Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Deserter by Junji Ito

16 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.  

---

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

---

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.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Death

Moderate: Suicide, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Blood

Minor: War

haleybre's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Violence, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Suicide, and Body horror

ellislilylovestoread's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.0

---

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

ellenisntcool's review

challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Murder, Gore, Death, and Blood

gabriel_dingle's review

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

As this is a collection of Ito’s earlier works, it is expected that they will be slightly lower quality than his more recent works, so I was a bit lenient with my rating (3.75 -> 4). There are some really good classics in here, as well as some forgettable and predictable stories. The story the manga is named after, Deserter, was a little disappointing, however the twist was rather clever. I just wish Ito did a little bit more with the twist. Overall, there are many great short stories in here that make reading Deserter worth it, especially if you are a fan of horror manga.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, Gore, Blood, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Violence, Self harm, Bullying, Suicide, and Body horror

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Child death, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Car accident

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

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Child death, Bullying, and Child abuse

sirenricobooks's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Murder, and Violence

Minor: Death, Bullying, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, and Cursing

lynxpardinus's review

challenging dark mysterious tense

4.0

---

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