Top 10 #Anime Picks #paranormal #horror

I've been a fan of anime for 20+ years. I love the artwork, complex themes and the fact that they glean from Japanese folklore and mythology. Take a peek...

**All links go to Hulu, except for Vampire Hunter D (movie site) and Tactics (AnimeHere).

My top 10 picks in paranormal horror anime...in no particular order

Photo courtesy of Keng Susumpow via Flickr

1) Death Note (2006-2007)

Manga written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata.

Plot:

Yagami Light is a bored A-student with great prospects. One day, he finds a notebook (Death Note) from the realm of the death gods or shinigami. The book has the power to kill people in any way he desires, he merely has to write their name in it. Light decides to create his perfect world, one without crime or criminals. However, when criminals start dropping dead one by one, the authorities send the legendary detective 'L' to track down the killer. A battle of wits, deception and logic ensues, much like a chess game. 

My thoughts: This the crème de la crème of anime. The story is complex and the concepts of good and evil are challenged.

Fave character: Ryuk. Gotta love an apple eating shinigami with a sense of humor.

*I prefer sub-titled anime, but this dubbed version of Death Note is quite good.

2) Blue Exorcist (2011)
Manga written and illustrated by Kazue Katō. 

Plot:
Humans live in the world of Assiah, and demons live in Gehenna. The two dimensions are not meant to interfere with each other. In spite of this, demons still possess creatures in Assiah. The humans who can fight these demons are known as exorcists. Rin Okumura bears the curse of being Satan's illegitimate son. His foster father sacrificed himself to save him from demons. To avenge his foster father's death, Rin decides to follow the path of an exorcist.

My thoughts: This anime has many similarities with the current television series Supernatural. See if you can spot them!

Fave character: Mephisto Pheles. He enjoys chaos and is always ahead of the game. Plus, he dresses fab.

3) Vampire Hunter D (1985 Film)
Manga written in 1983 by Hideyuki Kikuchi and illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano. 

Plot:

Technology and the supernatural have overtaken the world. What's left of the human race live in fear of vampires, who keep werewolves and mutants to protect them. Doris Lang trespasses into vampire territory and encounters Count Magnus Lee, who tastes her blood and chooses her to be his next wife. Doris hires a vampire hunter by the name of 'D,' a dhampir (half human, half vampire), to rid her of this fate. 

My thoughts: Vampire Hunter D remains a cult classic.

Fave character: Carmilla. This vampire is deliciously evil, cunning and intelligent...and her clothes are awesome.

4) Black Butler (2008-2010)
Manga written and illustrated by Yana Toboso. (The second season, Kuroshitsuji II, aired in 2010 and did not feature in the manga.) 

Plot: 

In Victorian-era London, a young boy sells his soul to a demon in order to avenge his family's death. The demon takes the form of a loyal butler and is required to protect, serve and arrive whenever summoned by his young master until the deal has been completed.

My thoughts: I love the Victorian costumes and artwork in this series--flat out. I will drop a warning however, the relationships between the butlers and their underage 'masters' toe the line.

Fave character: Grell Sutcliff in his Grim Reaper form. Over-the-top, flamboyant and outspoken. What's not to love?

 

5) Mushishi (2005-2006)
Manga series written and illustrated by Yuki Urushibara. 

Plot:
The story follows Ginko, a man who dedicates himself to keeping people protected from supernatural creatures called Mushi. The Mushi are beyond the shackles of the words "good" and "evil." They can exist in countless forms, and are capable of mimicking things from the natural world such as plants, diseases, and even phenomena like rainbows.

My thoughts: This anime is beautiful to watch and the concepts are very thoughtful. It's paced very slow, so if that's not your thing, it's not for you.

Fave character(s): Technically, there's only one main character (Ginko) but I really liked the concept of the Mushi

6) Vampire Knight (2008)
A shōjo manga series written by Matsuri Hino

Plot:
Yuki Cross is the adopted daughter of Kaien Cross, the headmaster of Cross Academy. Yuki's earliest memory is of being attacked by a rogue vampire and of being rescued by Kaname, a Pureblood vampire. Ten years later, her adoptive father is the guardian of the vampire race and leads a group of vampires at the elite boarding school. At Yuki's side is Zero Kiryu, a childhood friend whose hatred for the creatures leaves him determined never to trust them. The coexisting arrangement seems all well and good, but have the vampires truly renounced their murderous ways? 

My thoughts: This series gets a bit Twilight'ish towards the end. Turning a blind eye to that--if only because of the artwork and story arcs.

Fave character: Zero Kiryu because he always tries to do the right thing.

7) Boogiepop Phantom (2000)
Manga written by Kouhei Kadono.

Plot:
The story takes place a month after a pillar of light appears in the night sky, and five years after a string of serial killings. High school students have started to disappear and the blame is placed on Boogiepop, an urban legend who is said to be the personification of Death. Each episode centers on a different character who had a short involvement in the major event. Some episodes are out of sequence and scenes are shown from different perspectives. Through this non-linear style, the characters are used to develop the central themes of Change, Escapism, Memory and Relationships.

8) Ghost Hunt (2006)
Manga written by Fuyumi Ono. The last novel was published in 1994 and the story was left incomplete. 

Plot:
The story follows the adventures of the Shibuya Psychic Research Center as they investigate mysterious occurrences all over Japan with a team of other spiritualists and assistants.

9) Tactics (2004-2005)

Manga written by Sakura Kinoshita and Kazuko Higashiyama.

Plot:
Supernatural sleuth and writer, Kantaro Ichinomiya, spends his days fighting demons and writing about his adventures. Accompanied by a mysterious Demon-Eating Goblin and a band of demons, Kantaro travels the Japanese countryside in search of ghostly mysteries and the paranormal.

10) xxxHOLiC (2006)

Manga written and illustrated by the group of manga artists known as Clamp. The manga was adapted into an animated film, xxxHolic: A Midsummer Night's Dream which premiered on August 20, 2005. It was followed by two anime series which ran from April-September 2006.

Plot:
The story revolves around Kimihiro Watanuki--a high-school student disturbed by his ability to see the supernatural, and Yūko Ichihara--a witch who owns a wish-granting shop. When Watanuki asks Yūko to remove his ability to see spirits, she grants it--on the condition he pay for his wish by working for her.

That's my list! What are your favorite anime?

Guest Blogger

Know Your Audience
by Keith Yatsuhashi 

Years ago, a man came into my office in need of help. He said an official in South America planned to grant him the rights to an island that he could then turn into an executive retreat. P.T. Barnum would’ve been proud, as would all the souls who sold the Brooklyn Bridge to unsuspecting buyers. Now at first glance, something like this might lead you to think a good salesman can sell just about anything to anyone. I would argue--as I’m sure Mr. Barnum would too--a sale like this is really based on something else, something all good marketers understand: you have to know your audience. No city councilman would buy the Brooklyn Bridge. No lawyer would either. And no con man worth his salt would waste his time on them. He’d look for a better mark.

So, how do you, an author with or without marketing experience find those marks? The good news is that it’s not hard as you think, particularly for genre writers. The answer’s right there in the sentence I just typed: genre. Romance readers like their romance, ditto for thriller readers, mystery readers, SF/Fantasy, etc. Genre is the key. Focus on what you know about your genre itself then look for places where its fans congregate. And not just book fans. That’s the key.

Our culture is obsessed with media: TV, movies, Internet, what-have-you. Like it our not, that’s where people go for information, both to share and receive it. Forget the bookstore customer for a moment and look at the bigger, media-driven picture. Not long ago, my daughter and I were talking about Harry Potter. One of her friends liked the movie. She didn’t know it was a book. I’ll give you a minute to pull yourself back together before I continue. Recovered yet? Good. This little anecdote is more common than you’d imagine, and it’s why you need to start at the top of the funnel, the widest part. From there, you’ll find all kinds of paths you didn’t know existed.

Let’s say you’re obsessed with mysteries or are selling one. Have you thought about browsing through fan sites for CSI or other top TV shows? The BBC’s Sherlock is hot right now. Bet you can find a lot of new fans there. Those of us who write science fiction and fantasy have a whole host of outlets. Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who. At some point these audiences converge. Follow them, join message boards and fan groups--as a fan yourself, not as someone selling something--nobody likes it when you do that.  Naturally, once they get to know you, you can let it slip that you have a book. At the same time, you make sure you put that info, along with your web presence in your signature. Don’t do more than that.

Don’t forget to note where you’ve been. Even if you don’t join these sites, the most popular ones might be open to reviewing your book. Always remember, fans go to sites for a reason, and the web masters are also looking for ways to keep their audience. That means keeping things fresh. Maybe they’re not readers or, what I call, book people. Don’t let that stop you. A fan who put up a Harry Potter movie site might well be open to reviewing a book with the same fan base. Potter’s over, but they need to keep their site going. You won’t know until you email them. FWIW, I recently sent a review copy to a site that doesn’t review books. Crazy? Maybe, but the writer asked for it, and I asked if she would send it to the right contact, or, if she liked it, to spread the word. You never know.

Okay. Now that we’ve identified our audience, how do we keep them? Let’s move away from our con man example and look at something else. Have you ever watched a truly seasoned performer milk the crowd? It’s breathtaking. People like this take their audience’s pulse in an instant. The best will peek into the hall as soon as the doors open to get a feel for it. If it’s dead, they’ll add energy to wake it. If it’s alive, they’ll tap into and channel the wave. A marketer needs to do that too.

When I first started promoting my book, my daughter insisted I use Instagram. It’s where all the kids are, she said. She set up an account for me and even ran it for a while. She then started her own page and made sure to feed mine. My first pics had to do with my book. The response was dismal, and in hindsight, I should have expected it. Instagram is about snazzy, funny pictures, or personal ones. Research that first--who puts up what on what social media sites. A few clicks and some feedback from my daughter’s friends was all it took.

I abandoned saying anything about my book, except for the occasional reminder that it was coming. I searched for subscribers who liked books and media similar to my book and sent out friend requests. The majority went to fans of Japanese animation, science fiction, and fantasy.  My daughter supplemented that on her site with YA and other stuff girls her age are into. That was back in October. Since then, I’ve built up 1500 followers on Instagram with fun and funny pics I knew my audience would appreciate--trial and error there. Instinct worked well, but tracking which types of pics received the most likes was key.

Keep in mind who I identified as a natural audience--anime fans. As my book’s release neared, I had my daughter find some pics of popular anime characters reading. Next, we edited the photos so that the cover of the book matched mine. In the pic, we inserted some well-chosen sentences that we knew would get their attention. Not all were successful--probably because I did it too often. The ones that were, though, received as many likes as my snazzy, funny pictures. I made sure to post those pics with many other ones unrelated to my book. That way I didn’t call attention to it. You don’t want your followers to think you’ve abandoned what they like about your site. If they believe you’re only putting up things they don’t care about, you’ve lost them.

Finally, wherever you go, remember to keep things brief, something I neglected to do here. Likely, many who started reading this post didn’t finish. That’s okay. Those who did are my audience: authors looking for tips from other authors. I hope you find mine helpful. Now. Find your mark, get on it, get set...and go!

Purchase Keith Yatsuhashi's debut novel KOJIKI

Amazon.com

Barnes and Noble

Musa Publishing

Keith Yatsuhashi was born in 1965 in Boston, MA. He graduated from Northeastern University in 1989 and is currently the Director of the U.S. Department of Commerce Export Assistance Center in Providence, Rhode Island.
Keith was a competitive figure skater for ten years, winning the U.S. National Junior Dance Championships in 1984, a bronze medal in the 1983 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, and a silver medal in 1984.
In addition to his love for writing, Keith enjoys many hobbies such as golf, reading, and playing football and hockey with his sons. Keith currently lives in Norfolk, MA with his wife, Kathleen and three children-- Caitlin, Jeffrey, and Justin. 

Sewing Like a Sailor

So, sometimes my Mom Stuff takes precedence over my Writerly Self.

For the past month, I have a long-dreaded sewing project that’s been on my “to-do” list. It’s right up there with cleaning out my closets and dusting the attic, actually.

My older daughter is a fan of all things manga and cosplay. There’s a huge event coming up in May and she’s decided that she wants to dress up as an Assassin’s Creed character. And I’ve agreed to sew the costume.

*face palm*

Why do I set myself up for these things? I’m a writer, not a fashion designer. I write about ghosts and demons and things that go bump in the night. I write about what’s under your bed, and what creeps in from the Otherworld. And I have minions. I don’t sew. 

Correction-I can sew, but I hate it with a passion. The last time I sewed something, it was a squid costume. Yes, you read that correctly. When my daughter was in Kindergarten, the class was encouraged to dress up as their favorite character from their favorite book. While the other six-year-olds were dressing up as Angelina Ballerina or Batman, my daughter decided she wanted to dress up as the giant squid from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. I was cursing like a sailor trying to sew that baby up. But it rocked, if I do say so myself. 

So, back to Assassin’s Creed. We went to the material store and leafed through countless catalogues looking for a pattern that remotely resembled what you see in the photo. The closest we could come, was a costume if you were dressing up as Jesus. Yeah.

After we decided that was as good as it gets, it took us an hour to peruse the countless bolts of fabric to find the right material. And then, there were the notions…the bits and bobs that would make the fine details. By the time the pattern, the material and the notions were purchased, the costume ended up being roughly $50 total. Ouch. When we got home, I saw that the jacket also requires interfacing.

Off to cut, pin, sew and curse. My minions would be proud.