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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
The first story, Tombs, is inventive and engrossing but most of the rest feel more like concepts rather than stories. Not the best of Junji Ito
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Guaranteed Ito quality. I have never before read a collection of unrelated stories by him, so this was a new experience. Slug girl was probably the story that got the biggest reaction from me.
"Tombs" was a fantastic, horrific story collection. I like how varied the stories were - I didn't particularly notice a common thing throughout (like ghosts) but that was fun. Ito is always so creative, so I liked being completely surprised by each story. If I had to pick, I think "Washed Ashore" is my favorite. It was so grotesque and surreal. I'm also terrified by the ocean so this story really creeped me out. Another 5 star hit by Ito. I'm so glad I bough my own copy!
Date Read: 07/30/25
STORIES:
Tombs - Two siblings visit a town where dead bodies turn into their own gravestones wherever they die.
Clubhouse - A trio of friends become divided after encountering rival clubs inside an abandoned house.
Slug Girl - A girl grows more and more ill until she finally grows a slug for a tongue.
The Window Next Door - After moving next door to a house with only one window, a boy becomes the target of his neighbor's obsession.
Vanished Ashore - Scientists and curious people gather in droves to see the washed up corpse of a deep-sea monster.
The Strange Tale of the Tunnel - A man revisits his hometown where a nearby tunnel stole the lives of countless people.
Bronze Statue - An old woman is obsessed with commissioning gorgeous bronze statues of her in her youth.
Floaters - A town becomes overrun with floating objects that are imbued with the thoughts of the people they grow from.
The Bloody Story of Shirosuma -A doctor moves to a rural town where all the citizens have the same mysterious form of anemia.
Date Read: 07/30/25
STORIES:
Tombs - Two siblings visit a town where dead bodies turn into their own gravestones wherever they die.
Clubhouse - A trio of friends become divided after encountering rival clubs inside an abandoned house.
Slug Girl - A girl grows more and more ill until she finally grows a slug for a tongue.
The Window Next Door - After moving next door to a house with only one window, a boy becomes the target of his neighbor's obsession.
Vanished Ashore - Scientists and curious people gather in droves to see the washed up corpse of a deep-sea monster.
The Strange Tale of the Tunnel - A man revisits his hometown where a nearby tunnel stole the lives of countless people.
Bronze Statue - An old woman is obsessed with commissioning gorgeous bronze statues of her in her youth.
Floaters - A town becomes overrun with floating objects that are imbued with the thoughts of the people they grow from.
The Bloody Story of Shirosuma -A doctor moves to a rural town where all the citizens have the same mysterious form of anemia.
Even though horror is one of my favorite genres when watching movies or listening to audio books, I haven't picked up a horror read forever (maybe since high school?). The praise for Junji Ito's works compelled me to borrow this one from my local library, and I'm glad to have done so.
The collection of short stories were not reliant on just jump scares, rather it masterfully creates the eerie atmosphere that something is wrong from the get-go. The ideas for the stories also touched upon many subjects, some of it felt like thought experiments, rather than horror. An amazing read overall.
The collection of short stories were not reliant on just jump scares, rather it masterfully creates the eerie atmosphere that something is wrong from the get-go. The ideas for the stories also touched upon many subjects, some of it felt like thought experiments, rather than horror. An amazing read overall.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
medium-paced
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes