Hanako and the Terror of Allegory

Plot

Daisuke Aso (亜想 大介, Asō Daisuke) is a former police officer who is known as the allegory detective because he investigates allegories—urban legends that manifest physically and possess people who believe in them. Daisuke himself is possessed by two. The first is the belief that he will die if he hiccups more than 100 times in a row. When an allegory is closer, Daisuke hiccups, so it is his way to detect an allegory but in every case he runs the risk of dying of the hiccups. The second is Hanako (花子), a girl who in the legend haunts girls' school restrooms but now helps Daisuke to run his agency. She provides technological support by creating the "anti-allegory program" that can "de-visualize" the allegories, revealing their real form to its believers. Daisuke and Hanako are also accompanied by the human girl Kanae Hiranuma (平沼 カナエ, Hiranuma Kanae), who works with them since they helped to solve her allegory problem and she had no money to pay for it.

Publication

Written and illustrated by Sakae Esuno, the chapters of Hanako and the Terror of Allegory appeared as serial in the monthly manga magazine Shōnen Ace from April 26, 2004 to September 26, 2005. Kadokawa Shoten collected its 19 chapters into four tankōbon volumes, and published them from November 1, 2004, to October 26, 2005. Later, on September 26, 2011, Kadokawa started to re-release the series in a kanzenban edition, which spawned three volumes, with the last one being published on November 26, 2011.

An English translation was done by Tokyopop that published the four volumes between March 9, 2010 and April 26, 2011. As Tokyopop closed its North American publishing division in May 2011, its rights returned to Kadokawa Shoten. In October 2015, Viz Media relicensed it and published the first three volumes in digital format from October 27 to December 22. Hanako and the Terror of Allegory has also been translated into Chinese by Kadokawa Hong Kong, and in French by Casterman.

Reception

Most reviewers found its premise to be interesting, but there is no consensus on Esuno's ability to explore it properly. While Ash Brown of Experiments in Manga concluded "Esuno does some interesting things with it", Shaenon Garrity wrote for About.com that "The concept of urban legends coming to life is intriguing, but it's been done better—with creepier creatures, more atmospheric artwork, and cleverer twists on the basic premise—in manga like Eiji Otsuka's and Housui Yamazaki's Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service and CLAMP's xxxHolic." Thomas Zoth of Mania considered the first volume "fails to take full advantage of its potential" because of its episodic nature and lack of characters development. In a review of the whole series, Richard Eisenbeis of Kotaku dubbed it "great fun" and said it "gets a lot of mileage out of its premise", praising how it interchanges between horror, action, comedy and romance and how in "each case you learn about a different Japanese urban legend and get hints about the deeper motivations and personal histories of each of the three main characters." Both Carlo Santos of Anime News Network and Chris Zimmerman of Comic Book Bin also praised its mix of action and horror, and Santos called it "the perfect horror-suspense blend". Lori Henderson of Manga Xanadu said "it's the human elements of the stories, and their resolutions that [she] found to be the most interesting". Oliver Ho of PopMatters considered it is full of aspects that were worth "a ponderous and academic exercise", saying that the series "seems to be a meditation ... on the relationship between storytelling and psychology." He compared the fact that in the manga "characters must confront personal demons and fears in order to overcome evil spirits" to an affirmation by Bruno Bettelheim's on The Uses of Enchantment, where he writes that "a myth, like a fairy tale, may express an inner conflict in symbolic form and suggest how it may be solved."

Overall characters attracted criticism like those by Sean Gaffney of A Case Suitable for Treatment, who affirmed they are "rather colorless". Kanae's role in the first volume was especially criticized by Garrity, who said her reasoning to become Daisuke's assistant is "more or less random". Danica Davidson for Graphic Novel Reporter and Henderson also considered Kanae's role was to be someone for Daisuke to rescue. Bill Sherman of Blogcritics was more positive, saying in a volume two review that the main trio "remain appealing enough characters to get most readers wanting to find out what happens in the next book". Although Snow Wildsmith of ICv2 dubbed the characters "forgettable", she appreciated the first volume because it shows Daisuke has "a potentially interesting backstory." Henderson also praised some of his backstory revelations, while Zoth commented the mention of his special power in the first volume was a positive indication "that there is more depth to the world and characters than Esuno has thus far revealed." Indeed, when this power was revealed, Santos affirmed "the most remarkable thing about Hanako that it still has the capacity to surprise", and Zimmerman stated it was "page turner" that "show exactly what Esuno is capable of when given the opportunity to explore his imagination."

The series' horror was mostly criticized; Henderson asserted "it isn't really a horror title ... It's more of the psychological horror", while Wildsmith considered the stories were not "scary enough to make this collection horror, nor are they thought provoking enough to make it a psychological thriller". Sherman said it "isn't as unsettling as it could be: there are terrors, after all, which reflect the characters' primal fears, yet Esuno doesn't delve as deeply into 'em as he could". Most reviewers agreed it was not that scary, but at least featured "creepy" and "spooky" moments. Santos felt that it "would probably be a lot more horrifying ... if it didn't keep trying to be cute and funny with the characters", especially criticizing Hanako's role who "make[s] annoying quips that derail the creepy mood of the series". Zack Davisson of Japan Reviewed remarked that when it "is playing with straight horror, it really shines" so the second and third volumes were considered an improvement over the first as they relied less on "cheap gags" and "panty-gags" and "deliver[ed] some actual horror". Ho also said it has "an incredibly goofy sense of humour", and while Garrity concluded that "promising blend of comedy and horror", the manga "doesn't quite work as comedy or horror", some reviewers appreciated this humor and horror mix. Ed Sizemore of Comics Worth Reading affirmed it is a good reading for those who "like light horror with sense of humor", and Henderson said it is "a light read with just a touch of the shiver factor".

Esuno's art and its adequacy to a horror series received very discrepant opinions. Garrity commented the art is not "horrific" and that "most of the art is flat and generic, with vaguely cute big-eyed characters, bland backgrounds and a paucity of detail". However, "horrific" was precisely the word use by Gaffney to describe it, and Davisson wrote he has not "seen anyone draw horror as well as Esuno". Zimmerman affirmed it is "downright creep at times", and Sherman found "some effective visuals" like for the kuchisake-onna. Scott Green of Ain't It Cool News, who said Esuno "isn't great at horror", praised the same scene and pondered that large-scale panels like those "manage [to provide] some creepy spectacles". More consensual was that Esuno's monsters were better drawn his human characters. For example, Zoth praised backgrounds and monsters but called human designs "generic and unmemorable" and that "looks to be a half-finished state." Henderson said, "It's fairly average in the portrayal of the humans, but the monsters are ... creepy and sometimes downright disturbing". Santos commended Esuno's "striking supernatural imagery" as exemplified by how "classic creatures ... take on new levels of terrifying". He also praised its "straightforward paneling [that] brings the story to the forefront and minimizes distractions", but he said "some of the character designs look like the work of a rookie". Zimmerman asserted that "though not quite as polished as fans have come to expect, [it] is fitting with his otherworldy designs and outlandish characters." More negative was Wildsmith who called the art "ordinary: cute character types clash with uninspired horror images". More positive was Sizemore, saying mood and emotions are well conveyed, and monsters are well crafted.

Another aspect that was cited as a drawback to its horror was its pacing and the third story was especially criticized. Green said it "frequently suffers when the reader engages it" and that the twists in the first volume "are obvious or aggravating", considering the Human-Fish story "trampl[es] ground that will be very problematic for some audiences". Grant Goodman of Pop Culture Shock criticized this story because of Esuno's treatment of rape, saying the girl saving her rapist vindicates his abuse. Zoth considered the Human-Fish story "a complete misfire" and its twists "completely ridiculous". Similarly, Santos and Zimmerman felt it was "convoluted", while considered the first chapter was "rushed", attributing it to Esuno's lack of pacing. Nonetheless, both Santos and Zimmerman were mixed regarding the pacing. Although stated it was "so frequently sloppy in its execution", Santos praised it because "the deadpan, Twilight Zone-esque introductions to each chapter set the perfect tone, and the tension builds up at just the right pace—you know when those shocking moments are going to hit, but it doesn't make them any less terrifying when they happen". Zimmerman commented that "if the series has one weakness, it would have to be its pacing", but "still, horror fans will find much to like about the series" as "the stories will have readers guessing the whole way through". On the other hand, Henderson said the second and the third stories had "a nice twist", and Gaffney affirmed "the pacing is excellent", commending the "balance between cute innocent victims, poorly communicating boyfriends, and complete jerkass monsters."