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Uketsu, whose name literally translates to “rain hole,” both
words that he loves, is Japan’s latest YouTube star and
million-selling mystery writer.
And he is about to take on the global stage.
His knack for making everyone “feel uneasy” is the reason for
his success, he told foereign journalists in Tokyo on Thursday.
His debut book “Strange Pictures” is coming out in 30 nations,
including in English in the U.S. this week. It’s sold 1.5
million copies globally, according to the publisher.
Uketsu’s storytelling combines images and diagrams with text to
draw readers into a horrific puzzle that they witness gradually
getting solved, piece by piece. The pictures serve as whodunit
clues to chillingly gruesome happenings.
That likely helped Uketsu resonate with the younger generation,
more used to manga comics, video games and social networking
than literature. Some children here dressed up as him for
Halloween.
Uketsu, who credits the great Japanese mystery writer Ranpo
Edogawa as his inspiration, said he merely wants to make his
works accessible, even for people who don’t like to read.
He has leveraged his online presence to attract an audience.
Uketsu has 1.7 million subscribers on his YouTube channel,
drawing more than 190 million views.
His first YouTube hit, “The Strange House,” is about a home with
a weird floor plan, including a prison-like room. It became a
movie last year, making more than 5 billion yen ($32 million) at
the Japanese box office.
“My stories are just really scary,” said Uketsu, sounding demure
and serious despite his odd appearance.
He swears he looks quite regular behind his mask. If he were to
take it off, no one would recognize him.
But he acknowledged that adding his image on his books helps
sell copies, while stopping short of dismissing it as a gimmick.
Uketsu is working on his next book and has a song out, according
to Takuji Watanabe, vice director at Futabasha Publishers, which
puts out Uketsu’s works.
Watanabe won’t disclose how much money Uketsu has generated but
swears that he is a “once-in-a-century star” of Japanese horror.
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