David Peach

We have seen the mansion twice so far, during our exploration of the Tomie Collection. First we saw a wet, slightly-dishevelled Tomie appear on the mansion’s doorstep in the opening to Photo. And from what we could tell, It seemed to be occupied by an old man and his daughter. Second, we see her run back there after the shocking events in Photo, and its follow-on Kiss. She runs back to the old man as if he were her father, meaning she had somehow taken the daughter’s place.

What is Tomie : Mansion about?

In Tomie : Mansion we delve deeper into the story behind that mansion, exploring the secrets within its depths. Tomie mentions to the old man, who I’ll refer to as father from now on, that she has tracked down Tsukiko. (Tsukiko is the girl from the previous couple of stories, Photo and Kiss.) She was one of the lucky ones to have come face to face with Tomie and lived to tell the tale.

Well, it seems Tomie doesn’t let go of grudges too easily, and manages to lure her back to the mansion. She does this with the promise of reunited her with her friend, Yamazaki. But once she realises that it was just a trick to get her trapped, Tsukiko must fight to escape the place.

We then follow her as she comes across past admirers of Tomie – people who are still under her spell. They are hell-bent on using Tsukiko for experiments for research into Tomie’s powers. But will she escape those clutches alive once again, or will her luck finally run out?

Main Characters

A mystery revealed

We are finally shown the truth about what happened that rainy night; the night when Tomie first appeared at the mansion’s doors. And not only that, but we also have an extra piece of information about that night, that I thought was a nice touch. The reason behind the old man’s apparent acceptance of Tomie is revealed too.

It was nice that Junji Ito took the time to put these details in. It really helps to flesh out this whole world, as well as tying those other stories together. I can’t help but think that Ito must have had some sort of over-arching story line already in mind whilst writing each chapter. Perhaps not so much with the early ones, but there are definitely strong threads through these last few.

What lurks beneath

This chapter felt like a good ending to the “Tsukiko Trilogy” for me. And although it didn’t seem to last very long, it still has some interesting reveals. It also has a good mix of Tomie mutations thrown in for good measure too.

It would have been great to have delved a little deeper into the mansion story. Perhaps if Tsukiko were driven further inside its walls, with a tougher escape journey, it could have been really special. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it for what it was.

A special mention needs to be made for the poor family who call this mansion their home. I wont spoil their ultimate fate for you, but rest assured that they have a bad time with Tomie around. I don’t know why she chose that particular home to essentially invade, but when Tomie wants something – no matter how large or small – she gets it. This girl is a real piece of work.

In Summary

If I’m honest, I was expecting a much larger story within the mansion, as it seemed to have been built up through its previous appearances. Despite this, Mansion was an enjoyable read as always. It was even fun to see some old characters come back from previous chapters – one from very early on.

Tomie : Mansion is probably best read as part of its full story arc – namely Photo; Kiss; and finally Mansion.