Junji Ito … one of the best Mangaka i know. Awsome freaky stories. Amazing art style and an own vision of horror. I don’t know how or why I know how his works but my first contact with this genius of horror was in 2017 when I was googling for horror mangas. It’s too bad there just a few really good horror manga (like re:member, Dark Hideout, Hiki or Desperate Zombie).
During my search of horror manga I found more than one time a three special works from Junji Ito. Tomie, Gyo and Uzumaki complain as horrible as they are fascinating and were recommended again and again. Although I have not read Tomie until today, I chose Gyo as my entry into the horrible-scary world of Junji Ito.
Despite its comparatively simple history, Gyo develops an incredible suction effect. The grotesque „monsters“ as well as the ubiquitous depiction of the stench of death and decay burned into my head while I read the manga. Gyo is about a couple accidentally getting into an invasion of sea creatures on strange metal legs. Both must survive in this new world full of rottenness. When I read Gyo, I was shocked and excited because Junji Ito created such a fascinating horror atmosphere.
Anyone who wants to read more can follow this link to a german review:
The next Junji Ito manga i read was Uzumaki. I remember that i saw this manga many years ago at my favortite book store but i never showed interesst in it. After my Junji Ito fandom awake i really wanted to read the three volumes of Uzumaki. Lucklily my fav. book store had all three of them in stock and during my amazing vacation Würzburg i was able to read the manga.
Uzumaki treats the fate of a small town haunted by strange spirals. The horror is created by the various horrors triggered by the spirals. An escape seems impossible and the curse keeps the city firmly under control. Uzumaki has a great mix of story and art style. The ever-worsening horror and madness are strongly reminiscent of H. P. Lovecraft. So far Uzumaki is my highlight in the Junji Ito fandom and that will probably stay that way for a while.
Anyone who wants to read more can follow this link to german reviews:
Uzumaki – Spiral into Horror 01 | Review
Uzumaki – Spiral into Horror 02 | Review
Uzumaki – Spiral into Horror 03 | Review
I like Frankenstein. Especially alternative interpretations have it to me angentan. At this point I have to digress briefly and refer to the ingenious series The Frankenstein Chronicles. The links to the series are below!
The Frankenstein Chronicles Staffel 1 [deutsch]
The Frankenstein Chronicles Staffel 2 [deutsch]
On Frankenstein by Junji Ito I was very happy because the combination of a classic scary story with the grotesque insanity of Ito sounds very appealing.
The manga revolves around Victor Frankenstein who creates an artificial human being. The creature, however, is a cruel beast, and in the process, a feud arises between the monster and the creator. As with Uzumaki, Frankenstein enjoys a balanced mix of exciting action and attractive art style. Compared to other Ito stories, the degree of violence here is much higher and the monster just looks terrifying.
Who wants to read more can follow this link to a german review:
Frankenstein by Junji Ito | Review
I do not regret start reading the works of Junji Ito. The mind of this mangaka is amazing and his works groundbreaking. The horror and insanity of his work is fascinatig, terryfing and just amazing.
For me, Junji Ito is the Japanese H. P. Lovecraft and I am looking forward to reading his remaining works at times!
These were my thoughts about Junji Ito and why I am a fan of him.
We will read again in the next post!
DerStigler 