Reviews with content warning for Self harm - Lovesickness

I really like Lovesickness - it's amazing, but the other three stories this comes with are kinda lackluster

The siblings story felt like part of a series that I've been missing, the first story is fun but the second feels pointless.

The rib woman is an entertaining enough short story, it's simple.

The poop story I thought was stoll going to become horror so it was funny how it wasn't at all! It's just a wee tale.

Content Warnings

jackiepreston's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Horror isn't a genre I normally read, so this collection would probably work better for someone else. I read this book for a reading challenge , and if I had known that there were other short stories and that it wasn't only the Lovesickness story I might have skipped this one.

I did really enjoy Lovesickness out of this collection. It was an interesting premise that was executed well. I just didn't really care for any of the other stories in the collection.

Content Warnings

mermaidsherbet's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

vigneswara_prabhu's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

** spoiler alert ** Viewer discretion advised: Warning for graphic violent acts, and body horror.

The master of Japanese Horror, nay, graphic horror worldwide. As usual he has the unique ability to take day to day, mundane aspects of life, and turn them into graphic, disturbing, macabre displays of terror.

The premise of these series of interconnected short stories involves our protagonist, who has returned to his childhood home, a childhood which I might add, has some seriously disturbing repressed memories attached to it.

Right after his arrival, mysterious incidents begin taking place, ending in a serious of disturbing suicides and deaths. As the body count rises, and bit by bit the townspeople turn to rabid, maniacal, insanity, it's upon him to solve this phenomenon and stop the violence.

It seems as if, in every other of his stories, things go bad, and everyone goes mad. But despite a predictable pattern, we still tune in for the monster of the week, and the slideshow of disturbing visuals put on page. Which might speak to the reader's particular mental state than anything, but that is for the psychoanalysts to decide.

But where Mr. Ito really shines is, despite the degree of detachment and indifference that the narrative has in regard to what happens to its characters, the visual impact they have is considerable. There are some frames where you're being maintaining a baritone of horror and jump scares, where you think, you are used to whatever the story throws at you.

Then, out of nowhere, it throws something like THIS, at you...

Or THIS

Unlike typical western horror stories, where either the heroes triumph over evil, or succumb to the darkness and the world ending, Japanese form of horror is pretty matter of fact. By taking away any power that the characters have in opposing these dangers, and showing how their struggle means so little, Ito Junji is able to wind up the proxy terror we feel for them all the more.

Oh, a bunch of people died gruesome deaths because of some malevolent entity?... Cool.

An entire town went insane over a short time, and then suddenly up and disappeared into oblivion?... Neat.

There is a ghost stream in that mountain, where the dead spirits from decades ago repeatedly drown in agony unable to find peace?... Interesting.

Another thing that I, as well as others have observed is the sheer randomness of the whole thing. Sometimes, a person does something, that makes them deserving of the gruesome fate that befalls them. But most of the times, the people who die have abso-lutely nothing to do with the instigator of the whole thing. They're just random people, who just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Japanese horror, especially Junji's horror, treats ghosts and evil spirits like they're a loose beam that fell on a guy walking down the road.

Like Opera giving out gifts, it's like... 'You get cursed, you also get cursed, EVERYBODY gets cursed'. For those who've seen the J-Horror classics like the Ring, would find this to be quite par for the course.

One thing that sets apart the protagonist of the story from your usual heroes or victims is the respond he has to the horrifying series of deaths surrounding him. Sure, for a while there, he, much like your typical Junji protagonist, faithfully goes insane, obsessed, losing weight and human like complexions.

Then, after some time, he gets fed up with the evil spirit perpetuating this whole thing. He's like, 'you know what! F**k you! And F**k your sob story!". He literally decides to kill him with love. Which is something quite hilarious and something you need to read.

Of course, then there are also other unrelated, hellion like, abominable, irritable characters, who go about making the lives of people a living nightmare, and really need to have their faces intimately acquainted with the floor. But that's neither here nor there.

For the most part, Lovesickness is another entry into Ito sensei already impressive library of work. Not for the faint hearted, and definitely for all of us disturbed weirdoes hiding in plain sight. So, you know who you, Enjoy.

Content Warnings

adventurouspotato's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

lovesickness: ★★★★☆
the strange hikizuri siblings: ★★★★☆
the mansion of phantom pain: ★★★★★
the rib woman: ★★★☆☆

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zone_a3's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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wends_nblw's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I am once again disappointed by Junji Ito's work. Reading this after Uzumaki is like having leftovers when last night you were at a nice restaurant. It's okay, but it's just not the same. In fact, I would say that I enjoyed Deserter more than this collection.

Aside from the comedic ending of this story, I found the other pieces to be lackluster. I'm not sure why, but it felt like it was missing something. The Lovesickness story was good, though I wasn't fond of the reveal. The other pieces weren't as good.

I think this collection comes off as more comedic than dark. I snorted quite a few times while reading.

I will continue with my Ito journey, but I'm unsure if anything will top Uzumaki. (And I might be regretting selling my copy of Deserter.)

Content Warnings

mercurial's review against another edition

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dark funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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