Hey guys! I just wanted to give a quick update before I start my review. It’s been a while. I honestly been in a huge mood to blog since the beginning of March when COVID started happening. I really wasn’t reading a lot. I mainly was listening to audiobooks or reading comics. I feel I wasn’t into a lot of the books I read. Recently though I have been doing a lot of reading and really enjoying of the majority of books. So I’m happy to report that!
However I’m not sure exactly if I want to continue blogging. There has been so much happening and a part of me wants to read to enjoy books. I just want to read and not worry about reading and then right away having to put out a review. I’ve just been feeling a lot of emotions as of late. I’m sure there are others who have similar feelings. Another part of me really enjoys this aspect because I get to talk to so many wonderful and find out about so many wonderful books. I think I will post when I want to and not worry so much. I have stepped away from Twitter. I’m not on it as much as I use to be. I feel that’s what has been best for me. I will continue to come on here when I feel like it and want to post.
I just felt like a little update was in order. I hope you all have been doing well during these times. I look forward to hopefully posting more!
Shiver: Selected Stories (Junji Ito Collection ) BGenre: Manga, Horror, Short Stories
Pages: 400 pages
Published: December 19th 2017
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
My Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Synopsis: A best-of story selection by the master of horror manga.
This volume includes nine of Junji Ito’s best short stories, as selected by the author himself and presented with accompanying notes and commentary. An arm peppered with tiny holes dangles from a sick girl’s window… After an idol hangs herself, balloons bearing faces appear in the sky, some even featuring your own face… An amateur film crew hires an extremely individualistic fashion model and faces a real bloody ending… An offering of nine fresh nightmares for the delight of horror fans.
1. Used Record or Second-Hand Record (from House of the Marionettes, あやつりの屋敷 Ayatsuri no Yashiki), a story about people fighting over the ownership of a record that has a singer’s singing as they died recorded on it.
2. Shiver (from Slug Girl, なめくじの少女 Namekuji no Shoujo), a story about a cursed jade stone that causes holes to open up all over a person’s body if they’re around it.
3. Fashion Model (from Souichi’s Diary of Curses, 双一の呪い日記, Sōichi no Noroi no Nikki), a story about an oddly ominous fashion model.
4. Hanging Balloons (from The Face Burglar, 顔泥棒 Kao Dorobou), a story about balloon headed dopplegangers out to hunt their counterparts the moment they go outside.
5. Marionette Mansion (from House of the Marionettes, あやつりの屋敷 Ayatsuri no Yashiki), a story about a family who rather than deciding what they do or how they live, they instead hire puppeteers to control their actions via strings from the attic of their home.
6. Painter (from Tomie), a story about a strange but beautiful woman named Tomie who wishes for an artist to accurately capture her beauty, and all the misfortune that happens as a result…
7. The Long Dream (from The Story of the Mysterious Tunnel,トンネル奇譚 Ton’neru kitan), a story about a man who claims that the length of his dreams are becoming longer and longer and about how he begins to change as his dreams extend farther and farther.
8. Honored Ancestors (from The Face Burglar, 顔泥棒 Kao Dorobou), a story about an amnesiac girl and the encounter that caused her to lose her memories and about carrying on the family line. At all costs.
9. Greased (from Voices in the Dark, 闇の声 Yami no Koe, a story about oil and grease.
10. Fashion Model: Cursed Frame [new]
My Thoughts: So this book I thought was really cool. It’s a collection of Junji Ito’s best stories. All of these stories were picked out by him. I think my favorite part of this whole collection is that after the story he would comment on what inspired the story. I do have to say I was familiar with a decent amount of these stories because my boyfriend is a big fan. He has been trying to get me to read these stories for years now. He told me I should have talked about them on my blog when he first bought the various Junji Ito collections. Here I am now finally blogging about it! For this book I decided to review the stories individually. I felt at times I was a bit vague because I really didn’t want to give anything away. I feel it is best not knowing anything especially when it comes to horror. You want that element of surprise.
So here we go:
Used Record – I really enjoyed this one. I just think it’s so creepy and extremely eerie. The lengths people will go for something they can’t have. Great way to start the collection off!
Shiver – Okay this one was even creepier than the last. I don’t want to say much without giving anything away but holy crap are holes fucking terrifying. I know some people have fear of holes and I never thought much of it until today. Also their are bugs in this story and that’s the easiest way to creep me out.
Fashion Model – So this story I am actually a bit familiar with going in. I mainly forgot what happened in the story but I can’t forgot that face. I feel out of all the stories this one has that “this could happen in real life aspect.” Saying that I feel this could be the creepiest story out of all since it has elements that could be realistic.
Hanging Blimp – The author said he got the inspiration from a dream he was when he was little. Man I can’t imagine what other dreams he must have had. I feel this one is extremely morbid. I mean the amounts of people that end up dying in this story and the way they ended up dying… This is a story I’d view with caution.
Marionette Mansion – I think this story is my favorite so far. I just thought this one was so fun. It deals with puppets and puts forth the question of who is controlling who. It turns into this whole elaborate thing. Very enjoyable.
Painter – So this is one of the stories in this book that I’m familiar with. I got the jist of the story but forgot certain things. I ended up enjoying it. It feels in a way like a weird creepy stalker (kinda) story.
The Long Dream – This is another short story I am familiar with. This one is definitely more of a mental horror than actual horror. I mean having nightmares is terrifying so imagine one that felt like it went on for years. One was about searching for a bathroom for 8 years and that scared the shit out of me.
Honored Ancestors – Okay this definitely was one of the more weirder stories. It was all just very strange. I felt there had to be something up with the boy who continued to visit this girl that lost her memory. Didn’t realize how creepy things would get. (I don’t know how I didn’t realize when these are horror stories. I didn’t like this one as much but still was weirded out by it.
Greased – This was another story I was familiar with. I do have to admit I was glad it was at the end because my is this probably the grossest story in this collection. I get uncomfortable when hearing about it. If you’re grossed out by pimples, I would steer clear of this one.
Honestly I thought these were some great stories. I really liked that there was a mix of different types of horror in these stories. It isn’t all just in your face spooky. Some of the stories are more psychological. Plus I think it’s really cool that this book is all the stories that the author himself really enjoys. I feel like that is such an added plus. My boyfriend has a bunch of other collections at home which I can’t wait to read. If you’re into horror, I highly recommend checking out Junji Ito’s stories.
Have you guys ended up reading this manga? If so what were your thoughts on it. If not, is this manga on your TBR? Are you planning to read it? Let me know in the comments.
Bookish In Bed
Bookish In Bed 