Plot
Story
''Gyo'' opens with a crew of fishermen aboard a trawler dragging up a number of strange-looking fish in the boat's net. Upon trying to inspect the unusual creatures, they discover that the strange fish seem to have legs. The fish then suddenly scuttle away, diving back into the ocean. Meanwhile, in Okinawa, Tadashi, a young man, and his longtime girlfriend Kaori arrive on the island to enjoy a scuba-diving vacation. Encountering a fish with legs, Kaori, who has a hyper-sensitive sense of smell, becomes irritated by its smell and begs Tadashi to get rid of it. He seals it in a bag, but it manages to escape. The next day, large amounts of marine life with legs invade Okinawa, including a legged great white shark which menaces the protagonists. Tadashi and Kaori manage to return to Tokyo, although Kaori becomes irritated and paranoid, claiming to smell the fish. They both encounter the bagged fish they originally encased and present it to his uncle, Doctor Koyanagi. Koyanagi reveals that the creature is the result of the Japanese Army's World War II research into a virus that causes its host to produce a deadly and repulsive stench, in a desperate effort to turn the tide of the war. His father developed a "walking machine", which pumps the virus into a host and causes the host to release the gas which powers the machine's movement; walking machines were built to carry the hosts farther, allowing them to reach and sicken enemy troops. However, during the war, enemy aircraft sunk the ship carrying the prototypes for the walking machines. A short while later, Tadashi returns to find Koyanagi missing an arm. As he was examining the machine in detail, it used a series of spikes and tubes to latch on to his arm, forcing him to amputate it. The walking machine scuttles into the room, now carrying Koyanagi's arm instead of the fish. Soon, Kaori and Tadashi discover that hordes of marine life with legs are in the process of overrunning Tokyo, having gradually invaded theCharacters
*: A young man who enjoys scuba diving. He has a girlfriend named Kaori and an uncle named Koyanagi. At the end he joins a group of university students, who happen to be immune from the death-stench, to create a vaccine to defeat the disease. In the OVA version, instead of Kaori, Tadashi becomes infected and is attached to a custom made walking machine by Koyanagi. The machine later turns against Koyanagi and kills him before escaping. *: Tadashi's girlfriend. She has an extremely sensitive nose and becomes very jealous when Tadashi is near other women. Due to her overly sensitive nose, she seems to be able to smell the creatures when they are nearby. However, she is later infected, causing her body to swell up and forces the gas with the "death stench" out of her body. Because of this, she began to think she was disgusting, that Tadashi wouldn't love her if she wasn't beautiful. This, along with the horrible stench, made her attempt to commit suicide. Tadashi then immediately carries her to his uncle Koyanagi's lab for aid, however Koyanagi rigs her up to a custom walking machine and ultimately, she becomes like the walking dead creatures, except with a will of her own. As a walking machine, she is eventually destroyed by a horde of other walking machines that deem the custom walker to be a threat to their survival. In the OVA adaptation, Kaori is switched with Tadashi as the main protagonist. She also possesses the unexplained immunity to the infected creatures' poisons instead of Tadashi. *: Tadashi's uncle and an inventor. He discovers it was his father, who died of a heart attack in a factory during a hot summer, was responsible for the creation of the mechanical legs. While dissecting the fish, the legs then clamp onto his arm. He cuts off his arm to prevent the infection from spreading to the rest of his body. He is fascinated by the machine, not caring that he lost an arm to it. He then creates his own version of the walking machine and puts the infected Kaori onto it. He is mortally wounded when he is stabbed by Kaori's walking machine. He then goes to Lab #2 where his father originally died and places himself onto another walking machine that is able to fly. When he notices Tadashi and Ms. Yoshiyama interacting, he attacks them both and captures her. In the OVA version, Koyanagi is shown as an antagonist who went insane and connected an infected Tadashi to the custom Walker. *: Assistant of Doctor Koyanagi, who cares for him and Tadashi. When she was seen with Tadashi by Kaori, Kaori tried to attack her. Ms. Yoshiyama then ran outside where she was captured by the Mechanical Koyanagi. She does not appear in the OVA adaptation. *The Citrous Circus: ABonus stories
Two unrelated stories, and , are included as a pair of bonus stories, placed at the very end after the conclusion of ''Gyo''. Although both are completely different and unrelated stories (both to each other and to ''Gyo''), they were merged as one chapter altogether. The former is the shorter story, merely consisting of four pages, compared to the latter's thirty-one pages.The Sad Tale of the Principal Post
The story starts with a family celebrating their new home. After noticing that her father is missing, the family's daughter hears him crying out in pain and leads her mother and brother into the basement to look for her father. In horror, the three find the father, who has somehow gotten stuck underneath a huge pillar, one of several that support the house, crushing his body. The mother tries in vain to save her husband but he warns that the pillar that traps him is the principal post of the house; if it is moved, the building will collapse. He tells his family that there is no way he can be saved, and he will sacrifice himself so his family can have their home. That evening the man succumbs to his injuries and dies, and his family places a shrine at the post. Time moves on, but his skeleton remains still trapped underneath the post, along with the mystery of how he got stuck in the first place.The Enigma of Amigara Fault
A huge earthquake has struck an unnamed prefecture, leaving a fault to be discovered by the people on the Amigara mountain (the name ''Amigara'' means "empty shell"). People from all over Japan, including a team of scientists, arrive at the mountain to see the strange sight for themselves. Two hikers, Owaki and Yoshida, meet while hiking, having the same intention to see the fault. The fault is shrouded in mystery; its face being covered human-shaped holes. It has captured nationwide interest, and several attempts to examine how far the fault goes have all ended in vain. People discussed the origins of the fault, noting that the holes are definitely not natural and must have been dug from the inside of the mountain, but questioning why the holes were made or who would have the technology to make them. Owaki notices Yoshida is looking for something, to which she replies she is looking for a hole shaped like herself. Owaki dismisses the idea, stating it to be ridiculous, but another hiker, Nakagaki, overhearing their conversation and siding with Yoshida, claims he has found his own hole. He takes them to his hole, pointing out that it is precisely his size and shape, and that he fits into it exactly. After removing his clothes to his underwear, Nakagaki disappears into the hole before Owaki can stop him. Scientists cannot find any trace of Nakagaki inside the hole, and a rescue squad composed of people small enough to squeeze into the hole has to retreat after barely getting deep. Later that night, Owaki has a nightmare about Nakagaki trapped inside the hole because it has been deformed by the earthquake. He wakes up to find Yoshida claiming she has found her own hole, located near the foot of the fault. Meanwhile, Nakagaki still has not been found. Another man claims a hole is made for him, and disappears into it in a panic, leading to an outburst in which several other people descend into the mountain, much to the horror of the scientists, who flee the scene. That night, Yoshida feels that the hole is calling her name and luring her into it, and she knows if she goes there, she will be trapped. Owaki tries to calm her down by stuffing her hole with rocks, and stays the night with her. Owaki has another nightmare. He dreams that he is in the distant past, and, having committed a horrendous crime, is sentenced by a tribe living in the mountain's caves to enter a hole carved in his likeness, forced to keep walking deeper into the mountain's interior in the ever-narrowing tunnel. Owaki enters the hole and after some time moving forward in it, he can feel his neck and limbs being tortuously stretched and distorted, but he remains alive and in agony. He wakes up screaming and finds out that Yoshida has unblocked her hole and disappeared into it. As he sits mournfully in front of Yoshida's hole, he drops his flashlight and discovers his own hole, much to his horror, located near Yoshida's. Mesmerized, he strips off his clothes and enters his hole. Several months later, the scientists are informed of another fault on the other side of the mountain, revealed during the same earthquake which exposed the first fault, but had gone undiscovered until now. This, too, has holes in it, but they are not human-shaped; instead the shapes are long and distorted. One worker examines one of the holes, and as he shines his flashlight in it, notices that a horrifyingly disfigured being is slowly inching out of the chasm.Media
Manga
''Gyo'' was written and illustrated by Junji Ito. In his words, the inspiration came fromOVA
An OVA adaptation was produced by Ufotable. It was directed by Takayuki Hirao while character designs were provided by Takuro Takahashi. The OVA was originally planned to be 30 minutes long but had evolved to 75 minutes throughout production. It was originally slated to release on December 14, 2011 but was delayed and released on February 15, 2012. Terracotta screened the film in London at the Prince Charles Cinema from April 12–15, 2012 as part of their Terracotta Far East Film Festival. Terracotta released the film on DVD September 3, 2012. Both DVD and Blu-ray versions were also released in Australia in March 2013 by Hanabee and DVD-only in North America on July 9, 2013 by Aniplex of America.Reception
In France, ''Gyo'' was nominated at the 37th annual Angoulême International Comics Festival. Katherine Dacey of Mangacritic.com placed the manga at #1 on her Favorite Spooky Manga list. For the first volume, Carl Kimlinger ofReferences
External links