Ah, the madness that is Hideshi Hino. Lately I've been rereading most of my library of peculiar and strange mangas so I remembered just how much good Panorama of Hell is.
I've read just three of Hinos comics so I can't really say this is the best he ever made but as far as my opinion goes this made the biggest impact on me while I was reading it. The art as well is a tad bit better from the previous works that I posted some time ago.
The story of the whole book revolves around a painter and his family. He "talks" with the reader and goes on to explain various things he uses for inspiration and tells you the story of his life. This could easily be a premise of a melodramatic Hollywood film directed by Wes Anderson with quirky camera angles and hip characters. But hey, this is Japanese comics we're talking about and the main protagonist is peeling his face off on the front cover so I think by now you realize how this is more of a fucking morbidly disgusting mockery of human existence and violence. In fact I think this is the most violent Hideshi Hino manga I've read so far. So preferably read this while listening to your favorite old school death metal band.
Despite the fact that the characters in this story (or any other story that Hino ever did in fact) have absolutely no redeeming qualities or any good intentions something inside me made me feel sorry for these characters. I rarely feel anything towards fictional characters but this time around this whole concept made me very depressed after reading the whole thing. I think it's very sad that these characters have to live through such atrocities and even sadder is that this is the only world they know. They actually enjoy this torment that they experience on an hourly basis. It is not something they have chosen to be, it's just that a series of misfortunes through generations piled up and brought them to this point.
This might not click with you as it did with me but I think you should give this one a try anyway.
Recommended.
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I've read, and own nearly all of Hino's work, and I still think this is his best, and most personal work.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this
ReplyDeleteI'll never forget that day I walked into my local comic shop and snagged a copy of Hideshi Hino's masterpiece. Panorama of Hell blew through my skull like a tornado made of fire. It was the game changer.
ReplyDeletewhere do u read it?
ReplyDeletei'm a new fan and i'm searching for his comics but so far i only found 'skins & b0nes' and 'hell baby'