I'll start by saying that I am not a diehard fan of HP Lovecraft so much as I have a general understanding and appreciation for his body of work, the themes, the associated aesthetics and his contributions to the horror genre, which is undeniably immense.
Having said that I also feel that when looking at any adaptation of an original work, manga or otherwise, the reader or viewer should be able to enjoy the adaptation to some degree on it's own merits and not simply because it is connected to or propped up by the original work or the name of that work's author. It's from this general perspective that I am approaching this short story collection in manga form.
This compilation contains three of Lovecraft's stories; The Temple, The Hound, and The Nameless City. I will provide an overview on each story and then provide my overall thoughts on each and the collection as a whole.
The Temple
This is an adaptation of the 1925 short story in which a doomed German U-boat and its crew descend (both physically and mentally) into the dark depths of the Atlantic Ocean.
The original Lovecraft story takes place during WWI, with the submarine and crew in question belonging to the Imperial German Navy. In this adaptation the setting is changed to WWII for some reason. It could be the fact that the Nazi obsession with the occult and lost cities at the bottom of the ocean seem to feature heavily in horror fiction, with the very human, worldly evil that that regime represents often colliding with and being dwarfed by the otherworldly potency of literal demons and demonic forces and in short order succumbing to them in a kind of poetic justice. Tanabe might have been keen to cash in on this trope where he plausibly could. Perhaps it was simply for no other reason than the fact that nothing quite grabs the attention of a reader more than a swastika which features prominently adorning a flag on the first page. This is more of an observation as I find the new backdrop does not take away from or really add much to the story either way but I felt the change was worth noting nevertheless.
Right away the most striking thing about Tanabe's work, which is showcased to full effect in The Temple is the art; namely the character designs, general art style as well as the use of light and shadows. The character designs do not look particularly Japanese or manga-esque and this collection could easily pass for a western graphic novel which might have been the intention; to entice readers who wouldn't normally read manga but are intrigued by the idea of a comic book adaptation of Lovecraft's stories. The art has a very eerie feel to it, with the characters embodying a certain uncanny quality that makes them seem stiff and soulless but in a way that serves to elevate the sense of dread and hopelessness inherent in the story. Tanabe does an especially great job with the faces of the characters which convey the sense of madness and insanity in the eyes of a person who has clearly lost their mind expertly and in a way I haven't quite seen before. The interior conditions and general atmosphere of a WWII submarine are recreated perfectly to where even the reader starts to feel claustrophobic.
Above all is the use of shadows and darkness which do so much work to not only set the mood and atmosphere but in this case inhabit the setting itself. Whether it is the exterior shots of the submarine bathed and surrounded by total darkness, or the barely lit interior of the submarine or the deep shadows on the faces of the characters during head-on close up shots that perfectly communicate the manic and grim nature of the situation unfolding - it all combines to produce a totally oppressive atmosphere that stays with you after you finish the story. That's powerful. In this way I think this story achieves something the original written work couldn't.
That said, there are limitations to Tanabe's approach. Dialogue is often curt in this story and used sparingly and sometimes little is actually explained and just has to be gleaned together by the following or preceding panels to truly understand what is happening. The close-ups of character's faces is perhaps a little overused, not because it stops being effective but more so because it becomes increasingly noticeable as a deliberate technique employed by Tanabe to maintain tension and the sense of panic. Overall though this story is in my view clearly the strongest of the three adaptations.
The Hound
The Hound is decidedly more conventional as a "cursed by a stolen artifact" story. The two characters are introduced and established as arrogant and callous graverobbers in a convincing way consistent with the original story. Here Tanabe's character art switches focus from conveying stiff madness to communicating an almost psychopathic hubris and overconfidence and slowly eroding that away until they express a very sane sense of fear in men who have not yet lost their minds.
It's more dialogue heavy and action-oriented which is a welcome contrast to The Temple, but it is ultimately more predictable as a story and by that token, more forgettable. There are some very tense moments with the paranoid, frightened characters being stalked by the supernatural forces they've unleashed and it's done in a convincing way but here some of the very dark, murky panels again become a little hard to follow.
This is an overall competent but unremarkable adaptation and short-form horror manga story with some very disturbing panels where the horror is less imagined or assumed but actually shown in abrupt and unsettling ways.
The Nameless City
The last story adapted here reads the most like an HP Lovecraft work out of the three largely because it is entirely narrated.
Here Tanabe seems to be invoking Indiana Jones with some of the general motifs and design choices. I wouldn't say it spoils the story but it does seem to me to distract a bit from the general energy of the lore and the mood Lovecraft originally envisioned. Like the inclusion of the WWII setting in The Temple it feels like Tanabe is taking some liberties, albeit plausible ones, to make the stories as visually interesting as they can be but in this case it may be a bit too on the nose.
This is by far the most descriptive of the stories with the visuals rendering themselves as an aide to the narration but in that way it is also firmly the weakest of the three as it is the least visually impressive. Outside of a few specific panels most of the story can be described as Indiana Jones rummaging around ruins in the dark. The Nameless City mostly succeeds when it is expositing on the origins of the found city with palpably ominous, prophetic passages but outside of those sequences it's definitely a degree more boring and the ending noticeably less dark than the other two stories which kind of ends the collection on something of a soft note.
Overall
Looking at this compilation overall I would have to say that Tanabe largely succeeds in capturing the mood and effect of Lovecraft's writings while translating them into the manga form. With very deliberate manipulation of lighting, perspective, close-in shots and simple but effective facial expressions these stories are retold in a way that transcends written words.
The Temple stands out as the mood carefully and methodically established in that story can't be explained as much as it has to be shown. On it's own The Temple is an 8/10 and is easily the most memorable and haunting of the three stories. It's the one you'll likely have stuck in your head for awhile and the one you will recall when thinking of this collection. In contrast the other two adaptations are closer to around 5/10 - they are competent but not remarkable. I really think this book ought to have been titled "The Temple and Other Stories".
At any rate, fans of Lovecraftian horror, horror manga or really just horror in general will get some enjoyment out of this and it is definitely worth reading for The Temple alone. It's important to note that this was Tanabe's first attempt at adapting Lovecraft and he has been busy in the years since this book's release adapting a number of other Lovecraft stories and it will be interesting to see whether his approach evolved throughout that time and if so how. There is no denying that he has a passion for this project given his commitment to expanding his adaptation library as well as the obvious respect shown to the original stories from an overall authenticity perspective. All this to say that the The Hound and Other Stories makes for a enjoyable, if experimental, horror manga experience that works both as an adaptation and also as something novel in its own right.
(-22)
