Domu

by Keith Rhee

In an industry where the drawing styles and stories of many titles have fallen into a formulaic pattern, Otomo Katsuhiro's artwork and storytelling come across as unique and oftentimes quite disturbing. Many of Otomo's stories are social commentaries, dark and tragic in tone, wrought with violence and mentally deranged characters. AKIRA itself is well known for its gory violence and its cast of basketcase characters--elements that are prevalent in Otomo's works.
DOMU - A CHILD'S DREAM falls into this 'social commentary' category. Though known to many US readers for AKIRA, DOMU was Otomo's first work to gain widespread recognition in Japan. Initially serialized in a magazine beginning January 1980, it was published as a graphic novel after completing its 2 year run. The graphic novel became an instant success among Japanese high school and college students, and went on to win Japan's Science Fiction Grand Prix Award in 1983.
The main character, Uchida, is a senile old man living in a run-down housing complex. Perceived by others to be harmless and childlike, this old man has one difference -- he has extrasensory powers. The "childlike" thoughts and desires of Uchida take a dangerous turn when he uses his powers to get what he wants, killing the residents of the housing complex in apparent suicides and taking their possessions as he chooses.
The mysterious deaths have the police running around in circles, and nothing seems to be able to stop Uchida -- until a girl named Etsuko gifted with similar powers moves to the housing complex with her family. When Etsuko stops Uchida from killing a baby ("What do you mean, 'Ripe Tomato'...?! What an awful little brat you are!"), the geezer perceives Etsuko as a threat to his little world and decides to deal with her. The struggle between the two results in a showdown with many deaths and the destruction of one of the housing blocks...
The artwork is typical Otomo; compared to the stylized, "cute" character designs by other artists, Otomo's character designs are somewhat simplistic, but tend to be more true to life in look and feel, and the expressions look very convincing (I got shudders everytime Uchida smiled before doing something evil). The backdrops are shaded in a simple manner, and are nothing like the ziptoned splendor of BASTARD! or MACROSS 7 TRASH, but Otomo compensates with sharp penstrokes and a high degree of detail.
The most intriguing aspect of DOMU is the story. I've seen my share of deranged villains with delusions of grandeur; most of them fall into a formulaic pattern that fails to scare me. But seeing Uchida act like a bratty kid -- along with the power to actually do and take as he pleases -- was genuinely disturbing.
The drawing style may not be for everyone, but the story is original. Not many stories in anime manage to genuinely horrify people, and if you're into terror, this should be well worth your time. Fans of AKIRA, or Otomo's works in general, will definitely want to give this a try.