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glowingocactus's review
3.5
Graphic: Eating disorder
go2hellstephanie's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The tales were wonderfully horrific without making me feel sick, and the images were perfection. There was not a line out of place, and some of them will haunt my nightmares (high praise!).
I think my favorites out of this collection were "Roar", "In Mirror Valley", "I Don't Want to Be a Ghost", and "Library Vision", but both the haunted house stories had the most unsettling images.
An absolute must-read for anyone who likes horror and graphic novels!
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Gore, and Death
Moderate: Eating disorder
afriske's review
4.0
Graphic: Suicide, Child abuse, Slavery, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Eating disorder, Death of parent, Death, Child death, Cannibalism, Body horror, Blood, and Animal cruelty
hreads03's review
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Eating disorder and Animal cruelty
Minor: Stalking
sapphic_reader's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, and Self harm
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Stalking
surlyjackson's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child death, Death of parent, Death, and Eating disorder
raw_huerta's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Graphic: Death, Blood, Emotional abuse, Grief, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child death, Death of parent, Dementia, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Gore, Incest, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Torture
rachelcardin's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Murder, Suicide, Violence, and Body horror
donovarchive's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Body horror and Gore
Minor: Sexual assault and Eating disorder
ianders's review
- 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
3.5
A thing with Junji Ito is that he's really great at setting up horrific concepts and situations and he's a talented artist when it comes to putting on the page the most bizarre and unsettling images one could imagine. His characters though are usually either a little bland or a bit one note. They are often victims in their entirety, or they're outlandish villains or scary monsters. It makes sense because most stories are short and parts of collections: characters don't need a full arc, the horror plot is what must shine-- and it certainly does. Normally, I am a very character driven reader, so I thought it would still bother me, but it doesn't. It feels a bit like a more extreme version of firecamp stories. And to engrave batshit, gory, indescribable horrors in your brain quickly ha.
And so Smashed was good! A decent fright. Memorable images and uncomfortable concepts. There are some stories that made more of an impression on me than others, but that's how it goes with short stories collections. I will say I especially liked Death Row Doorbell, I Don't Want to be a Ghost, Roar and Earthbound the best. Interestingly, they all have to do with a lingering, looming terror that spread over time. I like the body horror a lot, but I prefer those kinds of despair that just get worse and worse. Also personally, I do not care too much for the Soichi stories. He's just. Annoying. I get that his bits are supposed to be a mix of morbidity and comedy, and Junji Ito is actually good at intermingling the two, but I don't vibe with that creepy megalomaniac kid. The cat was cute though!
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, and Suicide
Moderate: Eating disorder, Self harm, and Stalking
It's definitely gory and it has horrifying imagery but it's also comedic and grotesque. I think some could handle it even if they are a little squimish because it is over the top. It's still effective horror though so thread carefully