Horror Movies from Japan - Pt. 2

Hello! I'm back this week with my thoughts on Corpse Party and As the Gods Will. First up, is Corpse Party!

Corpse Party (link)

Game Play-though

It started out pretty dark as the lights were off in the haunted/abandoned school, but came back with some color. It really didn't seem so bad til I saw one of the evil beings murder someone...then I was scared and covering my eyes. Remember, I'm a scaredy cat that has to watch horror movies with the lights on. ^^;

Anyway, It was pretty close to the video game for the most part except that some characters were either replaced or missing from the script which I felt took away from the story. I also will NEVER EVER play Sachiko Ever After. Why? Because I don't want to risk being murdered by a vengeful spirit. 

One thing that I thought was weird was of the five spirits of Tenjin Elementary, one was more of a zombie than ghost. That made the movie 1000% more scary for me. ^^;

There's a post-credit scene, so watch to the end if you plan on seeing this. Japanese level of this movie is pretty advanced, so if you have been out of practice or a beginner, subtitles are your friend. 

If you love seeing guts and brains all over the place, this movie is right up your alley. You can watch the game play-through which is what I prefer over the movie.

As the Gods Will (link)

For my second movie this week, I watched As the Gods Will, based on the manga of the same name, or Kami-sama no Iu Toori (神さまの言うとおり). 

It jumped straight into the action with the heads of high school students exploding in a "game" called Daruma ga Koronda. It seems to be played like Red Light, Green Light except if you're caught moving, off with your head. This is just the opening, too. Aside from Daruma-san, Maneki Neko and some Kokeshi show up to "play" with the students as well. 

I haven't read the manga yet, so I'm lost as to who one of the characters was. There were also quite a few flashbacks that cleared things up, but some things were still confusing. This was pretty awesome, but if I were in the same situation as the main characters, I'm sure I would have died. If you play these games without the death, they could actually be pretty fun.

The Japanese level in this movie is also advanced, so you'll need the subs if you aren't on that level. There's lots of blood and a psycho in this movie, but not as much guts as Corpse Party. I actually was able to watch this without hiding, though Daruma-san is pretty creepy.   

Yokai Spotting: Kasa-Obake

In Japanese folklore, ghosts, light angels, and nether-creatures are called "yokai". Yokai are the spirit forms that inhabit the world of spirits in Shinto religion. Folklore of Japan has countless types of yokai, making it one of the richest cultural examples of creative spirituality on the planet Earth. This differs from Western culture and it's black versus white, good versus bad, and darkness versus light duality which so many people are tired of comparing themselves to.

Anyway, this edition of the blog focuses on different yokai creatures: Yokai-Spotting!

Kasa-Obake

(Umbrella Ghost)

The Kasa-Obake is that Umbrella creature you might have seen in an anime...

Type: Tsukumogami 

Meaning "Kami of the tool" or any object that reaches its 100th birthday and becomes self-aware. 

Maybe "Kasa-Obake" (Umbrella Ghost) is a discarded umbrella that fell by a wayside, finding a quiet spot under a bridge where it gained the expanse of time and experiences with animals that it needed to take on a life of its own. That or a grudge that it retained from its previous owner. 

Generally, they're not too harmful (as yokai) and Japanese schoolchildren like to doodle them in their notes or creatively.

"Kasa-obake" is one of the Kirby series baddies that made frequent cameos in the older gameboy, SNES, and even the newer installments.

This baddie gives Kirby the ability to wield an umbrella against his foes.

Always mind your umbrella so it doesn't bear your eternal grudge...