The Ring, Vol. 1 [Paperback]

Hiroshi Takahashi (Author), Misao Inagaki (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 24, 2003

Creepy! Have you seen the movie yet? I don't want to spoil it, but it's creepy, dramatic, somehow a little funny, and intense. The Ring, a Japanese multi-media frenzy based on the best-selling horror novels by Koji Suzuki, has already made its way to America in both a Western adaptation of the film, and an equally popular dubbed Japanese version of the film. Well, from Dark Horse Comics comes the equally fantastic manga, and it will be published, respectfully, in the increasingly popular "non-Western" format, meaning you get a kick out of reading from the back of the book to the front. For those of you who love your media in comic book form, you'll love seeing this creepy tidbit panel to panel, and for those who love film, step forward and find out why filmmakers idolize comics. The pacing and art throughout the book are so loyal and work so well with the story, you will be overwhelmed and frozen in place in a closet somewhere. Creeeepy!

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse Books/Digital Manga Publishing; 1ST edition (November 24, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593070543
• ISBN-13: 978-1593070540
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,062,253 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superior graphic novel adaptation of Suzuki's novel, January 1, 2005

By 

Daniel J. Hamlow (Narita, Japan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ring, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

After Koji Suzuki made it big with the Ring, it was a matter of time before it went into one of Japan's best-known mediums-manga. Artist Misao Inagaki and scripter Hiroshi Takahashi made it into a manga in 1999, and only in 2003 did an English language version reach American shores.

The story is so well-told from the American movie version to the Japanese and Korean movie versions, but I'll repeat it anyway. An urban legend tells of a videotape that will kill anyone who watches it within a week. Was this behind the death of Tomoko, the niece of reporter and single mother Reiko Asakawa?

Reiko learns a couple of things, that it wasn't just Reiko who died, but three of her friends who also watched the cursed video and died at the exact same time. Things take a turn when she visits the South Hakone Pacific Land resort where Tomoko and her friends spent vacation and watches a very strange video. Sure enough, a message at the end tells her she'll die within a week.

She enlists the aid of her ex-husband, Ryuji Takamura, a university professor who's having an affair with his student helper, Mai Takano. Confident of his intellect and cool-headedness, she believes he can help her. Sure enough, he sees it as a challenging game, and after analyzing the video bit by bit, discovers clues, such as an obscure dialect, a volcano, and the character Sada reflected in a human eye. "Whoever made this isn't normal. Without a tremendous amount of evil energy, this kind of complex prank can't be done." Note: unlike the movie, Ryuji seems a dashing sort of guy, younger than the actor who portrayed Ryuji in Ringu.

Their investigations lead them to Izu Oshima and to Sadako Yamamura. The rest is history. In the manga, like the films, the main character is a female and not male per the novel. Also, the more unsavory aspects of Ryuji's character has been eliminated, and the reason why Sadako was killed has been altered in the various versions. Here, it's mostly correct except for one aspect. Also, the concept with the blurred photos, never a part of the novel, is made here, as with the film versions.

The art here is definitely not the glittery wide-eyed shoujo style, although Mai, who is drawn kind of cute, is closest to it, but a more serious sort. Some of it is pretty macabre, such as Reiko waking up to the sight of a bloodied Tomoko, which leads to her discovering that her son Yoichi has just watched the video. However, the drawing of Sadako, dressed in a white robe, long black hair flowing down her face, obscuring it, will have entered the annals of horror film legend due to its replication in the three Ring films and variations of it in The Hypnotist and Ju-On. And her emerging from the TV makes for good graphic novel horror.

Followed by Ring 2, Spiral, the proper novel sequel to Ring, and the prequel Birthday, Ring Vol. 1 stands out as a great manga version of Suzuki's novel.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In this case, a picture is worth more than 1000 words., December 12, 2003

By 

Michi (Vermont, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ring, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

Waiting around at a Borders two days ago, I pulled up a stool near their modest collection of manga. Usually, I thumb through a copy of Sailor Moon manga, but my eyes were drawn away and towards The Ring, which had not been there during my last visit several weeks ago.

I had originally intended for only a quick read, but I ended up spending 40 minutes going on a mental and emotional thrill ride. Awesome must-read, with an exceptionally creepy ending (which I will NOT share here).

Like the book, it has NOTHING to do with the "before you die, you see the ring" theme of the Hollywood movie. The horror is more intangible than obvious, with much of it left to the imagination.

I don't usually like horror-related books or anything else (besides Castlevania), but I LOVED this manga, and I really want to get the book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An EXELLENT manga!, December 6, 2003

By 

Kyuuketsuki (San Ramon, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ring, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

This is a story about Reiko, a Japanese journalist. After her neice dies a gruesome death, she starts investigating an urban legend. The legend is that if you see a cursed video tape, you'll die in exactly seven days. Reiko watches the movie, and, enlisting the help of her ex-husband, finds out how to break the curse. During her research, her young son Yoichi accidentally watches the movie, as well. Can't tell ya how it ends, though! ^_~ This is an exellent manga, and I highly reccomend it.