SEAN MICHAEL WILSON
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  • About Sean's Books
  • Latest News/Blog
  • Further Info
  • All Books By Title
    • AX
    • Black Ships
    • Book of Five Rings
    • Breaking the 10
    • Bushido
    • Cold Mountain
    • Christmas Carol
    • Cigarette Girl
    • Cross Cultural Studies
    • Demon's Sermon
    • Faceless Ghost
    • 47 Ronin 忠臣蔵
    • Fight The Power!
    • Gardening Mindfulness
    • Goodbye God
    • GFTU 120th Anniversary
    • Hagakure
    • Mamiya's Maps
    • Many Not the Few
    • Minamata Story
    • Morningside
    • Musashi
    • Ninja
    • Orwell
    • Parecomic
    • Portraits of Violence
    • Satsuma Rebellion 西郷隆盛と西南戦争
    • Spirit of Japan
    • Story of Lee
    • Sweeney Todd
    • Tale of Genji
    • Tao Te Ching
    • Tokyo + Olympics Guide
    • Wuthering Heights
    • Yakuza Moon
    • Yokai Stories
  • Social Issue Books
  • Books On Japan
  • Original Story Books
  • 日本語 Nihongo
    • 日本語の情報
    • 忠臣蔵
    • 西郷隆盛と西南戦争
    • 東京 +オリンピック
  • Digital/Ebook
    • Comixology, kindle, itunes
    • IZNEO digital website
    • 47 Ronin ebook
    • Bits and Bobs ebook
    • Book of Five Rings
    • Black Ships ebook
    • Breaking the 10 ebook
    • Bushido ebook
    • Cold Mountain ebook
    • Conway Connection
    • Demon's Sermon ebook
    • Faceless Ghost ebook
    • Fight the Power ebook
    • The Garden ebook
    • Goodbye God? ebook
    • GFTU 120th Anniversary
    • Hagakure ebook
    • Japanese Drawing Room
    • Minamata ebook
    • Morningside ebook
    • Musashi ebook
    • Ninja ebook
    • Orwell ebook
    • Parecomic ebook
    • Portraits of Violence ebook
    • Satsuma Rebellion 西郷隆盛 Ebook
    • Story of Lee ebook
    • Tale of Genji ebook
    • Tao Te Ching ebook
    • Yokai Stories ebook
    • Français ebooks
  • Français, Español, Italiano, 中文 etc
  • Publishers and Distributors
  • TV, Radio, Youtube
  • Film Production
  • Lectures & Teaching
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  • Free Ebooks Direct From Sean
  • Various Other Things
    • A History of Mr X
    • Anti-violence strip
    • Basic Income
    • Fountain of Youth
    • Fred Dixon
    • Infograph on comics as art
    • Interviews and Articles
    • Manufacturing Consent - Illustrated
    • Poems
    • SSCC
    • What did you do in the war daddy?
    • Blogspot page
    • Where i was born
  • Contact メール
SEAN MICHAEL WILSON
                                        Manga Yokai Stories

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Manga Yokai Stories: Ghostly Tales from Japan
Adapted by Sean Michael Wilson, illustrated by Inko Ai Takita
September 2020, Tuttle Publishing

This is my second big collection of manga versions of the Japanese tales collected together by the Irish-Greek writer Lafcadio Hearn around 120 years ago. He lived in the same city I am now in (and, in fact, used to walk on the same road I live on). This time working with the artist INKO, from Japan. The other one of our Hearn related books can be seen HERE.

Manga Yokai Stories includes:
  • Nuke-kubi: A masterless samurai is trapped in a house haunted by headless goblins
  • The Screen Maiden: A young man develops an obsession with a woman in a painting that almost kills him
  • Corpse Rider: A woman's unburied corpse cannot rest until she has taken her revenge on the man who divorced her
  • A Dead Secret: A young mother terrifies her family when she returns as a ghost, unable to find peace until she puts to rest a shocking secret she has left behind

From the publisher:
"These classic Japanese ghost stories are based on those written by famed author Lafcadio Hearn between 1890 and 1904. Here, they are retold by award-winning comic book writer Sean Michael Wilson..


Wilson's skillful adaptation of Hearn's ghostly tales—along with superb manga illustrations from UK-based Japanese artist Inko Ai Takita—make these fascinating stories come to life...

This book is in traditional Japanese reading order—from back to front—so that fans and manga lovers can enjoy an authentic reading experience.."


The official info also says: "This spine-tingling collection of seven Japanese ghost stories will thrill lovers of yokai stories!" Though, actually, they are more mystery than horror, and with a subtle touch. The conclusions of the stories are also rather vague and open- ended. Many modern readers are used to over dramatic stories, hyberbolic exaggeration of action, romance, drama, shooting, horror, etc. Therefore, stories which are subtle, vague, and leave the situation unresolved or not clearly ‘wrapped up’, come over as underdone or lacking in some way.  But if you look at the original stories, first collected into English over 120 years ago, the endings are the same as the ones here - the manga has followed the original Japanese stories closely.  So, they were obviously designed to be vague endings by the Japanese and Chinese people that came up with them in the first place, hundreds of years ago. 


Get it here:

On AMAZON

BARNES and the other one:

Direct from TUTTLE

​Some pages from various different stories in the book:

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​Enjoy a video reading of the ghost story, "A Dead Secret" from the book, Manga Yokai Stories by Sean Michael Wilson, a collection of manga adaptations of classic tales of yokai (spirits) from Japanese folklore.

​Presented by the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California on Saturday, October 30, 2021. Enjoy a reading of the ghost story, "A Dead Secret" from the book, Manga Yokai Stories by Sean Michael Wilson, a collection of manga adaptations of classic tales of yokai (spirits) from Japanese folklore. Presented by the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California on Saturday, October 30, 2021.
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Reviews

“Sean Michael Wilson succeeds in his mission of retelling these stories, creepiness and all, and adapting them into an easy-to-digest manga form. U.K.-based artist Inko Ai Takita provides the illustrations, which are a stunning black-and-white blend of manga-style panels, loosely sketched backgrounds and designs, and detailed expressions. Manga Yokai Stories may be light on yokai, but it's an attractive starting point for readers who want to explore old-fashioned Japanese horror.” 
​- 
Otaku USA

“Each story is very unique and makes the reader feel from fear, sadness, and even happiness for some of the characters. Overall this retold by Sean Michael Wilson makes the experience of reading this manga very easy and enjoyable. 4.5 stars”
-  Goodreads review by Gerardine Betancourt
 
“This is a fantastic read that reminds me how much I miss reading manga and yokai stories. The illustration reminds you if manga and the stories managed to capture the Japanese values and the characters emotions really well. My favorite is Reconciliation, Before the Supreme Court, and Nuke-kubi…Some stories may feel too short that you feel like you don't understand what's going on due to its abrupt end, but overall it's really good.” - Goodreads review by Tasya Dita
 
“I've been reading more manga lately and when I saw this set of Japanese supernatural stories in manga, I knew I wanted to read and review it. When I first saw the cover, I thought the stories would be a bit more on the horrific side. Despite this not being the case, I enjoyed reading all 7 of these supernatural tales….I liked learning about some of the often told tales of a different culture. The artistry in this book is also very well done!” – Goodreads review by Penny Danner

“The various myths and folk tales, depicted in semi-realistic manga style, are fascinating both as glimpses into Japanese culture and as an exploration of universal human fears.”- Star Tribune
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 Manga Yokai Stories は、小泉八雲の『怪談』、『日本雑録』を題材に、「 死骸に跨がる男」など全7話を収録した、英文によるグラフィックノベル。
スコットランド出身のショーン・マイケル・ウィルソンが脚本をおこし、日本出身のインコ・アイ・タキタが作画を担当した背筋も凍る妖怪話をどうぞ。
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「小泉八雲の『怪談』、『日本雑録』を題材に、「ろくろ首」など全7話を収録した、英文によるグラフィックノベル」
Sean Michael Wilson さんは、スコットランド出身、熊本在住の漫画原作者。9月発売。
https://www.tuttle.co.jp/products/show/isbn:9784805315668?fbclid=IwAR2BlO7uXxHZ7QNQ7YgX32M7i3XtNU8j8acaxo5R_OwUFkD_ou9WjY7vHsY
Sean Michael Wilson - Wilson's Web