REVIEW: Tombs: Junji Ito Story Collection Is a Hit-or-Miss, Yet Still Terrifying Anthology,While it may not be the most solid of Junji Ito's work, Tombs is still a scary good time that could benefit from more tension. Here's CBR's review.
REVIEW: Tombs: Junji Ito Story Collection Is a Hit-or-Miss, Yet Still Terrifying Anthology
When it comes to scaring manga fans, Junji Ito is consistently a master of his craft. Tombs: Junji Ito Story Collection is no exception. This latest horror outing by Ito is chocked full of his trademark spine-shivering fares — even if it features some hit-or-miss, less-than-stellar stories.
Like many of Ito's work, this is an anthology collection. The story, "Tombs," is the best of the bunch. The short tackles the absurdity of death and how one village goes to great lengths to keep an equally absurd tradition alive. "Tombs" takes daytime horror tropes and pulls it off with an oppressive and creepy vibe.
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Some of the other stories, while containing the grotesque beauty ubiquitous of Ito, are more ridiculous than scary. One such story is the iconic "Slug Girl." The final panel induces more giggles than it does gasps, but the body horror is still effective. "Clubhouse" works as a cautionary tale against tribalism, pitting the world of the living against the dead. One of the most disturbing stories, rivaling that of the eponymous "Tombs" is "The Bloody Story of Shirosuna." It's a story about villagers who, in a literal sense, become physical embodiments of a town. It involves blood, and lots of it. It's enough to make your skin crawl.
One of the best things about Ito's work is that it is timeless. There is a retro feel to his drawings that retain enough modernity to never feel dated. Everyone looks like they stepped out of an old-school Japanese horror film, but that's the charm. Horror manga buffs can easily recognize the influence from the works of fellow mangaka legend, Kazuo Umezu.
The translation of Tombs: Junji Ito Story Collection is top-notch. Viz Media seem to never rest when bringing high quality manga to English-speaking audiences that is easy to read. Considering that some of Ito's work is steeped in Japanese folklore, there are undoubtedly are a lot of phrases and sayings that would be tough to translate. Every page is presented with neat panels and clean dialogue bubbles, even in the more wordy sections, allowing for a breezy read. Even if some of the stories of Tombs work better than others, this manga is still a worthy addition to any horror fans' library, and is another feather in the growing library of works available from Junji Ito.
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