D-Frag! has a 9th volume of broad comedy and gaming, though the gaming will always take a backseat to the comedy. Will we see the main couple again?ĪNNA: So far behind on this series. SEAN: And Say “I Love You” has a 15th volume. Kodansha gives us the 19th volume of Attack on Titan, which once again comes with a Special Edition that has a DVD for those inclined.ĪSH: That it does! The second half of No Regrets. It’s hard to keep up anymore.ĭark Horse has a 2nd and final volume of the Blood C spinoff Demonic Moonlight.
SEAN: Next week is a huge week, with Viz releasing a pile plus stuff from other publishers.
Even though I’m still working out my feelings regarding the conclusion of the series, over all I found it to be worthwhile.įiled Under: REVIEWS Tagged With: after school nightmare, Go! Comi, manga, Setona Mizushiro Manga the Week of 8/3 (And for the most part, I actually really liked the darkness of the series.) Still, I’m glad that I finally finished reading After School Nightmare. That’s certainly a legitimate interpretation, but to me it came across as exceptionally depressing as though the manga is needlessly or at least unnecessarily cruel. I think in part After School Nightmare was intended to be uplifting or even empowering as the characters find the strength to survive. Although almost everything is explained by the end of the series, that explanation seems to effectively render meaningless all of the character development, their struggles and triumphs as they grow and overcome personal strife. In concept, I like what Mizushiro was attempting to do with the series, however I ultimately found the execution and much of the resolution to be unsatisfying. Honestly, After School Nightmare, Volume 10 leaves me feeling conflicted.
In the end, there is a reason for the ominous and disquieting atmosphere and a purpose behind everything that the students have been through. After School Nightmare, Volume 10 addresses many of the mysteries and answers many of the questions raised by the story and setting of the manga. However, while Mizushiro leads readers down multiple dark and twisting paths over the course of the series, the true nature of the nightmares and of the school itself have been hinted at from the very beginning of the series. The boundaries of birth, life, rebirth, and death are much thinner than one might expect and very closely intertwined. The final volume of After School Nightmare is almost impossible to discuss without spoiling the entire series-it contains a fair number of plot twists and major revelations which greatly impact the understanding and interpretation of the manga as a whole. Every one of the students in the class must participate in the brutal, violent nightmares if they hope to leave the agony and anguish of their old lives behind. Mashiro’s fellow classmates, each dealing with their own traumas, are also in the position to graduate, but to accomplish that will require active change and desire on their part. Along with several other students, Mashiro was forced to confront and share his most personal fears, anxieties, and insecurities within a literal nightmare. Although he was always uncomfortable with who he was, in large part Mashiro started to reevaluate his self-identity when he was placed in a special after school class required to graduate. His body can’t be easily defined as either male or female and although he initially made the decision to live as a man, he has since realized that may not have been the correct choice to make. Mashiro has slowly come to terms with his gender identity, but it has been a struggle.
Sadly, that also means that the series is becoming more difficult to find with each passing year. Go! Comi no longer exists as a company and so After School Nightmarish has gone and currently remains out-of-print. A little over a year later the tenth volume was released in English by Go! Comi in 2009. After School Nightmare, Volume 10 was first published in Japan in 2008. However, while After School Nightmare continued to be unsettling, I am glad that I finally made a point to read the entire series. Despite finding the first few volumes compelling, I also found them to be challenging since many of the themes explored hit fairly close to home for me.
After School Nightmare is a dark and intense psychological fantasy with strong horror elements. Many years after reading the first volume of Setona Mizushiro’s manga series After School Nightmare, I have now read the tenth and final volume.