Zekkyō Gakkyū (絕叫學級)
This is a Japanese horror manga translated into Mandarin. One of the most popular Japanese manga genres is horror. Japan has a long history of drawing horror stories; starting with ukiyo-e paintings from the 1600s. As manga grew in popularity in Japan, horror manga also gained audiences. Junji Ito is one of Japan’s most acclaimed and famous horror manga artists. His most famous manga, Tomie, explores the topics of love, beauty, obsession, and jealousy. His manga targets an older audience.
Zekkyō Gakkyū, however, targets young teen audiences. All the short horror stories revolve around topics that young teens find relatable. Topics include friendship, online space, beauty standards, bullying, dreams, love, jealousy, family, and money. The girl on the cover is a ghost that presents short horror stories. The short horror stories always end with a lesson to teach.
The manga art style also conveys its targeted audience. All the characters in this manga have soft and round features and big eyes, which is a style that is more teen-oriented. The chipped paint font of the title is used to convey an uneasy feeling. The blood splatter over the title provides a horror effect. The word “scream” in the title is colored in blood red to add to the scariness. The girl is placed in the center of the cover because she is the main character of the series. Her translucent waist suggests to the reader that she's a ghost. The flower she is holding is called higanbana. In Japanese culture, higanbana is associated with death, cemeteries, sadness, and remembrance. The dark color background adds to the spooky feeling.
Citations:
Chujo, Rintaro, et al. “Exploring the Effects of Japanese Font Designs on Impression Formation and Decision-Making in Text-Based Communication.” ArXiv.Org, 2023, https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2309.06743.
Margolis, Ora, and Amy Brereton. “The SABUKARU Guide to Dark Horror Manga.” Sabukaru, sabukaru, 5 Oct. 2023, sabukaru.online/articles/the-sabukaru-guide-to-dark-horror-manga.
Riechers, Angela. “Spooky, Kooky Typography.” Adobe Creative Cloud, creativecloud.adobe.com/discover/article/spooky-kooky-typography.
Schonherr, Johannes. “Higanbana - The Flower of the Dead.” Japan Experience, 25 Dec. 2012, www.japan-experience.com/plan-your-trip/to-know/understanding-japan/higanbana.
