▪	RELEASED BY:		TOKYOPOP
		▪	AUTHOR / ART:		OTSU-ICHI / MIYKO HASAMI
		▪	FORMAT:		WESTERN  / BW
		▪	PAGES:		183
		▪	RATING:		NR
		▪	RELEASE DATE:		06/12/2007
		▪	REVIEW DATE:		06/28/2007
		▪	REVIEWED BY:		CHRISTOPHER SEAMAN

Beauty and sadness complement each other perfectly, creating in combination works of literature, art, music and drama that have become classics in their own right.  While it is not healthy to live exclusively on a creative diet of stories that contain these elements, there is sometimes a need to indulge in them as a kind of catharsis, purging one’s self of some inner pain, or putting into perspective issues that are creating tensions in life.  CALLING YOU is one such work worth exploring when such needs arise.  Filled with a beauty and a sadness that through a combination of lovely writing and softly evocative illustrations,  this book is a curiously uplifting downer for readers.    

Author Otsu-ichi gave narrative form to CALLING YOU, a one-volume manga anthology recently published by TOKYOPOP, that as the cover blurb suggested, would “haunt you long after the last page is turned.”  CALLING YOU was a great manga, well worth reading.  Now TOKYOPOP has published Ostu-ichi’s stories in a new anthology illustrated by Miyako Hasami.  Bearing the same name, CALLING YOU contains three stories in this version, with the two stories from the manga being supplemented by a new tale called “Flower Song.”  Each stand alone narrative shares a common theme involving surreal or supernatural elements.  These stories are, while not gory in the tradition of much modern horror, have dark, horrific undercurrents in them that will unsettle you in the style of contemporary supernatural suspense fiction.  Think of early Spielberg movies, based on the theme of ‘ordinary people in extraordinary situations’ and movies like SIXTH SENSE, and you will understand what this reviewer means.

The first story, “Calling You,” involves a young woman, Ryo Aihara, a loner with few friends, who imagines owning a cell phone.  She does not possess a real one because no one would call her anyway, or at least so she thinks.  Imagine her surprise when one day she ‘receives’ a real call on her imaginary phone from a young man, Shinya Nozaki, who also has a similar device of his own.  Is romance in the air for Ryo and her new friend?  What about the other young woman she talks to on the ‘phone’?  Where will she fit in as this strangely engaging tale unfolds?   

The second story, “Kiz/Kids,” is about a young boy, Keigo, who is also an outcast among his peers.  Dropped into special education classes because of ‘learning problems’, he is really out of touch with others because of the abusive world he comes from at home.  Only when Asato, a new boy, appears in his class does he actually find a soul mate.  And what a soul mate!  Asato has the miraculous power to heal others by absorbing their pain.  Such a power comes at a high price though, and Keigo quickly comes to see what it is his new friend must deal with.  The bond that develops between them is quite strong, but must endure many hardships.  Both boys must come to terms with painful events in their past and somehow find ways to survive in an unsympathetic world.  Supporting characters come and go throughout, but almost all of them seem to eventually betray the boys.  Relentless in its description of anguish and squalor, this story is the most difficult to read, and in some ways, the most compelling of the three in the book. 

Finally, there is “Flower Pot,” set in a hospital where a patient recovering from a train crash that took the life of his lover and their unborn child encounters a mysterious tree on the grounds.  Under this tree is a strange plant that emits a tuneful humming sound.  Transferring it from the tree to a pot in his semi private room, our narrator, with fellow patients Haruki and Nakagawa, watch in fascination as the tiny plant blooms with a human female’s face at the centre of its exotic flower.  The tiny flower girl sings as she sits in the sun, much to the delight of the patients.  When visitors or nurses enter the room, ‘she’ is hidden from sight, and Haruki or Nakagawa hum in accompaniment to mask ‘her’ song.  One nurse, Aihara, upon hearing the song, recognizes it as something a patient who died recently at the hospital used to sing.  After much persuasion by our three patients, she tells them the story of Misaki, the patient in question.  The tale of this troubled young woman, like the hook in the other two tales, turns the story on its head. 

Otsu-ichi has written fanciful and poignant stories in this anthology, taking the paranormal and incorporating it expertly into the real world lives of the characters featured in each tale.  The translation of his writing by Agnes Yoshida gives warmth to the language, and brings each descriptive passage to life.  The dialogue is natural and the characters are realized with a keen attention to detail and a sensitivity that makes it easy to empathize with them as they deal with the life changing events in each tale.  Whether it is the outcast girl with her imaginary cell phone, or the heartbroken man coming to terms with the death of his lover and unborn child, Otsu-ichi gives these alienated souls some intangible quality that leaves readers begging the question of how they could have ended up so isolated from the many people around them.  Of the three, “Kiz/Kids” grabs with its terrible beauty.  By no means a cheerful story, it is rich with depth, and stays with you long after you have finished reading it.  “Flower Pot” is the most uplifting, showing that there can be limits to despair, and once you have truly reached the bottom, there is often only one way left to go- up into the light.  The journey is never easy, and the process of recovery can often happen in the most bizarre ways, but it is not impossible to find inner peace, sometimes even the most awful of experiences.         

IN SUMMARY:
CALLING YOU is beautiful, sad, and joyous- a slice of life dipped in a supernatural sauce of ghosts, time travel, magical powers, and imaginings made real.  This anthology will mesmerize you with its powerful writing, and haunt you with its poignancy.  If you are looking for realities skewed and strange, CALLING YOU is just the book you want to read.