Japan YouTuber novelist woos global audience with visual, accessible horror
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!
As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.
Now, more than ever, we need your support.
Starting at $15.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.
Subscribe Nowor call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.
Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Brandon Sun access to your Winnipeg Free Press subscription for only
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*$1 will be added to your next bill. After your 4 weeks access is complete your rate will increase by $4.99 a X percent off the regular rate.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/01/2025 (245 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
TOKYO (AP) — He wears a black bodysuit and a white mask, speaks in an electronically altered squeaky voice and makes creepiness his signature mode of art.
Uketsu, whose name literally translates to “rain hole,” both words that he loves, is Japan’s latest YouTube star and million-selling mystery writer.
And he is about to take on the global stage.
His knack for making everyone “feel uneasy” is the reason for his success, he told foereign journalists in Tokyo on Thursday.
His debut book “Strange Pictures” is coming out in 30 nations, including in English in the U.S. this week. It’s sold 1.5 million copies globally, according to the publisher.
Uketsu’s storytelling combines images and diagrams with text to draw readers into a horrific puzzle that they witness gradually getting solved, piece by piece. The pictures serve as whodunit clues to chillingly gruesome happenings.
That likely helped Uketsu resonate with the younger generation, more used to manga comics, video games and social networking than literature. Some children here dressed up as him for Halloween.
Uketsu, who credits the great Japanese mystery writer Ranpo Edogawa as his inspiration, said he merely wants to make his works accessible, even for people who don’t like to read.
He has leveraged his online presence to attract an audience. Uketsu has 1.7 million subscribers on his YouTube channel, drawing more than 190 million views.
His first YouTube hit, “The Strange House,” is about a home with a weird floor plan, including a prison-like room. It became a movie last year, making more than 5 billion yen ($32 million) at the Japanese box office.
“My stories are just really scary,” said Uketsu, sounding demure and serious despite his odd appearance.
He swears he looks quite regular behind his mask. If he were to take it off, no one would recognize him.
But he acknowledged that adding his image on his books helps sell copies, while stopping short of dismissing it as a gimmick.
Uketsu is working on his next book and has a song out, according to Takuji Watanabe, vice director at Futabasha Publishers, which puts out Uketsu’s works.
Watanabe won’t disclose how much money Uketsu has generated but swears that he is a “once-in-a-century star” of Japanese horror.
___
Yuri Kageyama is on Threads https://www.threads.net/@yurikageyama