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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
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:
Yes
This might be one of my favourite Junji Ito book. The art style was absolutely gorgeous, and the story was unsettling! Weird, creepy paranormal boy with no real explanation as to how or why he is the way he is, some parts in particular did creep me out which is exactly what I wanted. I loved this!
10/10 Souichi is an icon, love him so much. I desire to be as unhinged, cowardly and dumb as he is
dark
funny
hehehehe. I love soichi my little son. this was a fun collection of stories around my golden boy and they were all enjoyable! kind of sequentially connected too which wasn't really the case in the Tomie collection so that was cool too. Lord him = awesome
For a Junji Ito story, it's pretty middle-of-the-road. Just a creepy kid being really weird, playing different messed up pranks on his cousins and classmates each chapter. Not all that inspired, but Soichi's little shit-eating grin does grow on you. I like how he's at once a being of pure evil and also just a bratty little kid, who frequently gets his comeuppance not through some ironic reversal, but merely by being bullied or humiliated by his brother or some other kid.
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
medium-paced
The ambiguity of the last story is great, lmao. I've read most of these in other collections of Junji Ito's, but some were new. If you like Soichi stories, you'll love this, hands down. Creepy little weirdo, lmao.
fast-paced
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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:
Complicated
I came into this book feeling ambivalent about this character. My only exposure to Soichi had been the few stories in Smashed. These stories really didn't make a ton of sense. 2 stories were about Soichi as an adult, and the other was, I believe one of the middle or latter stories - in other words, there was no context for any of those tales, which made them feel confusing and very meh.
But with this collection, I finally understood what Ito was going for with this character. Everything clicked, and I really got a kick out of the whole thing. Soichi is such a twat, with delusions of grandeur, and it is wonderful to see his diabolical plans go awry and blow up in his face! Ito's comedy has always been hit or miss with me, but he really struck comic gold with this character.
My only complaint, and the reason for the deduction of a star, is the fact that this Soichi collection is incomplete. I'm normally against reprinting recently printed stories, but I this case it would have been great! The aforementioned Soichi tales from Smashed desperately belonged in this collection, where they would have made more sense - it actually makes me angry that this isn't a truly complete collection.
So, in summation, this is overall a fantastic collection, marred by the unfortunate fact that one would need to buy or already own a separate collection in order to read the entire saga of this demented creation by Itosan. Talk about a missed opportunity!
But with this collection, I finally understood what Ito was going for with this character. Everything clicked, and I really got a kick out of the whole thing. Soichi is such a twat, with delusions of grandeur, and it is wonderful to see his diabolical plans go awry and blow up in his face! Ito's comedy has always been hit or miss with me, but he really struck comic gold with this character.
My only complaint, and the reason for the deduction of a star, is the fact that this Soichi collection is incomplete. I'm normally against reprinting recently printed stories, but I this case it would have been great! The aforementioned Soichi tales from Smashed desperately belonged in this collection, where they would have made more sense - it actually makes me angry that this isn't a truly complete collection.
So, in summation, this is overall a fantastic collection, marred by the unfortunate fact that one would need to buy or already own a separate collection in order to read the entire saga of this demented creation by Itosan. Talk about a missed opportunity!