Danica Davidson
May 19, 2025 
Japanese urban legends are infamous for being scary, and Horror Collector dives into a number of creepy stories. In the first tale, “The Boy in the Red Hood,” some schoolchildren are discussing urban legends, with one insisting “You never know when we could be next!” Because apparently some of these urban legends are coming true . . .
At first the manga seems as if each story is completely separate, and it’s true that each story works as a standalone. However, it gradually becomes clear that there is more going on in the background. Each story shows a boy in a red hood, and he’s “collecting” the curses around the urban legends. He’s accompanied by a rather unusual dog, and the dog’s background is eventually explained, going out of sequential order.
Horror Collector is rated All Ages, so essentially it would be something fun for elementary school kids and above, maybe generally starting in second or third grade, depending on the kid. It never gets really scary, but it is creepy. There’s a little bit of blood, though nothing much. The characters involved are all kids, but just because it’s rated All Ages doesn’t mean it would only interest kids. It has a light, entertaining, mildly spooky quality to it. Even though it might seem tamer because it is accessible for a younger audience, it shows that a little bit can go a long way, because sometimes implying things can be as powerful or more powerful than showing everything.
The artwork does a good job of being creepy without going overboard for the younger readers. The artist comments in the back about enjoying drawing the cute characters, because when we’re not seeing creepy things, the design for the children is on the cute end, with big eyes and round faces and all that.
Horror Collector is based on a book series, also published by Yen Press, and there’s a chat with the original authors in the back.
Manga: Niko Yuki
Original Story: Midori Sato, Norio Tsuruta
Character Design: Yon
Publisher: Yen Press
Translator: Jan Cash
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
