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grimondgalgmod's review
5.0
Five stars for the chilling portrayal of family dysfunction in "Heart of a Father" and "The Bully." These two stories definitely need to be reprinted in a more readily available edition.
aburchard's review
3.0
I wish the ending had been stronger, but damn it if I didn't love this series! Such gory twisted fun!
armenaismailji's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
i actually really loved these. definitely heavy on the horror side and they were very very creepy but very entertaining to read.
blairecee's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Hit and miss. Ito's storytelling and art are still kinda rough. Many of the early stories just feel a bit off, not suffused with mood and atmosphere like they should be, with lumpy pacing and endings that feel perfunctory. The ones that worked for me:
The Devil's Logic is short and chilling and has a great framing device where the protagonist is listening to a tape of his friend's last hour alive.
Love as Scripted - airtight premise, no wasted space
Heart of a Father - the concept, exploring how a father lives out his unfulfilled youth through his children quite literally by psychically taking control of their bodies, is a brilliant way to explore familial abuse and trauma. Still, it feels a bit too long and sags at the end where the father is given the opportunity to monologue about why he's abused his children - I think it's great to provide this context and moral complexity, but shoehorning it in at the end seems really clunky and unsubtle.
The Bully - Nothing supernatural about this one, just the psychology of human cruelty. Might be my favourite in the bunch.
A Deserter in the House - a great ghost story. We create the ghosts that haunt us.
The Devil's Logic is short and chilling and has a great framing device where the protagonist is listening to a tape of his friend's last hour alive.
Love as Scripted - airtight premise, no wasted space
Heart of a Father - the concept, exploring how a father lives out his unfulfilled youth through his children quite literally by psychically taking control of their bodies, is a brilliant way to explore familial abuse and trauma. Still, it feels a bit too long and sags at the end where the father is given the opportunity to monologue about why he's abused his children - I think it's great to provide this context and moral complexity, but shoehorning it in at the end seems really clunky and unsubtle.
The Bully - Nothing supernatural about this one, just the psychology of human cruelty. Might be my favourite in the bunch.
A Deserter in the House - a great ghost story. We create the ghosts that haunt us.
nana_7's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, and Murder
martyrdomx5's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Terminal illness, Gore, and Body shaming
Moderate: Misogyny, Toxic relationship, and Bullying
Minor: Child abuse
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