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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
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
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
This was a big miss for me. There was no plot or motivation for most of the characters and it was just too unrealistic and pointless. I would've preferred to have more of a focus on the planet Remina itself and not on whatever the hell was going on with the girl Remina. It truly breaks my heart to give a Junji Ito such a low rating :(
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Maybe one of the most interesting Junji Ito concepts I’ve seen yet, marred by an execution that’s imperfect at best. Remina follows the story of the titular Remina, a young girl whose father discovers a mysterious new astral body and names it after her, thrusting her into stardom despite her protestations.
As the planet itself begins to behave in mysterious and sinister ways, Remina is caught up in the chaos of both fame and apocalypse. While the big ideas at play here are clear, and there’s an obvious critique of fandom and the idol industry, the story’s treatment of Remina herself is enormously disappointing. I can certainly read a degree of intentionality to her flat characterization, but that does very little to justify how insufficient it feels, especially in the back half of the story.
There are some interesting and experimental maneuvers in setting, art style, and general plot beats that do showcase Ito’s range and flexibility, and there are, as always, visually remarkable panels and spreads throughout. Ito relies much less on overt body horror in Remina, but when he does deploy it, it does not disappoint.
Despite the letdown in the moment-to-moment storytelling, and some big reveals that felt a little too tidy, the bleakness and breadth of the story provide a lot to chew on, and maybe make it one of the more symbolically dense stories that from Ito that I’ve read so far. While I didn’t enjoy Remina in the way I did Tomie and Uzumaki, it gave me a lot to think about and a bit more substance to interpret. Less fun to read, especially certain parts of the back half, but certainly interesting to think about.
As the planet itself begins to behave in mysterious and sinister ways, Remina is caught up in the chaos of both fame and apocalypse. While the big ideas at play here are clear, and there’s an obvious critique of fandom and the idol industry, the story’s treatment of Remina herself is enormously disappointing. I can certainly read a degree of intentionality to her flat characterization, but that does very little to justify how insufficient it feels, especially in the back half of the story.
There are some interesting and experimental maneuvers in setting, art style, and general plot beats that do showcase Ito’s range and flexibility, and there are, as always, visually remarkable panels and spreads throughout. Ito relies much less on overt body horror in Remina, but when he does deploy it, it does not disappoint.
Despite the letdown in the moment-to-moment storytelling, and some big reveals that felt a little too tidy, the bleakness and breadth of the story provide a lot to chew on, and maybe make it one of the more symbolically dense stories that from Ito that I’ve read so far. While I didn’t enjoy Remina in the way I did Tomie and Uzumaki, it gave me a lot to think about and a bit more substance to interpret. Less fun to read, especially certain parts of the back half, but certainly interesting to think about.
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
funny
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
I had no idea what to expect, but this was perfect for the spooky season. It's hard to make horror that could actually happen if this incredible circumstance were somehow to happen, and this was done well. I'm excited to check out some more from Junji Ito.
Not the best Ito work, and I feel that it was not paced as well as it could be, but a good read. Then again, maybe I'm too much into sci-fi and astronomy, so take this with a grain of salt. The sci-fi aspect is a bit out there, but overall, the story keeps to Ito's style of apocalyptic cosmic horror, and leaves the reader shaken, albeit confused.