Jisatsu Circle

RED Dizziness
by radiantfire

Context:
For this review, I'll be analysing Jisatsu Circle by Usamaru Furuya. The concept of the series comes from a movie bearing the same title. While not a direct adaptation, it nonetheless comprises of the same elements: troubled children and suicide.

Story:
The suicidal dive of 54 schoolgirls at Shinjuku station is one of the most memorable opening sequences in any manga I have read. Gruesome and deeply biting, the opening jump alone sets what is profoundly a scary commentary on the state of Japanese contemporary society. It is on this note that Jisatsu Circle introduces one of the most disturbing stories I have ever experienced.

Art:
The horror theme of the manga is heavily accentuated by the art. Characters are drawn pragmatically, bodies are realistically ripped apart, and moods and emotions are easily conveyed through facial expressions. The odd styling of Furuya gives the series a strong grotesque frame of reference.

Character:
Saya is demented. All the girls in the club are demented. They mentally and physically break themselves down in order to gain a sense of happiness which is found, scarily enough, in their deaths. They are, in all sagacity, the fundamental source of horror in the series. Through them, Furuya highlights the importance and the profound fragility of life.

Enjoyment:
The series brought me a strange kind of experience. Although I was intensely engrossed by the story, I strongly felt a sensation of fragility. In all honesty, I have not read anything like it before. It brought me, what can be best described as, a bitter-sweet enjoyment.

Conclusion
Jisatsu Circle provides a terrifying and disturbing volume on Japanese contemporary society. It leaves us to question the very state of their world but also, our own mental states. A sickening and deeply depressing piece of horror, Jisatsu Circle is not one for the faint of heart.

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Disturbing.

I stumbled upon this manga while looking for something short to read. Suicide had always intrigued me as it is the very essence of giving up and finding solace in death. It is one of those few things that those with the will to live can never understand and for that reason I was eager to read this manga.

Story: Unfortunately this manga had more of a horror taste (perhaps to be expected) than a profound psychological one and I was left relatively unimpressed by the time I had reached the end. The manga is quick to shake you as it begins with a scene of mass suicide; nothing is explained. While the shock-factor may intrigue you at first as it did me, I quickly found that this was the only thing that enticed me to finish the story. They did not delve deeply into the minds of the girls who joined the club nor did they explain much of how the protagonist felt - things simply happened. And perhaps it is my lack of exposure to Japanese culture but in spite of the protagonist's tragic upbringing I felt myself unable to relate or feel sympathy while feeling that the whole thing was unrealistic and simply designed to be disgusting. By the end of the story nothing is resolved. There is no depth. The story succeeds in its role as a horror manga however and for that reason I reward it a7/10

Art: The art was quite good and effectively magnified the story's dark and disturbing flavor. Bodies are drawn in proportion and 'impacts' are realistic to say the least. The character's were all consistently ugly. They are not afraid to go the extra mile. Everything is done to make this manga look as disturbing as possible.

At this point I don't really feel like analyzing the rest of the categories as I normally do. The characters like the story, were 2-Dimensional at best. And while the story was enjoyable in the sense that it kept you reading - it won't add anything of value to your life. The story was not insightful. The art was not astonishing. The characters did not make you cry or smile. This manga was meant to disturb. It is designed to shock you. And that is what it does well. Had they gone more in depth into the idea of suicide, how and why it occurs for different individuals and considered the topic on several levels while maintaining the existing mood of disturbia, it would be much better. Overall: 6/10

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This short manga is real short, having only 6 chapters, in one hour or less you can read this full. This was also an adaptation of the movie.

Jisatsu Circle, is described in 2 words: Disturbing, Horrible. The theme of Suicide is the main core of this horror manga, and added some atrocious behavior, and illustration.

Story - Jisatsu Circle has an easy to comprehend plot that is about suicide. At first the plot will make the reader think why they did that, and the story progress through that. There is one survivor of the incident and she is the main character of the manga. The only problem with this is most of the time the story depicts horror, not essential plot and information. Most pages were filled with filth, gore, ew, yuck, pages that can make the manga 'horrific', but at the end made it 'horrible'.

Art -
Decent graphics, nudity (topless), and some visual violence (sexual, gore), The faces are quite forgettable, and some character had a very, very disturbing face.

Character
Characters are very simple, and stereotype. They are made to die (given the background, behavior, and nothing to think about them.) Supporting characters are doing their role, and most of the time they are really sinister, not telling they are just school girls.

Jisatsu Circle is a decent manga to read. You can burn time reading it, it is not really scary. You must just prepare for the graphic violence.

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One way i find my manga is through the reccomendations section of a manga i already read (and enjoyed). This manga was the recommendation of a recommendation (i typically dont read horrors, lol). Anyway, this manga is a good break to any other type of manga (unless its already horror your reading). A very MYSTERIOUS (in the good way) and yet DISTURBING manga at the same time.

Story:
Jisatsu Circle is a manga that truly shows what girls go through sometimes, with a lot of gore and body parts added into the mix. (as you will soon see when you read it *winks). Like most horror manga, it will start out with a massive shock factor that will horrify the reader into think "hey? WHY DID THIS HAPPEN? and try to read on". And there are many twists in the story, leading the reader to falsely suspect people. And some freaky un-explained occurrances.

Mainly focuses on suicide, girls' lives (what ppl dont know), gore, and cult.
DO NOT READ IF YOU CANT TOLERATE EXTREME GORE, even i (who i think can stand most shock factors, flinched a bit after viewing it in the first chapter :/ ).

Art:
The characters in this manga are drawn in an entirely different style than what most ppl who read mangas are used to. I must say, this is one of the only manga whose characters actually might look like real life ppl (the eyes are smaller, not all girls are lovey dovey and cute). For most people who like cute manga girls with large eyes and stuff, this manga might not seem appealing in this way, but the art is unique in this way and suits this manga well.

Character:
There is a lot of character information, and the main character Saya Kota develops very well in this manga. The manga is designed so that it is mostly told from a third person's point of view: Saya Kota's friend Kyoko. IMO the characters are very well explained in this manga, about how they came to be. Kyoko shares her memories of Saya from even when they were children, and how tragedy afflicted her friend. In the end, Kyoko is finally able to reach Saya just a bit, but it is too late...and the circle (or shall i say cycle) of horror continues.

Enjoyment:
Most ppl would enjoy the story more than the gore IMO. The story (along with explicit pictures shown) will make you feel horror, sadness, intensity, shock, and sometimes even disgust. But there are many twists, and you'll want to keep reading to find out the whole mystery of the story.

Overall:
Again, DO NOT READ THIS MANGA IF YOU CANT STAND GORE, otherwise it is a great manga, and is concise. Shows very well what girls may be suffering through, and has shock content and mystery to keep the reader on edge and the pages flippin.

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