I’ve never been a huge fan of the horror genre. I’ve seen a few amounts of horror movies but I never really expected to be drawn into the horror genre whilst reading.
To read Junji Ito’s Horror Collection is a must for horror buffs. The weirdness factor is off the charts with every single story you encounter. They may start off with an eerie feeling on the first few pages but as soon as the story progress you will be dealing with a whole lot of bizarre and strange things that will make you question the sanity of its author. Some images are really off putting enough to the point that it will be engrained in your memory for a long while.
Take this creature from the story GYO for example. Have you ever seen a shark walk across land with spider like legs? Yes, weird isn’t it? There’s more where that came from.
In terms of character visualization and art style, it certainly is a match made in heaven (or hell). The visually tantalizing heroines that are presented in each story provide a brief breather for your eyes in the progression of the story as they are swung into frenzy with the terrifying encounters with strange creatures. Take this as a word of caution, never be swayed by the pretty ones, they may be hiding secrets.
One beauty to be remembered is Tomie from the Tomie horror collection. She may be pretty, but wait ‘til she gets into the mood for terrorizing your life.
The amount of thought that is put in every story is really amazing. To deal with the disturbing things that effectively affect the chill of the readers is masterfully done. With amazingly strange occurrences that surround the story, you will be asking so many questions to yourself and in worst cases cause you to develop irrational fears.
One striking story that really appealed to me was Long Dreams. Imagine having long dreams that could almost span a lifetime.
Another story that will surely disturb you is Uzumaki. You’ll somehow develop the irrational fear of spirals after reading this.
All in all, it really is a must read if you’re looking for weird stories to pass the time. The fact that you’ll be reading it in black and white is calming enough (imagine the squishy red stuff and other gross), wouldn’t want you to be passing out while reading now don’t we. Let’s leave it to our imaginations for now. If you’re looking for some quality horror that will send chills down your spine, then read Junji Ito’s Horror Collection, you’ll never find horror as this weird ever.
Have some Souichi to give you a curse for now.