13lolo13 's review for:

Brain Damage by Shintarō Kago

3.75

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A

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 Brain Damage by Shintaro Kago will definitely be compared to Junji Ito’s works–the cover alone is reminiscent of many of Ito’s. Nonetheless, the two authors definitely stand apart in artistry and storytelling style. Brain Damage by Kago is shocking, witty, and quick. Each short showed a versatility to the depths of darkness humankind can stoop to. Of the four stories, “Labyrinth Quartet” ranked first for me; it was a pity the story wasn’t as long as “Blood Harvest”. I really wanted to stay with these girls who looked similar, yet were different people. There were definitely ways it could’ve been stretched to fuel my PLL heart.  “Family Portrait” was absolutely stomach-turning/sickening, which I guess is the point of horror, but I was not a fan of the last (5?) panels. It was definitely unforgettable, pun intended. “Curse Room” was an interesting twist on zombies, as Kago stated in the notes of the work. I am curious how this type of story will fit in with the symbolism of zombies as a whole and what they represent in literature. No, not everything needs to be analyzed, but my passion (and my degree) beg to differ. As aforementioned, “Blood Harvest” was the longest narrative of the four. Or maybe it felt the longest? If King’s Christine and It Follows had a baby, it would be “Blood Harvest”. Overall, I found this work to really stand for itself in the broadening genre of horror manga. I was intrigued enough to ILL Dementia 21. Thanks to Fantgraphics and NetGalley for the chance to read this eARC.