4/5

I received this book in exchange of an honest review, from the lovely people at Kodansha Comics and Netgalley.

"What's important isn't the name. It's the memories of sharing your feelings that are important."

It's just another day, it's snowing outside and the students have arrived on time for class. Everything seems normal, but sudden simple things don't make sense anymore. The exist doors are all close, reception is dead, there's no other living person on sight except for them, and the most scariest of all? Time has stopped. Now trapped at school, force to remember something from this mysterious paranormal entity, questioning who among them has died, it's a race to the truth and survival. I have nothing but affection for this setting. I love haunted schools, unexplained terrors that plough the hallways, characters coming up with creative solutions to problems. It's the perfect setting for a paranormal mystery and I can't stop. I finished the volume in one moment and I couldn't help myself and wish for the second volume. I have to know what happens next and so will you once you read it. It's my first time reading a fictional work from Mizuki Tsujimura and I'm baffled I never had the chance to do so before. She is extremely fluent with her portrayal of those teenagers dealing with this obscure situation, their feelings and relationship put to the test and the phenomena that is spreading throughout this school. But I am familiar with Naoshi Arakawa artwork and he is talented as always, bringing these people for me to care about, this building to feel right, and this spirit or however you name it, a real threat to consider. Try this manga! I highly recommend it, especially for none- manga readers out there. One of the best accessible ones for you to start.

This was an interesting manga. It follows a group of friends who show up to school one day, and get trapped there with weird possibly paranormal things happening. Nobody else seemed to show up to the school, so it’s just them - and this is somehow connected to a student who killed themself a couple of months prior.

The mystery and horror aspects of the manga were interesting to me, but I didn’t really feel connected to the characters and I didn’t find myself caring too much about them or their relationships. I also prefer the art style in other manga that I’ve read to this one, I also felt like some of the characters started to blur together because the art/writing didn’t differentiate them enough at first,

The pacing was really well done, and I liked how the tension ramped up throughout the story, I do want to learn more about the mystery surrounding what happened, so I will likely continue with the series.

rating: 3/5 stars

A School Frozen in Time is a mystery manga about a group of friends that are suddenly stuck in their school. They can't get out and the clocks have stopped. One of their classmates killed themselves a couple of months ago, but none of them seems to remember who and it seems one of them is a spirit of that said person. This is the plot for the first book and this is a series of four books. So, quite short and thus the volume gets into business fast. In a sense the manga doesn't offer anything new, but it's interesting still and keeps the mystery up. The biggest downfall is that the original series is from 2007 and thus the phones are old and the setting feels old due to it. I do really enjoy mystery series when they're well done and there's horror elements in this too without being all over the place.

The art looks crude and kind of incomplete, which is a shame. Arakawa isn't all that magnificent with faces and the panels are quite empty too. Since this all happens in a school, the setting is extra bare and centered around the characters that look wooden in a sense. I don't know really why this was suddenly published in English, when this isn't knew and quite basic? Not bad, but not amazing either.

This is where I found the idea more interesting than the execution. While the mystery that’s presented is intriguing and cool, there wasn’t anything compelling to keep me engaged.

The plot is too slow paced and tedious. The exposition given doesn’t bring any stakes to the game, since you never get a strong sense of where you are. We’re in a school, but then the flashbacks hit and you get lost in where you are meant to be.

This wouldn’t be too much of an issue if the characters were interesting, and they just... weren’t. Because we have so many characters, we don’t get a good sense of who is who and what their personalities are like. They all blended together at one point, and I just didn’t care about anyone.

Also the art style... not a fan. I know the artist did Your Lie in April, but I haven’t read it, so I can’t tell if it’s just their style, but the facial features and the closes ups look so unpolished.

I don’t think I would continue on the first volume alone.

I really enjoy this manga and the story is quite a thrill. The mystery is still there and can't wait to know more from this book (next volume).

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha for providing an e-ARC of this manga in exchange for an honest review. All the opinions expressed in this are my own.
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I absolutely loved A School Frozen in Time! Tsujimura has crafted an incredible story full of suspense, mystery, and a constant underlying ominous feeling.

For a first volume, this manga definitely does a great job of pulling the reader in and building an almost oppressive atmosphere.

The characters are very well developed. I found myself relating to a lot of them and their reactions to various situations were very realistic. Their ideas, bonds and motivations are subtly developed and I really appreciate how we are.not spoon-fed by the author about many crucial plot points and character development arcs.

Lastly, I absolutely love the art style. It has a somber feel to it and wonderfully complements the characters' emotions, dialogues and scene switches.

I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a good mystery, thriller and horror manga!

Overall rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 stars

This is definitely a story that will hook you and leave you wanting more.

** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Copy received through Netgalley

~

A School Frozen in Time, Volume 1, by Mizuki Tsujimura
★★★★☆
234 Pages
Content Warning: deals with suicide, memory loss, psychological horror, self-harm, depression


A School Frozen in Time is a YA series (15+) with a psychological thriller reminiscent of classic Japanese horror. Character heavy, with an intricate plot and some mild horror and bloody scenes.

Eight kids show up at school, a few months after another pupil committed suicide on campus, to find themselves trapped and alone. The school is deserted. People can enter, but no one can leave. Gradually, they discover time has stopped at a specific moment – all phones, watches, clocks display the same time – and items appear/disappear. As they begin putting pieces together, they realise they all have one common problem – no one can remember who committed suicide.

As the students begin searching for clues to reclaim their memories, and theorising over possibilities, there are a lot of theories and creepy moments. While being scared for teens, it's definitely psychologically based, with only a few bloody scenes. The plot tackles a few sensitive issues that are explored with care but without shying away – depression, self-harm, memory loss, guilt, fear.

The main character of this story, Mitsuru, goes on a journey of at first being just another secondary character, then stumbling upon a spark of memory that causes him to remember who died. We revisit his memories from the time of the death, without seeing who died or why, and when we return to the present – Mitsuru is gone! Leaving behind a bloody trail, and a phone with the mysterious message of warning for his friends “I remembered”.

I utterly LOVED the suspense, the mystery, the uncertainty. The concept the kids come up with, that one of them might be the dead kid pushing the others to remember them – and the unexplored possibility it wasn't suicide, or that these kids might have been responsible in some way – really intrigues me. It's so original and I can't help but keep coming up with possibilities.

For me, I wasn't initially a fan of the art. I think it may be because I'm more used to adult manga, which tends to have a very refined, sometimes flower, often romantic style. This is probably really well suited to the YA market, though, and it wasn't hard to follow. All the characters were clearly identifiable, so though there were eight, I never felt confused about who was in panel or speaking. They all had clearly defined personalities, style parameters and looks, so it was easy to spot them at a glance.

I originally thought the story would take up to eight volumes, presuming that each character would get one volume, but I read somewhere that it's completed in Japan already at four volumes, which is kind of a relief. I'm looking forward to reading more and four volumes means I have less time to wait to find out what happened. I'd love to read the original novel, but I see it's not available anywhere in English. I hope they decide to translate it in the future, as I'd be interested to see if the manga is faithful or if there are extra interesting scenes in the novel.

At the moment, I'm preparing myself for two endings – 1) what I now call the “Lost” effect, of everyone having been dead from the start, 2) they all wake up/escape the school to find that the suicide never happened, or they're all alive and unharmed. I still think there are multiple options for the student's death: 1) suicide, 2) emotionally pushed by others, or 3) murder covered up as suicide.

I can't wait for the next volume to find out more.

As a longtime lover of school horrors, I was very much looking forward to this manga, and it blew me away with its eerieness! This psychological thriller (with art from the creator of Your Lie in April!) follows eight students who find themselves trapped in their school on exam day three months after a classmate took their life. As they try to break out, throwing desks and chairs at the door and windows, they realize that among the eight of them, only seven are supposed to be alive. One of them is the student who took their life, but with them all forgetting who killed themselves and why... who could it be?

This book was amazingly creepy and I got literal chills reading it. I loved the slow build as you learn who the characters are and dip your toes into the story, but when this book picks up, it <b>picks up.</b> I was so completely immersed in the mystery of trying to figure out who it is and how the others might escape or remember that I was surprised when it ended. I need more! I highly recommend it and will definitely be keeping an eye out for volume 2. This is perfect for anyone who was a fan of jrpg pixel horrors, like Misao or Corpse Party!

There is a full length review forthcoming on my site, MangaLibrarian.com and on my YouTube Channel! I go in depth on my analysis there.

Wow this title has me hooked. It has all the elements of a closed circuit (locked door) mystery with intense psychological eeriness. If you enjoy the Doubt or Judge series by Yoshinki Tonogai you will want to check out "A School Frozen in Time." I also really appreciate that the publisher added a trigger warning at beginning for self harm and suicide.

(Trigger warning: suicide, blood, reference to bullying, anxiety)

Summary:
There is a student who has committed suicide during the school festival. Two months later, eight friends go to school during wintertime. Realizing something is wrong, they tried to leave the school but to no avail. Then, they realized that they are frozen in time. Another realization hits them, they do not remember who is the one that committed the suicide two months ago. Is it one of them?

My review/thoughts/opinion/:
First of all, thank you so much to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics (Vertical Comics) for this review copy in exchange for an honest review. This review is left by me voluntarily.

For me, this story is focusing more on its emotional side rather than the mystery side of it. There is a big mystery in this story and has not been revealed yet in this volume. One thing that one of the characters has said has hit me quite hard. The saying in general saying that a human died twice, which is physically and when nobody remembers the person. And I think this story will be focusing on that saying. This is because these friends need to remember who passed away from suicide two months ago in order to solve the mystery.

For the illustration, it suits me and the translation is good and understandable. There are also some notes about some phrases that are used in the story. The characterization is okay but I think it will be developed more in the next volumes. Generally, the story is an easy read, I managed to finish it in one sitting. I think this story will be a sad one.

Muchas gracias a Netgalley por el envío de una copia en formato digital a cambio de una reseña sincera.

Debo confesar que tanto la portada como la sinopsis de la historia me llamaron completamente la atención desde un principio, y que cuando empecé a leerlo estaba muy emocionada por lo que me podría encontrar. Sin embargo, estoy aún más sorprendida con lo que leí y fascinada con la historia: busqué una historia escolar al estilo "recuentos de la vida" y terminó siendo un thriller psicológico que empieza a jugar con tu mente con la premisa principal de la historia (no digo más porque haría spoilers). Solo les aliento a que LEAN ESTE MANGA porque disfrutarán de una historia original y atrapante, con mucho suspenso y muy prometedora.

¡Estoy ansiosa por continuar el siguiente tomo!

I really enjoyed this manga and cant wait to read the next one. It had just the right amount of suspense and horror to keep you hooked and guessing what happens next.

I heard of this title on a blog and thought I would check it out early. The story is a little strange. A group of students are walking to school together and they're discussing a recent student's suicide off the top of the school. When they get to school it's quiet...too quiet. A few other students show up when the first group realizes that they can't leave the building. They get pretty spooked that they can't leave and no one else is showing up for class. Then they realize they don't remember who died and that time has frozen. They figure out that the student who died must have been one of them and they are doing this to them. The story is really intriguing and each student has a unique personality but the story itself fell kind of flat. I'm curious to read the next one but I feel as if it could have been a stand alone story and not a series.

"What's important isn't the name. It's the memories of sharing your feelings that are important." - Mizuki Tsujimura, A School Frozen in Time, Volume 1

Trigger Warnings: death, suicide, blood, violence, references to self-harm and bullying, smoking, anxiety, depression

A huge Thank you to NetGalley and Vertical Comics for this advanced readers' copy in exchange for my honest review.

The first volume of A School Frozen in Time by Mizuki Tsujimura begins with suicide at a school festival. Two months later, a group of classmates returns to school only to find themselves alone and trapped inside their school with no way out and a chilling mystery on their hands: someone among them is an "imposter" (hehe ok, clearly I've been playing Among Us way too many times). In all seriousness (as this is a serious book), the eight classmates are tasked by an unseen force to find the answer to "Do you remember?" The problem is that no one seems to remember the name, much less the face, of their former classmate. To get out, they need to remember. But will remembering something tragic open the door to freedom? 

This is yet another book I requested based on the cover and title. To be honest, I didn't bother to read the synopsis before I put in my request. Something about the title just captivated me. I had imagined that the premise of the book is centered around some sort of time theory and given the title, I would say more specifically on time loop. Having now read it, I can't say for certain if I was right or wrong in my theory. 

This is not my usual go-to genre when it comes to manga/or graphic novels. I prefer to read something more on the light-hearted, sometimes comedic side. So you can imagine my surprise with how much I have come to love this manga! It's an intense and edge-of-your-seat read wit mystery wrapped around it. I could not put it down. I am hooked and I can't wait to continue on with the series. This is not for everyone, but I do recommend this for those who love to read suspense-thrillers and/or horror-mystery.

As the school festival a couple of months ago someone jumped. As the story begins, we have a group of classmates who fiend themselves trapped inside the deserted school. The corridors are empty, phones don’t work, doors and windows don’t open, and the clocks are stopped at the time when this person jumped. BUT no one can remember who it was.

The premise and slow building tension work well, depending on how the story is continued over the next few books I think A School Frozen in Time could really ramp up on the horror. As a beginning I think this first book is a good enough hook to want people to come back and read more.

*2.5*
it was fine i suppose. i have literally no feelings about this book nor anything to really say. the artist is the artist of “your lie in April” which I liked, but one of the characters (the one on the cover-i can’t remember any of the people’s names) looks exactly like kousei—and i was so confused at first.
i do plan on reading the next volume tho

I received this advanced copy from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. Thank you!

Trigger Warnings!!! Succide!

I enjoyed this and plan to continue on with the other mangas. I had some trouble keeping track of who everyone was. The concept is very interesting and gripping, making you needing to know what is going on.

In this we aren't sure if it's time travel or something else. I find that concept very interesting. It took a little bit for us to get to the exciting parts because of the set up. There was a slightly scary aspect to this which I appreciate.

This was interesting and now I need to know what is going on. This of course ended on a cliffhanger. Other than what I have said, there isn't really anything else I can say. I was a little disappointed with the confusing characters and pacing. Because of this I knocked off a star.

This is more stressing than I originally thought. It doesn’t look like it from the cover but this manga is quite a thriller. The first half of the book is used to set down the story and explain why the school is frozen in time. The search for ending this mystery starts in the second half. It is really intriguing and kind of confusing to follow the characters in their quest to remember. We don’t know much about the characters so it’s difficult to get attached but I am kind of thankful for that because then I won’t feel too sad if something happens
I recommend it to people who like thrillers/horror manga or who want to try the genre.
3/5

I am beyond excited to have read this manga as I had previously kept up with the other manga that was by these two authors. Your lie in April was so emotionally moving and when reading this manga as well I was beyond moved, there are some themes such as suicide that is very hard to take in so please read with caution.

The manga starts out as a normal manga should that involves teenagers, the main protagonist and side characters are heading to school, meet up with their other friends from their class and that is when things start getting creepy as you try to figure out along side the characters why these things are happening to them.
The characters and their backstory that has been placed in the first volume keeps you engage and into the story.

It made my heart clenched when seeing what these characters feel and put themselves through and I would love to continue reading this manga as it has captured my full attention.