here comes the Winter Ghost...
The one with the Frozen Eyes,
crossing the Moon he goes...
Pumpkin's Song is an 8-page one-shot published by Mexican author Bakaneko333 (signed as Ayame Niemand). It was sent to a one-shot contest hosted by anime review magazine Conexión Manga and chosen as the winner for issue 259 in October 2012.
The short story is about a village of little pumpkins, who sing a song about a winter ghost with frozen eyes named F.R.Zeon, unaware of its meaning. A friendly traveler named Finn Morte decides to tell them the origin of F.R.Zeon song. The melody is about a vagabond boy who hunted without mercy 100 years ago, and perished in a frozen lake, becoming a ghost. One day, he hunted in the village a pumpkin with a special power "so they could play", but once he defeated the pumpkin, he was cursed so a song could keep him away from the village.
The finished one-shot had a brief start as 3 page comic, that only showed the winter ghost boy killing the little pumpkins. The one-shot was uploaded to Smack Jeeves in the past in English, but both comics were deleted. You can know more about the kid with the frozen eyes F.R.Zeon in the author's Deviantart
.
Not to be confused with Pumpkin Hill song.
Tropes present in this work:
- Cloth Fu: F.R.Zeon fights using his scarfs, which can extend as a pair of giant hands. Zeon avoids using his real hands, as he uses them to hold his cat doll.
- The Dreaded: F.R.Zeon was feared by the population of pumpkins 100 years ago, but all that remains is the magic song that protects the village from him. Zeon's song is about a winter ghost hunting down, and no amount of praying will save anyone, and the song tells everyone to "run, run, F.R.Zeon is nearby".
- Don't Fear the Reaper: Finn Morte is a traveler that dresses up in a hood, with his face being that of a handsome man with scars, with his fingers having long wicked nails. His design evokes that of the Grim Reaper, yet by the way the little Pumpkins greet him, he is clearly a nice fellow.
- Kids Are Cruel: Having drown in a frozen lake and turning into a cruel ghost, F.R.Zeon is shown loving to hunt and torment innocent looking pumpkins that couldn't defend themselves.
- Villain Protagonist: One-shot wise, F.R.Zeon is the protagonist, but he is not a good guy. He tormented a little village of cute pumpkins, killing multiple of them because he was bored and looking to have fun. The demon pumpkin that attacks him was hiding from him, avoiding a fight, and when he decided to fight he tried to avenge his fallen brothers.
- Zipperiffic: F.R.Zeon clothes are filled with multiple zippers, including in his shoes.
