While my reaction to this collection was mixed, I have to admire the creativity here and Ito’s skill as an artist remains impressive to say the least. They add a little something to each as Ito illuminates how each story was conceived and I thought it was really interesting to see how he outlines his stories. I won’t go into details in case anyone’s worried about spoilers so I’ll just say that some of the imagery in these three stories just made me laugh.Īlso included are brief commentary pieces for each story, along with notes and sketches.
And yet, as inventive as they are, they’re less scary because they’re so strange, verging on the comedic. Hanging Blimp, Marionette Mansion and The Long Dream are the unique stories I mentioned earlier - nobody else could come up with killer ghostly blimps that try to hang you while wearing a giant mask of your head! And Marionette Mansion is insanely goofy in concept, while The Long Dream is pure weirdness. The others had elements I liked in fairly average stories. I didn’t think Honored Ancestors or Fashion Model: Cursed Frame were very good and Painter is quite forgettable too.
The stories, though simplistic, are mostly quite entertaining too - Used Record, Shiver, Fashion Model, and Greased Oil were my favourites. This book has some really haunting and unnerving imagery that’ll stick with you - excellent stuff for a horror comic to have. The character design of Fuchi in Fashion Model is also genuinely disturbing. Like the holes in people’s bodies in Shiver, the bizarre ways Mukoda morphs in The Long Dream, the heads upon heads in Honored Family, and the gross-out scene in Greased Oil where the brother squeezes the zits on his face, pouring oil onto his tormented sister’s face. Ito’s art is first rate and nowhere else is the body horror aspect to his stories more effective than the ones in this collection.
Ito’s stories are nothing if not original, though often they’re too absurd or silly, undercutting the horror with unintentionally amusing over-the-top moments. Some of his stories are a bit weak, containing only a striking image or idea and a lot of fluff around it, but some are quite brilliant and unique. Shiver is one of Junji Ito’s better horror manga collections. And a nightmarishly greasy house and the poor family the grease envelopes. A man determined to carry on his family’s lineage, no matter what. A man whose dreams distort time and, eventually, his body. A crazed puppeteer who turns his family into marionettes. A mysterious jade carving that bestows a horrific disease on those who possess it.
A cursed record that dooms its listeners.
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