Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Uzumaki by Junji Ito

111 reviews

chellyfishing's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

5.0


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paloverdepages's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I went into this with high hopes, and I still enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to! I love Kirie, I don't think she's given enough credit for how much of a badass she is.
She goes through all these horrors, loses her family, hometown, and all the friends she makes along the way, and the whole time she stays kind and determined and levelheaded.
I have mad respect for her and I was rooting for her the whole time. Her boyfriend, Shuichi, also shines and I loved seeing them interact, especially in "Jack-In-The-Box."

I think "The Scar" is my favorite chapter. "Medusa" is high up there as well. Each successive chapter builds on things mentioned before. Details from earlier in the story come back into play in later chapters; it's fun to notice because you're rewarded for paying attention, and I appreciate how it really feels like you learn the information organically. 

Sometimes you just have to laugh as more and more absurd things keep happening, there are definitely some funny panels, but please mind the warnings! This is definitely horror and you see it all, really really not for the faint of heart!

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hue's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

Damn, Kirie went through some whirlwind.

No, but honestly, Junji Ito is one incredible mastermind. Can't describe it in any other way than Uzumaki is a masterpiece. I will be thinking about this ages upon ages. 

I am sometimes worried of the Author's well being though. His imagination is something completely perplexing I wonder if he's doing okay.

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le_lobey's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Incredible art, stories inconsistent. I liked the beginning a lot more than the final arc, though the reveal in the final chapters was effective.
Very Lovecraft


I really enjoy the format of episodic short horror fiction set in a consistent world. A rotating cast of characters let's you show how terror/hauntings manifests in different ways without having to keep a protagonist around to see the end. It can be more horrifying, the characters more helpless. And you can slowly introduce elements that connect events which build a sense of overwhelming odds in the reader. The best of the stories in Uzumaki did that.

Other elements successfully evoked profound discomfort.
Body horror/transmogrification/cannibalism
These aren't my preferred style of horror media, but I guess there need to be stakes? And it made for highly imaginative and expressive illustrations.

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momo4130's review against another edition

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

5.0


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bookworm247's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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liksie's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0


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m4rtt4's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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? No

5.0

I'll never feel the same about spirals ever again. I'm disturbed, disgusted, traumatised, yet I'd re-read all this in a heartbeat. This was unlike anything I've ever read, even the previous works of Ito were not as good, because as talented as he is at writing short stories, nothing beats an epic of 650 pages! Wow. Just wow.

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clovetra's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

what absolute insanity.
so first off i have to say this easily my favourite ito collection. i loved how there were consistent characters i.e. kirie & shuichi (ugh my loves). the only reason i'll say this isn't a 5 star is because i loved vol 1&2, however i didn't enjoy vol 3. ok lets rate the chapters baybeeee
the spiral obsession part 1: amazing beautiful stunning. i love the "origin" story. it also sets the tone super well and the visuals are stunning. 4/5
the spiral obsession part 2: i loved the insanity of this chapter. the pacing was amazing, beginning to see shuichi's spiral (heh) into insanity was fun. 5/5
the scar: quintessential uzumaki story. so fucking weird and i loved seeing the images we all recognise as ito's work. ending is insane but tbh what story doesn't end wildly. 5/5
the firing effect: lowkey forgot about this story. visuals eat but idk the story is mid. 3/5
twisted souls: insanity. the visuals esp at the end had me gasp out loud. the story overall was a bit messy imo but the ending made up for it. 4/5
medusa: was quite insane. i liked seeing kirie in the firing line of the spirals. the ending is cute & i love her relationship w/ shuichi here. also hair battling is cool. 4/5
now onto volume 2:
jack in the box: LOVED IT. batshit crazy & idea was great. kinda irrelevant for the plot overall. 3/5
the snail: also giving quintessential ito. enough said. 5/5
the black lighthouse: idk i didn't like this one. it kind of didn't follow the theme of other chapters & seemed a bit too far-fetched for the universe. 2/5
mosquitos: least favourite story of uzumaki. so random & did not fit this anthology. also irrelevant 1/5
the umbilical cord: same deal as mosquitos except slightly more fucked up. 2/5
the storm: weird, never expanded on, but crucial to the plot so i kind of get it. 2/5
ok now volume 3:
to me volume 3 doesn't have chapters. idc that they do. they all follow sequentially so im going to like just stream of consciousness this bitch. this volume kinda sucked ass! literally if u asked me anything significant that happened i could maybe name 3 things. i liked the snail plot (i love the snails bro they're so fucked up and i just like snails full stop). i get this takes the spirals to a new level but idk man i kind of didn't like it. i know i complained about this exact issue with flesh colored horror but i hate when ito explains the fucked up things happening!!!! and this is exactly what vol 3 does. i did enjoy the time skip & the visuals but they were nawt enough. the ending was also incredibly lackluster. and the extra chapter <b>galaxies</b>.... where does that fit in the timeline? im just confused at this point. 
overall i liked this, but i felt as the chapters progressed ito lost his way a bit. this is easily my favourite junji ito story tho. lets hope as i go thru his more recent works the more i enjoy them SKFJSKF

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ish9999's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0


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