Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Tomie by Junji Ito

17 reviews

yzer2468's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Confinement, Violence, Gore, Emotional abuse, Child death, Rape, Child abuse, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Mental illness, Addiction, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexism, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Drug abuse, Death, Bullying, Blood, and Body horror

beck_wreck's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Violence, Body horror, Murder, Blood, and Gore

Moderate: Sexual content

clavishorti's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Trapped in the inescapable allure of beauty, I delve into the chilling pages of Tomie: Complete Deluxe Edition by Junji Ito. Tomie, the femme fatale, adorned with her distinctive beauty mark, exudes extraordinary charm that hypnotizes every man crossing her path. Yet, behind her captivating allure, lies unforeseen chaos.

Every man enamored by her falls into a love filled with madness, adorned with temptations and manipulations. While her beauty continues to captivate men, I find myself ensnared in fear of the terrifying forms conjured by Junji Ito’s gruesome imagination.

Through the various embodiments ranging from an enchanting beauty to a horrifying shapeless figure, Tomie: Complete Deluxe Edition creates a captivating horror world. Tomie Kawakami, the main character with seductive, manipulative, and aggressive traits, adds an intriguing dimension to the story.

However, the desire to hear Tomie’s own voice peaks. I want to know what she feels. Does behind her charm hide loneliness, anxiety, or even concealed sorrow?

With every chapter I explore, the illustrations depicted by Junji Ito delve into terrifying horror, yet strangely, these illustrations are incredibly captivating. Reading Tomie: Complete Deluxe Edition is my first experience with Junji Ito’s work, where fear and allure intertwine on every page. Each chapter, each illustration, and each moment guide me into a mysterious realm that leaves me addicted. I thoroughly enjoy this dark journey, with every chapter becoming a soul-thrilling adventure, exploring the layers of darkness within Tomie’s soul.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, Sexual content, Body horror, Blood, and Violence

Moderate: Gaslighting and Emotional abuse

aricbuckholt's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

So this is definitely an interesting book. It moves along in an unusual manner, really setting things up towards the last third of the book. I did find it intriguing, but also very dark.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Violence, Sexual assault, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Murder

emamoretti03's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Junjiito è sempre su un altro pianeta al livello di manga horror. Ho però preferito altre sue opere per quanto riguarda la storia in quanto questo dopo un po' diventa ripetitivo e inconcludente, un gradino sotto i suoi altri capolavori come per esempio Oblio

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Gore, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Incest, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Torture

finnmiles's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

4.0

Junji ito never fails to make his work spectacular

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Body horror, Death, Murder, Sexual violence, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail

belladonnashrike's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

5.0

- “you’re killing people?”
- “no, I’m killing boys!”

absolutely could not put this down. 

I love the art in this manga so much, I think it’s my favorite now. for some reason I’ve never actually read any horror manga (weird considering how horror is one of my fave genres) and this was a great introduction. NEED to get my hands on the rest of ito’s work!!

I have a lot to think about with this collection of stories, I can’t really articulate everything right now -  but damn, I loved it. the creativity is incredible. tomie is really awful but I just feel so sympathetic towards her at the same time.

deffffinitely will reread this. and I need to get a physical copy immediately so I can admire the artwork as intended 🩸

faves in no particular order:

- painter
- waterfall basin
- hair
- basement

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Cannibalism, Gore, Death, Suicide, and Body horror

Moderate: Sexual content, Torture, Vomit, Medical content, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Alcoholism and Cancer

bugcollector's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

0.5

Perhaps Uzumaki was a flock. 
The artwork there was enchanting and hypnotizing, so it was fine by me ignoring the lacking plot.
However, in Tomie plot is all you got, and it's not good. 

It's The same story over and over again. Tomie gets abused sure, but in the end she's boy crazy, self obsessed, materialistic, and enjoys killing boys and making girls jealous. 
Minor bitch comments here and there, casual sexism every few pages, Junji Ito can't help it can he? 
I don't know what are we supposed to take from Tomie besides hating women a little bit? 
Boring, tedious, monotonous, flat, one dimensional, even demonizing. 
Took me a while to finish. 
It did suprisengly passed the Bechdel test in one scene- two named characters talk about their obsession with Tomies' hair. 

After being disappointed and dissatisfied with reading Gyo and No longer human as well, I think I'll end my Junji Ito journey here. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Torture, Violence, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, and Physical abuse

marissasa's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.5

This was my first Junji Ito read and it didn’t disappoint! His style is one of the most unique I have ever seen, and he has truly perfected the image of Tomie’s character as she looks both beautiful and scary in every panel she’s in. The body horror and gore are the most detailed I’ve ever seen, and the full page pictures are striking and horrifying. Tomie as a “monster” or general evil is a very interesting thing to think about, because although her motivations usually revolve around seducing and using men in a typical succubus way, she is also often a victim of violence, aggression, and possessiveness from the people she manipulates. As a result, the other half of her motivations after she revives are revenge and retribution towards the men who killed or harmed her. The way she regenerates or is reborn in various forms is also fascinating, showing that even after part of her is destroyed she will always come back somehow and there is “no use escaping” Tomie.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Murder, Stalking, Suicide, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Torture, Body horror, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Medical content

katiemack's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

3.75

(I basically read 1-3 short stories out of here each day--highly recommend digesting Junji Ito's work this way, as some of the more repetitive themes [especially in a volume centered around one character] feel fresher.)

I love femme fatale stories (and stories that emphasize how gross straight men can be), so after first encountering Tomie in Shiver I wanted to read more about her. While, as I mentioned, there are many repetitive elements in this collection, I think it was helpful for me to have a central theme to focus on. The eeriness and gruesome body horror typical of other Junji Ito collections are out in full force here, so it's worth picking up if you have read more of his work and loved it. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Sexual content, Blood, and Murder