Reviews

Shiver: Junji Ito Selected Stories by Junji Ito

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thegingerbeardman's review

dark 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? Yes

4.0

I have heard a lot about Junji Ito but I wasn’t too sure where to start. I do know Uzumaki is his masterpiece but I wanted to dip my toes into his work rather than dive in. I then saw a video by Will from Books and Bao (always a fantastic channel for books – especially Asian lit and LBGTQ+ titles) and they mentioned Junji Ito’s Shiver, a collection of nine short stories. This was perfect. I ordered it and read it in a weekend.

I admit that I am slowly becoming a fan of body horror, Kylie Whitehead’s Absorbed and Eliza Clarke’s Boy Parts were two of my fave reads of 2021 so I was looking forward to see if I could handle body horror in Manga form. Obviously with the former books I mentioned, all the action could be controlled by my mind but in Ito’s case the visuals were in front of me.

Wow

I will guarantee that a reader will NEVER EVER forget a Junji Ito story. All nine pieces here are memorable. Take your pick: how about the killer model? balloons that are destined to kill you? how about a house of puppets? maybe a man who has an unusual way of remembering his ancestors? or a girl that lives in a greasy house with her oil guzzling brother? oh I forgot about the next door neighbour with holes all over her body.

Yes death, and mostly brutal, ones but not only are the stories unsettling but the imagery is unforgettable: the model’s teeth , the balloon’s facial expressions but the one that will stick in my brain is the scene in the grease story where the boy’s facial pimples (due to the oil he ingests) explode onto his sisters face *shudder* Definitely not for the squeamish.

Although these stories brought out extreme reactions form me, I will not hesitate and say that they are mini masterpieces. If a person can make me feel revulsed then they are doing a good job and I will check out more in the future but not quite so soon.

nikey_view's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Used Record ★★★☆☆
Shiver ★★★★★
Fashion Model ★★★★☆
Hanging Blimp ★★★☆☆
Marionette Mansion ★★★★★
Painter ★★★★☆
The Long Dream ★★★★☆
Honored Ancestors ★★★☆☆
Greased ★★★★☆

Greased is supeeeerr disgusting, I think I feel like I'm gonna puke 😨🤢