Psychological Analysis of Oshimi Shuuzou’s Trail of Blood (Chi No Wadachi)

血の轍/Chi No Wadachi/A Trail of Blood/Blood on the Tracks

[Observation of 102 Chapters]

Psychological Horror in Manga

      To those who aren’t familiar with the psychological horror genre of Japanese mangas, many notable works achieve to question the societal extent of psychological disorders. In the case of Blood on the Tracks by Oshimi Shuuzou, we dive deep into the absolute horrors and frightening illustrations of mundane extremism.

           

      Chi No Wadachi is a dark Japanese manga series that explores the subtle mental abuse of an unstable mother, Seiko, towards her adolescent son, Seiichi, as he witnesses her willingly push his cousin off a cliff. Aware that her son witnessed everything, she disregards the incident as an accident and mentally manipulates his memories into believing so.

Domination Through Affection

      The series upholds a mixture of unique elements through compelling artwork and storytelling, which is induced throughout the plot to display the magnitude of psychological torment Seiko inflicts onto her son, given her dominant role in his life.

      Seiko is labeled as an overly possessive/protective mother by people surrounding Seiichi, such as his family and friends, due to her clingy aspect. His distress is much more apparent when he struggles to differentiate his affectionate relationships with both his mother and love interest. At first, he appears to stutter, as a result of the traumatic event, much more frequently when communicating with his mother compared to his love interest.

                

      Due to jealousy, his mother then lures him back by orchestrating her pitiful narrative to secure the only affectionate role in his life, alongside her dominant role too. She depicts to have sacrificed every piece of herself for his well-being despite the harsh cruel treatment of her husband’s family through dramatic wordplay, which is evidently gaslighting. Therefore, the reader is provided with the perspective of a conflicted middle school student who blends familial and romantic affection as a result of his mother’s daunting influence.

Stockholm Syndrome

 … hostages experience a perverse devotion to their captors, interpreting any abstention from violence and cruelty, however brief or arbitrary, as acts of kindness and even love.

Mark O’Connell

           

      The peculiar phenomenon of Stockholm Syndrome is apparent in the mother-son relationship. The everlasting attempts Seiichi abides by to seek his mother’s satisfaction haunt him as he lives on despite disliking her at times. As sickening it becomes for the reader to undergo the downfall of an innocent child, his character falls into complete despair and hallucination which eventually leads him to follow his mother’s trail of blood, taking the life of a relative he once deeply treasured.

           

      Seiko successfully managed to cast a permanent cage that will forever dictate her son’s thoughts, emotions, and decisions due to the unfathomable level of mental and physical torture she inflicts upon him.

     In particular, I admire the author’s display of the unspoken of when it comes to women being the perpetrators in abusive relationships… I personally would not recommend this work to the light-hearted, as it explores themes in a dreadful manner through the journey of a mere child.

Sources:

https://themillions.com/2011/05/the-stockholm-syndrome-theory-of-long-novels.html

https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Tracks-1-Shuzo-Oshimi/dp/1949980138