Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Lovesickness by Junji Ito

37 reviews

mercurial's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Excrement, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

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. 

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Content Warnings

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

doomluz'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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy

Minor: Excrement

lucasgillon's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Torture, Violence, Grief, and Death of parent

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

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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

totsfions's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Self harm, Suicide, Vomit, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gaslighting

Minor: Infidelity and Excrement

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”.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, and Blood

kashila's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Suicide, Excrement, and Vomit

Moderate: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Violence, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy

Minor: Domestic abuse

mzynda's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Self harm, and Suicide

pclairx's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Stalking, and Abortion

Moderate: Child death