Blood on the Tracks vol. 10

There’s been a major change in Seiichi’s life since the last time we checked in on him:  His mother has been arrested for pushing Shige off of the cliff way back in the first volume.  She’s currently undergoing psychological examination to determine if she’s competent to stand trial, but her absence from her son’s life has already had a noticeable impact.  He’s finally able to start asserting himself more, declaring that he’s getting out of the family house once he turns eighteen, and even manages to patch things up with Fukiishi.  As much as this series loves to traffic in misery and general unpleasantness, there’s a real, “Everything’s coming up Millhouse!” vibe to its first half as we get to see what things look like when they’re going Seiichi’s way.

…which means that mangaka Shuzo Oshimi is only setting things up for his protagonist’s life to get that much worse.  While most readers will likely be able to see this coming a mile away (and for those who don’t, Oshimi clearly signposts it in one of the chapter break pages), they probably won’t be expecting the way in which it happens.  It involves the return of one of the key members of the supporting cast and what looks like a full-on jump from the genre of psychological suspense over into horror.

If I’m being generous, I can somewhat bring myself to believe that someone like Seiichi, who has spent this series having very little agency of his own, going along with the events that follow because that’s what he’s been groomed to do.  I realize it’s kind of a stretch and definitely one that people who like to shout, “DON’T GO IN THAT ROOM!” during a horror movie are likely going to be unable to go along with.  Not that I can really blame them as Oshimi hasn’t managed the tone of this series all that well over its run, as seen by its frequent (accidental?) brushes with self-parody.  More than that, this latest development also foreshadows a twist that threatens to be as dark as it is predictable, and that’s something I can’t say I’m looking forward to seeing in vol. 11.