5.0

A phenomenal collection with more violence and action than I was expecting - but in a good way. My favorite stories "Hanging Blimp" and "The Long Dream" are in a tie for first place. I think "Hanging Blimp" was a more complete piece but I just LOVE the idea of an eternal sleep. That story genuinely stressed me out as someone who frequently has nightmares and/or exhausting lucid dreams.

This was the last Junji Ito book that I own, so I'll have to take a break for a while. I hope that eventually I'll own all of his translated works!

Date Read: 08/03/25


STORIES:
Used Record - A girls comes into possession of a rare record of a singer that was recorded after her death.

Shiver - A boy spends years ruminating on his grandfather's bizarre death until he notices that his next door neighbor seems to have the same disease.

Fashion Model - A boy finds himself haunted by the image of an unsettling fashion model he saw in a magazine and who he eventually meets in the flesh.

Hanging Blimp - A town is overrun with blimps shaped like the citizens' heads, each equipped with a noose that seeks out that specific person to hang.

Marionette Mansion - A story about the sons of a traveling puppeteer and how their childhoods centering around marionettes affected their beliefs about control.

Painter - A man means an enchanting woman named Tomie and is consumed with the need to capture her true essence in his painting.

The Long Dream - A man in a hospital suffers from dreams that he perceives as lasting longer and longer until he begins to morph into something non-human.

Honored Ancestors - A boy does his best trying to reignite his girlfriend's love for him after she is shocked into losing her memory after she uncovers his horrific family secret.

Greased - A story about a family who live in a house coated with oil and grease.

Fashion Model: Cursed Frame - A fashion model terrified of being cropped in photos is signed to an agency that also employs an unsettling fashion model.