Ranpo and Maruo, mirrori mages of eroguro

Abstract

This article presents Edogawa Ranpo and Maruo Suehiro as mirror images of the same stylistic and thematic paradigms within their respective media. It will argue that, since the 1980s, Maruo has shaped canonical eroguro manga, that is, a transposition of the identifying features of the original eroguro to the medium of manga, and that, as a result, he is the artist who best reproduces the spirit of this artistic movement in his manga adaptations of Edogawa Ranpo's work. To this end, we will analyse the main characteristics of the movement, of which Ranpo is the leading representative, as well as the political and social situations, references and conceptual assumptions that gave rise to this important artistic trend. We will analyse the extent to which these features are also present in Maruo's imagination. Finally, a comparison will be made between the different manga adaptations of Ranpo's work, in order to determine whether Maruo is indeed the ideal translation of the spirit of the original eroguro into manga.