I just finished reading this PEAK(okay, maybe not peak, but very great) of a manga, and what most captivated me about it is the clowns design. Something that was so on nose, but still had a hella good twist.
(Slides 1 to 3) The first Pierrot Man is one of my favorite clowns design OAT. Its so ridiculously simple, and yet so recognizable. It reminds me a lot of Art from Terrifier, with how brutal and yet charismatic the first Pierrot Man can be. Its design has just the most simple and re-used accessories of a clown, and yet it never takes away the "Disgusting" and "Scary" part of it. Everytime they're on screen, you know shit gonna blow up, and it always does.
(Slides 4 to 8) The black Pierrot Man is the most surprise i've had in a long time. Right when i thought the stakes were high enough, it escalates even more. Everytime the second Pierrot Man was on screen, i felt like i was being directly threatened by it. It also made me get really into Pierrot Man(manga). Reminded me a lot of Pennywise from It, with their way of playing games and such. But the most scary spot is reserved for the original one.
(Slides 8 to 10) The "original" Pierrot Man, Jinsei Todo. The one responsable for the creation of the clown and the author of the murder of many children. His design is pretty simple and straightforward, since he was officially a circus clown. But, when i looked at it, it just didn't felt right, y'know? The eyes, the stare, the posture. Everything about him screamed evil. Every page he was on, i felt that feeling of being watched from the dark, like a monster awaited in my closet or in under my bed. I think what really catches me is how he m's not some crazy guy looking for revenge. He's just a crazy psycho that takes great joy from torturing, abusing and killing children. That's why he's so scary. He reminded me of the case John Wayne Gacy.
(Slides 11 to 13) The red Pierrot Man is nothing really impressive, but still a good visual sight. I feel that, if the pages they were in were colored, i'd have felt more of the impact they truly had on the story and on the room with its presence. Nothing really impressive, but somewhat marking. It was good to see a less experienced Pierrot Man using its "powers" for the first time, felt like they were truly human and not some monsters.
(Slides 14 to 15) The One-Eyed Pierrot Man... exists. Yeah, can't really say much about it. They appear kinda late on the story, don't have much of a focus and just serve as the goons of the main villain. Their design sure is good, i guess, but nothong really memorable. Their serve their purpose, and then leave.
(Slides 16 to 17) The Multi-Eyed Pierrot Man, Jinsei Todo. Gotta say, it was a big surprise, but knowing the other works of Honda Shingo(author of Pierrot Man), you'd expect a giant monster to appear one hour or other(Read the first part of Hakaijuu. Just the first one). I really liked how it had a more expressive mouth and how its eyes never felt like they were alive, but more like cameras, and i really liked the way they dealt with this threat. I wish it was estabilished sooner, like showing a giant Pierrot Man suit to hint at it, but given horse does not look at the teeth(English isnt my first language, so i dont know if thats how its said in English).
So far, a pretty good read and a pretty good manga. I did my best to put as little spoilers i could to motivate you reading to go check it out. It recently got an official translation, and its now completed in English.