Reviews tagging 'War'

Deserter by Junji Ito

14 reviews

urezia's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Putting aside Ito's classics like Tomie or Uzumaki, I think Deserter is a good book to start reading his work if you've never read Junji Ito before. It's based on short stories, but each of them has the dark intense and crazy plot-twists only a guy like Junji Ito can come up with! Besides the uniqueness of his illustrations, each story is very entertaining and it's hard to guess where it's gonna go until you get to the last page. I think it was so well thought of! There's definitely a little bit of everything so please make sure to check the content warnings before you give this one a try.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Torture, Gore, Violence, Blood, Toxic friendship, and Death

Moderate: Religious bigotry

Minor: War

saltnvinnies's review

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Murder, Blood, Gore, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Body horror, War, Animal cruelty, and Gaslighting

alexutzu's review

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Not my favourite Junji Ito collection, but not the worst either. I would say that it was more twisted than others, including many disturbing scenes: from war-related stories to  unusual spiritual rituals, including all sorts of abusive interactions. A story that caught my attention was "A Father's Love" though, as it covered family dynamics in a particular (and disturbing) way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Death

Moderate: Suicide, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Blood

Minor: War

pipbiz's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Child abuse, and Child death

Moderate: War

doomluz's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

• 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

5.0

This is a collection of some of his earlier stories. I had read "The Face Thief" in an older collection, which reminded me of why I fell in love with his stories to begin with.
The art is still good, though not as a refined. The stories feel less connected, but interesting and show how creepy and weird his stories are.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Bullying, Death, and Suicide

Moderate: War and Child death

ellislilylovestoread's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Suicide, War, Body horror, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Gore, Mental illness, Murder, Self harm, and Toxic relationship

obnoxiousseagull's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Not my favorite of Junji Ito's collections, but it was a fun afternoon read. Especially the titular story "Deserter" at the very end. I really enjoy Junji Ito's storytelling and lack of explanation for what is going on. You are left wondering "How?" and "Why?" and your imagination fills in the rest of the details. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Violence, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Suicide, Stalking, Gore, War, and Suicidal thoughts

nodogsonthemoon's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, War, Gaslighting, Gore, Death, Murder, and Suicide

Moderate: Child death, Bullying, and Child abuse

hue's review against another edition

dark mysterious

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Physical abuse, Child death, Bullying, and Death

Moderate: War and Terminal illness

lynxpardinus's review

challenging dark mysterious tense

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Suicide, War, Body horror, Bullying, and Self harm

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Kidnapping, and Confinement

Minor: Colonisation