A Final Note

Man, it has been a while. Shaggy here, to give a much-needed update on this whole Orochi business. And to let people that discover this blog know what's up with it. I am not scanlating anymore. I ran into a speedbump with Orochi and could not finish it. I waited, then lost faith in the project, then lost interest. It's not really anyone's fault; things like this just happen. The scans for the last bit of the series were not readily available, so the translator, molokidan, could not produce a translation, and I of course could not scanlate anything, and now here we are, four and a half years later, with nothing more to show. Sorry about that. Currently, I am unable to scanlate. I recently moved to a new state, I do not own a scanner, and I am out of practice with scanlating and do not have a ton of free time to devote to it. So, even if scans of the fourth volume are found (or made, by someone buying the book and scanning it themselves), I would be unable to work on the project, at least if it needed to be done in less than six months. That is why I am hereby handing the reins over to anyone who wants to take them. As a matter of fact, I am only writing this because The Legend Master sent me an email asking about the series, asking if he could take over. I am all for it. Anyone can, really, because like I said, I cannot work on the series right now. The problem is, any person that wants to work on Orochi will have to find the materials for themselves. You can find some info in the previous posts here, but I will include some of it here: There are four kanzenban (really big volumes) of Orochi. The first three have been scanlated, so only the fourth and final book is left. [Ju-Ni] Vicissitude was the original scanner of the series and may or may not have access to the fourth volume. molokidan was the original translator for the first three volumes and may or may not be able to translate the fourth volume if scans are found/made. You can try contacting either of them, but I have not spoken to either in years and do not know what they have been up to. And I doubt either would remember me too well, since I only had a little bit of contact, concerning only this single, mostly-unknown series. Also, it seems that the download links have been deleted. Unfortunately, I cannot reupload the chapters because my computer died a while back, and I lost all of my copies. They can be found on various manga-reading sites, I am sure, but I would appreciate it if someone with original copies could upload them on Mediafire and send me the links. I am proud of the work I did on Orochi and would like to have the chapters. Thank you, everyone that has read my work on Orochi! I hope you enjoyed it, and remember - I just did grunt work. Kazuo Umezu wrote and drew this series, and molokidan translated it so we English speakers could read it. They deserve far more praise than I. If anyone can continue and finish this series, please let me know, so I can read the rest of it! And if I can help, send me an email or leave a comment. I promise I will check more often than I have over the past few years, heehee. Hope you have lots of nightmares!

Orochi Chapter 7 (Manga Release)

It's finally here! The second and final chapter of the third kanzenban of Orochi!! "Battle" tells the story of a young boy and his father. I can't go into it too much without giving stuff away, but it was well worth the wait.

I know Japan has made movie versions of a few horror manga titles (including a few Tomie movies based on Junji Ito's character as well as Umezu's own The Drifting Classroom), but I wonder if anybody over there has ever thought of making this into a movie. If they haven't, they really should. It wouldn't really be a horror movie, more drama with some very startling things, but it would be damn good.

Anyways, get ready for an incredibly long story that will (hopefully) give you a lot to think about. And a lot to shiver with horror at.

Best-quality (leveled and small file size; done by Anethum graveoles):
http://www.mediafire.com/?ynwthn1meod

Low-quality:
http://www.mediafire.com/?myzezjgtxzn
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ZBVDIGET

High-quality:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RWGHHYHH
(Only Megaupload because it is 280 MB)

Also, some news about the future of Orochi - Thanks to a bit of info from NymphStealer (part of KuroKishakai, who did the first chapter of Orochi and half of the second chapter), I asked the person that had scanned the first three volumes of the series, [Ju-Ni] Vicissitude, if he had the fourth and final volume, and he said that he did! He said that he would scan it, and the trusty translator, molokidan, can get to translating it as soon as the job is done. I can't say when to expect the next chapter, but it should be coming eventually. Just keep checking here for details, as I'll post whenever something becomes concrete. Enjoy the chapter!

Update on Orochi

Yesterday, I got the translation for chapter 7 of Orochi from the translator, molokidan. I've started working on it already, but it'll still be a long time before it's done. This chapter is over 200 pages and will finish the third kanzenban. I haven't read it yet, but molokidan says that he thinks it has the best ending out of all the stories.

I've got a couple of things on my plate right now, including an upcoming anime convention, and that coupled with the many pages in this chapter means that I definitely won't have the chapter done before the end of the month, but unless something horrible happens, I should have it done by the end of May, probably long before. Look forward to it!

Midori (1992)

I'm still waiting on the translation of chapter 7 of Orochi, so I figured in the meantime, I'd get back to this blog's original purpose - sharing my opinion of all things horror. This time, the dish is Midori, a rather odd movie. It's based on a manga by Suehiro Maruo and was created by just one guy, Hiroshi Harada. It is also very hard to find, though like (almost) everything else, it can be found on the web.

I haven't read much of Maruo's work, only two things making up three volumes: Ultra-Gash Inferno, which I hated because it seemed to be nonsensical and gross simply for the sake of being gross; and The Laughing Vampire, which I enjoyed quite a bit, for reasons I am unsure of. I didn't know how to feel about Maruo's manga after reading those, but watching this movie made up my mind. I may not like all his stuff, but he does deserve to be respected. His work can carry a lot of meaning, if you're willing to look for it. And can get past the graphic depictions of sex and violence.

Getting back to the movie, Midori tells a simple story. A young girl with nowhere to go has to rely on a stranger's kindness, but she soon learns that he is no friend. Forced into a despicable life, with no signs of happiness, she must live on. I want to say that the overall story doesn't matter, but it does. To really get the points being made, you must look closely at the characters, aside from the story, but at the end, you must also think about everything that has happened, to understand what it means. Part of the reason I like this movie is because it shows you the grotesque images Maruo is known for, while moving along quickly, letting you know that the images are there, but they aren't all. There's more. I personally have made the mistake of assuming that Maruo's work is disgusting for no other reason than to have a disturbing picture, but this movie helped me to realize that while his work does give the people who want such images what they desire, it also says something. He draws the depravity of the human race, details how horrible we can be, establishes that these terrors can be anywhere and everywhere, but acknowledges that it is human nature. These are monsters, but they aren't mythical. They don't hide in caves or come out only once every seven years. They are people.

This movie is not for everyone, just as Suehiro Maruo's work is not for everyone. If you have a weak stomach, don't watch it. If you aren't going to think about symbolism and possible meanings, don't watch it. But if you want something that will get you thinking (and I'm talking, really fucking hard thinking), and you can stand seeing horrific images, watch this. And hell, if you don't like it, you'll at least be able to say that you watched a really rare and unique movie.

Orochi Chapter 6 (Manga Release)

Here's the first chapter of the third kanzenban of Orochi! In "Stage," a boy suffers a tragedy at a very young age and as a result gives up all TV and music. More than a decade later, he tries to break into show business. Has he forgotten about the misfortune of his youth, or are his intentions more than they seem?

I really liked this story, and I think a lot of people will. It's not strictly a horror story, but it's well told and paced excellently.

Low-quality:
http://www.mediafire.com/?hmczivyo30z
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YB3BCSPH

High-quality:
http://www.mediafire.com/?lw2z3h2rg2w
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3JBH3JVX

This is the first of the two stories in the third kanzenban, and it is about 130 pages long. The second story is over 200 pages long, so it'll take longer to do. I'll try to get it done before the end of April, so you guys don't have to wait too long for it (and because I'm going to an anime convention at the end of April and don't want a nagging feeling while there). As for what happens after that, I'm going to mess with my scanner, see if I can get it working, and talk to the translator of Orochi , molokidan, to see what he might want to do in the future. I hope you all enjoy Yuuichi's trip to the "Stage!"

Orochi Chapter 5 (Manga Release)

Finally, it's done! It took forever, and I ended up having to do most of the pages twice, but it's finished and here for you to enjoy. In this chapter, a little boy tells a ton of lies. When he sees something horrible, no one believes him. What will he do when he is chased by a murderer and his cries for help elicit only laughs and condemnations?

I'm 99% sure there is no difference between the high quality and the low quality, but I'm still gonna give you the option of downloading one or the other. Because I'm crazy.

Low quality:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=9OCBOAUR
http://www.mediafire.com/?2tnmqyomtmd

High quality:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=H5R06XM4
http://www.mediafire.com/?tt2nzqmtmmt

This is the end of the second kanzenban. Expect the first chapter of volume three within two weeks, hopefully less. After that, there will only be one chapter left until I'm out of stuff to scanlate. There have been talks of getting the fourth volume, but I don't have a working scanner right now (though I may be able to get it working soon). Anyways, I'll start figuring stuff out after I finish chapter 6. Enjoy "Key"!

Getting Back to Business

I got a new computer. This one is a lot better than my old one; however, it is very different, and I'm not very used to it. For some odd reason, when I use the paint program (Windows 7, by the way), it makes Anime Ace, the font I've been using, look like complete shit. I have no idea how to make that not happen. Granted, I just started using it, but I don't want to spend a week getting acquainted with the program and trying to figure out how to make Anime Ace look normal. So, I'm going to do chapter 5 in a different font, probably Comic Sans because it doesn't look odd or out of place (and I don't know many fonts). What does this mean to the average reader? Nothing, except that the words in this chapter won't look like the words in the latest chapter of Bleach or Naruto. If I can get Anime Ace to look good, I might go back to it for chapter 6, but I might not. It depends on how I feel about Comic Sans after finishing this chapter.

I'm going to try to hurry through this chapter, so I can put it behind me as soon as possible, and not seem like I'm giving up on the project. I can't promise I'll get it done within a week, but I'm sure as hell going to try.

Now, here's a page I've been testing on to show how weird Anime Ace looks and what Comic Sans looks like: