Manga – Page 2 – David Peach

Jack in the box (Uzumaki part 7)

Kirie’s admirer is just like a Jack in the Box — he keeps jumping out at her at inappropriate times. But what happens when he takes it too far?

My love for you will stop this car!

Mitsuru believes strongly in his love for Kirie

Jack in the Box — Synopsis

Kirie Goshima has an admirer, and an annoying one at that. His name is Mitsuru Yamaguchi and he has a very frustrating habit. He keeps on jumping out and surprising Kirie at moments when she least expects it. One such time is during the walk home from school with her friend Shiho. Shiho warns him off, but he continues to annoy Kirie nonetheless. For him, this is how he shows his love for her.

After a little time, he decides to send Kirie a present in the mail. However, instead of opening it she decides to meet up with him to return the gift. He seems sincere in his affection at this point and decides to prove his love once and for all. Declaring that his love is strong enough to stop traffic, he jumps out into the path of a moving car. A final jump that sees his body wrapped around the front wheel of the unsuspecting driver.

After Mitsuru’s funeral, Kirie is wracked with guilt over his untimely death. But it may not be the last she has heard from him – this is Kurouzu-cho after all. The spiral is ever-present and can make all sorts of things possible.

One evening while talking through the grief with her boyfriend Shuichi, she gets a terrifying vision from the gift that Mitsuru had left her. She discovers that the present is a very apt one for it’s sender — it is a Jack in the Box. The Jack in the Box seems to tell her that his death was indeed her fault. And not only that, but that Mitsuru will come back for her too.

Deciding to find out the truth behind the Jack’s whispers, and to try and rid her head of its voices, Kirie and Shuichi take a shovel to Mitsuru’s grave to ensure he is in fact dead. But they are not prepared for what they find in the ground.

The subtleness of the Spiral

When seen from above, a coiled spring will display the shape of the spiral. Not only that but the spring can also represent the releasing of stored energy. This idea could well be what gave birth to the character of Mitsuru. But it isn’t until the closing pages when this becomes apparent. Once you’ve read it once, the spiral can be seen throughout this chapter. He is the metaphorical coiled spring jumping out at Kirie again and again. But until you’ve read it, the spiral is indeed subtle.

Inanimate objects with human likeliness always have the potential for horror. Just think ceramic dolls and old toys in the attic. But what I loved in this chapter was that not only did Junji Ito manage to depict an otherwise innocent Jack in the Box as demonic and foreboding. He also managed to have it perfectly represent the key character, Mitsuro.

The spiral has had a very visual presence in the town so far. It has appeared in cremation smoke, pottery and even throughout victims’ hair. But this is perhaps the most subtle that the spiral has been up till now. In fact, I would be so bold as to say that this chapter could almost be read outside of Uzumaki altogether.

The way in which Ito ties the character of Mitsuru to that of a Jack in the Box was a stroke of genius. Especially when he later makes use of the spring from the car that killed him to make his complete transformation. Yes, the spiral is present in the springs throughout, but take the spiral obsession out of the equation and you still have a strong horror nightmare with an almost self-fulfilling prophecy.

Mitsuru believes his love for Kirie can stop a speeding car

Coiled up terror

As I began writing up my thoughts on ‘Jack in the Box’, I began to notice how the chapter’s structure itself felt just like a coiled spring. With each unwanted jump scare from Mitsuru winding up the metaphorical coil until he is stopped dead in his tracks by that car. That impact and his winding quickly around the front wheel of that car are the first glimpses of horror we see, and the first release of the coiled spring of the chapter.

Once the funeral is done with, Kirie’s descent into guilt and the foreboding presence of the Jack in the box toy, wind up the chapter’s final spring. It is wound up tightly and held with each step that her and Shuichi take through that graveyard. Until those final pages and the explosion of energy that shoots out towards them. The second spring is released and the two of them are directly in its path.

I may be reading too much into these stories, and perhaps seeing things that I want to see, but that is precisely why I’m writing these thoughts up. I just love seeing what my mind can find beneath the surface of Ito’s work — and as I have quickly come to realise, there is always more to find beneath his expertly-drawn panels than meets the eye.

In Conclusion

Jack in the box is definitely a chapter that can be enjoyed on its own and without any prior context to the preceding Uzumaki chapters. Yes, there are mentions of the spiral cremation smoke trails from The Spiral Obsession opening chapters, but they are only mentioned in passing. And they are not needed to be fully understood for this chapter to be enjoyed.

Jack in the Box is one of my favourite chapters from the Uzumaki collection. Something about the character of Mitsuru and the enjoyable absurdity of his constant jumping out at Kirie have stuck with me. I think that, along with the following chapter The Slug, are images that have stayed with me the strongest since my first time reading Uzumaki some years ago.

One of the great things about this chapter for me, was how it is almost ambiguous in its final half. With both Kirie and Shuichi having already come face to face with the spiral, who’s to know if what they experience in that graveyard is real? (it probably is).

Was it just a nightmare? Who knows? (probably not). But one thing is for certain – Junji Ito sure knows how to tell one hell of a great story.

Flesh Colored Horror

Flesh Colored Horror focuses on the suffering of a young boy at the hands of his twisted and skin-obsessed mother.

I’m not tearing. This is the peeling…

Chikara as he destroys other childrens’ artwork.

Flesh Colored Horror — Synopsis

Momoko Takigawa is a school teacher who teaches young children at the Hikariyama Kindergarten school. Her students are all regular, everyday children… except for one — Chikara.

Chikara is a scary-looking child, whose veins trace dark lines over his bald head. His eyes are blank white and piercing, and his mental state is violent and unstable. Chikara often lashes out at his fellow students and is unable to form any sort of positive bonds with them.

After a bloody incident involving Chikara and another student, Kosuke, he is expelled from the school and instructed to never return. However, one day he follows his old teacher Takigawa home from the school, and she agrees to take him inside before escorting him back to his own home.

But when the teacher starts to become more involved in the boy’s life and in his well-being, a horrifying and violent secret is revealed about the boy’s family. We learn of his mother’s obsession with beauty. And we learn the lengths she’s willing to go, in order to give her son that beauty. All with no care as to the cost of his mental or physical well-being.

But what lengths will his mother go to, to finish what she has started? And how much can her son endure before he finally snaps?

A tortured young boy

The subject of a child’s abuse is always a delicate one to approach in fiction — and rightly so. Junji Ito has dealt with these before with stories like The Bully and the Tomie chapter Boy. But in Flesh-colored horror, the pain that Chikara endures is on a whole new level from those — at least in my opinion.

I felt that Ito approached this subject very tastefully. He seemed to keep it grounded but still within his story’s crazy boundaries. My initial feelings towards Chikara were those of disgust — the desired effect, no doubt. But by the end I was fully on his side after having learnt his story. And not only that, but it even taught me something about not judging people too quickly.

Chikara doesn’t know how to make friends in the playground

Although the tearing of the school paintings was a spiteful act, it was only what Chikara had picked up from home. We see his mother’s obsession causing her to peel away their home’s wallpaper — a metaphor for the peeling away of skin to what lies beneath.

And when Chikara attacked Kosuke and caused his face to bleed all over, it was a dreadful thing to do. But again, although I don’t condone it, this too was a learned behaviour from his mother. From all of the peelings away of skin she has forced him through.

This is normal life for Chikara, and it truly is a shame — both for him and those around him.

Skin deep

There is a saying that goes “Beauty is only skin deep”, which means that a person’s character is more important than how they look. This saying is no more apt than in Flesh Colored Horror — albeit in a slightly tongue-in-cheek way. I loved the insane idea of going to the extremes of trying to preserve one’s beauty by removing the skin and bathing it in saline solution. Then admiring the muscles and tendons beneath as a thing of beauty. Ito definitely has a way of creating these fresh and crazy characters with very unique quirks. And he often does so by taking very normal behaviours, like using skin cream to maintain one’s complexion, and turning it up to crazy.

Chikara’s Mother always seems to have just gotten out of the bath

I also enjoyed the exploration of the mother’s obsession with her beauty — an obsession which ultimately leads to her undoing. I believe that the loss of her husband in the way that he went, directly led to her strange form of body dysmorphia. It was just a shame that her twisted notions of beauty were then forced upon her child.

But what I found most interesting in this story, was how we initially see Chikara. We see him as violent and almost-grotesque looking. But later we learn how both his appearance and his actions are a direct result of his terrible upbringing.

And on the flip side of that, we see his mother and his auntie — both beautiful women, who initially come across as friendly — who are later revealed to be the most despicable characters in the manga.

Beauty is only skin deep.

I’m glad that Chikara got to have some kind of revenge on his mother. Burning away his mother’s skin before tearing her exposed tendons with his bare hands was a hell of a way to go. But strangely enough, it felt like the logical result of what the boy had to endure. She created this viscous animal within her child, and now that very same animal is being unleashed on its creator. It is so crazy and so unbelievable, but it is so very enjoyable to read too, and definitely very Ito-esque.

In Conclusion

Flesh Colored Horror blew me away when I first read it, I wont lie. The serious tones of a child in danger drew me into the story — I knew it was going to be a thought-provoking and heavy piece. But it was it’s crazy ending and visceral imagery that moved this manga up into my top ten.

This isn’t one for the casual manga reader, I don’t think. If you like your horror to be dark and visceral, then great. But if you prefer easy jump scares and a minimal amount of flesh and blood, then tread carefully; I don’t think this is for the feint-hearted.

Any fan of Junji Ito’s who hasn’t read Flesh Colored Horror yet will get a real kick out of this one. And if you do enjoy it, you are sure to end up reading it multiple times.

p.s. Bonus Points to Ito for reminding me of Hellraiser 2 with this one. The image of the woman’s skin being pulled off like an all-in-one body suit immediately made me think of Julia’s demise from that film. 🙂

Medusa (Uzumaki part 6)

In Medusa, Kirie becomes directly affected by the town’s Spiral curse. And it is through a very strange means — her hair.

You should know I take this as a challenge… I’ll stand out too… you wait and see.

Sekino gives Kirie a thinly-veiled warning about her new hair.

Medusa — synopsis

Up until now, the Spiral has been affecting the people around Kirie Goshima. Her boyfriend Shuichi’s parents; her own father; a friend at school. But in Medusa, the Spiral is finally catching up to her and has it’s sights set directly on a particular part of her body — her hair.

After a school boy’s death and some discussions with a friend over people’s sudden desires to be noticed, Kirie’s hair begins displaying the cursed Spiral in its curls. This seems to have happened out of nowhere, after a sudden growth of her hair. Will she now finally fall victim like so many before her?

When the curls in her hair are threatened, they begin to take on a life of their own — the spiral protecting itself. The hair grows faster than is naturally possibly and even physically fights back against those that would do it harm. But when a school friend of Kirie’s see’s these ever-growing curls as a threat to her own dominance, that friend decides to challenge her in one of the craziest showdowns I’ve ever seen in a manga.

A hairdresser’s nightmare

The subject of hair in Junji Ito’s body horror is something that you may have seen before. In his Tomie chapter “Hair“, characters attach strands of Tomie’s hair to their heads in order for them to obtain her beauty. But in Uzumaki’s Medusa, the Spiral is drawing these people’s own hair out of their heads in order to seduce and mesmerise those around them.

The idea of parts of one’s own body being out of ones control is a scary one. These have been explored in horror before, whether it’s the classic “arm transplant but the arm is that of a murderer’s” or “an eye transplant that lets you see ghosts”. But the idea of using hair against the person who owns it is a fresh one to me.

I loved how the hair became so flamboyant and ridiculous as to lure in those around it. But what I found even more effective was how the hair, whilst growing at such a fast rate, took its toll on the owner. You could see it in Kirie’s eyes as the hair lusted after a bigger audience. But it wasn’t until the closing pages that you see its true effect on a host.

Kirie’s hair fights back against the hairdresser

The spiral effect grows

We’ve seen pretty isolated cases of the spiral at work until now. Limited to families and those closely related. Even the episode with Shuichi’s mother in the hospital could be written up as a woman’s madness on the doctor’s report. But the actual encounters with inexplicable spirals has been limited save for those involved.

In Medusa, however, the hair that grows from Kirie, and later her friend Sekino, is so unnatural that it just can’t be explained away. No amount of hair spray could have kept those curls up. It would have been plain to all that this is some unnatural force at work. Could it be that the Spiral curse is ready to show itself more widely now? Is it no longer content with appearing in the corners of Kurouzu-cho and instead now wants a larger audience for itself?

Interestingly, the Spiral only seemed to target Kirie after she had been clear to her friend about not wanting to stick out. She was content with just moving along in life. The idea that her friends’ obsessions with being noticed was intrinsically linked to the spiral’s presence, seemed to be confirmed when she was made the centrepiece of the Spiral’s plans within the Kurouzu-cho school.

Kirie’s hair becomes infected with spirals

In Conclusion

The image of the woman with the large curls floating over her head is a common one from Uzumaki. When seeing images from the manga or even clips from the Uzumaki film, it is a pretty staple image. Indeed it does represent both how incredibly inventive and at times ludicrous the world within Kurouzu-cho becomes.

Medusa is a calmer story than most from Uzumaki with absolutely zero gore. The goriest image is that of a girl whose life is visibly drained from her face; her skin and eyes sunk back. But nothing more than how you would expect a mummy to look in a museum. In fact, the story is home to more humour than gore. Granted it is a particular kind of humour, but it is there nonetheless.

This story seems to be opening up the Spiral to a wider array of people within the town. Many more are becoming affected by it, and it’s only a matter of time until the Spiral’s full force is released. I think Kirie will still serve as the central character, but the curse looks to be spreading its wings wider and wider from here on out.

Tomio Red Turtleneck

In Tomio Red Turtleneck, a young man cheats on his girlfriend and almost loses his head.

Tomio Red Turtleneck — synopsis

Tomio Red Turtleneck is one of the more nightmarish short horror manga stories from Junji Ito, as well as being one of my favourites. Taken from his excellent Fragments of Horror collection, it tells the story of a young man dealing with a very strange injury.

We join Tomio’s story as he is walking down a street, grasping at both sides of his head, looking very distressed. His eyes are fixed and his teeth are gritted together as he makes his way to his girlfriend Madoka’s home. On arrival he pleads for her help, but it seems as though he’s been a bad boyfriend. She tells him simply to just “go back to that woman”.

Flashing back to some days earlier in this couples life, it is revealed that Tomio did in fact begin having an affair with a fortune teller. This same teller foresaw their relationship as being “doomed”. But this seems to have been a fortune reading designed for one thing — to get Tomio into bed with said teller.

And it worked.

However, after they had made love, the fortune teller reveals her true evil intentions towards Tomio. He has no choice but to run from her, but not before she manages to curse him.

But just what happened when Tomio and the fortune teller met up? What evil secrets does this cursed woman hold and why did she target Tomio? And just what has she done to cause him to go running back to Madoka with his head clutched between his hands?

Strong Women

Ito has a talent for bringing strong women to the forefront of his stories, perhaps none more so than Tomie — the immortal, self-replicating demon girl who drives men to go crazy over her. However, Tomio Red Turtleneck displays two very strong women too.

The first is the fortune teller, who manages to captivate Tomio into having an affair without any real effort on her part. Perhaps it was magic but nonetheless she had that power over him. She is an imposing figure over the story and is definitely someone not to be messed with.

The Fortune Teller reveals her true intentions

The second is Madoka. Despite being cheated on by her boyfriend, Madoka isn’t saddened or feeling sorry about the situation. Instead she kicks him out in anger and is even the one to save his skin towards the end. It’s unsure whether she will remain with him after this is all resolved, but one thing is for sure — she sure knows how to handle herself and wont go down without a fight.

Monogamy

If ever there could be a horror manga allegory for not cheating on your partner, then Tomio Red Turtleneck is it. Tomio doesn’t come across as a particularly nice person in the opening pages. He screams at his girlfriend Madoka that the fortune teller is “way hotter” than her, before running off to her bed. I personally couldn’t wait for him to get his just desserts.

I found that the fortune teller and the affair with her was a great metaphor for, and even a warning against, being unfaithful to your partner. Tomio sees the teller and is taken with how beautiful she is. He ends up in her bed as he probably believes himself to be “upgrading” his lover in his mind. But of course, once he discovers her true intentions, and the severed heads of other men whom I could only assume cheated on their partners too, he realises he has messed up.

I don’t for one second think that what he ends up going through can reconcile how he treated Madoka, but perhaps having his head almost removed is a little bit too far a punishment. Perhaps.

Children of the flames

I loved the imagery of the three children that were revealed once the fortune teller had been stabbed. Were these malicious spirits that were in control of an otherwise innocent fortune teller? Or were they in fact unborn children of hers who’s presence was still felt by those around?

I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Madoka and Tomio too. Yes, even Tomio. I think that the fortune teller had some kind of control over him. Whilst I don’t excuse his actions, or his attitude towards Madoka, I did feel that he was a very naive person — almost child like. And while Madoka came across as more head strong, she too felt not much older than a child.

The fortune teller on the other hand seemed much older and infinitely more in control of her self. Although her motives were never revealed, she definitely had control over the situation. Of course, she did underestimate Madoka at the end. So I guess she couldn’t have been that much in control.

In Conclusion

Tomio Red Turtleneck is a quintessential Junji Ito manga that I think you should definitely read. Whilst it’s not in my top 5, it is definitely up there towards the top of my favourites. The imagery of Tomio stumbling down the street clutching at his almost-severed head is one of those Ito images that I just won’t ever forget.

Junji Ito has created such iconic imagery through his career so far, and no-doubt will continue to do so. But I think that Tomio and his red turtleneck are, at least for me, one of the most memorable.

Marionette Mansion

Family reuinions and creepy puppets. Junji Ito delivers a strange and enjoyable story with Marionette Mansion.

That’s right. Just let yourself go limp. Turn yourself over to the puppeteers.

Yukihiko enticing his siblings to his way of life.

Marionette Mansion — synopsis

In Marionette Mansion we follow Haruhiko — a boy from a travelling entertainment family. Him and his family move from town to town putting on their puppet shows for the townspeople. Because of this, Haruhiko is unable to settle down and make any lasting friendships.

Whilst staying in one particular town, he befriends a girl before having to move on again. Whilst they have their short time together, he shows her his family’s travelling home and the puppets that they work with. One puppet in particular creeps the girl out, causing her to knock it to the floor out of shock. This puppet’s name is Jean Pierre — more on him later.

Years later, after his older brother had left and the father had passed away, Haruhiko and his young sister Natsumi are living a simple life together. No more travelling from town to town. Everything is fine, when all of a sudden he bumps into the girl he had befriended all those years earlier. With them now both adults and seemingly settled in their lives, they start to grow closer. But this is a Junji Ito story, and you know that their story doesn’t just end there.

Kinuko and Haruhiko renew their friendship

Haruhiko discovers that the brother who had left the family years earlier, has in fact been living close by for some time and urges him and the young sister to visit.

They accept their older brother’s offer.

To Haruhiko’s and Natsumi’s surprise, the door is answered by none other than Jean Pierre. Yes that’s right — Jean Pierre the puppet. They discover how the older brother and his new family live the lives of puppets on strings — quite literally. They seem to be getting controlled by some unseen entities in the ceiling above, the strings being lowered through a system of grids.

But how will Haruhiko adjust to not only getting back in touch with his brother, but also getting used to their very unconventional way of living? And how is he going to keep his little sister safe from the danger that is sure to be near?

Who’s pulling the strings?

This is without a doubt one of the weirdest stories of Junji Ito’s that I’ve read for a while. It raises the question “Who is pulling the strings”. Of course, the family at the start literally pull the strings of the puppets in their travelling show. But in the later years of the siblings’ lives, that role is reversed.

The fact that Jean Pierre – a seemingly inanimate puppet – welcomes them at the door, let me know that this was going to be an odd one. I realise that Junji Ito is known for how strange and infinitely imaginative his mangas tend to be. But in Marionette Mansion there seems to be a sense of whimsy to the whole thing. Like he is simply having fun playing with these characters and literally pulling their strings for his own, and by extension our, enjoyment.

After reading this in the Shiver Collection, I also read the accompanying backstory of the manga that comes with each chapter. In it, Junji Ito says:

…I’d like to hang my upper body from the ceiling. How lovely would it be to leave my body like that and get the work done? This story came from thoughts like these…

Junji Ito talking about the origin of the story for Marionette Mansion

Interpretations

Despite Ito’s explanation of the story’s genesis, I still can’t help but try to find extra meanings. I thought that the “family on strings” was an interesting metaphor for not being in control of one’s own life. From the start the siblings had no choice but to travel with the family and their puppet shows. Then later the older brother, although the first to leave the family, still relys on his strings being pulled for him.

The welcoming of Haruhiko and Natsumi into the house presented a danger to their way of life. This danger is especially true for Natsumi, who is still very much young and impressionable. Although Haruhiko comes across as being very headstrong and wishing to be in control of his life, Natsumi perhaps wont see the long-term effects of having one’s decisions and movements made for her.

I think of Marionette Mansion as a tale about fighting the urge to have everything in life done for you. To fight against handing over responsibilities to others for the sake of living an “easy” life. And to always strive to be your own person — not imitating or relying on others for your own sense of self.

In Summary

This is an enjoyable story that came across as a lighter read than other mangas in Ito’s large body of work. Nothing in this story made me want to look away in disgust. However, there are still some nice gruesome moments to keep your pallet salivated.

I loved how the main character fought his side of the argument and does his utmost to protect himself and Natsumi, no matter what pressures get placed on him. He is a great conduit for the lessons that I believe we can learn from this story:

Never be afraid to be yourself and always be willing to fight for your independence and dignity.

Twisted Souls (Uzumaki part 5)

In Twisted Souls, Junji Ito brings into the town of Kurouzu-cho a Romeo and Juliet kind of story. Except with a little twist.

Twisted Souls — synopsis

Yoriko and Kazunori are deeply in love, but are from two families at war. To make matters worse, these two families share the same row house within the town of Kurouzu-cho — separated only by a thin dividing wall. The row houses are long, wooden, single-level buildings that can be found throughout the town. Some are hidden away in the towns forgotten places, whilst others sit on its outer edges.

Each attempt that Yoriko and Kazunori make to be with one another, is ended with their families ripping them apart. They have no care for their families’ age-old feud, and simply want to be able to live out their lives together in peace.

Kirie stumbles upon a fight between the families on her way home one day. She soon decides that she will help these two attempted lovers to escape their respective families and start their own lives once and for all. These controlling family members are, as Kazunori puts it, twisted souls; their hearts are bent out of shape.

However, it may be that embracing the spiral is the only way for them to escape once and for all.

A Shakespearean tale

The focus in this story is completely removed from the previous chapters so far. The families in Twisted Souls are separate from both Kirie and Shuichi — it was only through chance that Kirie stumbled upon them. But the spiral is still at work in this story. It is obvious after reading this that the spiral is in fact all over Kurouzu-Cho.

The star-crossed lovers in this chapter reminded me instantly of Romeo and Juliet. It’s a pretty common Shakespeare story that influences a lot of popular fiction, but it was nice nonetheless to see it woven into the world of Uzumaki.

Junji Ito’s work is often compared to the work of acclaimed horror author H.P. Lovecraft. However, I believe there will be many parallels with Shakespearean tragedy in Ito’s work too. Although I can only recall this reference to Romeo and Juliet currently, I will start to look out for other references going forward.

Red herrings

On first reading this story, when I saw what Kazunori was saying about his and Yoriko’s families, I thought I’d immediately guessed how the ending would go. “Their hearts are bent out of shape”, “You can’t untangle them”, “They shield themselves by becoming warped”.

But I couldn’t have been more wrong about my predictions in Twisted Souls. It was an interesting spin and, dare I say it, a relief to see the spiral being used by these people as a way for them to finally realise their own dreams.

In Conclusion

I very much enjoyed Twisted Souls. It was a slightly different story to previous chapters and didn’t lean on much body horror at all, save for the ending. But even that felt to me like the lovers welcomed their destiny. It was their dream to be together; to become one with each other through sickness and in health. They got their wish.

For once in Uzumaki, amongst the death, horror and gore, the Spiral actually helped two people in need. And not only that, but it did so of their own free will too.

The Firing Effect (Uzumaki part 4)

In The Firing Effect, Kirie’s father is producing some very strange, twisted pottery. This isn’t surprising when we find out where he gets his clay from…

The Firing Effect — Synopsis

Kirie’s father, the pottery maker, has been producing some very strange pieces recently. What were once clean, solid pieces of hand-crafted clay, come out of his kiln all twisted and spiralled out of shape. They also bare strange markings — not only the hypnotic pattern of the spiral, but the faces of the recently deceased too.

After some investigation it is discovered that the father has recently been getting his clay from the neighbouring pond of water — Dragonfly Pond. This is the very same pond that seems to have been absorbing the smoke and the ashes of the dead on the day of their cremation. It looks like the spiral has found its next victim.

Throughout The Firing Effect, Kirie’s father seems almost obsessed with his kiln and will not leave the cooking clay alone. He even panics when others try to go near it. Kirie decides to do some digging one evening to try and get to the bottom her father’s strange movements. However, nothing could have prepared her for what she finds inside her father’s kiln.

Like a phoenix from the flames

Just when we thought we’d heard the last of Shuichi’s parents, it seems they were never too far away after all. In any usual place the cremation of the deceased is a sure-fire way of disposing of the body. Whether they are human, vampire, zombie, whatever. Complete incineration normally does the trick. But this is Junji Ito we’re talking about.

With Dragonfly Pond seemingly sucking in the dust and smoke of the town’s cremations into its centre, it seems that the spiral is never really done with its victims. This made me think — perhaps Kurouzu-cho is a form of purgatory for the people who live there.

Shuichi knows that Dragonfly Pond is infected with spirals

When we finally get a glimpse inside the kiln we see, and later hear, Shuichi’s parents screaming in pain for help. They seem to be reliving their cremations only being fully aware of the heat and the pain it is causing. However, we had already seen their faces imprinted on pottery earlier in the chapter.

Maybe their souls are forever trapped in Dragonfly Pond. Are they destined to forever be burned again and again? Or are these just phantoms of the spiral simply using the images of the dead to torment those still living in mourning?

More drama for Shuichi

Although he hasn’t been a central character for the last couple of chapters, Shuichi’s presence is always felt. This is no doubt due to his seemingly mystical connection to the spiral. That shape seems to follow him everywhere and just wont leave him in peace. He also seems to be the one most in tune to its effects.

When it is later revealed that the father’s clay is being dredged out of Dragonfly Pond, Shuichi instinctively responds by stating that the pond is infested with spirals. He seems to have a sixth sense when it comes to this evil pattern, as demonstrated in the opening chapter. If this is some kind of purgatory for the folks in Kurouzu-cho, perhaps Shuichi is the one at its centre? Perhaps he is the key to unravelling this mystery?

Mr Goshima getting his clay from Dragonfly Pond

It felt good to see him being able to fight back against this deadly shape as well. Although destroying the kiln is a small action on the grand scheme of things, a little destruction may be just what he needed. Perhaps that was what Shuichi needed in order to lay his demons to rest — both figuratively and literally. Hopefully his parents can now be free from their eternal flames and escape this cursed town. But something tells me this wont be the case.

In Conclusion

I started to feel Kurouzu-cho was a kind of twisted second home for me after reading this chapter. The characters were now firmly etched in my mind and I even felt like I knew them somewhat. I am really enjoying digging deeper into this town and getting to know these people as the time goes by.

One thing that stood out to me in The Firing Effect was the complete lack of violence. Despite the disturbing images that certain characters see inside the kiln, they are only really shown to us as ghostly apparitions and shadows.

As I have mentioned before, it is good to have these relatively calmer chapters as a kind of breathing space for us readers. If it was crazy body horror all the time, I think I would just get desensitised to the shock and maybe even a little bored.

What I am finding though, is I’m anticipating a crazy chapter very soon. Something to knock me out of my chair as the opening chapters did. I feel something dark and grotesque is coming soon, and I hope I’m not kept waiting too long. 🙂

Wooden Spirit

In Wooden Spirit, Junji Ito takes us on a strange journey of love. Specifically, the love between one woman and a house that she finds desirable…

Wooden Spirit — Synopsis

In Wooden Spirit, we are introduced to Megumi and her father. They live together in an old wooden house that has recently gained cultural recognition. Despite them being the only ones who live there, the house has eleven rooms to its name. And they take very good care of each and every square inch.

In the story’s opening scene a woman knocks on their front door and asks to take a look inside the house. This woman, Manami Kino, immediately falls in love with this house. And when I say “falls in love with it”, I really mean it.

Before long, she and Megumi’s father become an item and she eventually moves in.

What is most strange here though, is Manami’s behaviour towards the house itself. This woman takes house proud to a whole new level. But just how far will she go with her strange antics?

One with the elements

This is a house that has been given cultural status for its historic importance. And then when this mysterious woman comes by she remarks at the elegance of the wood work. She sees the walls; the floors; the joists and remarks at how “sexy” they are.

At first read of this story last year I took it at face value. I saw it simply as a woman who makes her home within this house, before beginning to make love to it. I enjoyed the read for how ludicrous it was and thought nothing more of it at the time. However, on revisiting it with my new appreciation for Junji Ito, I am seeing deeper into the material.

One wild theory

Later on when she reveals herself for the demon she is — with an almost wood-like appearance — I came to an interesting thought. What if she was some kind of tree spirit? Yes, I know the story is called “Wooden Spirit”, but I thought I’d dig a bit deeper. What if her love for this house is not as a result of the building, but of the materials instead? Could her love towards the walls and the beams come from them being made from a former partner of hers when they were once both trees?

My theory does take a few leaps in imagination, but that is precisely one of the biggest things I enjoy about Ito’s work: the new connections he helps to form in my brain. Yes, this is a bit of a crazy theory, but is it so unbelievable within the world of Junji Ito? I don’t think so.

I loved how the story ended too. It felt almost poetic for me after I’d been on this theoretical journey in my mind. Let’s think for a moment how the wood has been taken from its natural place: the forest, and forced to become something fit for humans: a house. From this idea we could suppose that what this demon / spirit woman is doing in the end, is herself turning the wood back into something that she could then love again — flesh and blood.

In Conclusion

Wooden Spirit is one of Junji Ito’s strangest stories when taken at face value, as I once did. But when I began asking myself questions about its world, I managed to build up that world even more in my mind’s eye.

Whether Ito had any similar thoughts behind this story as the ones I have discussed here, I’ll probably never know. But what I do know is, is that no matter what physical images someone sees on this story’s pages, his stories have the power to create unique and interesting visions in the minds of those readers… if you’ll let them.

As the second story in his Fragments of Horror collection, Wooden Spirit will open you up to new experiences within Ito’s work. To a very unorthodox and, dare I say it, beautiful love.

The Scar (Uzumaki part 3)

In The Scar, we focus on a high school friend of Kirie’s — Azami Kurotani — who has a strange connection with the spiral.

There’s something mesmerizing about her. It’s like looking down from a high place… like vertigo…

Shuichi doesn’t like the vibes that Azami is giving off.

The Scar — Synopsis

Azami Kurotani is a girl who attends Kurouzu high school with her friend, Kirie. You will remember Kirie from the opening chapters of The Spiral Obsession.

Azami has a very strange power over the boys in the school — they all seem to fall in love with her. She even has the reputation for making these boys fall for her before dropping them like dead weights. Does this sound like another Junji Ito character we all know and love? Yes — she reminded me of Tomie.

However, whereas Tomie’s power came from something dark within her, Azami’s seems to originate from the crescent-moon-shaped scar on her forehead. Of course, kids being kids, there are all sorts of rumours going around about Azami and her strange power, but the truth may just end up being the most terrifying thing imaginable.

After meeting Kirie’s boyfriend Shuichi, (remember that he goes to a school out of town?), Azami becomes obsessed with him. This is down to the fact that Shuichi is instantly repulsed by her and, more specifically, the scar on her forehead. Only by the time she has met him, that scar is no longer moon-shaped, it has begun circling in on itself to reveal a very recognisable and terrifying shape.

Azami can’t believe that Shuichi hasn’t fallen in love with her, and she wont let it go either. It isn’t until the story’s closing pages that her obsession takes her over completely…

The girl that was a spiral

The first two chapters of Uzumaki dealt with the spirals around the people that were haunted by them — even the spirals within their bodies. But this is the first time that a spiral has begun to actually take over a person, as it seems to be with Azami. But what is so special about her? And why did the spiral seem to choose her?

What is left unanswered is perhaps most interesting here. Only after her accident as a young girl did the boys start noticing her — after she obtained that scar. But she had presumably lived with that scar for many years since — it was only when she’d met Shuichi, and he had noticed that scar, that it started to become a full spiral. Maybe the spiral was lying dormant inside her all of this time, waiting for Shuichi to meet her? Or maybe it had always been growing from a slight cut, to a moon shape and continuing on into the spiral? Perhaps the timing with meeting Shuichi was just bad luck for him.

A whirlwind whizzes past Azami and Kirie

Ito’s closing panels in The Scar are images I will never forget too. Although not particularly gruesome in how they are depicted, they do demonstrate the great imagination of my favourite horror Mangaka. I can imagine ways that he could have added a lot more gore into those scenes. But I feel it was nice to focus on the strangeness of the devouring spiral, rather than showing loads of blood and flesh along with it.

Obsession

I think I enjoy Junji Ito’s stories of obsession the most over his other types. Uzumaki is itself a story of obsession, but I really enjoyed this particular obsession between the boys and Azami; and then between Azami and Shuichi.

There were many times I was reminded of Tomie and the memories of her attitudes towards those that desired her. Tomie has a power over men and was never afraid to use that power to get exactly what she wanted — she was pretty much evil through and through. And it was a nice touch of Ito’s to include a character like her within Uzumaki — whether that was the intention or not.

However, with Azami, I got the impression that she wasn’t an evil person. I felt that she was just another victim of the spirals that are haunting Kurouzu-cho. And interestingly, the catalyst for her extreme ending seems to me to be her meeting with Shuichi.

This is now three central people to become cursed by the spiral that have a connection to Shuichi. His Father; his Mother; and now Azami. Maybe he has a connection to the spiral that we are yet to discover?

Azami was one of those pretty reserved girls

In Summary

The Scar is probably one of my favourite chapters from the Uzumaki series. Although I don’t remember reading a bad chapter (I have read it once before a couple of years ago) this is one that always sticks in my mind. Along with the Jack In The Box chapter. (More on that one in the coming posts).

This one is pretty light on the gore too. There are no scissors in ears or the cutting off of one’s own fingerprints in this chapter. Junji Ito always has a good sense of what is needed within a given story. What I mean by that is, there is never gore for gore’s sake. He isn’t trying to include more and more shocking or violent events with each new chapter. He seems happy to only include those images that will serve his story. And I’m very happy with that.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe we have seen the most violent after-effects of the spirals just yet. But I also believe that along the way we will have these relatively softer chapters that will let us catch our breath a little. If you can consider being devoured by a spiral soft. 🙂

Love As Scripted

In Love as Scripted, Junji Ito explores a very strange relationship between a young woman and a would-be Casanova.

I started to see past the script and its limitations, and I began imagining I was chatting with him for real.

Kaori watches the video that Takahashi made for her

Love as scripted — Synopsis

We join the story in the throws of an argument between a couple. Their names are Kaori and Takahashi. Kaori is very upset due to her boyfriend (Takahashi) telling her that he’s leaving her. In the heat of the row, Takahashi does something very unusual — he gives Kaori a video tape of himself to play whenever she misses him. The way that Ito draws him, makes me think that there is no evil intent in his actions; he seems sincere in his gift.

But Kaori, after having apparently been warned about him before, lashes out with a large kitchen knife. Then just as that knife is coming down towards him, we flashback to some time before they were together.

We go back to when Kaori was a new recruit in her theatre troupe and the screenwriter for that group was none other than Takahashi. When we see the beginnings of a romance start to blossom, she is warned off him by a friend in the group. But love is blind it seems, as she moves forward into her new relationship without regret.

We soon catch back up to the present day, where the results of her violent actions are revealed. But instead of worrying about needing to dispose of Takahashi’s body, she instead decides to play the video tape that he had gifted her. What this video contains is something very odd indeed, and may even be the reason why she could possibly fall in love with him all over again…

Video killed the…

This was an enjoyable read with little to no real body horror within, save for a single stabbing. Instead, Love As Scripted is more of a psychological look at love and what it possibly means to love someone.

Despite her actions, I found myself feeling sorry for Kaori — indeed all girls that Takahashi had presumably dumped in a similar way. I mean, technically there is no crime against dumping girls one after the other, but the way in which he does so can definitely be thought of as malicious.

And that is the key thing I wanted to explore here — the interpretation. Although I don’t condone how he seemed to mess these girls about, I couldn’t help but dig a little deeper into some of his possible motivations.

Man with a camera

Here we have a man who never really comes across as malicious in how he treats these ladies, at least not when he’s with them. Instead he seems to almost fall in love with each one in turn. Then the fact that he writes and records hours and hours of what is essentially a personal monologue, along with spaces for the video recipients to converse with the recording, makes me think that he is sincere with that gift. The way that Ito draws him also seems to support that theory.

Odd, yes. But sincere.

Maybe Takahashi suffers from a crippling inability to commit. Or perhaps he believes himself to be no good for these women? Maybe that’s why he goes to the trouble of making all of these recordings? Again, I’m not looking to condone any of his actions, I’m just trying to look at those actions from fresh angles.

But then he could always just be a complete bastard with zero regard for others’ feelings.

A predictable love

The real sadness in Love as Scripted, at least for me, was the conclusion of Kaori’s story. It’s a shame how her love, and anger, for Takahashi drove her to stab him. She pretty much seals her future with that fateful blow. It is also a shame how she realises just how much she loves him through the medium of the video that set the attack off.

Kaori isnt impressed with Takahashis video

But that video will never be self-aware. It will always be exactly the same tomorrow as it is today. It will never offer anything new by means of conversation and will never surprise her. But she seems content in this predictable love.

What I found perhaps most sad with her was that even when she realised what she had done, and is then offered a chance to save him, she just passes it up. She knows that her new Takahashi will never leave her; will never cheat on her; and will never upset her.

But ultimately it will never be able to love her either.

In conclusion

Although this is one of Junji Ito’s shorter stories, I found Love As Scripted to have lots of charm. Despite it being a sad, more psychological piece than others, I found myself enjoying what I was looking for between the pages.

Perhaps I am looking too deep into it. Maybe Junji Ito just thought of a weird idea for a relationship and just ran with it? Perhaps he had no real intentions of exploring deeper themes. But I like to believe that he knew full well all of the themes he was exploring.

I think that this story could be enjoyed thoroughly as an introduction to Junji Ito as well. And while it gives no indication as to depths he goes to with his more graphic depictions of horror, it does give you an introduction to his work and his excellent story telling.

The Spiral Obsession part 2 (Uzumaki part 2)

In the second part of the opening two-part story, The Spiral Obsession, we follow on from the shocking events of Shuichi’s father’s cremation.

Things are about to get much darker…

What’s inside… the human ear? Don’t tell me… there’s a spiral.

Mrs Saito becomes increasingly tormented by the spiral.

Synopsis — The Spiral Obsession part 2

High over the sky of Kurouzu-cho sits a blanket of spiral-shaped smoke, with what seems to be the face of Shuichi’s father coming out of it. This strange vision seems to be the last straw for Mrs Saito’s sanity though. She quickly suffers a breakdown and is immediately sent to a nearby hospital to monitor her fast-declining mental condition.

Mrs Saito soon becomes afflicted with the same cursed obsession as her husband before her – the Spiral; Uzumaki. She starts noticing the spirals all around her, as well as the natural spirals of the human body. This only serves to drive her further over the edge and further out of help’s reach.

But where the father would be embracing these spirals, she is instead physically repulsed by them.

After some disturbing nightmares, and some ungodly acts she performs on herself, she becomes convinced that there are spirals hidden away within her body — places she can’t get to with ease. But just how far will she go to rid her world, and herself, of the spiral shape that seems to be haunting her?

Searching for spirals

I found it interesting to be able to follow this first story line of the spiral through to see how it actually affected those left behind. Normally we are served an eye-watering final reveal by Junji Ito, only to be left to imagine the following events in our own minds. Think about the majority of stories in the Tomie Collection. Although I love a good cliffhanger to think over, I also love staying with these characters. I love exploring what comes to those affected after those big reveals.

This is what Uzumaki allows us to do here.

Although the actions of his father were weird and somewhat shocking at times, there were no real gross-out images in that first chapter ‐ save perhaps for the final state of the father and, of course, that tongue. However, nothing could have prepared Shuichi, or me for that matter, for what would become of his mother.

Effects of the Spiral

What was especially interesting to me was how the spiral seems to trigger different emotions in different people. Where the father would embrace the spiral, even being somewhat excited by it, the mother is disgusted and horrified by it.

Perhaps for the father the spiral was a path of wonder to journey to its secret centre. Whereas maybe the mother saw nothing but the inevitable dizzying descent into death and madness. Different interpretations of the same pattern could be a metaphor for how we as people can interpret the same events in life in vastly different ways.

Shuichi’s family has been torn apart by the spiral obsession. This has been exhibited by both of his parents now and I hope things start getting better for him. It seems somewhat ironic that the only person who seemed to feel something was wrong in Kurouzu-cho, Shuichi, is also the one most directly affected by it so far.

In Summary

If the first part of the spiral obsession was the somewhat calm introduction to Uzumaki, then this second part is the foot-to-the-floor, visceral continuation.

No longer is Junji Ito sugar-coating the effects of the spiral. No amusing curling tongues or cute pieces of pottery. He’s now showing us violent, nightmare-inducing images of what this obsession can actually do to people. God help the rest of the citizens in Kurouzu-cho.

I can’t wait to see where he takes us next…

The Spiral Obsession part 1 (Uzumaki part 1)

In the first part of The Spiral Obsession, we are introduced to the three central characters of Uzumaki — Kirie Goshima, Shuichi Saito and the Spiral pattern that haunts them.

You’ll see! You can express the spiral through your own body!!

Shuichi’s father’s obsession is getting out of hand.

Synopsis — The Spiral Obsession part 1

In this opening chapter of Uzumaki, we are introduced to the two central characters who we will follow throughout our spiral adventures. These two are Kirie Goshima, who is telling us the story, and her best friend Shuichi Saito.

Kurouzu-cho is a small coastal town that is home to both Kirie and Shuichi, as well as their respective families. Shuichi, however, does not go to school in the town — he goes to the nearby city of Midoriyama-shi instead. The reason for this is unknown, but his time spent outside of Kurouzu-cho has helped him realise something that all the other residents seem blind to…

…that something is very wrong with this place. Shuichi shows Kirie the strange spiral patterns in the water gutters around the town. They also cross paths with a few small whirlwinds that seem to pass by pretty often. But our real introduction to the horrors that the spiral is slowly bringing down upon them, is through the actions of Shuichi’s father.

A Father’s obsession

Shuichi’s father is the vessel for our first steps into this world of terror that Junji Ito is building up. Kirie first notices him in a small dark alleyway, his face up against a wall, transfixed by the pattern on a snail’s shell. This spiral obsession of his, however, is greater than just those found in nature.

Shuichi explains about the strangeness of his father’s new hobby, and his unhealthy interest in the spiral shape. He explains about the obsession that has stopped him from going to work or even coming close to leading a normal life. He even explains to Kirie of his father’s body slowly changing ‐ his eyes specifically being cursed by this evil pattern.

The spiral is slowly consuming him…

Tail end of the spiral

This is a perfect introduction to Uzumaki. We get up and running with an understanding of the central characters pretty quickly, considering this first chapter is only 45 pages long. I loved how Junji Ito hasn’t gone all out with the body horror here either. He eases us in gently for the most part, lullying us into that false sense of security no doubt. Yes, there are some moments of disgust, especially the big 2-page-spread reveal at the end. But he is surprisingly tame as he leads us on to his spiral path.

The characters in Uzumaki are your quintessential Ito characters. Kirie is the cute young woman who seems to have it all together; who is ultimately heading towards a scare that could either make or break her. And Shuichi is that troubled person with slightly darkened eyes who knows something is wrong. He’s a young man with a darkness weighing over him.

But what’s interesting here is, is that this darkness is weighing over all of the town’s people. It’s just that Shuichi seems to be the only one who notices it. I can’t wait to journey deeper into the cursed shape and find what lies at its heart.

Kirie finds Shuichi’s father in the alleyway

In conclusion

Uzumaki is one of the most well known, and highly regarded horror manga titles. Junji Ito really created something special with this 20-part story. His artwork within it is some of the best he’s even produced in my opinion, and the first part of The Spiral Obsession shows this off perfectly.

The opening colour panels are beautiful – especially the title page with Kirie looking out over the town from the hill above. The details later on really impressed me too. I loved the delicate details that Junji Ito put into producing what we discover inside the wooden tub at the end of this chapter. Despite the huge obsession that Shuichi’s father shows towards spirals, it is evident that Ito has at least that amount of obsession over his own perfection ‐ and it really pays off.

I would recommend every person and their dog to read this series. If you aren’t into horror then you probably aren’t going to find joy here. But if you are, or are just a little bit curious about what horror manga is all about, then this should be one of the very first places you go to.

Uzumaki by Junji Ito

Often seen in nature, the spiral could represent mystery and infinity. But in this series it also represents horror and cursed flesh.

If you like horror manga, or are even just vaguely aware of it, chances are that you have heard of this manga title. Uzumaki is pretty much the quintessential horror manga series and is one of the titles to cement Junji Ito’s title as the master of the genre.

What is Uzumaki about?

The word Uzumaki itself is Japanese for spiral. From wikipedia:

“In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving farther away as it revolves around the point.”

Wikipedia definition of a Spiral

And it is exactly this shape that is the core focus for the entirety of Junji Ito’s masterpiece. It starts off small, with one particular man’s interest in small shells and patterns he finds in nature. But, in true Ito style, the story quickly escalates into a terrifying journey into the depths of all spirals.

Slowly, over the course of twenty chapters, Junji Ito explores the spiral pattern in many different areas of life. All within a small coastal village in Japan and its residents. From schools to hospitals; from the young to the old; and from love through to terror and disgust.

An exploration in twenty parts

Over the course of the next few months, I will be exploring each of the chapters of Uzumaki in turn. I will be attempting to dig through the horrifying visions to find the meaning within the pages. To really dig deep and explore my own thoughts and feelings about this awesome series.

Much like the Tomie Series I wrote about, I feel that this series would do better as a series of posts, instead of just one huge post covering it all. There are just too many great parts and interesting characters to risk washing over any of them.

I invite you to join me

I would love for you to join me each week to explore the Uzumaki series. And if you find this post after several months of me having published it, you should have a collection of posts to read – one for each chapter.

Demon’s Voice

In Demon’s Voice, a group of fishermen are out on the open seas in search of Tuna. However, when they hear strange voices from across the ocean, very strange and disturbing things begin to happen.

Maybe it’s not a siren at all… maybe it’s the cry of a demon.

The voices begin to scare the crew — Demon’s Voice

Demon’s Voice — synopsis

Somewhere out in the middle of the ocean, a group of fishermen are scouting the open seas for a decent catch. It’s been a while since they have had a really good catch, but they continue on nonetheless — determined.

One night, whilst sailing across the deadly waves, a shrill cry is heard by the crew – what sounds like the voice; the voice of a demon. Luckily for one crew member, Koji, he happens to be inside the cabin with sea sickness when the voices begin.

The very next day, seemingly out of nowhere, the crew obtain the catch of their lives. In the nets they see masses of tuna; the biggest catch they could have ever imagined. Koji, however, sees what is really in those nets: a huge pile of rotting corpses pulled up out of the sea bed.

The crew, it seems, have started hallucinating – all except for Koji. The obvious cause seems to be the strange sounds from the night before. With Koji being ill in bed, he had failed to hear them. But what will happen once he hears them too? Once all of the crew are affected by those wailing sounds, what else will they end up dredging up from the ocean’s bed?

Characters

Thoughts on Demon’s Voice

A real mystery this one – a warning to sailors.

This seems to be inspired by the legends of the Sirens of the rocks – at least to me. The beautiful women who would lure sailors to their doom by sitting naked and playing sweet music. But in true Junji Ito style, we switch the sweet music for piercing night howls and naked ladies for rotting, horrifying corpses.

I always find the stories that are set in a single location interesting. It’s good to see how a writer crafts an engaging tale when working within a self-imposed limit like that. And Ito is as equipped as any of the best in doing so. The claustrophobia of the boat can be felt throughout, as can the imposing nature of the sea around them.

The idea of a small group of people being out on the open seas together is already a thought that could bring fears of isolation and the worry of having nowhere to turn for privacy. But when you throw in the idea of pulling up a load of old decaying corpses from the ocean floor, suddenly the great big ocean doesn’t feel so big any more.

Summary

Demon’s Voice is another short one shot story from Ito. The story is pretty straight forward and succinct. And like a lot of his shorter tales, packs a lot into its few pages.

He creates a world that could easily be further explored: What happens to this, and presumably other, crews? Where is this voice coming from? Why is there a malevolent force at work that is preying on innocent sailors.

I was reminded of another manga i’d read recently called “Mountain of Gods Precipice of the Unknown”. That too deals with an unknown force that is targeting a specific group of people. And for reasons unknown.

All in all, Demon’s Voice is a nice little story about the sirens in the ocean. Sail on.

The Bully

The Bully is one of those rare Junji Ito mangas that features no physical horror or gore. Instead, it’s horror is depicted through the bullying inflicted by the central character, Kuriko.

Synopsis: What is “The Bully” about?

In The Bully we follow Kuriko and the boys around her who end up suffering in one way or another. From the manga’s opening pages we are led to believe that she is a sweet woman who only wants to be honest with her husband-to-be.

We join Kuriko and her soon-to-be-Husband Yutaro at a local park, where they once played as children. She tells him how she wishes to confess details to him of her “dark past”, as she puts it. Kuriko tells him, and us through a flashback, of how she was once entrusted to look after a young boy, called Nao, when she was just a young girl herself.

But the trust put in her for that little boy’s welfare was misplaced, it seems. Kuriko goes on to reveal how, when Nao would start becoming too clingy with her, she would start bullying him. She started lightly with just screaming in his ear, but the story soon escalates her abuse into some pretty harsh scenes.

As the story of The Bully moves into it’s second half, it shows us how those earlier events have affected those people in the present day. We learn where those people are now in life and ultimately how Kuriko’s volatile nature affects each and every one of them.

Main Characters

A tough read at times

When we talk about horror with regards to Junji Ito, we often talk about the body horror aspects more often than not. We discuss slug-people, Spirals, and a certain girl who can not die. But in The Bully, Ito has crafted what I believe to be one of his most successfully-unnerving horror stories to date.

Although Kuriko is the main character here, I couldn’t help but empathise with Nao in those flashbacks. Where he was made to drink dirty water; where he was made to confront the scary dog “Devil”; and where he is beaten with a stick.

How Ito manages to bring to the page the horrors of being bullied is impressive. The innocent character of Nao was a perfect vessel in which we can put all of our hope and caring natures in to. Kuriko, on the other hand, was the perfect vessel for evil.

Although…

Kuriko is an interesting character

The fact that our introduction to Kuriko is at a point in life where she seems settled, and is opening up about her past, gave me a positive feeling about her. And just as negative first impressions can colour our image of people, I think positive ones can too.

Because of this, I found myself never really hating her, save for the dog scene and the beating. I found myself not liking her actions, but thinking about how we aren’t the same people as we were when we were younger. This doesn’t excuse those actions, but she is confessing through an apparent weight of guilt.

Of course in the story’s closing panels we do get to see her character transform into what she was perhaps destined to be. That closing panel of The Bully is one of the most frightening I have come across. Ito has always had a good eye for a great closing image that can haunt you, but this takes the prize.

History repeats itself?

When stories take on the heavy subject of abuse, there are often times when the one who was abused later becomes the abuser to another. The cycle of violence. But something that I found very intriguing in The Bully, was that Junji Ito seemed to turn those ideas on their heads.

Kuriko seemed to have a nice family upbringing from what I could see in the flashbacks and yet something in her snapped at a young age. Then after being bullied relentlessly by her, Nao seemed to actually grow up to become a well-adjusted adult. He had a solid job and actually reminisced about his younger days with a kind of fondness. Love is blind, it seems.

But the story’s big reveal doesn’t show this violent nature being passed on to her child, but instead — and ultimately more terrifying — it shows Kuriko relapsing and unleashing a scarier version of her buried self.

Not only do we know what she was capable of as a child, but we know she is now a fully grown woman with the added strength that brings. And we know she is mentally unstable — mistaking her young son for the once-young Nao. But what we don’t know, is what ends up happened to her new victim. With it ending with a walk to the park, perhaps the real horror will live on in our minds trying to imagine what will happen next.

In Summary

The Bully has been getting recommended to me for a while now, and I never got round to reading it until recently. Now I see what all the fuss is about. This story is one of Junji Ito’s crowning achievements in my opinion. The way that he has developed each of the characters and gone against what you would perhaps have guessed would happen with them, is a stroke of genius.

Ito never takes the easy way out; he always pushes up to the boundaries and often past them. Despite him being one of the most accessible horror manga artists of our time, he remains one of the most terrifying and creative too.

If you want to jump into the deep end of horror manga but without all of the blood and guts, then Junji Ito’s The Bully is literally the perfect example of a story to read. It is also a self-contained one shot, standing at just 30 pages. So you could read this in one short go.

Futon

Futon is the first, and shortest, story in the Fragments of Horror Collection. It centers around a man who refuses to come out from under his blanket, for fear of the invisible spirits around him.

What is Futon about?

This is a very short Horror Manga story. It shows a young couple who live in a small apartment together. The Husband, Tomio, refuses to come out from under his blanket on his futon. The Futon is his bed.

He warns his wife of what he calls the “Dark Nature Spirits” in the room. She believes none of it until she actually gets a similar experience for herself.

But are these visions simply a manifestation of some extreme anxiety that Tomio is experiencing? Or are they as literal as he makes them out to be?

Short and Sweet

The story is very much to the point, yet no less charming than Ito’s other tales. Futon doesn’t try to fill out unneeded pages just to increase the count. Junji Ito has created a short horror story and isn’t afraid to just let it be what it is.

I absolutely love the big ceiling reveal that shows the monsters that Tomio is convinced he is seeing. The detail in that double-page spread is so great and a testament to Ito’s gorgeous horror style.

I was fine too with the vague back story that Tomio gives to his wife about the apparent witch. Some eerie tales can stand up for their strangeness alone, without the need for a comprehensive explanation. I think Futon is one such story.

In Summary

Despite it’s super short length at just eight pages, this is one of the Stories by the legendary Horror Mangaka that I remember more often. That double page spread is one that lives in my memory as vivid as the page itself.

I just hope I never get to see such visions off the page.