Genre Horror
Age Rating Mature
Price $9.99

Publisher's summary of volume from the back cover: In the aftermath of a strange earthquake, an entire elementary school vanishes, leaving nothing but a hole in the ground. While parents mourn and authorities investigate, the students and teachers find themselves somewhere far away…somewhere cold and dark... a lifeless, nightmarish wasteland in which their school stands like a lone fortress. As panic turns to terror, as the rules start to fall apart, a sixth-grade boy named Sho and his friends must fight to survive in an alien world...

When I first read The Drifting Classroom a few years ago, I was turned off. The manga felt dated, especially when compared to the works of Junji Ito. Now with fresher eyes, I picked up the first volume again and it's not as horrible as I remembered it. Kazuo Umezu's art still looks old but the fundamentals and techniques are there (and will be later refined by the newer generation). The story is gripping and unlike a series like X-Files, you know there's going to be some sense of closure by the time you finish the series.

What's compelling about The Drifting Classroom is that Umezu uses characterization to attract readers to the story. The first few pages focuses on our lead character and how he leaves his home saying hurtful things to his mother (and vice versa). As readers, we already know there's some foreboding here and the tragedy where it's headed. As the story progresses, Umezu unhinges us not with physical threats but through psychological challenges. The children are separated from their loved ones. A teacher is forced to calm a crowd of students by threatening his own son. Our main character is given the choice of lying to his fellow classmates in other to placate them or to tell them the truth that might result in a riot.

When it comes to the visuals, it's not cutting edge but those who can look beyond that will notice how effective they really are. Chapter one is plagued with dialogue but when the big event arrives, Umezu reduces his panels like a countdown timer and everything is conveyed visually, especially through the character's eyes. It's a now common technique in comics but Umezu executes it perfectly--and arguably ahead of its time considering The Drifting Classroom was first published in the 1970s. Not everything's perfect by any means. Shading is often used to avoid drawing character details of the background but for the most part, the essential drawings are well represented.

Those that are expecting this to be kid friendly manga, especially since most of the characters are children, will be disappointed. This is dark and vicious tale and the first volume already hints at it. Perhaps another unintended horror is the cultural dissonance between Japanese culture back then and Western civility. Children are ruthlessly slapped in the face by adults for example. But another horrifying aspect is how Umezu does not shirk away from the brutalities of children, whether it's the hurtful words we might speak out loud or our actions as we respond to taunts and the opposite sex.

The end of the manga gives a brief history of Kazuo Umezu and it's a welcome read for those unfamiliar with his work (which was me a few years ago).

Overall The Drifting Classroom is a sophisticated book, especially when you consider its background. A series like this relies on good old-fashioned storytelling (whether it's through the text or the art) and while admittedly that won't gain everyone's attention at first glance, it rewards those that have the patience.

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