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is a Japanese horror novel written by
Otsuichi is the pen name of , born 1978. He is a Japanese writer, mostly of horror short stories, as well as a filmmaker. He is a member of the Mystery Writers of Japan and the Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan. He made his debut with ''Summer, Fi ...
about two high school students fascinated by murder. The novel won the
Honkaku Mystery Award The are presented every year by the Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan. They honor the best in honkaku (i.e. authentic, orthodox) mystery fiction and critical works published in the previous year. Honkaku Mystery Award for Best Fiction winne ...
in 2003. It was adapted into a
manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is used ...
by Kendi Oiwa. In October 2008, they were published in Japan by
Kadokawa Kadokawa may refer to: *Kadokawa Corporation, the holding company of the Kadokawa Group **Kadokawa Content Gate and Kadokawa Mobile, both former names for BookWalker **Kadokawa Future Publishing, a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation and the publi ...
. Following this, they were published in English by
Tokyopop Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed ...
in September, 2008. In 2008, the novel was adapted into a film of the same title directed by Gen Takahashi. The manga and novel was rereleased in North America by
VIZ Media VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ ...
in August 2015. The stories were originally published in a single hardcover edition and then later published in the form of two paperback books.


Plot

The novel contains a series of six short stories about two high school students: beginning with a boy called 'Boku (I)' who remains unnamed until late in the story, and a girl named Yoru Morino. Both of them are strongly attracted to the dark side of human beings. Two of them strangely encounter and become involved in a bizarre case. * - Morino finds a diary written by a serial killer. Since it describes a third victim that has yet to be discovered, Morino shows it to a classmate called "Boku", who is a protagonist/narrator of this story. They then encounter a victim themselves. * - There have been horrible incidents of animals and humans were cut off their hands and stolen. ‘Boku’ identifies the culprit, coming up with a plan to catch. * - The narrator investigates a series of dog kidnappings after his sister discovers a pit filled with their bodies. He finally managed to find out a scene of the crime. * - Morino faces trouble sleeping, and is looking for a rope to put around her neck in the belief the right rope will help her sleep. * - Saeki spends all his free time gardening, digging holes to try to control his obsession with burying people alive. He killed a young neighbor boy, drowning him in his coffin. Now he snatched another female victim and put her in a coffin. * - There was a murder in an abandoned hospital. A few weeks later, a mysterious high school boy gives victim's younger sister a message from the victim, recorded just before she was murdered.


Characters

;Boku: The narrator. A handsome high school student obsessed with death. States his passions are to "haunt crime scenes to look for details" and to "stand where a body had been not long ago". Yearns to watch Morino's death. ;Yoru Morino: A beautiful high school student obsessed with death. She is quiet and shy. Befriends the narrator after an incident involving Mr. Shinohara. Has a glaring white scar on her wrist. ;Mr. Shinohara:Morino's science teacher. Has an obsession with hands.


The Cafe Manager

:A manager at Morino's favorite cafe. He is never named. ;Mr. Saeki:A man who lives near Morino. He's obsessed with burying people alive. ;Yū Morino:Yoru's twin sister. ;Natsumi Kitazawa:Her older sister was recently murdered, and her world has fallen apart. When a mysterious boy approaches her with a tape of her sister's final words, she can't stop herself from listening. ;Itsuki Kamiyama:A friend of Natsumi's from junior high, he is a student at the same school as the boy who gave her the tape.


Media


Novel

Written by
Otsuichi is the pen name of , born 1978. He is a Japanese writer, mostly of horror short stories, as well as a filmmaker. He is a member of the Mystery Writers of Japan and the Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan. He made his debut with ''Summer, Fi ...
, ''GOTH'' was published in Japan by
Kadokawa Shoten , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines s ...
() in 2002, and later released in a two volume
bunkobon In Japan, are small-format paperback books, designed to be affordable and space saving. The great majority of ''bunkobon'' are A6 (105×148mm or 4.1"×5.8") in size. They are sometimes illustrated and like other Japanese paperbacks usually ...
version named () and ().
Tokyopop Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed ...
licensed the novel for an English-language release in North America, and published it on October 7, 2008.


Manga

The manga adaption, by Kendi Oiwa, eliminates the Dog storyline, and combines Voice and Twins, with Morino taking Natsumi's role in the final story. It is licensed by Tokyopop and published on September 9, 2008. It is also licensed in Italy by Planet Manga, in France by
Pika Édition Pika Édition is a French publisher headquartered in Vanves, specializing in manga. Founded as a daughter company of Media System Editions, it was taken over by Hachette Livre in 2007. Distribution ''Pika Édition'' publications are distributed in ...
, in Germany by
Egmont Manga & Anime Egmont Manga (EMA, formerly ''Egmont Manga & Anime'') is one of the largest publishers of manga in Germany. It was founded in 2000 as a daughter company of Egmont Ehapa, after the manga boom in Germany became apparent around the turn of the m ...
, and in Russia by
Comics Factory Comics Factory (russian: Фабрика комиксов, ''Fabrika komiksov'') is a comics imprint of major Russian book publisher AST. It serves as a translator and the licensor of European graphic novels, Japanese manga, Korean manhwa, Taiwan ...
.


Film

Based upon the novel by Otsuichi, '' Goth'' is about two morbid high school students who share a fascination with murder. Kamiyama (
Kanata Hongō is a Japanese actor, voice actor and model. He is part of Stardust Promotion and has appeared several times in music videos, movies, TV series, and magazines. His major breakthrough role was as Ryoma Echizen in the live-action film adaptatio ...
) is an outwardly, friendly and popular boy who hides his potentially sociopathic nature with a carefree, happy attitude. Loner Morino (
Rin Takanashi is a Japanese film and television actress. Career Takanashi starred in the 2007 film adaptation of the Japanese novel ''Goth (novel), Goth'' as one of the lead characters, Yoru Morino. She starred in the 2009 Super Sentai series ''Samurai Sentai ...
), on the other hand, does little to hide her strange nature; she never smiles, does not interact with her classmates, and wears a long-sleeved, black school uniform even during the middle of summer. While these two seem to share little in common and do not interact with each other in front of their peers, their shared interest in death and murder has turned them into an unusual duo. Initially happy to exchange books on morbid subjects, a series of recent murders spark their interest and they begin investigating the killer. This serial killer has a fondness for cheerful young women and, after severing their left hand as a trophy, displays their dead bodies in public locations to be discovered. After Morino discovers the killer's notebook in a local café, the two use it to see the corpses for themselves before discovery and attempt to discern his identity.


References


External links

*{{ann, novel, 17343, Goth 2003 manga Horror anime and manga Japanese horror novels Seinen manga Tokyopop titles Viz Media novels