused on what is actually happening in front of her, and will just trail off onto random inner dialogues about anything else, most of which is not very interesting and continues to drag. It feels like a first draft, or stream of consciousness, in the worst way possible. I wasn’t even that far in before I was internally begging the author to just cut the fat and tell me what is supposed to be happening in the actual story.

The characters themselves are all pretty shallow and unlikable. The protagonist is maybe the worst, which is unfortunate since we are stuck in her head. She is clearly meant to be un-self aware and naive and shallow, but I never found anything else going on. I love characters with negative traits, but a few positive ones would be nice. And even if there aren’t any positive traits, the negative ones should be at least fun to read. But they’re not. The protagonist is sadly very very annoying and unlikable and dull. Sometimes she is so oblivious that I could not believe it. And that never changed.

I would not recommend this book to anyone. It is not scary, it is not suspenseful, it doesn’t even do the mystery very well. It is an annoying and erratic read, and you would find better stories reading any run of the mill self-published fanfiction.

[Tarlo Viola · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was quite startled when the text showed what kind of themes it wanted to address. Last week I was reflecting on how the Internet was particularly affecting someone because of being in touch with the intimate side of so many people all day long, and BAM I find those exact thoughts in a book. There is also to say that I thought about these things fifteen years after the advent of smartphones, with the internet (and "secret" contact with people) becoming fully integrated with physical life; whereas this book I just finished came out in 2003. Asura Girl can be a bit visionary in its ideas.

It's interesting the way the book is structured: several stories with completely different characters and contexts but intersecting and influencing each other; in itself it's nothing surprising but it synchronizes perfectly with the discourse that people's egos are formed by the constant gathering of information obtained from others, until they become, inevitably, a creature composed of so many pieces of people stuck together. Imagination plays an important role in this plot, and the author allows himself to take everything to a metanarrative level as we become aware that Asura Girl is also a book, an imaginary world told and derivative from the ego of another human, and will become one of the pieces that forms our individuality. And we have absolutely no control over how the creature within us will evolve.

[The Final Song ❀ · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise is a interesting one, involving a series of mysterious murder, a cabal of internet vigilantes that go out and punch and kill middle school kids looking at the murderer and a teenager girl mind in the middle of everything.
The first and final part are really good and riveting, I feel like it actually captures how teenagers think (Meaning its a clusterfuck)
But the middle part... Man that would have been better as an anime or any other visual medium, really.
But to be fair I was interested at first on this one because the author involvement on ID: INVADED an anime series that took me by surprise this year.
So it was a fun read, but really would prefer reading a manga about this.

[John Hills · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first half or so felt like a Sion Sono movie. It was very typically Japanese and all a bit over the top, but also entertaining. Then it just completely fell off a cliff. If it wasn't such a short book I wouldn't have bothered finishing it. The ‘dream sequence' when Aiko was unconscious was honestly one of the worst things I've ever read. The ending was even worse, trying to tie up the story and the psychology behind it in ten or so pages. Avoid this book

[Christina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had so much promise! It starts out strong, it had a great protagonist, good pacing, and a mystery that seemed to have many layers. However, the boom quickly loses the original style that we open with and the audience is plunged into a rapidly switching story that leaves the reader unsatisfied. I really wanted to like this book, but by the end I was wondering what had happened to the original book I began to read.

[dylanakamura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually one of my favorite books ever. The way Aiko, a selfish bitch of a girl, really comes around to a sort of casual enlightenment, an acceptance of her at her worst and the epiphany she has about what it means to be a good person. It’s just so fantastic. The multi-faceted way her character exists too and the way her world and the world at large overlap, blend, and become one is so awesome.

[Mary Castillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

started off really great but at the end I was like wtf ok then

[Ciara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wreck. I love it.

[kerrycat · Rating 4 out of 5]

very trippy - as one might expect from the creator of ID: Invaded

[Hot Dog · Rating 3 out of 5]

So random

[Ayesha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I need to lay down.

[Shinya]

これが文学賞とったのか！？と言う気分になる。なんといってもカオスだ。魔界に���んだりシメで逆にボコボコにしたりする。しかしやはり今回も愛なのか、と思う。付録の川を泳いで渡る蛇の方が遥かに文学みたいに見えるだろう。しかしこちらは｢そうなるよう｣に作られたもので、阿修羅ガールのようなロケットパワーは感じない。雰囲気としては煙か土か食い物に近いと思う。

[Ivy Jacinta · Rating 1 out of 5]

started off strong, the dream is what i really hated the most. its pointless and made me dnf

[Feliza Casano · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Read the full review at Girls in Capes.)

Asura Girl opens with Aiko reflecting, in the first person, on the loss of her self-respect because she’s just had sex with a boy in her class out of sheer curiosity, and he ended up being a creep. Needless to say, this is sort of an odd start to a book, especially one that — based on its description — I’d assumed was supposed to be aimed at a young adult reader.

I realized by the end of the third page that this book definitely wasn’t intended for what the US considers the teen market, though I wouldn’t be shocked if it worked for the Japanese market. The language is rough the way a scrappy teenager’s language is always rough, and the violent and sexual content makes it much better for older audiences.

[Lori Kircher · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 stars. I loved it, all the short stories intertwined and has some deep psychological meaning. The characters were relatable (especially Aiko), and have personality (loved Yoji's personality). The plot was engaging. I loved to read about the different perspectives in this book (round and round devil for instance). Yet, there were some grammar errors, but it's fine considering this book is a translation from Japanese and some words cannot be translated. I loved to read about the culture of Japan. Also, I found a lot of WTF moments in there and the main character, Aiko's, narration was hilarious. This book is not for young teens or for the squeamish, 17+ age and up. I would highly recommend this book and definitely reread it.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a crazy book. It starts off as I expected from a Japanese novel - gritty, open with a flawed and believable teen narrator with serious issues.
Then it all goes a bit too weird.
Aiko has an alter-ego she retreats to sometimes -a Swedish girl called Kirsten. At one point we get a crazy over-long, dream sequence, followed by a gruesome fairy tale starring Kirsten.

I found it both difficult to follow and yet interesting but by the end it all sort of made sense and came together - even if it was a bit rushed. However, it bothers me that a plot point remained unresolved.
Good read though. Weird, but I find most Japanese novels gave a slight eccentricity to them!

[Rhiannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um. Well, I'm not really sure where to start with this one. It started pretty well, with the drama at school over Sano, and Aiko's crush on Yoji. But then I started to get a little confused around the middle. Specifically when we were following Kirsten in Sweden. To be honest, I don't think I really liked the book - it took me a lot longer to read then I would have liked - and I agree that it got almost unbearable in the middle and end. The end was lack luster too: was anything resolved? Not really. 3/5.

[Sana Burton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not what I expected it to be, which is not a bad thing. It starts out as a thriller-type deal about a serial killer and a teenage boy's disappearance, before taking a rapid turn into surreal horror, shared conciousness, and a tangent about a Swedish girl named Kerstin who was previously introduced as the main character's alter ego. Its weird, and kind of confusing and hard to follow, but it (mostly) works. Aiko isn't exactly nice or even a particularly good person for most of the book, but I really liked her voice, and it feels pretty true to that of an unstable 17 year old.

[Sae-chan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is NOT a mainstream literature. The blurb said something like a light mystery novel or something along that line. Big lie. It has nothing to do with murder, it has nothing to do with promiscuity. Hell, it should not have had the third part either. Just part one and two were perfect.

This book was a 3-star, the extra star was for whatever Maijo-san was smoking before writing the second part.

[Alex Spedding · Rating 2 out of 5]

As many others have stated, this book starts of really well, the first 100 or so pages are amazing and I had very high hopes for the latter half of the book. Then it becomes a trainwreck and I thought maybe this would only be for ten pages or so, but no, it's the rest of the book and it gets progressively worse.

Major disappointment especially with the amazing start, if only the author continued with what they had there then the novel would have been amazing.