Tomie - Junji Ito's Iconic Femme Fatale

She’s beautiful, charismatic, and magnetic. There’s something so deceivingly beautiful about her aura. Her origin isn’t precisely clear; even her endearing name, Tomie, was just a name given to her. Tomie has been brought to life in Manga and live-action horror under “ The Girl From Nowhere.” Tomie is also the first horror manga that Junji Ito wrote and illustrated. His creation is so iconic; even the story behind how it was written was also the turning point of his life. He wrote this Manga when he was still a dental technician.

𝘙𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘏𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘊𝘭𝘶𝘣 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘪𝘴 " What was the first manga or comics you ever read, and how did it shape your love for the medium??". 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 : Hive Book Club Highlight #328

Tomie by Junji Ito presents several locations with different characters and their darkness. It all started when her high school best friend mentioned that Tomie had passed away and her body was dismembered. Yet suddenly, Tomie reappeared and shocked everyone inside the classroom. The grueling story started when Tomie reappeared. The characters in that school did the unthinkable, but Tomie was still alive. The manga showcaseMangae arcs where Tomie could regenerate and sprout through different mediums and even inside someone’s body. Her evil sees no bounds, and she doesn’t seem to have any Achilles’ heel. Can people get rid of her, or is she just a manifestation of something evil that fights evil in the world?

While Tomie isn’t necessarily my first Manga, it is the most serious one I enjoy reading. I was drawn into this iconic character of Tomie and her world. She is such a captivating character and the others characters in the story are all intriguing on its on way. They were all seemingly regular but have something to hide. Tomie comes into their life,drawing out their deepest and darkest human nature of theirs.

Honestly, after reading the story for the first time, I didn’t truly understand its meaning. Yet, as I continued flipping through the pages, I slowly saw some themes, messaging, and the characters and their characterization. In my opinion, Tomie was just a medium to express and bring out these people’s darkest and deepest desires.

This is also the first Manga that I own a copy of. I used to collect comics, but most weren’t very serious. Somehow, I was drawn to this after discovering that I couldn’t find Solo leveling at the store. There was only the third one, but I needed to read the first before jumping into the third. I enjoyed flipping through the pages, and for the first work of Junji Ito, no wonder he’s winning the award even though he was rushing while writing and illustrating this Manga.

After unboxing the book, I went into serious reading mode. I got so engrossed that I didn’t care much about anything else. It was weird, and the way Tomie operated bothered my mind. I wanted to know how it ended and why she did what she did. It took me about a couple of hours to finish this manga. I even made a couple of snacks to sit down and enjoy reading without going downstairs.

I look forward to completing this series. I found Part 2 of this Manga but it wasn't available at the store, so I will hunt that down to discover the next adventure for this femme fatale character, Tomie.