"They're only SLIGHTLY radioactive." That's mostly good!

It finally happened. An October where Linkara wasn’t haunted or otherwise endangered by otherworldly beings. Never thought I’d see it.

I'm not crying We're ALL crying indeed, this was a wholesome look into Sadako and it reminds me of a fan comic where Jason is put into a more wholesome story where he's a camp counselor himself who protects kids and even had a date with Carrie.

The idea that even Sadako doesn't want to be angry anymore but just CAN'T is pretty moving. That these two kids who naively just didn't know to be afraid of her and therefore showed her kindness, and this kindness healed her more than all the vengeance she had unleashed before. Always love a story where the monster can be tragic but also sympathetic. And honestly, Sadako probably saved those kids to a degree. How much longer could they have survived? The food was going to run out, and likely kinda soon. Bringing them into the tape was probably the kindest end for them. But now I have to wonder... do they show up too when someone watches the tape? Imagine the utter god damn confusion of the next victim.

Ngl, slasher villains being stuck in a Post-apocalyptic environment sounds like a great concept.

In Japanese, the girls just couldn't read her name at first because it was written in kanji, which is probably difficult at their age. So she switches to writing it in hiragana (which is phonetic and can be sounded out) so they can read it. Basically, it's like she shifted to writing like a children's manga instead of an adult's manga?

Sadako going 'whoo-hoo' is honestly far more adorable than it has any right to be.

if you think about it this manga can be a ending to any continuity for the character and it also frames her as the real victim of this curse and shows she ultimately gets a happy ending

Honestly, living on inside the tape is probably a better existence for the girls than trying to see out a living after the end. They're at peace, with a friend, and never have to worry about pain or hunger.

Man, when he said he was going to review this manga, it sounded so interesting I went out and read it myself. Great series with such a disappointing non-ending that feels so tacked on. So its gonna be interesting seeing how Linkara reacts to that Edit: And damn, he changed my opinion on it by mentioning stuff I just completely missed on my own read. The 4th wall break even becomes better with the ending implying the manga to be a tape itself. Damn that is clever.

Well at least Sadako isn't stuck in a time loop where she has to do the cha cha slide forever

Dang, this was one of the most thought provoking and emotional takes on The Ring yet. There's no struggle in fighting the curse, no despair or hatred, just a wholesome journey where Sadako finally gets to see innocence and show she can still be touched by others, even if she cannot change their fates. Even while they had to die, everyone seemed at peace with what came, glad to have finally gotten something special before the end. Sadako ended up giving everyone on this journey what they wanted, and thus they had nothing to fear from her curse. No one wants to die before their time, but they also don't want to die feeling their life was unfulfilled.

Nature reclaiming urban structures is pretty common in post-apocalyptic stuff out of Japan. Doesn’t make sense for the world to be brown and dingy if the world wasn’t recently destroyed by nuclear hellfire. Especially with Japan’s tropical seasonal weather patterns.

I can't believe that there was actually a spin-off Manga where the creepy ring girl had friends and there was a good amount of wholesome energy while still keeping the theme of yep you still die. This was good and despite the fact that Sadako is still a vengeful spirit I do like how this pretty much gave her a bit more character and gave her friends. This was a pretty interesting little Manga.

I really enjoy Linkara when he finds a really great comic to talk about and brings so much great insight into why we like it so much

This episode JUST released, so it may take a little bit for it to be available in better quality (and there might be glitching of audio disappearing - just refresh the page until it happens).

I know it was just a clip, but Louis: I gotta thank you for a reference to The Quiet Earth! I never see or hear ANYONE talk about that masterpiece and it's one of my most treasured VHS tapes!

Somehow it's the end of the world as we know it and Linkara he just feels fine

This was a nice story, involving a horror-themed character. Despite not being able to undo all the pain, the acts of kindness were enough to give her back at least a little bit of something truly precious, her humanity. She may not be able to stop her curse, but she can at least try to be kind in some way despite what she has to do to make things at least a little easier for her victims and herself. What happened to Sadeko was tragic and now she is forever trapped in an endless cycle of hate and rage that she can't stop, she can only keep it going, hurting others and never allowing herself real peace, but at least here she can have a small reprieve from all that and have a bit of humanity. In a way, she's kind of like a Sith Lord. While some Sith are just evil, many become Sith because they have good and noble goals to protect what they care about and the Darkside offers them the power to do that, but this power is like a curse, it corrupts you, breaks you, forces you to sacrifice everything, even the ones you originally sought this power out to protect, and you become nothing but a hollow shell of you're former self, who only seeks power for power sake now, thinking it will make you feel better, but it doesn't, it just perpetuates the cycle of pain, hate, and loneliness you feel. The Drakside forces you to get rid of you're very humanity and leaves you with nothing but a futile and endless quest for power. Just like many Sith, Sadeko is trapped in a loop of pain, hate, and loneliness. But in this story, she didn't feel pain, hate, or loneliness, she had people who genuinely cared and were kind to her, she finally got to see the best of humanity, instead of the worst, and while she may not have been able to stop her curse from killing them, she at least keeps a piece of them with her and that kindness has helped her at least become a little bit happier and more like her former self that she lost long ago. And hopefully, someday, she too will be freed from her own curse and able to live a happy life that she deserves after all the suffering she suffered. And until that time comes, she'll at least have the kindness of Hi and Ai to look back on and remember to give her some joy until then.

Sadako in a post apocalyptic world: awesome. Sadako "befriending" two kids cute. With a concept like this I say this is a win and way better than Sadako recent new movies

The "face paper" bit got a good chuckle out of me.

Since Linkara mentioned Friday the 13th so much, it really makes me wanna see a crossover with Jason and Sadako or Samara. I actually wrote one a long time ago

Here's a question: What if Sadako's tape was watched by an immortal being? If Sadako is destined to kill them, would this be an instance of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object? Would the universe crash trying to process it?

Linkara has been on a roll recently and the content just keeps on getting better and better

Personally I want to see one of these Curse Ghosts finally get their revenge on the ones who wronged them...only for all their OTHER victims to come after them as they try to ascend, make it something like a horrifying the horror sort of story, maybe even with a human who DOESN'T know what's going on being convinced to help them throughout the story, until learning what they did, and being given the option of letting them pass peacefully, or be given to the mob of angry victim spirits.

This manga... wow this is really sad when I realized what was going to happen to Ai and Hii. It reminds me of Girls' Last Tour. But yeah... Sadako is in many ways the first and ultimate victim of the curse, she knows this was her last seven days as well and she might be happy with that. To see it end.

its even more brilliante when you think of this the curse is knowing you will die in 7 days this story is sadakos final 7 days

This manga *REALLY* needs to be adapted as either an anime series or movie, this is way too wholesome, bittersweet and kinda spooky to not be given that treatment.

15:25 Nice Thunderdome joke, Lewis.

Linkara always knows the best words to use when talking about a comic book, film, tv episode and maybe a video game

Wow...this is genuinely great. Kinda reminds me of some Mike Flanagan projects. I guess the best way to describe this story is "Gothic Tragedy". And it kinda has a Grant Morrison-esque twist at the end as Sadako literally tries to make her way into the real world

23:03 whooo boy all the way back to Sinnamon for that callback. Nice

Viga's title card came out extra cute here! Honestly Sadako being shown kindness and giving kindness a try was very sweet and she deserves so much more than she got. I'm glad she was able to have growth and make some friends (and goodness she seems so small in this, like she's barely more than a kid herself...).

This story with Saudko at the end of the world is super funny but also super interesting to see her try to curse people if there’s no one left in to curse in the end of the world.

Last year I read The Girl from the Well, a novel with basically the premise of Okiku as avenger of dead children, eventually going up against another Onryō, which I really enjoyed. So it was neat seeing her turn up here, even if with very different characterization.

Sadako: I need an adult Beautician: I AM AN ADULT!

12:36 wait, THIS ISN'T the first time a hairdresser gives Sadako a new hairstyle? 20:55 the plate ghost. the inspiration for sadako 27:42 the vtuber jokes this episodes were forshadowing all along?!

I dropped this manga in a chat in the At4W Discord at the beginning of the ring reviews back in 2021 wondering if it would be part if the next few years of reviews and was excited when Lewis confirmed it was on the docket and it makes me very happy to see it reviews because it is such a precious book. Great review, thank you for making it happen

14:51 When you realize that you don’t have a Halloween storyline for this year (because of schedule slippages and not having time to do it).

Honestly...this is probably the Ring story I've loved the most so far. It's sweet, heartbreaking, funny, emotional...and yeah, parts of that were in the other comics, but this doesn't have the ickier, more awful parts of Sadako's backstory to get through. ...wow. I might actually get this one.

Wholesome post-apocalyptic Sadako story is something I didn't know I needed. Thank you.

..... Wow. Of all the things I expected in Ashock the Fourt Wall, an heartwarming story was not one of them. And it's a pleasant surprise. You're right, this is a beautiful and very touching story.

This might be one of my favorite episodes of AT4W so far. Not just because of the funny jokes, but because it caused me to go out and buy the manga. That doesn’t happen all that often, as though I’m a longtime fan of your show, I’m not really a big comic reader. Nor am I a big horror person. But your positive review sold me on Sadako At The End of the World, and thank you for introducing me to this beautiful work.

Sadako finally fulfilled her dream of being a mother.

Ok I’m starting to notice a theme in post apocalypse stories. Like at some point I’d expect Sadako and her friends to run across Joel and Ellie and if you wanted to stretch it Logan and X-23 to form the most badass gang of post apocalypse survivor groups

My interpretation of the "watching sadako counts as watching the video" bit is that sadako takes in to acount the words of thw hairstyler and decide that indeed just watching her is good enough...mainly because in this world there aren't many tv's or vhs players

I think there IS a CurseCon, Linkara. It's called Hell. :p

This is a remarkably good Sadako story.

This was really sweet. And I absolutely love that despite that sweetness, it ends on one last terrifying scare. Great execution of that fourth wall break, reminded me of the one in Grant Morrison's Animal Man.

10:11 - Dang, now I want to see someone draw Sadako as an Umbra Witch.

The Ashock The 4th Wall theme song absolutely knocks it out of the park, props to Vincent E.L.

... I never get these this early, and somehow missed last time... whelp, I'll be back

14:52 starfire( i think thats starfire) is like oh great male human slave is being weird again instead of giving me pets

This was a sweet video. I went into it expecting it to revolve around the premise of that Ring video game, where you fight werewolves and stuff. You know the one.

As much as Japanese Horror truly terrifies me, i like how Sadako(the Ring series) has been treated, especially un this Comic. This shows that you can develop a character outside their medium in different ways....

Add another crossover battle movie to the list. Sadako Vs. The Stand!

Oh man you got me at the ending well done dude I almost teared up there just how you describe the ending is so sad.

Can't wait for Friday the 13th part 27.1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 billion where Jason goes to the petting zoo and just feeds goats

Well that was a wonderful story that I won't forget. Thank you for covering it Lewis :D

This just… god, I didn't expect to get emotional over a Ring comic. I'm gonna need to take some minutes to get over this, I loved every bit of it! It's so short but it's very sweet, I love the kids, I love Sadako in this, and Yamane and the old lady are also great 😭 she was able to experience kindness and compassion at the end of the world man

I needed a story like this life lately has felt heavy rough long and like a dirge like an endless depression that I’m not allowed to escape I felt that ending in a way that made me genuinely ugly cry Thank you Linkara for showing this off because it’s something that touched me in a way I didn’t think I needed or would find I felt that moment at the end with sadako that feeling of being allowed to see humanity

I honestly never thought a story would make me cry for Sadako.

Well dang... that might now be my favorite Ring story ever now.

This is actually really interesting. I personally like stories where you take already established characters and try to do something new and interesting with them. Hell, I've done who knows how many times while writing fanfiction. And Sadako in a post-apocalyptic world? Surprisingly it works. It's also cool to meet some of Japan's other folklore monsters.

This absolutely needs to be a movie cuz I would absolutely watch / love it! The world needs more monster movies with happy endings!

This is such a fascinating concept, indeed wonderful and bittersweet

Now I want a story involving Sadako running the wastelands in the last of the V8 Interceptors looking for people to kill.

Ive heard of this story before but seeing it in full is something else, it is weird the story bends Sadako's rules a bit but fun then the less. Still, a character such as Sadako breaking the fourth wall and "cursing the reader"... is a very scary twist to her character

This is a surprisingly great and moving comic. Thanks for showing it off!

Huh. This is honestly a good thought experiment, much more than is usually the case with the scenerio. It is actually hilarious how Sadako acts at times in this. This kinda brings up a question. What does Sadako do if someone who can't die watches the tape? 'then i get the high score!' Sadako: suck it Kruger!

Wow, this was indeed a great manga. Pretty touching. Didn't expect that from the title. Also has the best artwork out of all the Ring manga.

Sadako being (kinda) wholesome here reminds me of Erma, an original character who is a parody of Sadako/Samara.

This comic is awesome, really loved it

Yes! I can't for your review of Sadako-San and Sadako-Chan! I've read that one and really enjoyed it! As for this manga, I now want to hunt down a copy to read for myself!

Imagine if they did this with other horror movies characters like Candyman, Chucky, Jason, The Thing etc.

Funny how they put on the Hansel and Gretal play since coming across the old woman enthusiastic to feed the girls gave me those vibes. Luckily she turned out to actually be nice.

Got to say this is one of those few times a review made me cry at the end.

God dang it that actually made me tear up 🥲

I actually really liked hearing about this story. It makes me want to go out there and read it. Thanks, Linkara!

Cool, a new video on sadako from the ring.

Never in a billion years did I think I’d see anything genuinely horror related that I loved. No gore, no flash, just a legit ghost story with the rarest of pleasures for a horror story: a happy ending.

Hey Lewis...I AM A FAN! *punch* (Did someone already do that joke?)

Now linkara can do comics based on the Halloween series next year

Maybe it's just knowing the whole story of Sadako but for some reason just hearing the title of the last chapter really got me teary eyed... I think Im getting this manga

Been a Ring fan for a long time, so it's nice to see Sadako get what could count as a happy ending for her.

10:50 Sadako: I was in a well, actually!

Damn this one made me teary eyed

Never thought I needed this story until today ;3;

A Sunday release just feels early. Nice

sadako at earths end!

Sadako in a post apocalyptic story. Joke time! Well at least she can still unleash her rage against Caesar’s Legion, Jagi and the Brotherhood of Steel. If she was in After War Gundam X do you think Sadako would be considered a Newtype? She’d be the most awkward member of Team Dai Gurren. I’m pretty sure Sadako would still be full of bloodlust and rage after hearing Ulysses ramble about the bear and the bull. I am Legend, hello legend I’m Sadako. I’m honestly kind of surprised she hasn’t shown up as a demon in a SMT game. And lastly Kevin Costner says “my boat” Sadako says “my tape”.

That's the thing about Japanese Ghost Stories. So many of them somehow get depressing, heart rending, and bittersweet.

You missed a prime refence Linkara. If ever there was a mad barber/beautician to reference...its FRED! Or in the words of one Eustace Bagge: "He's FREAKY barber, with a FREAKY barbershop!"

I am very tempted to find a copy of this manga because of the review because the story sounds so good.

that's very clever

This was great and really makes me think of the web comic Erma. Think I might try and snag a copy for my manga collection.

I think you hit bone on that deep cut. It made me laugh though so thanks for that

21:35 Or they’re named Little Timmy. I guess falling counts as throwing yourself in

15:39 slightly radioactive? that can't be good!

the mega happy ending is my everything