The Drifting Classroom
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| The Drifting Classroom | |
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| 漂流教室 (Hyōryū Kyōshitsu) |
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| Genre | Horror |
| Manga | |
| Authored by | Kazuo Umezu |
| Publisher |  Shogakukan Viz Media Glenat |
| Serialized in | Shonen Sunday |
| Original run | 1972 – 1974 |
| No. of volumes | 11 |
The Drifting Classroom (漂流教室 Hyōryū Kyōshitsu?) is a horror manga series by Kazuo Umezu.
Contents |
[edit] Summary
After an earthquake, a city mourns the loss of an entire elementary school. A hole in the ground is the only proof that it ever existed. But the students and teachers aren’t dead… they are trapped in a cold, dark alien wasteland. Can they learn to survive before panic turns to terror?
[edit] Plot (By Volume)
Volume 1: In the aftermath of a strange earthquake, an entire elementary school vanishes, leaving nothing but a hole in the ground. While parents mourn and authorities investigate, the students and teachers find themselves somewhere far away…somewhere cold and dark... a lifeless, nightmarish wasteland in which their school stands like a lone fortress. As panic turns to terror, as the rules start to fall apart, a sixth-grade boy named Sho and his friends must fight to survive in an alien world...
Volume 2: Madness takes hold as the teachers and students realize they are stranded in a lifeless world! Sekiya, the cafeteria worker, takes control of the school's food supplies, enforcing his authority with a gun. As the adults start to kill one another, sixth-grader Sho makes a startling discovery--the truth of where they are and what has happened to them. Soon, Sho and his classmate Nishi are forced to venture into the wasteland beyond the school gates...and choose between a slow death from hunger or a quick death at a killer's hands...
Volume 3: As sixth-grader Sho fights for his life in the buried city that once was Tokyo, his cries for help travel across time and reach the ears of his mother in the distant past. But how can she save her son now? Back at the school, as their resources dwindle, the students revert to savagery and despair. Suddenly, a dying student staggers in from the wasteland, bearing signs that life may exist somewhere in their new world. Together with the last surviving adult, the children march into the desert...but are they ready for what they find?
Volume 4: When a despotic student attempts to take control of the school, Sho tries to bring his classmates to their senses. But while the students squabble over power, something horrible comes closer and closer...something that followed them out of the wasteland...something that can't be stopped. As the school is besieged, the students fight back desperately, weak with hunger. But this time, running out of food is the least of their worries. This time, they are food...
Volume 5: The students flee from man-eating insects, but they can't run from a deadly plague. As their situation becomes more desperate, the children arm themselves, and the school erupts into an orgy of violence. Can Sho end the savagery, or is it all he can do just to survive? Meanwhile, out in the wasteland, the shifting sands uncover a buried secret from the past...
[edit] Characters
[edit] Main characters
Sho Takamatsu: The main character of the story. In the beginning of the story, he has argument with his mother stating he hopes never to return home. He is the first student to see they are trapped in a wasteland. He is the leader of the school after all the teachers have died until "The Princess" and her gang shows up. He manages to gain back control of the school and becomes Prime Minister. He elects 6 others to help him. He manages to save Nakata from a terrible fate and sticks up for him even though he is the caused the insect monsters. He is a sixth grader.
Saki: A friend of Sho. She is a sixth grader and she has a brother, Takeshi, in the third grade. Her brother collapses and dies after escaping from school. When everyone seems to doubts about Sho, she always seems to stick up for him. It is possible for her to have a crush on him.
Yu: A younger boy that Sho plays with the day before the incident. The reason why he is stuck with everyone in the wasteland is because he went to the school early to wait for Sho to get out of school. He helps everyone to learn about the real situation they were in.
[edit] Classmates
Otomo: A sixth grader who is in the same class as Sho. He acts really brave and seems to be very tough. He is often seen as a background character and tries to make sure everyone doesn't crack up under pressure. He goes with Sho, Ikegaki, Akabane, Sekiya, Yu, and Tashiro to find the mysterious forest out in the desert. After escaping the monster in the forest, he tries to get Akabane and Tashiro to help him fight against the insect monster. In a cowardly act, both of them beat him up and leave him for dead. He is brought back to the school, beaten up, but alive by Sho and everyone else. After Sho becomes prime minister, he becomes Minister of Health and Welfare.
Akabane: A sixth grader from a different class than Sho. He is a big coward and cracks up under pressure. He goes with everyone on the trip to locate the forest in desert, but is attacked by the insect monster. In a cowardly act, he and Tashiro beat up Otomo in order to get away from the monster. Once back at school, he lies about what happened to Sho and instantly sides with "The Princess" and even helps her try to capture a student. After discovering Sho is alive, he freaks out and runs back into the school. After the Princess loses the election, he returns to Sho's side.
Tashiro: A sixth grader. He goes with Sho and everyone to find the forest in the desert. After being attacked by the insect monster, he, Otomo, and Akabane escape. Akabane and he beat up Otomo after he suggests that stay and fight the monster instead of escaping. At the last moment, he has a change of heart and attacks the beast head on. He is eaten whole by the monster in the end.
Hata: A sixth grader who is in the same class as Sho. He seems to be a jokester. His best friend is Ikegaki. While attempting to resuce Aikawa from Mr. Sekiya, Hata discovers a gun which he uses to attempt to save Aikawa by himself. When he runs into the kicthen is murdered by Sekiya and accidentally fires off a round killing Okubo. He is buried with his satchel.
Okubo: A sixth grader who is in the same class as Sho. While he, Hata, Ikegaki, and Sho attempt to save Aikawa from Sekiya, he is actually shot and killed by Hata by accident when he tried to shot Sekiya. He wears a unzipped jacket with a t-shirt with a fist on it.
Ikegaki: A sixth grader who is in the same class as Sho. His best friend was Hata. He successfully saves Aikawa by leading her to safety. He also tries to force Sekiya to fight the insect monster by holding down his leg causing him to fall and stumble. He survives the attack, and later becomes Sho's Prime Minister of Defense. He is killed in the first attack when the Insect monster attacks the school. Ikegaki has buck teeth.
Ayumi Nishi: She is a fifth grader and is found by Sho and his friends while they searching for food. When she is struck by Mr. Wakahara's car, she is knocked unconscious, Sho drags her to safety. After Mr. Wakahara's death, Sho helps her back to school. She walks with a crutch. She is very loyal to Sho and Nakata.
Yoshida: A sixth grader who is in the same class as Sho. While trying to capture Sekiya, he is accidentally shot.
Mari: A sixth grader who is in the same class as Sho. Cracks up under pressure easily.
Aikawa: A sixth grader who is in the same class as Sho. She is held hostage by Sekiya but is luckily rescued.
Nagata: A sixth grader. While Sho, he, and a few other classmates are out searching for supplies, they are all attacked by Mr. Wakahara. He manages to escape Mr. Wakahara's car. Later that day during the night, he makes his way back to the school, but is crictial condition when he arrives for some reason. He manages to pass on a leaf to Sho from a forest he found out in the desert before dieing before him. According to Sho, Nagata is very fast.
Tatsumi: A sixth grader. The school's bully. When I rumor is spread about a person who's name begins with Ta is said to be the cause of why they are stuck in the wasteland, he is captured by the lower grades and is nearly burned alive. Sho manages to save him.
Hatsuta: A sixth grader. Strangely enough, he is completely drawn differently from all the other characters in the series.
Gamo: He is the smartest student in the whole school with a high IQ. He helps Sho explain the situation of what happened to the students. After Sho is elected Prime Minister, Gamo becomes Minister of Education. He often helps Sho understand the situation better and is very loyal to him.
Nakata: He is a fifth grader and a very good friend of Nishi. He has hunger fits under extreme pressure which causes him to bring his greatest fears to life. Whenever he eats, the insect monster comes to life and attacks. Sho helps him over come this fear and the monster vanishes. Though, everyone has their doubts, especially when the insect swarm starts to devour the students.
Uemura: He is either a fifth grader or a sixth grader. He is devoured alive by the insect swarm.
Yamamoto: A sixth grader from Sho's class. She falls to her death from the roof becoming the first casualty in the story.
[edit] Teachers
Mr. Wakahara: Sho's sixth grade teacher. After seeing Mr. Sakura commit suicide, Mr. Wakahara has a mental breakdown that causes him to go on a rampage causing him to murder all the teachers. He tricks Sho, Seino, Nagata, Ando, and two others into driving with him on a search expedition in which he kills everyone but Sho and Nagata with his car. He chases Sho and Nishi into the ruins of Hotel Keiyo. There he tries to strangle Sho, but he is stabbed in the throat by Sho using his old knife. Then, Mr. Wakahara, while clutching his throat, slips out the hole in the building and falls to his apparent death.
Mr. Sakura: A teacher for the school. He commits suicide.
Princpal: The school's princpal. Right before everyone was transported to the future, he was attacked by a burglar who stole the teachers' pay. He was most likely killed by Mr. Wakahara.
Ms. Tanimura: A teacher for the school. She has seizures episodes from time to time. She was most likely killed by Mr. Wakahara.
Mr. Arakawa: A teacher for the school. When all the older students try to rush out into the wasteland after discovery what happened to them, he breaks his glasses and stabs his son in the arm to calm everyone down. He was most likely killed by Mr. Wakahara.
Mr. Asai: A teacher for the school. Before the school vanished, he was listening to his handheld radio in the teacher's lounge. He was most likely killed by Mr. Wakahara.
[edit] Villains
Kyusaku Sekiya: The school's cafeteria worker and he delivers the lunches for the school. He is 38 years old. In a desperate attempt to survive, he hords all the food for himself. After he murders Hata, he steals the gun Hata had and uses it to steal all the food in the school from the classrooms. He is captured by Sho and his friends and locked away in a locker. He tricks the boy who bring him his food and escapes. He discovers the fact that their might be a forest out in wasteland and drags a bunch of students out there to show him. When they discovered the forest, they are attacked by a giant insect. He somehow survives the attack, but appears to have been driven insane by the experience and now acts a little baby.
"Princess": She is a leader of a girl gang that decides to take over the school. She controls the school and the students with aggressive force like breaking someone's finger or beating the person up. She takes over because she believes all that Sho does just gets them into more trouble. Her friends who help her in tyranny over the school are Tomeko and Hatsuko. After voting to be Prime Minister, she lost and took off with a few of her followers into the desert. It is unknown what has happened to her since then.
Hatsuko: She is one of "The Princess" friends/gang members. She doesn't talk much and obey's "The Princess" without question. Her hair is cut a bit short and wears a short dress. After voting to be Prime Minister, The Princess lost and she with a few other followers left the school to go into the desert. Her fate is unknown.
Tomeko: She is one of "The Princess" friends/gang members. She doesn't talk much and obey's "The Princess" without question. She is a bit of a masculine build and has ponytails. After voting to be Prime Minister, The Princess lost and she with a few other followers left the school to go into the desert. Her fate is unknown.
[edit] Trivia
- Was made into a Japanese live action movie in 1987, and given a modern setting at an international school in Kobe. The movie starred Hayashi Yasufumi and Aiko Asano. It is unusual among Japanese movies in the sense that most of the dialogue is in English.
- A More modern remake came in the form of a dorama which changed it into a lovestory of sorts.
- Influenced partly by the Lord of the Flies.
