Forum - View topicJason Thompson's House of 1000 Manga - Franken Fran
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Fronzel
Posts: 1906 |
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I read some of this a while ago (with those scanlations, of course) and while it was often good, creepy, clever horror, I recall that Fran's motivations were sometimes inconsistent. In some chapters she has a twisted sense of morality but in others she just does whatever people pay her to do.
I think my favorite chapter is the parody of plastic surgery set in the high school where it goes into full-comedy mode. It's another example of the inconsistency, though, because suddenly Fran is attending high school for just that chapter (and nobody bats an eye at her stitches and giant head-bolt). Last edited by Fronzel on Thu May 02, 2013 11:26 am; edited 1 time in total |
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prime_pm
 Posts: 2335 Location: Your Mother's Bedroom |
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Yes, Franken Fran was one hell of a gorn ride. In fact, it deserves the Gorn seal of approval!
Sorry for the bad pun. |
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Generic #757858
 Posts: 1354 |
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I consider myself pretty desensitized to violence and gore, but Franken Fran is one of those series that's just too much for me. I've tried reading it a few times but couldn't even last a single chapter. Thouh if it ever got licensed I'd propably still buy it purely on principle,
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sainta
 Posts: 989 |
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Is Jason ever going to make an article about GetBackers or Rave Master? Just curious.
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v1cious
 Posts: 6202 Location: Houston, TX |
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I used to read this on and off, and thought it was Pretty hilarious. Reminds me of "Pet shop of Horrors".
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Snomaster1
 SubscriberPosts: 2796 |
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And I thought that some of the horror comics in this country were disgusting. "Franken Fran" dials the disgust factor up to almost an unheard of level. I'm glad this manga hasn't been licensed to come here. I can't believe that anyone could create anything like this. If what Mr. Thompson said about this one is true,this manga would disgust Stephen King. And that guy would probably thought he'd seen everything in horror.
Many of the scenes in this manga would make Mr. King vomit. To be honest,many of the scenes in this manga would make anyone vomit. Most of the old EC comics from the 1950's like "Tales from the Crypt" wouldn't go to the levels of disgust like this,and those people thought up some real scary stuff. I admit this would be swell for Halloween,but for me,I think that "Franken Fran" would spoil it. |
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JacobC
ANN Contributor
 Posts: 3728 Location: SoCal |
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Opposite experience here. *Normally* I get really uncomfortable with clinical-dissection-style-gore (nondescript blood fountains are totally okay,) anything with exposed organs or bones, the more sanitized and medical the less I'm able to stomach... But on a recommendation from a friend who knew I liked twisted psychological horror-stuff, I read half of Franken Fran in a day. 
I was totally disgusted and uncomfortable all the way through, but I guess at some point I became numb to it and just got locked into the whole "karmic fucked-up body horror" thing, being a big fan of Black Jack as well. I'm not sure I could RE-read it, but someday I may go back and read the second half. If nothing else, it can be said the manga-ka is a talented artist and has some pretty unparalleled imagination when it comes to the macabre. But yeah, I enjoyed it! It's REVOLTING, but it totally sucked me in! 
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blackmokona
Posts: 16 |
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Oh I absolutely adore Franken Fran.
I think what makes the series so scary is Fran approaching these morality issues from an outsider point of view (see: cockroach utopia). I got a serious Kyubey vibe here, they're so logical and blase about human worth (see: organ rental plan), but Fran can be more terrifying because her intentions are "good". Her being a scientist makes the psychological horror translate so well into body horror. What I love the most about this though, is that so many other series tried and failed to write sociopathic scientists and dark humor into the story, and I can grab Bakuman and tell them that this is how dark humor is done. |
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lossthief
ANN Reviewer
 Posts: 1388 |
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I checked out Franken Fran after a friend mentioned it, and dared me to make it through the whole series without getting sick. Thankfully I have a pretty strong stomach for this type of stuff, and I loves me some gallows humor, so I rather enjoyed the series (my favorite moment is the ending to chapter 2, because it's both hilarious and terrifying).
I think there were only a couple of segments where I was legitimately disgusted by something in the series, and surprisingly enough neither pertained to the gore. One that sticks with me was the chapter near the end of the series wherespoiler[ Veronica makes a friend, who's later found murdered. The ending reveals that not only did the murderers sexually abuse her beforehand, but that it had been going on for a LONG time and dozens of men were involved.] At that point I had to just step away from the computer for a while, because jesus christ.[/spoiler] |
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ZeetherKID77
 Posts: 981 |
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Dark Horse should have gone for this when they had the chance, but NOPE. What a damn shame. If Seven Seas can get series about centaurs they should go for this.
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ptolemy18
Manga Reviewer/Creator/Taster
Posts: 357 Location: San Francisco |
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Gore or Gorn -- I can't decide which I love more!!! |
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Ambimunch
 Posts: 2012 |
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Just from the pictures I can tell this series is really messed up........which means I will really enjoy it
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paperfanofdoom
 Posts: 33 |
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Great job on this article. Always loved the macabre feel and dark humor that Franken Fran provided.spoiler[That one omake where Veronica watched a live action adaptation of the dog patient had me cracking up.] I was sad when I found out that it was over, but it ended on an oddly heart-warming, sentimental note and Kigitsu is at work on something new with Scissor-Woman. I just wonder if it'll ever make it to the States one day cause it seems like it would be a great pick-up for Dark Horse or Viz Media a la DMC.
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Durga
 Posts: 103 |
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Franken Fran's probably my favorite horror manga ever, which is funny because it's not always straight horror. Oftentimes, it was really funny, albeit its humor is extremely black. The Sentinel chapters were some of my favorite; they had the nice blend of satire from the previous chapters and they tickled my love of Kamen Rider.
If you can get past the gruesome imagery (or maybe you'll enjoy the gruesome imagery), I think Franken Fran has something for everyone. Every story has something new to offer, and it's really easy to just pick a chapter at random and enjoy. |
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Paul Soth
 Posts: 140 Location: Columbus, Oh |
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Franken Fran is one of the most wonderfully fucked up things I've ever read. If it isn't for the bizarre things that happen in the stories, then there's the twisted endings, such as with the caterpillar girl sticking out ("Does it hurt?" "No, it's okay.").
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