Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - Lovesickness - Liebeskranker Horror

Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Lovesickness - Liebeskranker Horror by Junji Ito

12 reviews

maxor76's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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.

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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.

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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.)

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angryoppossum's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

4.0

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doomluz'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

4.5

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totsfions's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

I think this is the best Ito collection I've ever read. The title story, "Lovesickness" is a sort of slow-burn horror where the reader is never totally sure of what is happening, and that tension keeps you hooked on the story. The emotional dynamics between the characters are also more fleshed out than they are in some of Ito's other works, which makes the impact of the story even harsher. It's definitely one I feel I would get more from on a re-read, and one that has a lot of metaphorical resonance waiting to be taped. The duology of stories about the Hikizuri siblings is a really interesting take on toxic family dynamics. The stand-alone stories at the end of the book are all excellent, though the final story is more silly than anything else. "The Rib Woman" in particular is a really insightful commentary on the nature of feminine beauty standards in modern society. As always with Ito's work, the illustrations are chilling in a beautiful way. The character designs in this collection, and particularly in "Loveless" are some of Ito's strongest and most compelling. The haunting beauty of the characters adds so much dimension to the eerie nature of the story. I think this and "Amigara Fault" will be my go-to Junji Ito recommendations for a long time to come.

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