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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
While similar to the book, Ito's manga does change a lot of the story to make it even more tragic. The art is gloomy as always which fits this depressing story. I recommend reading both as they are equally good.
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This loosely based adaptation of No Longer Human was a big disappointment for me. To put it simple, Dazai's short novel just doesn't work as a 24-chapters long horror manga. Most of the depth and nuance of the original are lost and replaced by filler, mostly just bad misery porn (sometimes quite literally). Dazai's insertion as a character felt cheap, and overall, the whole thing felt just as hollow as that messed up kite that kept popping up here and there.
reading this isn't enough I need to beat the shit outta Horiki
Horrible! A great pickup from the library. It's been a long time since I've read Dazai's original novel, but I knew right away that Ito was not intending to draw a straightforward adaptation -- this comic is intensely grotesque in ways the original seemed more often to hint at.
As a horror story, this is superb, and deeply disturbing in ways that are faithful to the original while being new. As a substitute to the original, this is wholly inadequate, because it is too grotesque to really take seriously after a point. I really enjoyed the feeling of finishing this book and thinking about how much less morbid I am now, in my late 20s, than I was 5 years ago. Refreshing.
I recommend both the novel and the manga to any lover of misery.
In this one, you get a lot more Buddhist horror and sludgy eroticism. I'd love to see Ito do Notes from Underground next.
As a horror story, this is superb, and deeply disturbing in ways that are faithful to the original while being new. As a substitute to the original, this is wholly inadequate, because it is too grotesque to really take seriously after a point. I really enjoyed the feeling of finishing this book and thinking about how much less morbid I am now, in my late 20s, than I was 5 years ago. Refreshing.
I recommend both the novel and the manga to any lover of misery.
In this one, you get a lot more Buddhist horror and sludgy eroticism. I'd love to see Ito do Notes from Underground next.
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Super disturbing but made all the better with Junji Ito’s illustrations.
Junji Ito is the king of horror manga but maybe adapting other people’s work isn’t his forte 😕 I felt the horror themes he forced into this one - murder, incest, ghosts - were disrespectful at worst, a misread of the original work at best.
I say this like I’m a big fan of the original work. I am not. While reading this adaptation I got so irritated that I tried to read the original, several times, but I was so unengaged that I reluctantly moved back to the Ito adaptation.
It’s a very engaging read, I’ll give it that! And the art is gorgeous (especially during the hell dream sequence near the end).
I just couldn’t help but find the whole adaptation distasteful. Maybe I’ll come back sometime and read the original - the Chinese translation, even - so I can properly appreciate it for myself.
I say this like I’m a big fan of the original work. I am not. While reading this adaptation I got so irritated that I tried to read the original, several times, but I was so unengaged that I reluctantly moved back to the Ito adaptation.
It’s a very engaging read, I’ll give it that! And the art is gorgeous (especially during the hell dream sequence near the end).
I just couldn’t help but find the whole adaptation distasteful. Maybe I’ll come back sometime and read the original - the Chinese translation, even - so I can properly appreciate it for myself.