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Domu (A Child's Dream)
Encyclopedia
is a graphic novel
created by Katsuhiro Otomo
. Similar to his work AKIRA
, the story centers on children possessing telekinetic
powers. The manga
was serialized between 1980 and 1982 and was later republished as a graphic novel in 1983. It has sold over 500,000 copies in Japan
.
Otomo has stated in various interviews that the main inspiration for Domu came partly from an apartment complex he lived in when he first moved to Tokyo
& partly from a news report he heard about a rash of suicides that occurred at a different apartment complex.
In the late 1990s, Guillermo Del Toro
expressed interest in directing a film adaptation of Domu, and in 1999, Variety
ran a story stating that Del Toro was preparing to direct the film for Touchstone Pictures
, but the project has yet to materialize. Though Del Toro had once stated that complicated rights issues have prevented the film from being made, Otomo said in a 2006 interview that he gave Del Toro the rights to make the film. The American English translation of the graphic novel is currently out of print and difficult to find. Dark Horse comics no longer holds the English-language rights.
The inspectors Yamagawa and Tamura both appear in an earlier one-shot by Otomo, namely Ashita No Yakusoku, which involved the pair yet again as head inspectors on a bizarre murder case. This story was collected in Highway Star.
apartments at the Tsutsumi Housing Complex, jumps from the roof of one of the buildings in an apparent suicide
. His is the latest of the thirty-two mysterious deaths that have taken place at the complex in only three years. Inspector Yamagawa and Inspector Tamura, two police detectives, investigating the death and find that it was impossible for Mr. Ueno to get on the roof, as the lock of the access door has long been rusted shut. The detectives try to find any leads regarding people who ever held a grievance against the complex.
Yamagawa interviews with the complex's manager about any suspicious occupants. He is told of a few residents that have caused problems with in the past, including: Mrs. Tezuka, an eccentric woman who was sent to a mental hospital after a miscarriage
; Yoshio Fujiyama, also known as "Little Yo", a strong but mentally disabled man who was once accused of child molestation; and Yoshikawa, an abusive alcoholic. The manager also mentions Chojiro Uchida, nicknamed "Old Cho," a senile old man who lives alone. Yamagawa makes notes regarding these individuals.
Upon returning to the police station, Yamagawa interviews a housewife
, who saw Mr. Ueno before his death, walking in an apparent trance
past her apartment. She mentions that he wore a strange baseball cap
with wings sewn on. During a later interview with Mr. Ueno's wife and son, the detectives learn that the cap went missing following Mr. Ueno's death. Mrs. Ueno also says she thought she heard her front door open the night her husband died. When a patrolman jumps from the complex with his pistol
missing, Yamagawa tells his men to see if any of the victims' possessions vanished after their deaths.
Yamagawa goes back to the housing complex that night. After his pager
goes off, Yamagawa calls the police station only to learn they did't contact him. Yamagawa realizes that the killer is watching him and offers the beeper as a trophy. To Inspector Yamagawa's fright, however, the beeper abruptly explodes. Yamagawa is pursued and taunted by the killer, in a putsuit that leads him to the roof. There, he meets Old Cho, floating in the air and possessing trophies from his many victims, including Mr. Ueno's winged hat. Yamagawa is later found to have jumped off the building.
The following day, a new girl named Etsuko moves into the complex with her family. When Old Cho uses his powers to drop a baby off a balcony, Etsuko uses her own psychic talents to save the child's life. When she confronts Old Cho about the deed, repelling his attempted attack. At the housing complex, Etsuko makes friends with Little Yo and Hiroshi, Yoshikawa's son. Meanwhile, Inspector Okamura, an old colleague of Yamagawa's, visits the complex. Okamura sees an ghost
ly apparition of Yamagawa; Tamura later sees a similar apparition. Old Cho levela a psychic attack on Okamura and tells him to never come back.
After leaving a playdate
with Hiroshi and Little Yo, Etsuko is attacked by Tsutomu Sasaki, a young man who has been possessed by Old Cho. Old Cho makes Sasaki slit his own throat with a utility knife
, severely traumatizing Etsuko. The following night, as Yoshikawa hangs out in the complex courtyard, Old Cho offers him the dead partolman's pistol.
In the morning, Inspector Tamura visits a Professor Kaneko to get his expert opinion on the recent goings-on at the complex, as well as any information on Japanese shamanism. Professor Kaneko refers Inspector Tamura to a practicing shaman named Noriko Nonomura. After Inspector Tamura meets to Ms. Nonomura, they agree to travel to the housing complex to let her examine it for signs of supernatural power.
Meanwhile, a policeman appears at Old Cho's apartment regarding his patio doors, which were shattered at the same time Etsuko was attacked by the possessed Sasaki. The policeman and the manager are surprised to find the residence completely empty with no furniture, save for a ring the policeman finds near the broken patio door.
Later, Yoshikawa is walking around the complex when Old Cho telepathically takes control of him and uses Yoshikawa to kill a child resident of the complex, before going after Etsuko. At the same time, Hiroshi and Little Yo are wandering the halls of the complex, when they notice Yoshikawa going after Etsuko. Yoshikawa, in his state of mind, shoots Little Yo. Sensing Old Cho on the roof, Etsuko teleports to face Old Cho and stop him. This leads to a giant battle across the apartment complex, which ends when Old Cho blows up a building with a gas main, and is soon taken into custody.
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
created by Katsuhiro Otomo
Katsuhiro Otomo
is a Japanese comic book creator, screenwriter and film director. He is best known as the creator of the manga Akira and its animated film adaptation. Otomo has also directed several live-action films, such as the 2006 feature film adaptation of the manga Mushishi.-Biography:Katsuhiro Otomo was...
. Similar to his work AKIRA
Akira (manga)
is a manga series by Katsuhiro Otomo. Set in a post-apocalyptic Neo-Tokyo, the work uses conventions of the cyberpunk genre to detail a saga of turmoil. Initially serialized in the pages of Young Magazine from 1982 until 1990, the work was collected in six volumes by Japanese publisher Kodansha...
, the story centers on children possessing telekinetic
Psychokinesis
The term psychokinesis , also referred to as telekinesis with respect to strictly describing movement of matter, sometimes abbreviated PK and TK respectively, is a term...
powers. The manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
was serialized between 1980 and 1982 and was later republished as a graphic novel in 1983. It has sold over 500,000 copies in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Otomo has stated in various interviews that the main inspiration for Domu came partly from an apartment complex he lived in when he first moved to Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
& partly from a news report he heard about a rash of suicides that occurred at a different apartment complex.
In the late 1990s, Guillermo Del Toro
Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro is a Mexican director, producer, screenwriter, novelist and designer. He is mostly known for his acclaimed films, Blade II, Pan's Labyrinth and the Hellboy film franchise. He is a frequent collaborator with Ron Perlman, Federico Luppi and Doug Jones...
expressed interest in directing a film adaptation of Domu, and in 1999, Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
ran a story stating that Del Toro was preparing to direct the film for Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures is an American film production label and is one of several film labels of the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group. Established in 1984, its releases typically feature more mature themes and darker tones than those that are released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner.Touchstone...
, but the project has yet to materialize. Though Del Toro had once stated that complicated rights issues have prevented the film from being made, Otomo said in a 2006 interview that he gave Del Toro the rights to make the film. The American English translation of the graphic novel is currently out of print and difficult to find. Dark Horse comics no longer holds the English-language rights.
Characters
- Chojiro Uchida - also known as Old Cho, he is a senile old man who lives at the housing complex. Old Cho has psychic powers which he uses to murder other occupants of the complex. His apparent motive for the killings is to possess an item belonging to the victim, which Old Cho then takes as trophies. The old man believes that his murders and the chaos resulting from his actions are more like children's games than actual wrongdoings, and he often acts like an immature child.
- Etsuko - a young girl who moves into the housing complex with her family. Etsuko also has an immense battery of psychic powers and uses them to battle with Old Cho and stop his reign of terror against the housing complex.
- Inspector Yamagawa - a senior police detectiveDetectiveA detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
who acts as the first lead investigator on the case until his death at Old Cho's hands.
- Inspector Okamura - the second lead investigator on the case, replacing Inspector Yamagawa. He was once a close, longtime colleague of Yamagawa's.
- Inspector Tamura - a young detective helping Inspector Yamagawa and later Inspector Okamura with the investigation.
- Tsutomu Sasaki - a young resident who has tried unsuccessfully to get into collegeCollegeA college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
for the previous three years, but spends his time building modelModel buildingModel building as a hobby involves the creation of models either from kits or from materials and components acquired by the builder.Categories of modelling include:*Scale model building*Live steam models*Matchstick models*Military models...
airplanes when he should be studying.
- Yoshikawa - a former truck driverTruck driverA truck driver , is a person who earns a living as the driver of a truck, usually a semi truck, box truck, or dump truck.Truck drivers provide an essential service to...
, he is a hard-core alcoholic whose abusive relationship with his wife caused her to leave both him and their son, Hiroshi. He seems to neglect his son, and instead lies around his apartment extremely intoxicatedDrunkennessAlcohol intoxication is a physiological state that occurs when a person has a high level of ethanol in his or her blood....
when not outside. Is possessed by Old Cho in an attempt to kill Etsuko, but ends up being killed by Little Yo.
- Hiroshi Yoshikawa - Yoshikawa's son who is also a friend of Etsuko and Little Yo. Ends up killed by a possessed Yoshikawa.
- Yoshio Fujiyama - also known as "Little Yo," he is a large, physically strong, yet mentally retarded man who is friends with Etsuko and Hiroshi. He was once accused of child molestation by other complex residents. Becomes friends with Hiroshi and Etsuko, and dies trying to catch Hiroshi's falling body.
- Mrs. Tezuka - a woman who lives at the complex, known for disturbing behavior, such as walking around the complex driving an empty stroller. Mrs. Tezuka was once confined in a mental hospital, after what was perhaps a nervous breakdownNervous breakdownMental breakdown is a non-medical term used to describe an acute, time-limited phase of a specific disorder that presents primarily with features of depression or anxiety.-Definition:...
following a miscarriageMiscarriageMiscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving independently, generally defined in humans at prior to 20 weeks of gestation...
. Killed by falling debris during Etsuko and Old Cho's fight.
The inspectors Yamagawa and Tamura both appear in an earlier one-shot by Otomo, namely Ashita No Yakusoku, which involved the pair yet again as head inspectors on a bizarre murder case. This story was collected in Highway Star.
Synopsis
Mr. Ueno, a tenant of the tower blockTower block
A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, office tower, apartment block, or block of flats, is a tall building or structure used as a residential and/or office building...
apartments at the Tsutsumi Housing Complex, jumps from the roof of one of the buildings in an apparent suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. His is the latest of the thirty-two mysterious deaths that have taken place at the complex in only three years. Inspector Yamagawa and Inspector Tamura, two police detectives, investigating the death and find that it was impossible for Mr. Ueno to get on the roof, as the lock of the access door has long been rusted shut. The detectives try to find any leads regarding people who ever held a grievance against the complex.
Yamagawa interviews with the complex's manager about any suspicious occupants. He is told of a few residents that have caused problems with in the past, including: Mrs. Tezuka, an eccentric woman who was sent to a mental hospital after a miscarriage
Miscarriage
Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving independently, generally defined in humans at prior to 20 weeks of gestation...
; Yoshio Fujiyama, also known as "Little Yo", a strong but mentally disabled man who was once accused of child molestation; and Yoshikawa, an abusive alcoholic. The manager also mentions Chojiro Uchida, nicknamed "Old Cho," a senile old man who lives alone. Yamagawa makes notes regarding these individuals.
Upon returning to the police station, Yamagawa interviews a housewife
Housewife
Housewife is a term used to describe a married woman with household responsibilities who is not employed outside the home. Merriam Webster describes a housewife as a married woman who is in charge of her household...
, who saw Mr. Ueno before his death, walking in an apparent trance
Trance
Trance denotes a variety of processes, ecstasy, techniques, modalities and states of mind, awareness and consciousness. Trance states may occur involuntarily and unbidden.The term trance may be associated with meditation, magic, flow, and prayer...
past her apartment. She mentions that he wore a strange baseball cap
Baseball cap
A baseball cap is a type of soft cap with a rounded stiff brim. The front of the cap typically contains designs or logos of sports teams ,...
with wings sewn on. During a later interview with Mr. Ueno's wife and son, the detectives learn that the cap went missing following Mr. Ueno's death. Mrs. Ueno also says she thought she heard her front door open the night her husband died. When a patrolman jumps from the complex with his pistol
Pistol
When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
missing, Yamagawa tells his men to see if any of the victims' possessions vanished after their deaths.
Yamagawa goes back to the housing complex that night. After his pager
Pager
A pager is a simple personal telecommunications device for short messages. A one-way numeric pager can only receive a message consisting of a few digits, typically a phone number that the user is then requested to call...
goes off, Yamagawa calls the police station only to learn they did't contact him. Yamagawa realizes that the killer is watching him and offers the beeper as a trophy. To Inspector Yamagawa's fright, however, the beeper abruptly explodes. Yamagawa is pursued and taunted by the killer, in a putsuit that leads him to the roof. There, he meets Old Cho, floating in the air and possessing trophies from his many victims, including Mr. Ueno's winged hat. Yamagawa is later found to have jumped off the building.
The following day, a new girl named Etsuko moves into the complex with her family. When Old Cho uses his powers to drop a baby off a balcony, Etsuko uses her own psychic talents to save the child's life. When she confronts Old Cho about the deed, repelling his attempted attack. At the housing complex, Etsuko makes friends with Little Yo and Hiroshi, Yoshikawa's son. Meanwhile, Inspector Okamura, an old colleague of Yamagawa's, visits the complex. Okamura sees an ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
ly apparition of Yamagawa; Tamura later sees a similar apparition. Old Cho levela a psychic attack on Okamura and tells him to never come back.
After leaving a playdate
Playdate
Playdate is a British television dating programme that was made by Hamma & Glamma Productions for ITV. It was screened Monday to Fridays on ITV Play between 8.00pm and 10.00pm, and daily on ITV2 between 1.00am and 4.00am...
with Hiroshi and Little Yo, Etsuko is attacked by Tsutomu Sasaki, a young man who has been possessed by Old Cho. Old Cho makes Sasaki slit his own throat with a utility knife
Utility knife
A utility knife is a knife used for general or utility purposes. The utility knife was originally a fixed blade knife with a cutting edge suitable for general work such as cutting hides and cordage, scraping hides, butchering animals, cleaning fish, and other tasks.Today, the term "utility knife"...
, severely traumatizing Etsuko. The following night, as Yoshikawa hangs out in the complex courtyard, Old Cho offers him the dead partolman's pistol.
In the morning, Inspector Tamura visits a Professor Kaneko to get his expert opinion on the recent goings-on at the complex, as well as any information on Japanese shamanism. Professor Kaneko refers Inspector Tamura to a practicing shaman named Noriko Nonomura. After Inspector Tamura meets to Ms. Nonomura, they agree to travel to the housing complex to let her examine it for signs of supernatural power.
Meanwhile, a policeman appears at Old Cho's apartment regarding his patio doors, which were shattered at the same time Etsuko was attacked by the possessed Sasaki. The policeman and the manager are surprised to find the residence completely empty with no furniture, save for a ring the policeman finds near the broken patio door.
Later, Yoshikawa is walking around the complex when Old Cho telepathically takes control of him and uses Yoshikawa to kill a child resident of the complex, before going after Etsuko. At the same time, Hiroshi and Little Yo are wandering the halls of the complex, when they notice Yoshikawa going after Etsuko. Yoshikawa, in his state of mind, shoots Little Yo. Sensing Old Cho on the roof, Etsuko teleports to face Old Cho and stop him. This leads to a giant battle across the apartment complex, which ends when Old Cho blows up a building with a gas main, and is soon taken into custody.