Octopus Girl, Vol. 3

By Toru Yamazaki

Carving a comical niche in modern horror manga, this book serves up the disgusting dishes of heartbreak and revenge found on land or at sea.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1593076118
• ISBN13: 9781593076115
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Dark Horse
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.5" x 0.8" x 5.3"

Customer Reviews

DREAMING MONSTERS

Takako and Sakae are simple girls at heart...or well, they're SOMETHING at heart since not many simple girls can transform their bodies into that of an octopus or an eel. But that's beside the point. To get you in the spirit of Volume 3 I'll tell you that that Takako and Sakae rescue an alien from his spaceship after it crashlands in the ocean and singlehandedly keep the Earth from being invaded! How do they do this, you might ask? It involves feeding him feces and urine to start and then they paint such a horrific portrait of humankind that the alien hightails it outta there! Later Takako tries to realize one of her ambitions to be a ballerina and both girls fall victim to a charismatic juvenile delinquent! And then there's Vampire Granny waiting in the wings, waiting to suck the blood out of our duo for almost killing her last volume. Octopus Girl Volume 3, as is par for the course, was gross, disgusting, and hilarious and is pretty much a loving insult to everything sacred in the world. But who cares!? Yamazaki makes Jonathan Swift's obsession with the scatalogical workings of the human body look prudish by comparison. And he does it with such a realistic style that it revolts you all the more. But this book is so funny! Yamazaki has no problem making fun of schlocky Japanese horror movies or educational films. Every part of Japanese society is a target here, though thinly veiled. The only weak part of this volume were the concluding chapters where Takako and Sakae are drawn as different characters in weird instances of sentimental dramas straight from Japanese television soap operas. I have no idea what he was trying to do with these stories, but they're weak and show that the writer needs to stick with absurd comedy where he really shines.