Ring, The Recommended

Publisher
Dark Horse
Writer
Hiroshi Takahashi, Koji Suzuki
Artist
Meimu
Country of origin
Japan
Year
1999

Manga Fans Unite! The Ring GN 2

By David Rasmussen
17th Aug 04

Studio - Dark Horse
Age - ? ? (I'm bettin' we're talking at least teens here)
Art by Meimu
Original Novel by Koji Suzuki
Script by Hiroshi Takahashi
Dark Horse credits
Translators - Naomi Kokubo & Steven Hoffman
Lettering by Wilbert Lacuna
Editors - Tim-Ervin Gore and Fred Lui

Graphic Novel 2
Ack. I see disgruntled home movie making cursed dead people... don't tell anyone.

I have zero experience with the whole Ring trilogy so this book is the first time I ever touched the topic of The Ring. Just so you know.

For one Mai Takano life just isn't going very well for her.
If it isn't for the fact that her beloved husband was killed by Sadako, that aforementioned disgruntled home movie making cursed dead person, she has a child that is downright creepy.

Of course the rest is psychological horror and suspense, death, madness, and interesting twists.
Looks like Mai might end up being the first person ever to escape the "Ring" and Sadako's so far perfect killing record, but why? And what happens when her son sees that video and is marked for death?

Of course not. Couldn't have watched "Girls Gone Wild", he HAD to watch something called the "cursed' video! And when I say "cursed" I don't mean copy of Michael Jackson's Moonwalker cursed.

It's pretty straightforward yet interesting so I shouldn't say more because I might say too much.
In anycase I have no experience with the series so I have nothing to compare this experience to.
Let's break it down.

The Ring Breakdown the 2nd
What's Hot? I have been working on reviewing this and The Ring GN 1 together but in the end I finally broke down and reviewed this. I don't know but somehow this was interesting, and I guess as long as it's the manga version I could get into it.

Horror is NOT my thing, but sometimes I run into series that is worth checking out.
This happens to be one of those series. Huh? Don't like The Ring movies? I don't like those either, yet somehow I gave the manga a chance and wasn't disappointed by that decision.

You might be surprised by the manga. Give it a shot.

What's Not? The first thing you might think is that this is not for you. If you are not a fan of the movies (or movie if you just focus on the American version of The Ring) then you might think you could never be a fan of the manga. Yet somehow I think the manga version might appeal to you even if you are not a fan of the movies. And who knows? You might find yourself being gravitated to the movies once you got into the manga and gave it a shot. You never know.

Moments to Remember? Depends on what you consider a memorable thing. It has it's moments.

What to Ignore? So how many sequels will it take before Sadako "evolves" and releases her first "cursed DVD" anyway? (Just kidding, ignore me, I'm being naughty.)

Overall? I didn't think I'd like it but surprise, surprise, it was kind of interesting. Now I most definitely have to backtrack and review The Ring GN 1 as soon as I can!

-- David Rasmussen 17th Aug 04