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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
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
dark
mysterious
While Shiver and Fragments of Horror had some iconic highs and really silly lows, Smashed is an all-rounder that doesn’t swing too far in either direction. Most of the stories are nicely fleshed out and given time to breathe, and tend to be more melancholy than shock-horror. The three Haunted House/Soichi stories are individually uneven but add up to more than the sum of their parts, and I was tickled by the reappearance of a character from another collection. With the exception of the hideous Binzo, nothing here is particularly scary, but it’s still a satisfying volume with great artwork.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I discovered Junji Ito many years ago and read some of his most iconic stories. They were awesome, I had never seen anything like it.
Years later, I started buying some of his assorted collections of short stories. The first one, Shiver, was amazing. After that one, I have read 3 other collections, this one being the last. I've been pretty disappointed time after time, with stories that have nothing special about them and are not really scary. I don't know if it's because I started with Ito's best works and after that I realized that the rest doesn't really compare, or if it's the element of novelty that has faded and I now realize every story looks and feels the same as the previous one. Perhaps I just got used to manga horror and I don't find it that scary anymore. I don't know, but for the third time in a row I end up having to consider an Ito collection as a pretty mediocre book, and my trust that I will like everything this author has created has completely vanished.
Years later, I started buying some of his assorted collections of short stories. The first one, Shiver, was amazing. After that one, I have read 3 other collections, this one being the last. I've been pretty disappointed time after time, with stories that have nothing special about them and are not really scary. I don't know if it's because I started with Ito's best works and after that I realized that the rest doesn't really compare, or if it's the element of novelty that has faded and I now realize every story looks and feels the same as the previous one. Perhaps I just got used to manga horror and I don't find it that scary anymore. I don't know, but for the third time in a row I end up having to consider an Ito collection as a pretty mediocre book, and my trust that I will like everything this author has created has completely vanished.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Eine sehr spannende und verstörende kleine Sammlung von Horrorkurzgeschichten.