Horror logo

Thoughts on Trail of Blood

A suffocating, garish manga that will leave you shaken

By Jennifer ChildersPublished 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago 5 min read
Like

Trigger warning: This manga I'm about to review deals with emotional, psychological, and physical abuse from a mother figure, so if that's something that is particularly upsetting to you, click away.

What comes to mind when you think of your mother? Though nobody's mom is perfect, most people still think of their mother as the only true comfort and warmth in their lives. And it makes sense: We spend nine months in our mother's bodies--we are literally a physical extension of our mothers. It's why most people get defensive when you talk bad about their mother--we feel that talking bad about someone's mother, is indirectly talking bad about ourselves.

But what happens when your mother isn't who you thought she was? In fact, she's nothing short of a monster? That's what Shuzou Oshimi's chilling manga, Chi no Wadachi ("Trail of Blood" or "Blood on The Tracks", depending on translation) is all about.

Seiichi Osabe is a middle-schooler living a very normal life. That is until he witnesses his mother do the unthinkable: She throws his cousin, Shigeru, off of a cliff during a family hike. This opens up a whole Pandora's box of insanity, deep-seated hatred, and repressed memories for Seiichi. What was it that made her "snap"? Or...has she always been this way?

Throughout this uncomfortable story, we see the facade of this model stay-at-home mother and housewife begin to crack. She gaslights him into believing he is remembering everything wrong, and she never pushed Shigeru off of a cliff. She shoves her fingers down his throat in an attempt to force him to vomit. Upon finding out he has a crush on a classmate who reciprocates his feelings, she forces him to tear up a love letter she wrote him--telling him she's the only woman he needs and holding and kissing him the same way one would kiss their lover. She strangles him. She kicks him out of the house and only lets him back in once he promises to hate everyone who isn't her, and have her as his only friend. She makes him lose his mind. She makes Norman Bates' mother seem well-adjusted.

A YouTuber called Super Eyepatch Wolf has called Trail of Blood "the manga that breaks people"--and it's super easy to see why. As mentioned previously, most of us are programmed with an innate need to defend our mothers, even when they do the unspeakable. Which, sadly, can be a factor to why so many horrible mothers often get away with their actions, and why the cycle of generational trauma can--sometimes quite literally--leave a trail of blood. Trail of Blood breaks people because no one wants to think of mothers as monsters. But we are forced to sit uncomfortably while this woman makes her son pay for all of her crimes with his sanity.

But the story, the depiction of a literal child going into a mental downward spiral thanks to his mother, and the character study about generational trauma isn't the only thing that makes Trail of Blood terrifying. The artwork also plays a key role in setting up the disturbing atmosphere. That can be said about any manga, I suppose. After all, it is a visual medium. But Trail of Blood really takes it to the next level. Oshimi has studied all the subtle nuances of human emotion, and made them as disturbing as possible. Even a panel with just a close up of one eye manages to tell us everything about the character's emotions.

Seiko Osabe, Seiichi's mother, is presented as beautiful, charming, and well-kept in social situations. Which makes it all the more terrifying when her mask comes off, and the truly deranged woman she is comes out.

The beautiful, kind-faced Seiko as seen by friends, relatives, and--when she isn't tormenting him--Seiichi...

...versus the truth.

Oshimi is often compared to fellow horror mangaka, Junji Ito. While Ito's work is also very good, I think it is scary in a totally different way from Oshimi's. Ito's horror often deals with the supernatural, and turning every day objects into fantastical--sometimes cosmic--works of terror. Oshimi's horror is pure psychological torment, and the rawness of human emotions and situations. Which is a completely different--sometimes scarier--type of horror, as it plays on situations that could very well be unfolding somewhere in the world at this very moment. Each panel is a pop-up book of suspense and primal anguish.

Oshimi makes very cinematic use of his drawings. He uses dark, oppressive shading to evoke horror and madness. Seiichi and the lines around him take on a chaotic squiggly form whenever he is stressed out. And when his mind breaks completely, he and everyone around him are drawn as scribbles a kindergartener could have drawn. All of the art is expressed through Seiichi's perspective.It makes every panel feel more like an expressionist painting, rather than just a vehicle to tell a story.

As of writing this, the manga still isn't finished, though it seems to be drawing its way to a slow close. But what we already have of this story is more than enough to keep readers on the edge of their seats. It's a fairly quick read, and an absolute page turner. It can be very heavy subject matter, especially for those who have been abused or manipulated by their own mothers, so tread lightly if that applies to you.

I don't know that I would say it's a manga EVERYONE should read. But if you're interested in the psychological horror genre, appreciate great art and storytelling, and have a strong stomach--it is definitely one to put on your reading list!

book reviews
Like

About the Creator

Jennifer Childers

I just write thoughts on anime, games, music, movies, or other things that are on my mind. Occasionally a poem or short story might come up.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

Jennifer Childers is not accepting comments at the moment

Want to show your support? Send them a one-off tip.

Find us on social media

Miscellaneous links

  • Explore
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Support

© 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.