lucas_rue's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
4.75
go2hellstephanie's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-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
It's horror month, and Junji Ito is a master at horror.
As someone who can't picture anything when I read, Ito is a real treat for me. He's amazing at making you feel unsettled with a drawing that seems so realistic. I've read a couple of his other collections, but I think this one has some of my favorites.
"Fashion Model", "Marionette Mansion", and "The Long Dream" were my three favorites, but all of them were excellent and had frames that were deeply unsettling.
If you're looking for some great, short horror pieces, I can't recommend Junji Ito enough!
As someone who can't picture anything when I read, Ito is a real treat for me. He's amazing at making you feel unsettled with a drawing that seems so realistic. I've read a couple of his other collections, but I think this one has some of my favorites.
"Fashion Model", "Marionette Mansion", and "The Long Dream" were my three favorites, but all of them were excellent and had frames that were deeply unsettling.
If you're looking for some great, short horror pieces, I can't recommend Junji Ito enough!
chriszv33's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
scytale's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
mcnimz's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
reads_vicariously's review against another edition
5.0
A selection of some of Junji Ito's best short stories! Need I say more?
Ok fine, they're all great! True to Ito's style they're full of deranged and through-provoking concepts mixed with evocative and terrifying imagery. Sure the characters are somewhat underdeveloped and thin, but that's easy enough to overlook in favor of all the nightmare-inducing imagery.
It's hard to pick favorites in a collection this good, but here are a few that are really burned into my brain:
"Hanging Blimp" - a rash of suicides that quickly escalates into a full-blown apocalypse of giant floating heads with nooses; as wild in concept as it is hard to explain.
"Marionette Mansion" - a family who have built a house allowing them to be fully controlled like marionette dolls by strings and people in the ceiling; also a creepy demon puppet that causes excruciating havoc in the end.
"The Long Dream" - a frightened hospital patient whose dreams continue to increase in length (though his sleep time remains the same) and whose body begins to transform because of it; a really interesting concept with some shocking images.
There's also one story, called "Greased," that I won't ever read again just because it was so effectively gross. And not like in a gory way or anything, I just can't handle greasy pimple stuff (you weirdo pimple-popping video watchers will love it :P).
Ok fine, they're all great! True to Ito's style they're full of deranged and through-provoking concepts mixed with evocative and terrifying imagery. Sure the characters are somewhat underdeveloped and thin, but that's easy enough to overlook in favor of all the nightmare-inducing imagery.
It's hard to pick favorites in a collection this good, but here are a few that are really burned into my brain:
"Hanging Blimp" - a rash of suicides that quickly escalates into a full-blown apocalypse of giant floating heads with nooses; as wild in concept as it is hard to explain.
"Marionette Mansion" - a family who have built a house allowing them to be fully controlled like marionette dolls by strings and people in the ceiling; also a creepy demon puppet that causes excruciating havoc in the end.
"The Long Dream" - a frightened hospital patient whose dreams continue to increase in length (though his sleep time remains the same) and whose body begins to transform because of it; a really interesting concept with some shocking images.
There's also one story, called "Greased," that I won't ever read again just because it was so effectively gross. And not like in a gory way or anything, I just can't handle greasy pimple stuff (you weirdo pimple-popping video watchers will love it :P).
jamesgilbert__'s review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0