Strange Encounter: A Guest Post by Jim Rion

Viral sensation Uketsu returns to the chilling world of Strange Pictures with a dark new story told through the lens of eleven mysterious buildings, with each one laying the groundwork for a sinister secret. Read on for an exclusive essay from Jim Rion — Uketsu’s translator — on Strange Buildings.

I first encountered Uketsu during the height of the pandemic, in late 2022. My wife found his YouTube channel and told me, “You have to see this.” What I saw was a man dressed in a black body suit with a white papier-mâché mask, acting out mystery stories in a high pitched, almost childlike digitally altered voice. The atmosphere was goofy, eerie, and surreal in equal measure.

I loved it, and I wasn’t the only one. Uketsu became one of the biggest YouTube names here in Japan—where I’ve lived since 2004—and his videos caught the eye of an editor at a domestic publisher. Uketsu’s first book, Henna Ie (Strange Houses) came out in summer of 2021, and became an immediate hit. His second book, Henna E (Strange Pictures) followed in late 2022, and cemented Uketsu as king of the Japanese bestseller lists. He has since sold over seven million books in Japan alone.

I read both books in 2023 and loved the world Uketsu was building. My wife encouraged me to try to get his work translated, and I immediately agreed. I knew it would work in English. The intricately structured stories, the smooth but simple prose, and above all the utterly unique world-view seemed tailor-made for international audiences.

I started promoting Uketsu’s work to English publishers in late 2023, and the rights sold in early 2024. And what timing: by that summer, Uketsu had caught the eye of the world.

There must be something about the unusual storytelling that appeals to people no matter their language or culture. Uketsu has now been translated into over 30 languages and his books are bestsellers all around the world. He is everywhere, and I feel deeply lucky that I was able to be even a small part of that.

I have had the very good fortune to connect directly with Uketsu a few times. I was able to talk to him about issues that came up in translation, such as difficult word choices or requests to allow us to change things… The puzzle of the blog title in Strange Pictures, for example, required a completely new trick and even a character name change because there was simply no way to retain the original Japanese wordplay in English.

I helped interpret for international media interviews with Uketsu, and even helped him write and practice an English language speech for the Foreign Press Club here in Japan. I coached Uketsu on English pronunciation!  As someone who started out as just a fan of his work, what a dream this has all been.

And now, we have the English release of Strange Buildings, the third of Uketsu’s novels and, in my opinion, the strongest yet. It takes everything that was so wild and engaging about Strange Houses and turns it all up to eleven. It is darker. Creepier. Sadder. And, yes, stranger. I loved it. I loved translating it. And I hope you love reading it.