Reviews

Deserter by Junji Ito

leari's review

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dark fast-paced

2.75

This short story collection was a mixed bag. Most of the 12 stories had abrupt endings. They seemed to stop whenever it started to get interesting and a lot of the time I felt like I was missing key points in the plot. In general, the concept seemed to be more important than the actual plot. Don't get me wrong, I loved every single idea in here, but they needed more substance for my taste.

Average rating: 2.8/5 🌟

2.5/5 🌟 Bio House: A man has peculiar taste. Blood is involved.

2/5 🌟 Face Thief: Try to avoid her, or else she will look just like you.

3/5 🌟 Where the Sandman Lives: Can't go to sleep, or else the dream-world me will come out!

1.5/5 🌟 The Devil's Logic: Once you meet her, you will be obsessed with death.

3/5 🌟 The Long Hair in the Attic: She just wanted to cut her hair because a guy dumped her.

2/5 🌟 Scripted Love: This guy also dumps girls regularly, and then gifts them video tapes of himself.

3/5 🌟 The Reanimator's Sword: Let's go soul fishing!

3/5 🌟 A Father's Love: A family plagued by headaches and suicides. A fun time indeed!

4/5 🌟 Unendurable Labyrinth: Two kids get lost in the woods and discover a spiritual cult. Everything was perfect until it just abruptly ended without any conclusion at all.

4/5 🌟 Village of the Siren: Demons, rituals, death. This one has it all.

2.5/5 🌟 Bullied: This woman reaaaaally likes to bully others.

3/5 🌟 Deserter: A group of people cocoon a deserter in the false reality of World War II still going on years after 1945 

buku_worm's review

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dark lighthearted tense fast-paced

5.0

hastati1989's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

adventurouspotato's review

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • 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

3.75

bio house: β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜†β˜†
face thief: β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜†
where the sandman lives: β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜†
the devil's logic: β˜…β˜†β˜†β˜†β˜†
the long hair in the attic: β˜…β˜…β˜†β˜†β˜†
scripted love: β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…
the reanimator's sword: β˜…β˜…β˜†β˜†β˜†
a father's love: β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…
unendurable labyrinth: β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜†
village of the siren: β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜†β˜†
bullied: β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜†
deserter: β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…

errodiel's review

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dark 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

3.5

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akarnae's review

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

2.0

perrilous's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

happyemely's review

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dark medium-paced

3.5

sinna_aurora's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • 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

jstrahan's review

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3.0

Mixed bag with a couple of standouts, but nothing as good as the one short story I read years ago that made me want to buy this collection when I saw it. I did notice it’s a collection of his early work, so may be that the later stuff is the best