What do you think?
Rate this book
The Drifting Classroom #2
The Drifting Classroom, Vol. 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...
188 pages, Paperback
First published March 24, 2005
About the author
Kazuo Umezu
125 books276 followersKazuo Umezu (Japanese name 楳図 かずお, birth name 楳図一雄) is an author of Japanese horror and other manga, as well as a musician and actor.
He had his first book of manga published while still in high school and made manga his career immediately upon graduation. After moving to Tokyo in 1962 he developed his detailed horror manga style and has since published his comics in every genre from horror fiction to science fiction to humour. He won the 20th Shogakukan Manga Award in 1974 for The Drifting Classroom.
He had his first book of manga published while still in high school and made manga his career immediately upon graduation. After moving to Tokyo in 1962 he developed his detailed horror manga style and has since published his comics in every genre from horror fiction to science fiction to humour. He won the 20th Shogakukan Manga Award in 1974 for The Drifting Classroom.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
July 21, 2023
Horrifying, terrible, insane, i didn't really think this horror manga would be horrific like this, i am getting chills writing this.
So this is so good its a master piece written by kazuo umezu, its about a school that disappears from existence, and kind of teleports to another timeline a future or something, first the guy who is in charge of food in the school goes mad, he wants the food all for himself and he is willing to let everyone else die, and we are talking about elementary school kids here they have to fend for themselves and confront this insane man to be able to eat, and water is low food is low so they basically confront him to eat for a day.
The insanity doesn't stop there a teacher goes mad and kills all other teachers and is free to kill children now and he is just running kids over in his car.
This is just madness written and you will feel helpless somehow not sure how to take all this !
and did i say it was terrifying i mean i felt scared and believe me this is not an easy feat.
Finally i can't recommend this enough for horror readers just try it the horror starts from the second volume sadly but give it a try.
2021 Read.
So this is so good its a master piece written by kazuo umezu, its about a school that disappears from existence, and kind of teleports to another timeline a future or something, first the guy who is in charge of food in the school goes mad, he wants the food all for himself and he is willing to let everyone else die, and we are talking about elementary school kids here they have to fend for themselves and confront this insane man to be able to eat, and water is low food is low so they basically confront him to eat for a day.
The insanity doesn't stop there a teacher goes mad and kills all other teachers and is free to kill children now and he is just running kids over in his car.
This is just madness written and you will feel helpless somehow not sure how to take all this !
and did i say it was terrifying i mean i felt scared and believe me this is not an easy feat.
Finally i can't recommend this enough for horror readers just try it the horror starts from the second volume sadly but give it a try.
2021 Read.
May 28, 2024
Fuck you Mr. Wakahara
Additionally, I didn't see why the author had to take such extreme measures to make him this violent. Contrary to popular belief, I believe it to be a representation of the attitudes of some teachers generally. Considering the stressful nature of the event and the potential outcomes, such as presenting the worst-case scenario.
Additionally, I didn't see why the author had to take such extreme measures to make him this violent. Contrary to popular belief, I believe it to be a representation of the attitudes of some teachers generally. Considering the stressful nature of the event and the potential outcomes, such as presenting the worst-case scenario.
June 29, 2024
omg we're in an emergency situation! 😧
kids: 💪🧑🍳🧑🌾⛑️🥖☺️
adults: 🤪🥴👹🔫🙈🔥🧨
kids: 💪🧑🍳🧑🌾⛑️🥖☺️
adults: 🤪🥴👹🔫🙈🔥🧨
October 27, 2019
The second volume and things get more brutal and gruesome.
We start with where we left off, which is with something in the hand of one of the kids. Apparently the guy who is supposed to give out food is hoarding it all and he is doing anything and everything to make sure no one gets in.. Welp, those parts were definitely very gruesome. Plus, with the teachers and what happened to them? Why didn’t they just run, stop drop and roll? I was definitely disturbed by this guy, Sekiya, not only is he hoarding the food but he is also just slashing and hitting kids left and right as someone took one of his bread rolls. What the fuck dude, these are kids. You selfish insert some very mean words. I was rooting for Sho and his classmates to take back control.
We meet up with the tiny little kid again. Welp, I guess I should add one more thing to my horror books list of things not to do (for instance don’t sign any strange contracts, don’t just go outside when it is dangerous, etc.): Don’t play with strange kids. 😛 I wonder where he comes from and what he has to do with this whole situation. It is a bit too coincidental that he happens to be there when he wasn’t even at the school when it vanished, not to mention that Sho played with him just the day before things happened.
Ohhh, we find out some stuff, though that only makes me have even more questions. The kids find something in the endless sands around their school, something that was quite shocking and made me sad. But at least it was an explanation.
Really, this volume was way too disturbing. We see various things happen I was pretty shocked at it all. I guess people go bonkers in these situations though that doesn’t excuse them from doing that. I was even liking that one teacher.. but then he did all that crap and I just wished the sand would swallow him up.
I did like, well at least at first, that they took a car to go an excursion. To see if there was anything, anything at all in this hellhole. Well, they did find out things.. which made it all more confusing for me.
The last chapter, I was quite happy with that. Yes, it was a sad chapter, but I am happy we see some more of the real world again. Of Sho’s mom. Of what is going on in the real world. Though they are just as confused as Sho and his schoolmates. We at least find out how the school vanished, and holy wow.
I am a bit confused about the number of students, 800+. Where are all those kids? I mean we see a lot of them here and there but I would say that is only about 100, where are the 700 that are left? And why is there so little food if there are so many students? If you look at the breads and the flour and potatoes that is not nearly enough to feed so many kids and teachers.
So all in all, I am not too sure how I felt about this volume. Yes, it had plenty of exciting moments. Yes, there is mystery and horror. But the gruesomeness. The things that happened to the kids.. just were too much for me. I am not sure if I can stomach any further gruesomeness.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
We start with where we left off, which is with something in the hand of one of the kids. Apparently the guy who is supposed to give out food is hoarding it all and he is doing anything and everything to make sure no one gets in.. Welp, those parts were definitely very gruesome. Plus, with the teachers and what happened to them? Why didn’t they just run, stop drop and roll? I was definitely disturbed by this guy, Sekiya, not only is he hoarding the food but he is also just slashing and hitting kids left and right as someone took one of his bread rolls. What the fuck dude, these are kids. You selfish insert some very mean words. I was rooting for Sho and his classmates to take back control.
We meet up with the tiny little kid again. Welp, I guess I should add one more thing to my horror books list of things not to do (for instance don’t sign any strange contracts, don’t just go outside when it is dangerous, etc.): Don’t play with strange kids. 😛 I wonder where he comes from and what he has to do with this whole situation. It is a bit too coincidental that he happens to be there when he wasn’t even at the school when it vanished, not to mention that Sho played with him just the day before things happened.
Ohhh, we find out some stuff, though that only makes me have even more questions. The kids find something in the endless sands around their school, something that was quite shocking and made me sad. But at least it was an explanation.
Really, this volume was way too disturbing. We see various things happen I was pretty shocked at it all. I guess people go bonkers in these situations though that doesn’t excuse them from doing that. I was even liking that one teacher.. but then he did all that crap and I just wished the sand would swallow him up.
I did like, well at least at first, that they took a car to go an excursion. To see if there was anything, anything at all in this hellhole. Well, they did find out things.. which made it all more confusing for me.
The last chapter, I was quite happy with that. Yes, it was a sad chapter, but I am happy we see some more of the real world again. Of Sho’s mom. Of what is going on in the real world. Though they are just as confused as Sho and his schoolmates. We at least find out how the school vanished, and holy wow.
I am a bit confused about the number of students, 800+. Where are all those kids? I mean we see a lot of them here and there but I would say that is only about 100, where are the 700 that are left? And why is there so little food if there are so many students? If you look at the breads and the flour and potatoes that is not nearly enough to feed so many kids and teachers.
So all in all, I am not too sure how I felt about this volume. Yes, it had plenty of exciting moments. Yes, there is mystery and horror. But the gruesomeness. The things that happened to the kids.. just were too much for me. I am not sure if I can stomach any further gruesomeness.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
May 25, 2016
This is manga, a series, and horror comics by one of the masters. I wasn't exactly sure what happened in the first volume. I thought maybe the entire world/Earth was gone and this classroom was the only thing left, but actually (and this is not a big spoiler) it is clear(er) that after a Big Explosion this school (and not just one classroom), Yamoto Elementary School, is now missing from Earth, a hole left in its place, and it is in another dimension, time, actually drifting in space… or somewhere, maybe another dimension.
That was bad news for the kids, but what seems worse is that all the adults are getting crazier, such as a cafeteria worker who threatens mayhem if anyone tries to take "his" food. One teacher seems to be starting a murderous plan. Some kids go on a trip outside of the school into uncharted territory. . . and discover (spoiler alert) the buried city of Tokyo. Yikes, I know!
This is a kid's nightmare, maybe not written exactly for kids, not sure. Not R. L. Stine territory, that's for sure. Really scary story, compared to that.
That was bad news for the kids, but what seems worse is that all the adults are getting crazier, such as a cafeteria worker who threatens mayhem if anyone tries to take "his" food. One teacher seems to be starting a murderous plan. Some kids go on a trip outside of the school into uncharted territory. . . and discover (spoiler alert) the buried city of Tokyo. Yikes, I know!
This is a kid's nightmare, maybe not written exactly for kids, not sure. Not R. L. Stine territory, that's for sure. Really scary story, compared to that.
January 2, 2019
I can't believe these were written for children but they are fantastic. Better to start early with entropic destruction and existential horror!
July 31, 2011
Things are getting worse for the children of Yamoto Elementary School. Not only has their school vanished into a sandy wasteland, but they must now contend with a power-mad cafeteria worker with visions of controlling the school by controlling the food supply. He is not above clubbing, stabbing, shooting, or incinerating students and faculty. While the students discover that the school has moved forward in time, one of their teachers begins a methodical murder campaign. A trip into the wastelands with the murderer ends with Sho and his friend discovering the buried city of Tokyo, and Sho makes a psychic connection with his mother still alive in the past.
Umezu's work is a distillation of everything that would frighten a child -- separation from parents, insane adults, no lunch -- without any of the sweetening that would go into the American version of such a story. In fact the kids are dropping like flies. Perhaps Umezu is trying to work his way down to a more reasonable quantity of characters for the eleven-book series.
Umezu's work is a distillation of everything that would frighten a child -- separation from parents, insane adults, no lunch -- without any of the sweetening that would go into the American version of such a story. In fact the kids are dropping like flies. Perhaps Umezu is trying to work his way down to a more reasonable quantity of characters for the eleven-book series.
April 4, 2013
Still as good as ever. I just whipped through the pages on my tablet in about 10 minutes (would've been faster but Wi-Fi is slow >:O ) . This manga is flipping addicting.
May 31, 2018
Some adults just like to slap, kick, stab, shoot, smother, run over and strangle schoolkids when given the chance. And who says dreams don't come true? Thanks, inexplicable apocalypse!
June 27, 2020
As expected the second volume gets weirder. It appears as though the school has been transported into a post apocalyptic future, but that's still unclear. One thing I do find strange is just how fast people snapped. It only took a few hours for people to start going nuts, and I mean NUTS as in murdering others and other crazy things. I suppose people would snap in such a dire situation but I wouldn't expect it to happen so quickly. I also like how we see what's going on with the people left behind, as the story does show that as well rather than focusing strictly on the transported school. We haven't seen any monsters yet, but I just have a feeling that's coming.
So far this is a pretty great series that manages to portray horror in a way that is hard to pull off.
So far this is a pretty great series that manages to portray horror in a way that is hard to pull off.
March 4, 2022
Darker than I was expecting after the first volume but this Lord of the Flies meets horror manga looks like it's willing to get uncomfortable at times. This one ends with some weird indication that there may be a possibility that some level of communication is possible between the school dimension and the "present" but not sure how much this will be touched on in future volumes.
September 2, 2021
well, tbh, it kinda gets better and interesting as you read.
January 7, 2020
this is really good but the subject matter might be a bit too much for me. i don’t deal well when little kids get murdered...it is a good manga but mentally I can’t handle it.
August 19, 2021
This is a review of the entire series!
For Sho Takamatsu, it seemed to be an ordinary day of school like any other. In the aftermath of a sudden earthquake, his entire elementary school vanishes into thin air along with all the students and teachers that were trapped inside. The earthquake seemed to be so powerful that it caused a ripple in time, projecting the school into a dark and bleak wasteland where nothing but death, mutants and mind-breaking anomalies await. Sho takes on the role of the leader, trying to keep the other children safe from harm while searching for a way back home.
The Drifting Classroom takes things at a very slow pace. The horror elements don't even begin to seep in until several volumes into the series. While it starts off slow and does drag a bit in places, I think every volume is better than the previous. It took me a while to get into it but I really started to feel invested once I saw the bigger picture of what it was trying to portray.
While the dialogue and reactions of the characters seems a bit clunky and unrealistic at times, it's important to remember that many of the characters are extremely young elementary school students. Most of them haven't even learned how to talk properly let alone think themselves out of life or death situations. Watching children so young and vulnerable get thrown into one nightmare after the other led to some very intense chapters that didn't shy away from showing little kids being brutally murdered, eaten and smashed to pieces. It might not start out scary, but each volume escalates the horror, the violence and the stakes. As hundreds of children are driven mad with fear, hunger and isolation with no adults to care for them, it's only a matter of time until they begin to turn on each other as well. These kids can give the children in Lord of the Flies a run for their money once their minds start to break.
Some smaller things such as the art quality and the sometimes stagnant way the characters and their reactions are drawn feel off-putting and even a bit silly at times, but it's important to remember that this is one of the pioneers of horror manga, written all the way back in 1971. Devilman is another great manga that has some of the same issues. They're both great series, but you can tell they were written during the experimental phase of manga when they were just beginning to find their way into mainstream entertainment. Though certain aspects of The Drifting Classroom haven't aged that well, it was surprisingly ahead of its time in other ways. As the story progresses, it begins to tackle the themes of overindulgent consumerism, industrial pollution, and the greed of one generation causing major issues for the next generation. It goes into dark detail about how every little action we take that harms the planet hurts future generations of children far more than it hurts any of us.
For Sho Takamatsu, it seemed to be an ordinary day of school like any other. In the aftermath of a sudden earthquake, his entire elementary school vanishes into thin air along with all the students and teachers that were trapped inside. The earthquake seemed to be so powerful that it caused a ripple in time, projecting the school into a dark and bleak wasteland where nothing but death, mutants and mind-breaking anomalies await. Sho takes on the role of the leader, trying to keep the other children safe from harm while searching for a way back home.
The Drifting Classroom takes things at a very slow pace. The horror elements don't even begin to seep in until several volumes into the series. While it starts off slow and does drag a bit in places, I think every volume is better than the previous. It took me a while to get into it but I really started to feel invested once I saw the bigger picture of what it was trying to portray.
While the dialogue and reactions of the characters seems a bit clunky and unrealistic at times, it's important to remember that many of the characters are extremely young elementary school students. Most of them haven't even learned how to talk properly let alone think themselves out of life or death situations. Watching children so young and vulnerable get thrown into one nightmare after the other led to some very intense chapters that didn't shy away from showing little kids being brutally murdered, eaten and smashed to pieces. It might not start out scary, but each volume escalates the horror, the violence and the stakes. As hundreds of children are driven mad with fear, hunger and isolation with no adults to care for them, it's only a matter of time until they begin to turn on each other as well. These kids can give the children in Lord of the Flies a run for their money once their minds start to break.
Some smaller things such as the art quality and the sometimes stagnant way the characters and their reactions are drawn feel off-putting and even a bit silly at times, but it's important to remember that this is one of the pioneers of horror manga, written all the way back in 1971. Devilman is another great manga that has some of the same issues. They're both great series, but you can tell they were written during the experimental phase of manga when they were just beginning to find their way into mainstream entertainment. Though certain aspects of The Drifting Classroom haven't aged that well, it was surprisingly ahead of its time in other ways. As the story progresses, it begins to tackle the themes of overindulgent consumerism, industrial pollution, and the greed of one generation causing major issues for the next generation. It goes into dark detail about how every little action we take that harms the planet hurts future generations of children far more than it hurts any of us.
December 22, 2023
This one was even worse than the first. The teachers were completely frantic and were not taking care of the kids at all, and the kids were 6yo to 12yo. Little kids! That was biggest problem in this volume: the teachers spiraling into madness. The second biggest problem was that literally the upperclassmen had to ration the food and water and serve it to every kid in the school, so 600 kids. Teachers didn't do crap. And they STILL didn't give us a clue as to what happened and how they got there.
SPOILERS: It was revealed that they were transported to the future but no idea how or why just them or anything. So frustrating!
One of the teachers killed herself after the lunch duty person looked himself in the food room and killed another teacher and kid. While the teachers were having a massive breakdown, the kids rescued the kid who was held hostage and the food and locked the guy up, all by themselves. The teachers didn't do crap. And it didn't even take another 24 hours for the rest of the teachers to go insane. They literally started attacking each other and ultimately only one man was left and it was Sho's teacher. He was planning to kill the kids too! END OF SPOILERS
On top of that, all the scenes with Sho's mom searching for him were honestly pointless and not very well done. That was not normal "grief" or whatever you want to call it.
SPOILERS: It was revealed that they were transported to the future but no idea how or why just them or anything. So frustrating!
One of the teachers killed herself after the lunch duty person looked himself in the food room and killed another teacher and kid. While the teachers were having a massive breakdown, the kids rescued the kid who was held hostage and the food and locked the guy up, all by themselves. The teachers didn't do crap. And it didn't even take another 24 hours for the rest of the teachers to go insane. They literally started attacking each other and ultimately only one man was left and it was Sho's teacher. He was planning to kill the kids too! END OF SPOILERS
On top of that, all the scenes with Sho's mom searching for him were honestly pointless and not very well done. That was not normal "grief" or whatever you want to call it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 10, 2023
What is shown as main problem in survival novels or movies to us? The simple answer is FOOD. In this volume of the manga, we see the same problem. And we also see how that problem is solved. But what I was really looking forward to where the characters of this manga have ended up, which I find completely unexpected!
Everything in this manga was fine, but I don't understand why the author made the characters of the teachers so weak or suddenly violent. I think the author showed the characters of the teachers as very weak, which does not go well with the story, where sixth graders have so much motivation to survive.
At the end of this volume, the author has given an encouraging direction to take this manga in a more exciting direction. Let's see what happens in the next volume ( I am eager to know that)
Finally, I must say that like the previous volume of this manga, this volume is also enjoyable to read.
Everything in this manga was fine, but I don't understand why the author made the characters of the teachers so weak or suddenly violent. I think the author showed the characters of the teachers as very weak, which does not go well with the story, where sixth graders have so much motivation to survive.
At the end of this volume, the author has given an encouraging direction to take this manga in a more exciting direction. Let's see what happens in the next volume ( I am eager to know that)
Finally, I must say that like the previous volume of this manga, this volume is also enjoyable to read.
April 15, 2018
A Japanese elementary school has disappeared from the face of the Earth.
I don't think I've ever seen this much violence toward children in any book before. Kids are shot, stabbed, run over by cars. Most of the damage is done by the teachers and adults who are going insane. Some of it is accidentally done between children. The children of one of the classes band together to take down a crazy delivery man who is going from room to room taking all their food. Seeing small children discuss how to keep coming at him in waves even if some of them die is hugely disturbing. Of course, that's what this manga is supposed to do. I couldn't get a copy of volume one so I jumped into this one. I'll give the third volume a try but I'm not sure I want this world in my head.
I don't think I've ever seen this much violence toward children in any book before. Kids are shot, stabbed, run over by cars. Most of the damage is done by the teachers and adults who are going insane. Some of it is accidentally done between children. The children of one of the classes band together to take down a crazy delivery man who is going from room to room taking all their food. Seeing small children discuss how to keep coming at him in waves even if some of them die is hugely disturbing. Of course, that's what this manga is supposed to do. I couldn't get a copy of volume one so I jumped into this one. I'll give the third volume a try but I'm not sure I want this world in my head.
October 8, 2020
Just as good as the first book. Not going to lie though I feel like these children are just going to nonstop go through stuff. I totally recommend and I find it a great horror to read this halloween. The only bad thing about it is that it's very misogynist. Students in the classroom will say things like "women are too emotional to be leaders" and other types of false junk. However, this book was made in the 1970s. Even so, I don't feel like I can remove a star just because I disagree with certain characters perspective of women.
July 8, 2019
Yep, this series continues to be captivating in its story telling. I still absolutely hate all of the characters, yet the author uses these horrible people to the story's advantage. Much like the first volume, I was entirely sucked in to the reading experience. I feel like this manga series will stick with me for a while. Hopefully I can find the next volume somewhere, because I need to know what happens next.
(Picked up at AX 2019 Manga Lounge)
(Picked up at AX 2019 Manga Lounge)
July 10, 2020
Being old myself (31 years old to be exact) I should relate to the adult characters in this book more than to the children but damn got that switched around. What is wrong with these adult people! An evil food delivery man, incapable teachers (granted, they already showed their uselessness in the first volume, now it just gets turned up a notch). What is wrong with this world? Well, aside from being transported to a desert wasteland that is...Reading this I'm half intrigued, half annoyed with the characters, though the children are scarily resourceful.
This totally feels like Lord of the Flies in manga/sci-fi form.
This totally feels like Lord of the Flies in manga/sci-fi form.
February 7, 2017
In the first episode of this story, after an earthquake, an elementary school finds it is surrounded by sand and nothing they knew remains. In this episode, the students, teachers and a deliveryman begin to deal with the terror and stress of their situation. They also begin to understand their situation but only to a slight degree.
September 20, 2020
Tension builds fast. People are dropping like flies. This manga fucking CRAZY!
But there’s not a lot of writing, relatively speaking, and it reads fast.
These are the only two volumes I have in print, but I hear there’s a website where you can read a lot of manga in browser, so I may check that out tonight 🤔
But there’s not a lot of writing, relatively speaking, and it reads fast.
These are the only two volumes I have in print, but I hear there’s a website where you can read a lot of manga in browser, so I may check that out tonight 🤔
January 15, 2020
An excellent hallmark of '70s manga horror, the stunning pen and ink techniques had me mesmerized. Umezu brilliantly builds suspense and leaves each chapter in a way that has the reader eagerly flipping the page.
March 4, 2021
SO MUCH BETTER.
It has it all;
- The gore
- The madness
- The physical illnesses
- But the most important.. the chaotic mind of a scared child.
AND WHAT AN ENDING.
Warning!!!! I'm living with anxiety, and this made me feel my heart beating. I had to take a break.
GREAT JOB KAZUO UMEZU
It has it all;
- The gore
- The madness
- The physical illnesses
- But the most important.. the chaotic mind of a scared child.
AND WHAT AN ENDING.
Warning!!!! I'm living with anxiety, and this made me feel my heart beating. I had to take a break.
GREAT JOB KAZUO UMEZU
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 23, 2018
I'm liking the cliffhangers at the end of these books.
May 14, 2019
The mother needs to get over herself. Selfish bitch. The ending reminds me of stranger things
August 28, 2020
An unrelentingly bleak horror masterpiece
January 31, 2021
A mysterious, unexplainable disaster happened and then cold blooded murders ensued. Insane.
June 17, 2021
Vol 1 was definitely nothing, everyone's losing their minds and things get so so so much more intense. They're just small kids 😭
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews