Eko Eko Azarak

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

This is a decent horror anthology if you are looking for one. Nothing overly special, but I was never bored with it, and I qu9ite like the attention to detail in using actual occult terminology as reference for the stories in question. A bit of continuity is also present as well with Misa Kuroi's warnings of the dangers of Black Magic, but for the most part each chapter can be read on their own in any order. That all said, this is a very dated manga, and my expectations were set by the 1970s art-style that kind of reminds me of the Ranma manga, not ... in feeling, but in how the characters are drawn and rendered. When drawing animals, objects, rain and unique clothing the mangaka shows a strength at really using texture to add to an otherwise stock manga template, but that doesn't change the fact that the characters feel like they are straight out of the time period without deviation. 18 chapters in and every character as black hair, pale skin, and a black uniform despite Misa Kuroi constantly switching schools. It was something that caught me off guard when reading chapters back-to-back, but I did get used to it after about twelve or so chapters. One thing that has yet to do so however, is how samey the character designs are of the side characters across the various chapters, due to the above mentioned dated style. Misa Kuroi has a strong design, and a few ones that feel distinct do pop up, but for the most part I'd be hard-pressed to pick any character and identify which chapter they are from on appearance alone.

As for the stories being told, they are nothing special. As an anthology series where the setting changes after each chapter where Misa Kuroi changes schools, character development is non-existent, and each chapter lives and dies off of whether or not the occult imagery and trivia hold your interest, and not all chapters do. This is only further limited by the chapter length of only twenty-ish pages per chapter, meaning that the closest thing to character development is hints and allusions to the protagonist's past. It is fortunate that unlike the rest of the manga, Misa Kuroi is a lot more unique in terms of design, possessing a standout beauty in appearance, and with the motivation to use dark magic to bring a punishing justice upon those who have committed wrongs.

Over all I like this manga despite its flaws and would recommend it to anyone who just wants a horror anthology for a quick read, or anyone interested in the occult phenomena, symbols and rituals that the manga references.

This is fairly old or old school. If you check the publishing date, this was made in 1970s. And it shows.

The manga feels similar to "Outer Zone" in storytelling, and has passing resemblance to Mephisto and City Hunter, except that quality level is much lower. What does it mean exactly... the faces are unlike faces in modern manga, and have portrayal is more realistic.... on main character and pretty side characters. However, at the same time, there's a horde of comically proportioned extras everywhere, unlike anything we'd see in manga now. The "realistic" faces resemble visuals of City Hunter, but have less skill, while ... the "comically deformed" characters resemble early works of Go Nagai. On occasion the manga tries to draw important scenes with impact and those are done in "increased realism" style with heavy shadows, and that makes them feel similar to ... Mephisto. Except quality level is lower.

And when it comes to storytelling, it resembles Outer Zone, because the story format is rather simplistic (by modern standards) and the stories resolve quickly without a lot of dancing around. Every chapter is self-contained, pretty much, which is baffling at the same time, because the world does not react to some rather horrific events, and in the next chapter nothing happens because of it. The characters are simple, with one pronounced characteristic, and they stick with that.

It is rather difficult to review this work properly, but I can say that this is not great by modern standard. The art style is interesting, but is not amazing even by 1970s standard, is rather lacking. The stories are rather simple, without food for though, comedy, or something that would make you react strongly. Maybe it was great in 1970s, I don't know, but right now they often feel very exagerrated.

If anything, it might be worth checking this for historical value, but don't expect a masterpiece.

4/10 Story
5/10 Art
3/10 Character
4/10 Enjoyment
4/10 Overall.