Omori Manga Ch. 4 + 5 - Mixed Changes in Space (But I Still Like it)

Written by Rei Caldombra 11/11/2024 Previous Chapter: https://www.blogunderalog.com/blog-collection/omori-manga-ch-3-review

I’m back with the Omori manga! I didn’t feel like writing the chapter review when chapter 4 first came out, so I’m lumping 4 and 5 together for this one. They both focus entirely on the Otherworld anyway, so I felt it would work. With these two chapters, we go through the main plot of Otherworld with some big changes that for the most part, I can appreciate and see the value in. But not entirely. As usual there will be spoilers for all of Omori.

We start with the crew climbing the ladder to Otherworld, which has been extended compared to the game. Everyone gives more sweet words of encouragement, which is nice. The big difference here is that all the scenes of Omori facing his fear of heights have been condensed to this scene. Instead of Omori facing Something in the Dark separately, we see it shown below Omori as he climbs the ladder.

This is clearly a way of keeping the faster pace going and moving forward we can assume we won’t get dedicated scenes to the different variations of Something representing his fears. In this scene, I do not really mind it because it still feels cohesive and successful at portraying what it needs to. This scene still succeeds at portraying Omori’s terror, thanks largely to the great art. Omori almost falling also helps with this, the horror shown in this series for newcomers and the knowledge old fans have (along with the changes its made already) lead you to believe he could genuinely fall here. I genuinely questioned whether it was going to lead to the combat scene with Something or if the group would catch him. I am a long-time fan but I am also doing my best to consider the perspective of someone who may be reading it without spoilers. This scene has a tense atmosphere. And the meaning of Mari supporting him is not totally left out. The moments with the group in this scene are also really great, Kel catching Omori along with the others continuing to encourage him is again, very sweet. This helps make up for the scenes between the group that the manga has skipped over (though it doesn’t completely fix that negative) The scenes where he faces his fears are cool and I didn’t want them gone, but this feels in line with the difference in the way the story has been presented so far. I think this scene works as a way to get the story moving faster while still portraying the necessary beats. I don’t think it’s better than the original, but it is good.

As we enter Otherworld, which consistently looks fantastic by the way, what I said before will continue for the rest of these chapters. Once they get to the top, the gang splits up. Omori goes off on his own to experience the Barn Something scene while the others deal with Otherworld enemies and Space Boyfriend. I’ll focus on each side of things entirely considering both chapters, then conclude with them coming back together.

Starting with Omori, I will say yet again that the horror scenes in the manga are absolutely awesome. They are terrifying and I could not ask for more on a visual front. While the manga may lack the same audio and visual elements that make the game very scary, the manga goes all in on the type of visuals that the game does not offer. Which is what I want from an adaptation, something different that still succeeds at the core essense of what the original did.

This part with Stranger is new, and pretty cool. I really can’t figure out exactly what the photo is to be honest. This makes me think that the highway part of the game where you collect all the photos may be dispersed throughout horror segments as the story progresses, with it culminating in just one photo. As I’ve said I am embracing change by default, so I’m excited to see how this develops.

The scene of Mari’s painting plays largely the same, with lots of great art as Omori escapes from Something. Once he leaves the barn, we get another change with Omori ending up in going straight into Mari’s arms. I like how Mari gives Omori her sweet older sister routine, and directs him to go join with the others again. But now we get to a change I am having much more trouble getting behind, which is Mari’s ghost disappearing already. This is another scene like the church fight that is WAY earlier than in the game. I can’t justify this being here so early, I don’t think it was needed or fits. In the game this really drove home that Mari was dead, but in the manga that was already made clear by irl Mari. I think its also pretty obvious enough that Sunny and Omori are the same. So it is not jarring on those fronts. It just doesn’t hit as hard when we consider how little time they have spent with Headspace Mari and so much less time teasing the backstory. It is not completely awful, at least it does still convey some sadness as it happens right after Mari comforts Omori. But Omori being called Sunny does not carry any weight here for me. It feels very strange that they have all the very sweet stuff at the end of chapter 5, with Hero talking about how much Mari means to him AFTER Mari disappears.

It’s not that putting additional context after a character’s loss never works, but here it just doesn’t for me. I think Mari saying goodbye after they successfully help Space Boyfriend would have hit harder, and still fit because Omori only went to help because of her push. I think that would work better as a sequence of events.

Now to get away from the horror and focus on the friendos. The scene of them fighting the space bunnies is cute, I especially like Kel saying that only he is allowed to annoy Aubrey. This is new and fitting for the character and plays into them as a ship. As a stereotype of kids in Japanese media (but you see it to a degree everywhere) that a boy annoying a girl means they like them. It is also important to note that Hero says here to focus on finding Basil, but that is the last time. Another change is that they come across Space Boyfriend by wandering into the Junkyard while looking for Basil. As another move to hasten the pacing, I think it’s fine. The stuff they skip is nothing especially amazing or critical outside of Pluto.

The gang is forced to fight Space Boyfriend and get their butts kicked. Until Omori steps in and they take him down with the special move. It’s a shame that we did not get as much from this fight as we did with BOSS. This is a minor disappointment, and does curb some of my excitement for upcoming fights. BUT at least the rest of the time we spend with Space Boyfriend is more awesome original content.

Life Jam Guy getting a cameo is nice, but I will be mad if he got one instead of Pluto. They could have had him flying here alongside Life Jam Guy. 

I am willing to make the trade of a cool fight for all this hilarious and wholesome dialogue we get between Space Boyfriend and the gang. Everyone writes a letter for him that feels perfectly in character and would fit right in if it was in the game. They’re all great, but I love the relationship between Hero and Mari so that hits me the hardest. And like I said earlier, is good for making you sad over Mari as well. This is the type of scene that completely justifies the manga’s existence and is exactly what I want from an adaptation. This scene also does a fantastic job of rectifying the issue of not getting enough time with the gang to show off their personalities and dynamics. And Space Boyfriend highly benefits from this as well, as he gets much more fleshed out as a character. This scene exemplifies how the game and manga can work together to create a stronger overall narrative and world. To me, an adaptation doesn’t have to create a “just pick the medium you like more and ignore the other one” situation, both should be great experiences on their own that also benefit the other. This scene is one of the highlights of the manga so far, and I would make sure any Omori friends I have who aren’t reading it at least see this scene.

Sadly we do have to end off on another mixed change. Kel, Aubrey and Hero are already forgetting about Basil, which in-game doesn’t happen until later. I won’t be too harsh as this could make more sense as we see how the manga’s overarching story plays out. But like with Mari’s disappearance, I don’t think it carries the weight it should and can’t think of a justification for it right now.

And that brings us to the end of these chapters. While its changes to the narrative reach both extremes of the like-to-dislike spectrum, I do like more of what I’ve seen than I don’t. I am happy it is doing more to justify why it exists and is worth reading as an existing Omori fan. As for how it would be for a new, fan I think it has some issues that would make me recommend people play the game first. I don’t know for sure if this is the last we will see of Otherworld, but based on the pacing I assume we are going to go back to the real world soon and likely move on to the next area very quickly. But I would be sad if Pluto is skipped over, even though he is an element that could be. Mr. Jawsom’s defeat can still play out the same way without him, and in the manga, they don’t necessarily need a way to go to previous areas. So I acknowledge that he is expendable. But I like him as a character, so I’ll be disappointed if he isn’t represented at all.

Thanks for reading! I intend to go back to covering the individual chapters going forward, but if you prefer it like this feel free to let me know! I’ve done both grouping and individual when it comes to covering chapters and episodes, so it really depends on how I feel. I think both have their advantages.

My Patreon if you would like to support me and the website (which now has a poll you can vote in as a paid member, and by becoming at least a free patron you can get email notification for when I post on the website): patreon.com/ReiCaldombra