Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

Lovesickness: Junji Ito Story Collection by Junji Ito

8 reviews

adventurouspotato's review

dark mysterious

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

4.0

lovesickness: ★★★★☆
the strange hikizuri siblings: ★★★★☆
the mansion of phantom pain: ★★★★★
the rib woman: ★★★☆☆

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Gore, Body horror, Self harm, Suicide, Abortion, and Death

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, and Abortion

Minor: Stalking, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Excrement, Vomit, and Confinement

nevermoregothic's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, Gore, Violence, Suicide, and Body horror

Moderate: Murder, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

Minor: Vomit

totsfions's review

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

I think this is the best Ito collection I've ever read. The title story, "Lovesickness" is a sort of slow-burn horror where the reader is never totally sure of what is happening, and that tension keeps you hooked on the story. The emotional dynamics between the characters are also more fleshed out than they are in some of Ito's other works, which makes the impact of the story even harsher. It's definitely one I feel I would get more from on a re-read, and one that has a lot of metaphorical resonance waiting to be taped. The duology of stories about the Hikizuri siblings is a really interesting take on toxic family dynamics. The stand-alone stories at the end of the book are all excellent, though the final story is more silly than anything else. "The Rib Woman" in particular is a really insightful commentary on the nature of feminine beauty standards in modern society. As always with Ito's work, the illustrations are chilling in a beautiful way. The character designs in this collection, and particularly in "Loveless" are some of Ito's strongest and most compelling. The haunting beauty of the characters adds so much dimension to the eerie nature of the story. I think this and "Amigara Fault" will be my go-to Junji Ito recommendations for a long time to come. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Death, Vomit, Self harm, Suicide, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Abortion, and Gore

Moderate: Gaslighting

Minor: Infidelity and Excrement

minbyrnes's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

3.5

It’s the inks. The way Junji Ito inks really gets to me. Love the artwork and when he chooses to draw beautiful people they’re stunning. But his art also creeps me out. 

In terms of story, I think my favorite was The Mansion of Phantom Pain. 

Lovesickness: I really liked it but the ending felt a bit lacking to me. I kind of wish that last chapter wasn’t a thing. 3.5⭐️

The Strange Hikizuri Siblings: I liked the first story more than the second one. These kids are twisteddddd. 4⭐️ and 3⭐️

The Mansion of Phantom Pain: loved it. It’s the kind of scary that gets to your head. Not that visual. Just the way I like it. 5⭐️

The Rib Woman: eh. It was ok. I wish it was more… supernatural? 2⭐️

Memories of Real Poop: what even was that? 1⭐️

Mathematically, it’s less than 3.25 overall but in my heart I want to give the collection 3.5 stars. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Suicide, and Child death

Moderate: Self harm and Vomit

Minor: Abortion and Death of parent

kashila's review

dark tense medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Gore, Suicide, Excrement, and Body horror

Moderate: Infidelity, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Violence

Minor: Domestic abuse

mir_frog73's review

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexism, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Vomit

kelseyr713's review

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

I really LOVED the first half of this collection (the stories that make up Lovesickness). The villain/monster is great, and it’s set in a very off-kilter, foggy town. Perfect Junji Ito mood. The Hikizuri sibling stories and the three stand alones are fine.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Vomit, Chronic illness, Confinement, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

Minor: Excrement

katiemack's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Classic Junji Ito spookiness, with plenty of body horror, supernatural elements, and other eerie aspects to make your skin crawl. The first part of the book centers around the first story (Lovesickness, in which teenagers get their fortunes told at a deadly crosswalk), and for me that was the most enjoyable. The few standalones at the end were mostly enjoyable as well, though the very last story about poop was out of place and seemed pointless.

If, like me, you've been on hold for Uzumaki at your library for about six months with no sign of getting a copy, give this a try. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Vomit, Suicide, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Mental illness, Gore, and Blood