PTSD Radio 1 (Vol. 1-2): Omnibus (PTSD Radio 2-in-1)

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Cursed Item: A table, from which a ghost inexplicably emerges at night. When it is turned over to a monastery for inspection, the head priest immediately has it incinerated, and shows the owners several nails that had been imbedded in the wood. As he explains, it's likely the wood came from a tree used for ushi no toki mairi, turning it into a source of impurity and corruption. Written in a series of short fragments, the narrative has a broken, disjointed style that worked well to create an unsettling story. From a storytelling perspective, the narrative could be a little too fragmented but I could give up that for a creepy atmosphere.

What was the genesis of this project, the initial vision? Did you always plan to embed a larger mythos within the story? This included Nakayama himself, as one side of his face suddenly swelled up like a balloon and his temperature dropped...yet when he rewrote his idea to say no more, he suddenly felt fine.

I thought to leave a review since I've seen only one so far. I have read 6 volumes so far and have mixed opinion on the manga. NAKAYAMA: No, not to speak of. My feeling is that if someone encountering one of those apparitions was able to give it a name, it would suggest they had the mental or psychological bandwidth left to do so – but I don't think they do, or would. I simply speak on behalf of the characters, so I don't know anything they don't know. At first glance I thought that this manga will be just bunch of short horror stories with no plot what so ever but after reading it i realized that every story is connected in some way or another.

Creepy Doll: One story involves a group of kids finding a large sealed doll covered in hair... and whatever was bound to it is furious at being exorcized. Pros: shattered storyline works well - short stories entangling each other and gradually connecting to main plot which is about curse, atmosphere is dark and tense sometimes, art is done nicely.

Demonic Dummy: A straw dummy that might be possessed by the God of Hair (or might be one of its forms) appears. I was enthralled with the first two “omnibus” collections. It’s a special flavor and I don’t if know it’s for everyone. You need patience and a tongue for Asian horror. These are like dozens of bite sized bits of uncomfortable slow burning terror made of bugs, hair and a relentless bleak darkness that follows. Its not bloody, it’s haunting. It’s a different read. Sure, a Junji Ito fan will gravitate to this, however I found it more rewarding than a few of Junji’s collections. It creeps better than anything. nothing about PTSD Radio is cute and cuddly.

What's It About? There exists an entity lurking in the shadows. It will grasp victims by their hair and pull them down, down to their death. You can see it out of the corner of your eye, its grasping hands from the streets below or shadows cast on the street. It's unknown whether its a god, a curse, or a psychosis. Explosive Breeder: The Body Horror things multiply copiously inside human bodies, and exit in a rush via any available orifices. Wtf?! My skin is crawling after reading this. It was so bizarre and unsettling, the only thing that came out of my mouth after reading this was, "what in the f**k!"NAKAYAMA: I'm very much interested in folk traditions and the beliefs of Japan's minorities, including mountain worship, as well as Buddhism, Shinto, and the like, but Ogushi-sama wasn't based on any specific real-world belief system. Room Full of Crazy: One of the weird boy's victims obsessively writes invitations to the God of Hair into the walls and floors of his room. PTSD Radio volumes 1-6 are currently available in print as three omnibus volumes from Kodansha Comics. You can read our review of the digital version here and in the Fall 2022 Manga Guide.