Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Lovesickness by Junji Ito

26 reviews

nightstitch96's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-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

3.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Suicide, and Blood

zone_a3's review against another edition

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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Self harm, Suicide, Blood, Excrement, Suicide attempt, and Fire/Fire injury

xwritingstoriesx's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

4.25 stars. I think I've found a new favourite set of characters thanks to this collection of stories. The Strange Hikizuri Siblings were the best part of this collection. I genuinely felt discomfort and unease as I read through their stories. For me, the central story that the book was titled after fell short in comparison. Overall, I had a great experience and I'd recommend this collection.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

wends_nblw's review against another edition

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

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Gore, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

Minor: Mental illness

darquedreamer's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

1.5

For Junji Ito being named the master of Japanese Manga horror, I expected more from this. The illustrations were amazing, but the story telling felt like a middle schooler wrote it. The stories were flat, barely made sense, and felt very immature. They were extremely heavy on suicide and self harm, and the gore and aforementioned situations were the only things that felt "horror" ish. I just didn't love this collection at all, besides appreciating the artwork. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, and Suicide attempt

ambush3's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, and Suicide attempt

ashar_allaire's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

lilaceous's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

3.5

characters - .5⭐️

illustrations - ⭐️

effective storytelling - .5⭐️

engaging to read - ⭐️

would recommend - .5⭐️

scared the crap out of me lol. after reading the first story in the collection i was sprinting around my apartment to turn on all the lights and make sure no zombie girls were hiding behind my shower curtain. the rest of the collection isn’t as scary but is mostly well-written. 

the way junji ito uses ink in his illustrations is horrifying without losing any visual clarity. my one complaint about this collection is that the endings are never satisfying, but it doesn’t make the stories any less unsettling.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Gore, Miscarriage, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Stalking, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

kiara_seoul's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.5

Lovesickness is definitely the best manga in this, which makes sense considering the manga is named after it. My favorite chapter in Lovesickness is “A Woman In Distress”, with my favorite additional manga being “The Strange Hikizuri Siblings”.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, and Blood

anime917's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Blood