Is Horror Fiction the New J-Horror? Three Reasons Why Masked Author Ameana’s Works Are “Just Scary”

The Scare of “Stories That Make You Feel Somewhat Uneasy

The traditional Japanese style of horror used to be stories featuring scary ghosts and terrifying monsters. Movies such as “Ring” (1998) and “Ju-On” (’00) pioneered the “J-horror” genre, which has become a cult favorite in the West. The horror of “Ring” was only possible because of the strong character Sadako, and Toshio-kun in “Ju-On” was no different.

However, what is popular among young people today are stories that are “quiet but eerie and somehow unsettling,” that exist like air pockets in the casual moments of daily life. Amenana discussed the reasons why young readers are attracted to such stories: “The world today, including Japan, is a very different place.

The world today, including Japan, is in a very sad and difficult time. Perhaps young people and children can sense such an atmosphere of anxiety and turn to such unsettling stories to cope with it. It is very sad.

I wish all children could grow up without having to worry about anything, but I don’t have the power to make that happen. So instead, I want to write good stories for young people to enjoy.”

The “mockumentary” technique of presenting fiction in a real-life style, such as Ameana’s “Strange House” and “About a Place in the Kinki Region” (KADOKAWA), also a hit, by Spine, has become a boom and has led the Japanese horror fiction scene in recent years. This style of fiction combining images and text is said to be rare overseas, but is it really readable?

I have always been a web writer, and I think that this style of combining images and text is unique to the Japanese web media. In recent years, Asian horror, including Japanese horror, seems to be attracting attention around the world, and I hope that people overseas will enjoy Japanese culture and Asian values as much as I do.

Will Ameana’s “quiet but eerie and unsettling stories” be able to create a movement like the J-horror films that shocked the world in the past?