Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Uzumaki: Spiral into Horror by Junji Ito

32 reviews

smellofoldbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The story is a little repetitive at first, but then unfolds in a great way. The horror is sometimes so exaggerated that it's almost funny.

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sandramarinis's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Amazing, especially the last 100 pages. I couldn't put it away! The illustrations too, just wow. Amazing horror dystopia!!

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chaoticnostalgia's review against another edition

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dark sad 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

3.75


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paloverdepages's review against another edition

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

5.0

I went into this with high hopes, and I still enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to! I love Kirie, I don't think she's given enough credit for how much of a badass she is.
She goes through all these horrors, loses her family, hometown, and all the friends she makes along the way, and the whole time she stays kind and determined and levelheaded.
I have mad respect for her and I was rooting for her the whole time. Her boyfriend, Shuichi, also shines and I loved seeing them interact, especially in "Jack-In-The-Box."

I think "The Scar" is my favorite chapter. "Medusa" is high up there as well. Each successive chapter builds on things mentioned before. Details from earlier in the story come back into play in later chapters; it's fun to notice because you're rewarded for paying attention, and I appreciate how it really feels like you learn the information organically. 

Sometimes you just have to laugh as more and more absurd things keep happening, there are definitely some funny panels, but please mind the warnings! This is definitely horror and you see it all, really really not for the faint of heart!

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biobeetle's review against another edition

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

4.5


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momo4130's review against another edition

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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? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0


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clovetra's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

what absolute insanity.
so first off i have to say this easily my favourite ito collection. i loved how there were consistent characters i.e. kirie & shuichi (ugh my loves). the only reason i'll say this isn't a 5 star is because i loved vol 1&2, however i didn't enjoy vol 3. ok lets rate the chapters baybeeee
the spiral obsession part 1: amazing beautiful stunning. i love the "origin" story. it also sets the tone super well and the visuals are stunning. 4/5
the spiral obsession part 2: i loved the insanity of this chapter. the pacing was amazing, beginning to see shuichi's spiral (heh) into insanity was fun. 5/5
the scar: quintessential uzumaki story. so fucking weird and i loved seeing the images we all recognise as ito's work. ending is insane but tbh what story doesn't end wildly. 5/5
the firing effect: lowkey forgot about this story. visuals eat but idk the story is mid. 3/5
twisted souls: insanity. the visuals esp at the end had me gasp out loud. the story overall was a bit messy imo but the ending made up for it. 4/5
medusa: was quite insane. i liked seeing kirie in the firing line of the spirals. the ending is cute & i love her relationship w/ shuichi here. also hair battling is cool. 4/5
now onto volume 2:
jack in the box: LOVED IT. batshit crazy & idea was great. kinda irrelevant for the plot overall. 3/5
the snail: also giving quintessential ito. enough said. 5/5
the black lighthouse: idk i didn't like this one. it kind of didn't follow the theme of other chapters & seemed a bit too far-fetched for the universe. 2/5
mosquitos: least favourite story of uzumaki. so random & did not fit this anthology. also irrelevant 1/5
the umbilical cord: same deal as mosquitos except slightly more fucked up. 2/5
the storm: weird, never expanded on, but crucial to the plot so i kind of get it. 2/5
ok now volume 3:
to me volume 3 doesn't have chapters. idc that they do. they all follow sequentially so im going to like just stream of consciousness this bitch. this volume kinda sucked ass! literally if u asked me anything significant that happened i could maybe name 3 things. i liked the snail plot (i love the snails bro they're so fucked up and i just like snails full stop). i get this takes the spirals to a new level but idk man i kind of didn't like it. i know i complained about this exact issue with flesh colored horror but i hate when ito explains the fucked up things happening!!!! and this is exactly what vol 3 does. i did enjoy the time skip & the visuals but they were nawt enough. the ending was also incredibly lackluster. and the extra chapter <b>galaxies</b>.... where does that fit in the timeline? im just confused at this point. 
overall i liked this, but i felt as the chapters progressed ito lost his way a bit. this is easily my favourite junji ito story tho. lets hope as i go thru his more recent works the more i enjoy them SKFJSKF

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rookerymeadow's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

The horror is both faceless and personal. Like many great works, Uzumaki starts from perhaps the simplest premise, a shape, and builds it out into a sprawling narrative that seems to make so much wicked sense.

Anything can be made artistic, and move you to joy or fear. Uzumaki is a masterful example of the latter.

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meowcoric's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25


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bohboh's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.5

Uzumaki by Junji Ito is a whirlwind horror read that picks up spectacularly in tension, terror, and mystery the further you probe into it. Every issue is just so imaginative and unique. Very rarely was I ever able to figure out what would happen next.

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