Kazuo Umezz

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Lenni Reviews: “My Name Is Shingo: The Perfect Edition” Vol. 6, by Kazuo Umezz

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Shingo is still searching for Satoru and Marin. Shingo’s home life is very poor, so he ends up running away from home. 

I don’t get it. First, the robot is looking for the kids, then it’s kinda infecting bodies, then calling forth the consciousness of the dead on computer screens and TVs, and I seriously have no fucking clue that is happening. Then it just stops? I am thoroughly baffled. I actually feel stupid because I’m not getting it. We’re so far from where this started that I’m lost. 2 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “My Name Is Shingo: The Perfect Edition” Vol. 5, by Kazuo Umezz

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Monroe is still obsessed with finding Satoru and Marin as its intelligence grows along with its body count.

I was a little shocked by the gruesome violence taking place right off the bat. Again, Monroe has no care for human life and Marin is NOT okay. I get some major Akira vibes (the original dub, not the remake) because while the anime kept a focus on the supernatural/psychic parts, the manga went off on many other tangents. None of this ever goes where I think it’s going and I am very uncomfortable with Marin’s consistant suffering. This poor girl… Satoru doesn’t have to deal with molestery shit. Heck, he’s barely in this volume. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “My Name Is Shingo: The Perfect Edition” Vol. 4, by Kazuo Umezz

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

“Marilyn” has now renamed itself to “Shingo” and thinks of Satoru and Marin as it’s parents. Shingo struggles to make connections to humans and flees from the scientists who are hunting it down.

Shingo has quite the body count at this point so… I’m on the scientist’s side. This isn’t like Johnny 5 or Wall-E or anything cute and decent. This thing is a menace and I do hope they catch it and shut it down. At first, you sympathize with it wanting to live but now? Nah, just junk that thing. I don’t want it to be free. It’s killed children. Not to say this is a bad story just if it’s trying to make me feel for Shingo, it fails. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “My Name Is Shingo: The Perfect Edition” Vol. 3, by Kazuo Umezz

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Marin and Satoru’s run away is foiled and they are separated once again. Satoru visits Monroe who is now self aware and in danger of being demolished.

Trigger warning for dog death and some gory violence.

Now with the kids apart, the focus is now on Monroe and what it’s learning. And what it’s learning isn’t… Great. It’s not the worst humanity has to offer but it certainly isn’t the best. I honestly did not expect the level of violence in this volume since the others never went there. Marin’s parents are their usual useless selves so chalk up another trigger warning for attempted sexual assault and generally shitty parenting. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “My Name Is Shingo: The Perfect Edition” Vol. 2, by Kazuo Umezz

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Satoru and Marin are still teaching the computer, Monroe, until the factory owner gets rid of the staff in favor of the machines, putting Satrou’s father out of work and Marin’s parents want to leave the country.

This volume is fucking wild. There’s the Romeo and Juliet vibe with Satoru and Marin, the machine giving creepy answers, and the adults being absolute dick heads as if they needed to fill in Satoru’s insufferable personality from the previous volume. Then the tone gets super fucking dark and these kids are in real danger. The carefree silliness of a couple of kids playing with a fun machine is smothered by the tension and while I did have whiplash, it’s a compelling read. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “My Name Is Shingo: The Perfect Edition” Vol. 1, by Kazuo Umezz

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Satoru’s father works at a factory and when he hears from his dad that there will be a new robot there, he can’t help but what to investigate, learning how to use it and even adding some instructions of his own.

Until Satoru gets into tinkering with Marilyn (the name of the robot) he’s absolutely insufferable. I was concerned I would have to deal with this brat the entire volume but once he’s into programming and has something to focus on, he’s so much better. It’s interesting and a bit foreboding that the story infers this is the machine reflecting on past events; which makes me wonder what will happen once it becomes known that Satoru is messing with the machine. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Orochi: The Perfect Edition” Vol. 4, by Kazuo Umezz

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

This volume features two stories:

  • Eyes: Orochi takes an interest in a blind girl named Keiko, who’s father is falsely accused of murder.
  • Blood: The youngest of two sisters is constantly compared to the older and Orochi gets closer to them than expected.

This volume was more sat than scary; telling stories of family drama and putting a blind woman in the path of a murderer. There’s some thrilling moments in the first story and we learn a little more about Orochi but this volume is mostly the story with the sisters and leaves a somber feeling when it’s all done. 3.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Orochi: The Perfect Edition” Vol. 3, by Kazuo Umezz

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

This volume contains two stories:

  • Stage: A young boy named Yuichi whose father is tragically killed in a hit and run spends his life looking for the culprit he calls The Morning Man.
  • Combat: Orochi encounters Tadashi Okabe who has a very nice father with a horrifically dark past.

This one is not as good as the others. Instead of feeling unease or creeped out, I was just angry at the injustice of it all. The first one is so convoluted and the second (while better) could have been tighter so it didn’t end on a cliffhanger. I still get a little of that creepy feeling but not nearly as much as the previous volumes. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Orochi: The Perfect Edition” Vol. 2, by Kazuo Umezz

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

This volume contains three stories:

  1. Prodigy: Orochi follows a baby through his life to see how things will turn out and try to help him.
  2. Home: Orochi goes with a man who left his home village and returns after many years.
  3. Key: Orochi gets a new apartment to observe the people who live there.

While these premises seem simple, Umezz makes each one disturbing. This has such a Tales from the Crypt vibe and I love it. The second story has to be based on that Twilight Zone episode with the evil boy with powers and the third is a play on The Boy Who Cried Wolf. These are not criticisms, they’re cool retellings with their own style. This collection is good even though there’s some clunky dialog here and there. 4.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Orochi: The Perfect Edition” Vol. 1, by Kazuo Umezz

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

This is a collection of 2 horror stories: Sisters and Bones. The first is when Orochi comes to this creepy house to be a maid for sisters Rumi and Emi and told to stay away from a certain room. In the second story, Orochi is a nurse for a woman who’s husband has had an accident.

These stories gave me some Girl From Nowhere vibes. Orochi’s abilities and goals are ambiguous but so far, she is more benevolent than Nano. In fact, Orochi is naïve as things don’t turn out as she’d hoped. If you’re in the market for some horror with an enigmatic protagonist, these are good stories. 4.7 out of 5.

Also, check out that series on Netflix. It’s awesome.

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