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theleppy's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
This one is a bit hard to rate. I have read a fair amount of Junji Ito at this point and this is some of his older work. It's still really good but not as terrifying as he can be. I have to note that I was floored by the endings to Biohouse and Face Theif because they aren't his usual ending! I think the building dread of Unendurable Labyrinth worked the best and was closer to Ito's best works with this idea of taking a character's fear/phobia and enhancing it. I liked the title story. I'm noticing and liking Ito's revenge gone wrong stories. Lots of great ideas in this book with varying degrees of success. The only story I didn't like was Bullied because it involves child abuse which is one of those things I personally can't enjoy (especially with a classically bleak Ito ending). There is another story in this collection that is arguably also child abuse but the concept and ending were much better and I was able to appreciate it.
If you are a fan of Ito's work I would check this out but don't start here. There are other collections of his like Shiver that I would recommend over this for someone new to Junji Ito.
If you are a fan of Ito's work I would check this out but don't start here. There are other collections of his like Shiver that I would recommend over this for someone new to Junji Ito.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: War
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