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Cian

Cian@bookwyrm.social

Joined 1 year, 1 month ago

Marxist, creative code and musician.

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Junji Ito: Venus in the Blind Spot (2020, Viz Media) 4 stars

A "best of" collection of creepy tales from Eisner award winner and legendary horror master …

One of the less essential collections.

3 stars

The standout story in this is 'The Enigma of Amigara Fault', which is one of Junji Ito's most disturbing and iconic stories. Like his best stories, the horror is entirely in the premise and its strange dream like logic that can't be resisted.

There are some adaptations which are fine, but not essential. And not all the stories are horror. Venus in the Blind Spot is more horror adjacent, and there are a couple of mildly amusing comic stories.

Of the remaining horror stories. They're all fine, but second tier.

Junji Ito: Dissolving Classroom (Paperback, 2017, Vertical, Inc.) 4 stars

A pair of twisted siblings—Yuuma, a young man obsessed with the devil, and Chizumi, the …

Fun but slight

3 stars

Fun romp with two siblings who cause havoc wherever they go. The premise is clearly intended as a parody of Japanese public apologies, and it works quite well as that. Gives off a similar energy to early Alan Moore (his British stuff). Would probably have worked well as a Deadline cartoon in the 90s.

The art is fine, though not comparable to his best work.

Junji Ito: Smashed (Hardcover, 2019, VIZ Media LLC) 4 stars

One of Junji's better works

4 stars

All the stories in this are decent, and while there are no classics, there are still a couple of stand outs. The level of originality in this collection is surprisingly high, while of course the artwork is glorious.

Earthbound is a great weird anime, where the twist is both surprising and powerful. While Secret of the Haunted Mansion is a lot of creepy fun (the other stories expanding its mythos are also pretty good, including a story with one of the most disturbing cats I've ever seen). And who knew nails could be that disturbing?

Death Row Doorbell is messed up in all the right ways. And smashed with its predictable, but still very funny, ending.

Junji Ito: Lovesickness (2021, VIZ Media LLC) 3 stars

An innocent love becomes a bloody hell in another superb collection by master of horror …

Creepy

4 stars

The first sequence of stories is a wonderfully surreal (but still creepy) story about a town where when the fog comes in, you stand at an intersection and ask a stranger for your fortune. This being Juno Ito things take a creepy (and bloody) turn, though there's a surprisingly optimistic ending. One of his best. The artwork is particularly effective at evoking the fog, and creating a sense of dread that lingers long after finishing.

Sadly the rest of the collection is less good. While none of it is bad, none of it is essential.

The next series (of 2) is a comedy about a murderous family of siblings (the Addams family, minus the sophistication) and their misadventures. It's fun, though pretty lightweight.

'Mansion of Phantom Pain' is fine, but is fairly forgettable.

'Ribs' starts strong, but ends as a monster story that doesn't really connect with the beginning.

And …

reviewed Frankenstein by Junji Itō (Viz signature)

Junji Itō: Frankenstein (Hardcover, 2018, VIZ Media) 4 stars

"Junji Ito meets Mary Shelley! The master of horror manga bends all his skill into …

The other stories are better.

3 stars

Got bored of the Frankenstein adaptation, but the Oshikiri stories are great. I want more stories about the unfortunate high school student who keeps getting dragged into baffling and annoying supernatural mysteries.

Shigeru Mizuki, Shigeru Mizuki: Onward towards our noble deaths (2011, Drawn & Quarterly) 4 stars

Souin Gyokusai seyo! is a "semi-autobiographical account of the desperate final weeks of a Japanese …

Surprisingly readable given its bleak subject matter

4 stars

Japanese soldiers at the end of World War II die pointlessly in a series of pointless battles, culminating in a suicide attack that exists for no purpose other than the honor of the Japanese military.

Despite the bleak and depressing material, this is a compulsively readable comic.