Ougon

What is the quintessential Japanese manga? Well, everyone has their own answer, but as for me, I think it might be the "ponchi" comics from the Meiji era or the akahon manga mass-produced in the 1930s. In short, it comes down to absurdity and humor. Tenshin Kijima’s works are often described as horror—and indeed they are—but I’m drawn more to their absurd imagination than to the horror elements. That imagination could be described as a desperate attempt to overturn an unbearable reality through fantasy.

When “Taiko no Tegusune” was published on Leed Cafe (Leed Inc.’s web manga site), I read every installment with great excitement. But it didn’t really generate much buzz. I wondered why, and I think perhaps Kijima’s vision wasn’t fully understood.

“Shuro wo Kiritaose” is a work Kijima drew for the website SHURO while I was working as an editor at Magazine House. It’s a short story he wrote in one go after learning the site’s name. This one is interesting, too. The female protagonist has had nothing but the worst experiences, so I really hope she finds happiness.

During my time at Magazine House, we had also planned to serialize the long-form manga “Maamaa Buruburu,” but due to various circumstances, the serialization fell through. In short, I let Kijima down. There’s another major reason as well, but setting that aside, this incident led me to resign as an editor. For the foreseeable future, I don’t think I’ll be doing any editorial work other than self-published projects. After that, Nozomi Nakayama (Leed Co., Ltd., and the “Suika to Kano Tane” doujinshi group) kindly took over as editor. It’s currently being serialized in Torch. Thank you very much.

This book, Ougon, is essentially a condensed package of the artist I envision as Tenshin Kijima encapsulated within the physical object of a book. That’s why the cover design aligns with my critical perspective. Of course, there are many other charms to Kijima’s work, but here, as a single sample and a specific perspective, I’ve produced Ougon in the style of an akahon manga. I caused Kijima Tenshin quite a bit of trouble.

Contains two series: