the Ring

By: Suzuki Koji. First printing - June 20th, 1991.

STORY: When magazine reporter Asakawa Kazuyuki's niece dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances, he decides to do some investigating into the cause of her death. He finds out that, though separated by distance, his niece died at exactly the same time as three of her friends.

Asakawa also learns that all four of them had watched a videotape--one that kills whomever watches it exactly seven days later. When Asakawa views the cursed videotape for himself, he enlists the help of his associate Takayama Ryuji to help him solve the video's deadly riddle.

NOTES AND IMPRESSIONS: Author Suzuki Koji presents a story that, while engaging, is not quite as polished as in Rasen. The characters are also very different from their onscreen counterparts, with Asakawa Kazuyuki being a married man and Ryuji a sadistic boor whose past may or may not involve rape. Also, the famous televison scene is nowhere to be found: Ring director Nakata Hideo has credited Videodrome for its inspiration.

This cover was designed by Chip Kidd for the English-language edition of the novel. Regarding the inspiration for its design, Mr. Kidd states:

"This obviously uses the Japanese 'rising sun' flag and manipulates it to a more complex extreme. At the center of the 'sun' is a death's head, in a stark black and white contrast to the vibrant color of the sunburst. The title is presented in an endless loop, which mimics the predicament of the characters."   -Chip Kidd to The Book & The Computer magazine.

The cover for the Thai edition of  Ring (and Rasen, for that matter) was designed by writer / artist Prabda-Yoon. No information is available at this time on the quality of the translation.

AVAILABILITY:
Japanese, Chinese, French, Spanish, German, Thai, Russian, English

See here for the Russian version of the novel posted entirely online.

the Spiral / Rasen

By: Suzuki Koji. First printing - July 31st, 1995.

STORY: It falls to pathologist Ando Mitsuo to perform the autopsy of his one-time classmate, Takayama Ryuji. During the autopsy, Ando removes what appears to be a message written in code. Ando, assisted by his friend and colleague Miyashita, works to both decipher the code and determine whether the Ring report--a complete record of Asakawa's investigation into the video curse--is in fact true.

NOTES AND IMPRESSIONS: Rasen features great characterization and a story that not only flows well, but is written in prose that at times fairly leaps off the page. With Rasen, Suzuki has truly honed the art of using atmosphere as a device to draw the reader into the story. The book also delves deeply into the scientific basis behind the video curse, opening up a whole new level of story that has yet to be addressed in the theatrical versions (including the much-maligned adaptation by Iida Joji).

AVAILABILITY: Japanese, Chinese, French, German, Thai, English

Loop

By: Suzuki Koji. First printing - January 31st, 1998.

STORY: Medical student Futami Kaoru has both his father and girlfriend fall victim to the Metastatic Human Cancer Virus. He's heard that the virus has some connection to a top-secret project being carried out in America, and goes overseas to investigate for himself. He finds his way to the desert, where he learns of a person named Takayama...

NOTES AND IMPRESSIONS: Loop is a novel that takes the events of the previous two novels and spins them in a completely new direction. For an in-depth synopsis of the novel, see Clyde Mandelin's excellent (and spoiler-ridden) treatment here.

AVAILABILITY: Japanese, Chinese, French, German, English

the Birthday

By: Suzuki Koji. First printing - February 5th, 1999.

STORY: The last book in the Ring series. Birthday is a collection of three short stories, each with different characters and settings, and occurring at different timeframes within the Ring universe. All of the stories, however, share the common theme of birth.

Floating Coffin  A "missing chapter" from Rasen, this story shows what became of Takano Mai after she went missing. Translated literally, the story title Sora ni Ukabu Hitsugi means "coffin that floats up to the sky."

Lemonheart  The story of Sadako and her budding romance with Toyama, set in her days with the Hisho Acting Troupe. The basis for Ring Ø.

Happy Birthday  A continuation of Loop, this story involves Futami Kaoru and his girlfriend Reiko, who has contracted the Metastatic Human Cancer Virus.

NOTES AND IMPRESSIONS: The manga version of Birthday disdained the short story "Happy Birthday" in favor of an original piece titled "Sadako." (See the manga page for information on this and other comic adaptations.) The English-language edition from Vertical, Inc. has a U.S. release date of December 5th.

AVAILABILITY: Japanese, Chinese, French, English (forthcoming)

Loopkai - An Adventurer's Guide

Editor: Horiuchi Daiji. First printing - September 5th, 1998.

Loopkai (lit. "Loop World") is immediately notable for its synopses of the Ring and Rasen feature films, each of which span 40+ pages and is accompanied by a number of quotes and color stills from the films. Additional sections include the "The Long Path to God" by translator Ohmori Nozomi, and notes on the logistics of the Loop project by computer scientist Kitano Hiroaki.

The book also features interviews with Ring director Nakata Hideo and Rasen director Iida Joji, each of whom give five-page long interviews on their thoughts on the films and how they came to be involved in their respective projects. Additionally, a total of 33 questions from Ring, Rasen (theatrical and novelized versions) and Loop are addressed, in the form of a dialogue between two unidentified individuals (presumably experts on the subject).

Ring 2 - Kyoufu Zoufuku Magazine

By: Ring 2 Research Committee. First printing - January 18th, 1999.

This second deluxe guide features behind-the-scenes notes on the film, as well as several interviews including director Nakata Hideo, screenwriter Takahashi Hiroshi and musical composer Kawai Kenji. The title, Kyoufu Zoufuku, translates to something like "intensification of the fear."

The Sadako

By: Various. First printing - January 2nd, 2000.

This movie guide begins with a profile of the seven actresses to have played Sadako, followed by a picture-laden breakdown of the Ring Ø story. It goes on to feature interviews with the principal actors and actresses, as well as director Tsuruta Norio, screenwriter Takahashi Hiroshi, and Ring author Suzuki Koji.

Additional sections cover location scouting for Ring Ø, profiles of some of the real-life individuals that inspired characters in the Ring series, a full-color section on Ring merchandise, and a chapter detailing the different versions of events portrayed in the various Ring adaptations. It also includes the mini-comic "The Curse of Yamamura Sadako" by Ochazuke Nori (translated and available for download here).

Sada-ko in Ring Ø

Photographs by Miwa Tosaki.

A collection of photographs of actress Nakama Yukie in character as Sadako. Most of the photos are shot on location, and are of good quality (though the photographer does at times tend to use a rather distracting tracer effect). And yes, the title has her name as Sada-ko.

-Also published were a combination Ring / Ring 2 screenplay as well as one for Ring Ø, all written by Takahashi Hiroshi. The Ring Ø script features a number of supplemental materials, including: the script to the play "The Mask" (original title: "Skin") that Sadako performs in the film; a discussion between director Tsuruta Norio and scriptwriter Takahashi Hiroshi; the short fiction "The Notebook of Ikuma Heihachiro"; and a timeline which was used as the initial basis for the timeline - the novels page. As of this writing, the scripts are available only in Japanese.

-When it came time to make Ring 2, the studios opted for the rather unorthodox approach of sending out an open call for scripts, with the best of the bunch to form the basis of the feature film. Though the screenplay ended up being written by Ring veteran Takahashi Hiroshi, four scripts were selected and published in a collection titled Ring: Motto Kowai Yottsu no Hanashi, or "Ring: Four Scarier Tales." Those scripts are "On Air," "The Well," "Someone is Watching" and "Loop of the Ring."

For more on this book (which was published in the shape of a videotape, and features a slipcover to further the illusion), see the interview with director Nakata Hideo.

-The Mysteries of Ring, Rasen, and Loop (author: Itou Maki) published in 1999 addresses both movie and novel versions of the Ring universe. The book tackles several lingering questions from the novels, and also features a glossary and character list.

-Ordering information for the products listed here is found on the merchandise page.