What do you think?
Rate this book
The Face Burglar; 顔泥棒; Kao Dorobou
The Face Burglar is volume four in the Horror World of Junji Ito collection (Itou Junji Kyoufu Manga Collection vol. 4). It was originally published in 1998 and contains 6 one-shots.
[CHAPTERS]
01. The Face Burglar - Machida is the new girl in school, and has unwillingly made a new best friend. One who takes identity theft to a whole new level.
02. Scarecrow AKA Kakashi - When a grieving father places a scarecrow on his daughter’s grave to scare chase away her boyfriend, it slowly starts to take her likeness.It doesn’t take long before the townspeople take notice and long to see their own loved ones again.
03. Falling - An unexplained rash of suicides hits a town. They all leave the same not, saying only ”something strange is going to happen in this town.” Soon townsfolk begin disappearing in the night, reappearing only when they fall from an empty sky to their death.
04. Red String - Iishi thought he was tied by fate to his girlfriend Momoko, but she still broke up with him. It only takes him a few days to get over it, but starts finding stitching of read thread all over his body.
05. My Dear Ancestors - Makita finds his friend in a strange state of amnesia when walking home from school one day. As she tries to start her life anew, she starts seeing hallucinations of a giant caterpillar.
06. The Hanging Balloons - Kazuko has locked herself up in her room, hiding from something that started with the death of her friend. A monster with a face thatresembles her own.
[CHAPTERS]
01. The Face Burglar - Machida is the new girl in school, and has unwillingly made a new best friend. One who takes identity theft to a whole new level.
02. Scarecrow AKA Kakashi - When a grieving father places a scarecrow on his daughter’s grave to scare chase away her boyfriend, it slowly starts to take her likeness.It doesn’t take long before the townspeople take notice and long to see their own loved ones again.
03. Falling - An unexplained rash of suicides hits a town. They all leave the same not, saying only ”something strange is going to happen in this town.” Soon townsfolk begin disappearing in the night, reappearing only when they fall from an empty sky to their death.
04. Red String - Iishi thought he was tied by fate to his girlfriend Momoko, but she still broke up with him. It only takes him a few days to get over it, but starts finding stitching of read thread all over his body.
05. My Dear Ancestors - Makita finds his friend in a strange state of amnesia when walking home from school one day. As she tries to start her life anew, she starts seeing hallucinations of a giant caterpillar.
06. The Hanging Balloons - Kazuko has locked herself up in her room, hiding from something that started with the death of her friend. A monster with a face thatresembles her own.
221 pages, Comic
First published January 1, 1998
8 people are currently reading
563 people want to read
About the author
Junji Ito
223 books14.8k followersJunji Itō (Japanese: 伊藤潤二, Ito Junji) is a Japanese cartoonist and illustrator, best known for his horror manga.
Ito was born in Gifu Prefecture, Japan in 1963. He was inspired to make art from a young age by his older sister's drawing and Kazuo Umezu's horror comics. Until the early 1990s he worked as a dental technician, while making comics as a side job. By the time he turned into a full time mangaka, Ito was already an acclaimed horror artists.
His comics are celebrated for their finely depicted body horrors, while also retaining some elements of psychological horror and erotism.
Although he mostly produces short stories, Ito is best known for his longer comic series: Tomie (1987-2000), about a beautiful high school girl who inspires her admirers to commit atrocities; Uzumaki (1998-1999), set in a town cursed with spiral patterns; Gyo (2001-2002), featuring a horde of metal-legged undead fishes. Tomie and Uzumaki in particular have been adapted multiple times in live-action and animation.
Ito was born in Gifu Prefecture, Japan in 1963. He was inspired to make art from a young age by his older sister's drawing and Kazuo Umezu's horror comics. Until the early 1990s he worked as a dental technician, while making comics as a side job. By the time he turned into a full time mangaka, Ito was already an acclaimed horror artists.
His comics are celebrated for their finely depicted body horrors, while also retaining some elements of psychological horror and erotism.
Although he mostly produces short stories, Ito is best known for his longer comic series: Tomie (1987-2000), about a beautiful high school girl who inspires her admirers to commit atrocities; Uzumaki (1998-1999), set in a town cursed with spiral patterns; Gyo (2001-2002), featuring a horde of metal-legged undead fishes. Tomie and Uzumaki in particular have been adapted multiple times in live-action and animation.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
September 24, 2019
Okay, I will start this review with a confession. I, a full-grown woman, horror fan since my early teens, who has seen/read thousands of horror stories; was sh*t-scared or re-reading this volume. Why? Because this volume contains one of the most unsettling sequence of images I ever came across, and that is non other than the short story My Dear Ancestors. Man, just the name of this story has me shivering.
And mind you, I am not easily scared.
Now, I understand that finding something terrifying, just like finding something funny, is a very subjective thing; that the experiences and the imagery we've been exposed to in our early years influence our sense of horror, creating a different experience for everyone approaching any sort of horror movie, book, etc. That is why I surely recognize the talent of many horror authors and movie directors, but only some of them I find truly scary. Junji Ito is definetely one of them.
If I had to pinpoint the reason why his work unsettles me so much, it would be a very hard task. I know, for example, that he can bring tears of panic in my eyes by only drawing one face (see following volumes), and that some of his work I read years ago is still vividly impressed in my memory (as is the case for the story mentioned above).
The horrific disfigurement of the human face, the unsettling eyes, the black ink scratching around deformed monsters mocking the human form; all of this paired with horrifying stories, different to the point of absurdity. Sometimes, when I face Junji Ito's work, I stop to think: what the heck is this and where does it come from? What kind of brain can produce such fantastical madness?
I understand that, for a person who's never read his work, or maybe even for someone who did but has very different taste than me, this whole review may seem a little exaggerated, especially because the images I chose to add are on the "soft" side... But I dare you, my friend, to pick up one of his volumes, maybe even this one, and then spend a night alone in a dark house...
And mind you, I am not easily scared.
Now, I understand that finding something terrifying, just like finding something funny, is a very subjective thing; that the experiences and the imagery we've been exposed to in our early years influence our sense of horror, creating a different experience for everyone approaching any sort of horror movie, book, etc. That is why I surely recognize the talent of many horror authors and movie directors, but only some of them I find truly scary. Junji Ito is definetely one of them.
If I had to pinpoint the reason why his work unsettles me so much, it would be a very hard task. I know, for example, that he can bring tears of panic in my eyes by only drawing one face (see following volumes), and that some of his work I read years ago is still vividly impressed in my memory (as is the case for the story mentioned above).
The horrific disfigurement of the human face, the unsettling eyes, the black ink scratching around deformed monsters mocking the human form; all of this paired with horrifying stories, different to the point of absurdity. Sometimes, when I face Junji Ito's work, I stop to think: what the heck is this and where does it come from? What kind of brain can produce such fantastical madness?
I understand that, for a person who's never read his work, or maybe even for someone who did but has very different taste than me, this whole review may seem a little exaggerated, especially because the images I chose to add are on the "soft" side... But I dare you, my friend, to pick up one of his volumes, maybe even this one, and then spend a night alone in a dark house...
August 20, 2023
The face burglar :- 3 stars
Scarecrow :- 2 stars
Falling :- 3 stars
Red string :- 4 stars
My dear Ancestors :- 5 stars
The hanging ballon :- 5 stars
Overall ~~ 3 stars.
A very bizzare collection as expected from Mr. Ito. My fav stories were my dear ancestors and hanging ballon which I already read in the Shiver collection.
Scarecrow :- 2 stars
Falling :- 3 stars
Red string :- 4 stars
My dear Ancestors :- 5 stars
The hanging ballon :- 5 stars
Overall ~~ 3 stars.
A very bizzare collection as expected from Mr. Ito. My fav stories were my dear ancestors and hanging ballon which I already read in the Shiver collection.
June 19, 2024
لص الوجه .🎀✨️
هي مانغا يابانية من تأليف ورسم جونجي إيتو، نشرت من قبل أساهي سونوراما في مجلة هالوين الشهرية وفي مجلة نيموكو، منذ ديسمبر عام 1987 حتى عام 1997، تم تجمع فصول المانغا من قبل أساهي سونوراما في مجلد تانكوبون واحد، نشر في يناير عام 1998. هذه المانغا هي المجلد الرابع من مجموعة جونجي إيتو.
القصة🎀✨️
لص الوجه :
تدور أحداث القصة عن يومي ماتشيدا هي الفتاة أنتقلت إلى مدرسة جديدة، توجد في فصلها فتاتان توائم، تبدأ أحداهما في متابعتها، مما يثير استياءها.
فزاعة :
تدور أحداث القصة عن نوماتا هو رجل حزين على وفاة ابنته يوكي، و يزور قبرها باستمرا على الرغم من مرور أسابيع على جنازتها، ويضع فزاعة على قبرها ليخيف صديقها توشيو، الذي يعتبره السبب في وفاتها، بمرور الوقت
أخذ الفزاعة صورة ابنته، وسرعان ما يحذو أهل القرية حذوه.
السقوط :
تدور أحداث القصة عن سلسلة من حالات الانتحار الغربية التي تحدث في المدينة، ويبدأ سكان المدينة في الاختفاء في الليل، ويعودون إلى الظهور عندما يسقطون من سماء إلى الأرض ويموتون.
الخيط الأحمر :
تدور أحداث القصة عن إيشي الذي تركته صديقته موموكو ساكوراي، مما دفعه إلى ترك المدرسة لثلاثة أيام، من أجل التغلب على حزنه. عندما عاد إلى المدرسة اكتشف بعض الغرز الحمراء الغريبة على معصمه، ثم على بطنه، ويحاول إيشي أن يكتشف مصدرها.
أسلافي الأعزاء :
تدور أحداث القصة عن ماكيتا الذي يجد صديقته ريسا تتجول بلا هدف في المدينة، اكتشف أنها فقدت ذكرياتها، عندما طلب المساعدة الطبيب، أخبره أنها ربما شاهدت شيئًا مؤلمًا قبل أن تفقد ذكرياتها، عندما عادت ريسا إلى المنزل، أصبحت وتعاني من كوابيس عن يرقات عملاقة، ولكنها لم تعرف ما هو الذي تسبب في فقدان الذاكرتها. يريد ماكيتا المساعدتها في استعادو ذكرياتها ويطلب منها الحضور إلى منزله.
البالونات المعلقة :
تدور أحداث القصة عن كازوكو التي انتحرت صديقتها فوجينو تيرومي، بشنق نفسها في الأماكان عام، مع انتشار أخبر وفاتها، تنتشر موجة من حالات الانتحار المقلدة، مما أدى إلى انتشار شائعات غريبة عن شبح تيرومي.
١٠\١٠✨️
هي مانغا يابانية من تأليف ورسم جونجي إيتو، نشرت من قبل أساهي سونوراما في مجلة هالوين الشهرية وفي مجلة نيموكو، منذ ديسمبر عام 1987 حتى عام 1997، تم تجمع فصول المانغا من قبل أساهي سونوراما في مجلد تانكوبون واحد، نشر في يناير عام 1998. هذه المانغا هي المجلد الرابع من مجموعة جونجي إيتو.
القصة🎀✨️
لص الوجه :
تدور أحداث القصة عن يومي ماتشيدا هي الفتاة أنتقلت إلى مدرسة جديدة، توجد في فصلها فتاتان توائم، تبدأ أحداهما في متابعتها، مما يثير استياءها.
فزاعة :
تدور أحداث القصة عن نوماتا هو رجل حزين على وفاة ابنته يوكي، و يزور قبرها باستمرا على الرغم من مرور أسابيع على جنازتها، ويضع فزاعة على قبرها ليخيف صديقها توشيو، الذي يعتبره السبب في وفاتها، بمرور الوقت
أخذ الفزاعة صورة ابنته، وسرعان ما يحذو أهل القرية حذوه.
السقوط :
تدور أحداث القصة عن سلسلة من حالات الانتحار الغربية التي تحدث في المدينة، ويبدأ سكان المدينة في الاختفاء في الليل، ويعودون إلى الظهور عندما يسقطون من سماء إلى الأرض ويموتون.
الخيط الأحمر :
تدور أحداث القصة عن إيشي الذي تركته صديقته موموكو ساكوراي، مما دفعه إلى ترك المدرسة لثلاثة أيام، من أجل التغلب على حزنه. عندما عاد إلى المدرسة اكتشف بعض الغرز الحمراء الغريبة على معصمه، ثم على بطنه، ويحاول إيشي أن يكتشف مصدرها.
أسلافي الأعزاء :
تدور أحداث القصة عن ماكيتا الذي يجد صديقته ريسا تتجول بلا هدف في المدينة، اكتشف أنها فقدت ذكرياتها، عندما طلب المساعدة الطبيب، أخبره أنها ربما شاهدت شيئًا مؤلمًا قبل أن تفقد ذكرياتها، عندما عادت ريسا إلى المنزل، أصبحت وتعاني من كوابيس عن يرقات عملاقة، ولكنها لم تعرف ما هو الذي تسبب في فقدان الذاكرتها. يريد ماكيتا المساعدتها في استعادو ذكرياتها ويطلب منها الحضور إلى منزله.
البالونات المعلقة :
تدور أحداث القصة عن كازوكو التي انتحرت صديقتها فوجينو تيرومي، بشنق نفسها في الأماكان عام، مع انتشار أخبر وفاتها، تنتشر موجة من حالات الانتحار المقلدة، مما أدى إلى انتشار شائعات غريبة عن شبح تيرومي.
١٠\١٠✨️
June 12, 2021
I greatly prefer when Ito limits himself to a certain amount of pages, because every box is filled to the brim with terror and tension. The Weather Girls were right.
September 23, 2015
The Basics
A collection of horror one-shots. The title story tells of a tragic and dangerous shape-shifter, a stealer of faces.
My Thoughts
As opposed to the previous volume, this was definitely more on track of what I love to see from Ito. In particular, “Falling” captured perfectly that penchant for tragedy that Ito has. His horror becomes more effective not just for the cosmic nature of it in most of what he writes, but for the empathy with the characters. In the case of “Falling”, we are told the story through the eyes of a husband watching his wife suffer from a mysterious illness, and it feels like this is where Ito found the personal story within the horror that made it that much more effective.
I’m also a fan of “Scarecrows”, another horror story that finds a personal, empathic edge that makes it all the sharper. But the star of this collection is definitely “The Hanging Balloons”. The artwork is incredible, which makes the very idea of it, and it’s a very strange idea, truly terrifying.
Ito rarely explains why a thing is happening. Mostly he just presents the events, and no one ever gets an explanation. For me, this makes the whole thing scarier. What’s worse than stumbling blindly into a void? What tickles at our fear centers more than the unknown? But I could see this annoying some readers, so fair warning.
In truth, there isn’t a weak story to be found in this volume, and I highly recommend it.
Final Rating
5/5
A collection of horror one-shots. The title story tells of a tragic and dangerous shape-shifter, a stealer of faces.
My Thoughts
As opposed to the previous volume, this was definitely more on track of what I love to see from Ito. In particular, “Falling” captured perfectly that penchant for tragedy that Ito has. His horror becomes more effective not just for the cosmic nature of it in most of what he writes, but for the empathy with the characters. In the case of “Falling”, we are told the story through the eyes of a husband watching his wife suffer from a mysterious illness, and it feels like this is where Ito found the personal story within the horror that made it that much more effective.
I’m also a fan of “Scarecrows”, another horror story that finds a personal, empathic edge that makes it all the sharper. But the star of this collection is definitely “The Hanging Balloons”. The artwork is incredible, which makes the very idea of it, and it’s a very strange idea, truly terrifying.
Ito rarely explains why a thing is happening. Mostly he just presents the events, and no one ever gets an explanation. For me, this makes the whole thing scarier. What’s worse than stumbling blindly into a void? What tickles at our fear centers more than the unknown? But I could see this annoying some readers, so fair warning.
In truth, there isn’t a weak story to be found in this volume, and I highly recommend it.
Final Rating
5/5
August 3, 2021
4.5
De nuevo Ito vuelve a sorprender con sus historias. Sin duda después de leer todo lo que he podido leer, se ha convertido en mi mangaka favorito, sin duda.
En esta antología se nos combinan diversos temas: suicidio, venganza, antiguos ancestros, todos ellos utilizados a la perfección a través de diversas historias, en las cuales habrá sangre, tripas, cabezas colgando, etc.
Una antología fantástica, que recomiendo a todos.
Mis historias favoritas fueron:
- Espantapájaros
- Cayendo
- Los Globos Asesinos
De nuevo Ito vuelve a sorprender con sus historias. Sin duda después de leer todo lo que he podido leer, se ha convertido en mi mangaka favorito, sin duda.
En esta antología se nos combinan diversos temas: suicidio, venganza, antiguos ancestros, todos ellos utilizados a la perfección a través de diversas historias, en las cuales habrá sangre, tripas, cabezas colgando, etc.
Una antología fantástica, que recomiendo a todos.
Mis historias favoritas fueron:
- Espantapájaros
- Cayendo
- Los Globos Asesinos
July 19, 2021
Overall not my favorite. The first four stories are pretty run of the mill in my opinion and don't really have much of the grotesque art that I associate with Ito. The fifth story - My Dear Ancestors - is actually one of my favorites and the last one - The Hanging Balloons - is pretty decent but for the most part the stories in this volume just didn't grab me.
December 30, 2019
tw: strong theme of suicide
October 20, 2020
Suicide and creepy imagery revolving around human heads seemed to be the main theme here. The best stories in my opinion were Scarecrow and The Hanging Balloons, the rest were just okay and didn't have the same level of impact as many other Junji Ito collections.
Scarecrow is the story of a grieving father placing a scarecrow on his daughter’s grave to scare away her boyfriend and it slowly begins to resemble her. It doesn’t take long before the townspeople take notice and long to see their own loved ones again. Everyone begins to plant scarecrows on their loved ones graves and the dead come back to reveal secrets about their deaths and the afterlife. Makes you think about what might be going through a person's head the moment before they die and about what kind of secrets they carry with them to the grave.
Balloons is the story about a girl named Kazuko who has locked herself up in her room, hiding from something that started with the death of her friend. A monster with a face that resembles her own is after her, and soon flying heads with nooses hanging from their necks try to lure everyone that looks like them into committing suicide for mysterious purposes.
***
My Social Media
My YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPPs...
My Instagram Account: https://www.instagram.com/michael_sor...
My Wattpad Account: https://www.wattpad.com/user/Michael-...
My Twitter Account: https://twitter.com/SorbelloHorror
My Facebook Account: https://www.facebook.com/michael.sorb...
Scarecrow is the story of a grieving father placing a scarecrow on his daughter’s grave to scare away her boyfriend and it slowly begins to resemble her. It doesn’t take long before the townspeople take notice and long to see their own loved ones again. Everyone begins to plant scarecrows on their loved ones graves and the dead come back to reveal secrets about their deaths and the afterlife. Makes you think about what might be going through a person's head the moment before they die and about what kind of secrets they carry with them to the grave.
Balloons is the story about a girl named Kazuko who has locked herself up in her room, hiding from something that started with the death of her friend. A monster with a face that resembles her own is after her, and soon flying heads with nooses hanging from their necks try to lure everyone that looks like them into committing suicide for mysterious purposes.
***
My Social Media
My YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPPs...
My Instagram Account: https://www.instagram.com/michael_sor...
My Wattpad Account: https://www.wattpad.com/user/Michael-...
My Twitter Account: https://twitter.com/SorbelloHorror
My Facebook Account: https://www.facebook.com/michael.sorb...
January 19, 2022
I freaking love Junji Ito, Sensei!
* * *
Hibino: "Now you listen. I'm not interested in stolen beauty."
Buuuuurn!
* * *
The chapter Scarecrows is distuuuuurbing. Reminds me of the film Jeepers Creepers...
* * *
So is this 'red string' business about love? I think it's about cutting off a person in your life because sometimes it's too much and it's suffocating you. But boy is this chapter creepy.
* * *
For the chapter My Dear Ancestors, welp, that's a great one. One of my favorites.
* * *
January 20, 2022 — review for re-read
The Junji Ito Horror Manga Collection #4
Chapters:
• The Face Burglar
• Scarecrows
• Falling
• Red String
• My Dear Ancestors
• The Hanging Balloons
* * *
Hibino: "Now you listen. I'm not interested in stolen beauty."
Buuuuurn!
* * *
The chapter Scarecrows is distuuuuurbing. Reminds me of the film Jeepers Creepers...
* * *
So is this 'red string' business about love? I think it's about cutting off a person in your life because sometimes it's too much and it's suffocating you. But boy is this chapter creepy.
* * *
For the chapter My Dear Ancestors, welp, that's a great one. One of my favorites.
* * *
January 20, 2022 — review for re-read
The Junji Ito Horror Manga Collection #4
Chapters:
• The Face Burglar
• Scarecrows
• Falling
• Red String
• My Dear Ancestors
• The Hanging Balloons
January 2, 2017
The story about the hanging balloons were SOOOO GOOOD. But the other stories were just ok.
April 11, 2024
Probably this is my 2nd review?
Since I don't remember character's name and story all detailed to write reviews I'm thinking I'll review book while reading books
Chapter 1: at chapter one a delinquent girl machida transfer to this school and from the moment she started attending class a girl called kimei started following her even before machida spoke or showed a fraction of her "personality" or even spoke. When machida got sick of beating kimei to stop her from following her didn't work she want to kimei's twin sister to complain but she claims that kimei isn't her sister and other classmates also supported her on that and it turns out this kimei girl can change her face to anyone she stays near to? And even though everyone knows it even teachers they doesn't see it as something abnormal? Maybe they got used to it. Kimei confesses later that the main reason she steals pretty girl's face is to impress a classmate called Hidino. Teacher later reveals she isn't a student of their school they doesn't know where she came from. Which seems quite odd that teachers will let a strange "creature" like this be their , and doesn't those teachers and students talk about it outside school? Like there's no doctor, scientist or anyone who try to examine her? (Maybe I'm trying to make too much sense just from a manga chapter cuz I'm high)
Chapter 2: if you place a scarecrow on a grave the scarecrow's face will take face of that person, just face it won't talk, move or anything and that's the plot. I only wanna talk about the shigeru family here, shigeru dies and her mother watching other villegers able to see their dead family members face she become desperate and put a scarecrow in her son's grave, but her husband was protesting not to because its disrespectful and she's acting insane and all but later when that scarecrow's face take forms of her son's face but it's expression is scared and she thinks it's because her husband is around and he's scared of his husband and while her husband dies by that scarecrow falling in his stomach she showed no sympathy or sadness for her husband which make me wonder who was actually insane
Since I don't remember character's name and story all detailed to write reviews I'm thinking I'll review book while reading books
Chapter 1: at chapter one a delinquent girl machida transfer to this school and from the moment she started attending class a girl called kimei started following her even before machida spoke or showed a fraction of her "personality" or even spoke. When machida got sick of beating kimei to stop her from following her didn't work she want to kimei's twin sister to complain but she claims that kimei isn't her sister and other classmates also supported her on that and it turns out this kimei girl can change her face to anyone she stays near to? And even though everyone knows it even teachers they doesn't see it as something abnormal? Maybe they got used to it. Kimei confesses later that the main reason she steals pretty girl's face is to impress a classmate called Hidino. Teacher later reveals she isn't a student of their school they doesn't know where she came from. Which seems quite odd that teachers will let a strange "creature" like this be their , and doesn't those teachers and students talk about it outside school? Like there's no doctor, scientist or anyone who try to examine her? (Maybe I'm trying to make too much sense just from a manga chapter cuz I'm high)
Chapter 2: if you place a scarecrow on a grave the scarecrow's face will take face of that person, just face it won't talk, move or anything and that's the plot. I only wanna talk about the shigeru family here, shigeru dies and her mother watching other villegers able to see their dead family members face she become desperate and put a scarecrow in her son's grave, but her husband was protesting not to because its disrespectful and she's acting insane and all but later when that scarecrow's face take forms of her son's face but it's expression is scared and she thinks it's because her husband is around and he's scared of his husband and while her husband dies by that scarecrow falling in his stomach she showed no sympathy or sadness for her husband which make me wonder who was actually insane
March 3, 2020
Volume 4 had 6 chapters, 2 of which are translated in English (Shiver).
01. The Face Burglar, 02. Scarecrow, 03. Falling, 04. Red String, 05. Honored Ancestors, 06. Hanging Blimps
This wasnt my favorite volume in terms of the stories, but it was still very good. I think the falling one was a bit interesting and of course the Hanging Blimp and Honored Ancestors were the favorites from this volume and are translated in our English version, Shiver. Scarecrow was a pretty good one as well, it was in the anime, and I really do like it. I think I would’ve liked this more if I hadn’t already read/watched 3/6 of the chapters.
Putting just the personal things about already reading some of them. The Honored Ancestors is definitely a grotesque, scary story. As well as the Hanging Blimps. These two are some of my top favorites in terms of overall stories from Ito. If you like his work, you’ll like this. The most disappointing story was probably chapter 1, the face burglar. So far I’d put it down in my least favorites. It was simple and is okay, but it wasn’t the normal “wow!” Feeling.
01. The Face Burglar, 02. Scarecrow, 03. Falling, 04. Red String, 05. Honored Ancestors, 06. Hanging Blimps
This wasnt my favorite volume in terms of the stories, but it was still very good. I think the falling one was a bit interesting and of course the Hanging Blimp and Honored Ancestors were the favorites from this volume and are translated in our English version, Shiver. Scarecrow was a pretty good one as well, it was in the anime, and I really do like it. I think I would’ve liked this more if I hadn’t already read/watched 3/6 of the chapters.
Putting just the personal things about already reading some of them. The Honored Ancestors is definitely a grotesque, scary story. As well as the Hanging Blimps. These two are some of my top favorites in terms of overall stories from Ito. If you like his work, you’ll like this. The most disappointing story was probably chapter 1, the face burglar. So far I’d put it down in my least favorites. It was simple and is okay, but it wasn’t the normal “wow!” Feeling.
November 24, 2022
I think I truly detest early-stage Ito. Just shock-shlock exploitation stories that use suicide and rape to say nothing at all. Didn't think I could hate this man more after
Tomie
, but here we are.
I highly recommend Slug Girl , The Town Without Streets , and The Mysterious Tunnel . Those collections are filled with disorienting labyrinths of dread. They're much more cosmic and absurd in tone, dealing with architectural, oneiric, and spectral monstrosities.
I highly recommend Slug Girl , The Town Without Streets , and The Mysterious Tunnel . Those collections are filled with disorienting labyrinths of dread. They're much more cosmic and absurd in tone, dealing with architectural, oneiric, and spectral monstrosities.
September 17, 2023
Continuing to read the series felt so good. Every story is wrapped up perfectly for my on-the-go quick read. Kinda crazy how they can manage to pull off such a vibe with just one chapter. I like this kind of unconnected story because I don't need to remember anything. The characters names change every chapter, no detail is need to be able to enjoy the story, and its also an advantage for the author too. Because if its a continuous story like Uzumaki, the characters in it looks so dumb.
Art is great as always. I can't say its beautiful tho, cus they draw literal monster and nightmare fuel panel to panel. The characters usually have similar design. I mean it is to be expected if you have a ton of characters in one manga. Also the story is oversimplistic, so does the characters personality too. So far i've been enjoying this series and i look forward to more horrorness in the next volume.
Art is great as always. I can't say its beautiful tho, cus they draw literal monster and nightmare fuel panel to panel. The characters usually have similar design. I mean it is to be expected if you have a ton of characters in one manga. Also the story is oversimplistic, so does the characters personality too. So far i've been enjoying this series and i look forward to more horrorness in the next volume.
April 23, 2024
The Face Burglar: 3 stars. A mysterious girl who can steal people's faces. Pretty cool concept, right? No, she's going to suffer and explode.
Scarecrows: 4 stars. This story is all about putting a scarecrow in a grave to look like someone who passed away. It's creepy and not that scary.
Falling: 2 stars. Imagine people randomly floating in the sky and then crashing back down. Intriguing however it doesn't explain why it occurred.
Red String: 3.5 stars. A guy dealing with heartbreak has a red string manifest on his body. Super symbolic and emotional.
My Dear Ancestors: 4 stars. This one dives into creepy family ties that go a bit too far. Really gives me the chills! It's not a caterpillar Risa just heads of your boyfriend's relatives.
Hanging Balloons: 4.5 stars. Freaky balloons with nooses around their necks floating around. Talk about nightmare fuel!
Scarecrows: 4 stars. This story is all about putting a scarecrow in a grave to look like someone who passed away. It's creepy and not that scary.
Falling: 2 stars. Imagine people randomly floating in the sky and then crashing back down. Intriguing however it doesn't explain why it occurred.
Red String: 3.5 stars. A guy dealing with heartbreak has a red string manifest on his body. Super symbolic and emotional.
My Dear Ancestors: 4 stars. This one dives into creepy family ties that go a bit too far. Really gives me the chills! It's not a caterpillar Risa just heads of your boyfriend's relatives.
Hanging Balloons: 4.5 stars. Freaky balloons with nooses around their necks floating around. Talk about nightmare fuel!
January 10, 2019
This collection has some far out ideas that in describing them may not seem that scary, and yet Ito somehow pulls it off so that when you read them, they creep you out big time.
Face Burglars - a weird revenge tale with a disturbing ending.
Scarecrows - a more somber piece that manages to squeeze some pathos from one of autumn's favorite creepy symbols.
Falling - Lovecraft would of loved this story.
Red String - way before Suzuya and Tokyo Ghoul made red threading popular.
My Dear Ancestors - you will never look at caterpillars the same way again.
Hanging Balloons - I'm not even going to try and describe what this story is about but it's whack.
Face Burglars - a weird revenge tale with a disturbing ending.
Scarecrows - a more somber piece that manages to squeeze some pathos from one of autumn's favorite creepy symbols.
Falling - Lovecraft would of loved this story.
Red String - way before Suzuya and Tokyo Ghoul made red threading popular.
My Dear Ancestors - you will never look at caterpillars the same way again.
Hanging Balloons - I'm not even going to try and describe what this story is about but it's whack.
April 15, 2020
Finally, we have reached the "essential Junji Ito." Stories like "Falling" and the iconic "Hanging Balloons" introduce the inexplicable, apocalyptic quality Ito's longer works thrive on, and strongly point to the blend of mundane social phenomena and unimaginable horror that give him such a Lynchian feel. The story about ancestral brain transmission takes a while to pick up, but the final visuals and the truly grim final page are worth the wait. Even lesser stories like "Scarecrows" pack a dreamlike punch. Only the title story doesn't land perfectly- otherwise, this book is a knockout.
April 5, 2022
• Chapter 1: The Face Burglar ⭐⭐
• Chapter 2: Scarecrows ⭐⭐⭐
• Chapter 3: Falling ⭐⭐⭐
• Chapter 4: Red String ⭐⭐
• Chapter 5: My Dear Ancestors ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Chapter 6: The Hanging Balloons ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
So many WTF moments in this volume. The first 4 chapter was mid. Chapter 5 and 6 are superb! Top notch creepy and horror vibe 🤌🏻
• Chapter 2: Scarecrows ⭐⭐⭐
• Chapter 3: Falling ⭐⭐⭐
• Chapter 4: Red String ⭐⭐
• Chapter 5: My Dear Ancestors ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Chapter 6: The Hanging Balloons ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
So many WTF moments in this volume. The first 4 chapter was mid. Chapter 5 and 6 are superb! Top notch creepy and horror vibe 🤌🏻
July 19, 2022
a glimpse into junji ito's early days, his ideas are unique even back then but the story telling, art and overall execution wasn't really as impactful as his later works in other collections.
it's kinda nice to see an artist's earlier work and realized how far they've come and grown into their current level of artistry tho.
it's kinda nice to see an artist's earlier work and realized how far they've come and grown into their current level of artistry tho.
January 22, 2023
The Face Burglar: ⭐⭐⭐½. The little shit got what she deserved.
Scarecrows: ⭐⭐⭐. Good way of making scarecrows creepier than they naturally are.
Falling: ⭐⭐. Meh.
Red String: ⭐⭐⭐. Red string theory taken extremely far lmao.
My Dear Ancestors: ⭐⭐⭐⭐. Mysterious and then disturbing. The way my skin crawled with that reveal and the ending...
The Hanging Balloons: ⭐⭐⭐⭐. Horrific.
Scarecrows: ⭐⭐⭐. Good way of making scarecrows creepier than they naturally are.
Falling: ⭐⭐. Meh.
Red String: ⭐⭐⭐. Red string theory taken extremely far lmao.
My Dear Ancestors: ⭐⭐⭐⭐. Mysterious and then disturbing. The way my skin crawled with that reveal and the ending...
The Hanging Balloons: ⭐⭐⭐⭐. Horrific.
September 7, 2017
I love Junji Ito because his stories are always creepy and interesting, and the art is amazing. These aren't really scary in a gory way, but they leave you with a weird feeling and a different way of thinking. My favorites were "The Hanging Balloons" and "Scarecrows".
December 8, 2019
Rating: 3 stars
The Itou Junji Kyoufu Collection 4 is a collection of horror short stories with various characters.
For those who are interested to start reading Ito's horror mangas, this is a good start.
The Itou Junji Kyoufu Collection 4 is a collection of horror short stories with various characters.
For those who are interested to start reading Ito's horror mangas, this is a good start.
August 13, 2022
3.0 stars
some stories were better than others but overall, definitely not a bad collection. a lot of the endings were just way too abrupt and I like when stories leave room for interpretation but why were these rooms the size of a hall? I don't want to interpret the whole story 😳
some stories were better than others but overall, definitely not a bad collection. a lot of the endings were just way too abrupt and I like when stories leave room for interpretation but why were these rooms the size of a hall? I don't want to interpret the whole story 😳
November 2, 2022
I do really enjoy Junji Ito's work, there is something creepy but mesmerizing at the same time about his stories that I absolutely love.
Even if this one is not really one of the best I've read so far of him, some stories really stuck up with me.
TW: suicide.
Even if this one is not really one of the best I've read so far of him, some stories really stuck up with me.
TW: suicide.
February 13, 2023
3.5 ★
my ranking of the stories:
1. hanging balloons
2. falling
3. my dear ancestors
4. face burglars
5. scarecrows
6. red string
i wish hanging balloons had its own book. the plot is a good material for something longer than a short story.
my ranking of the stories:
1. hanging balloons
2. falling
3. my dear ancestors
4. face burglars
5. scarecrows
6. red string
i wish hanging balloons had its own book. the plot is a good material for something longer than a short story.
September 15, 2017
Six short tales, all of them really good. Scarier than the last volume, IMO.
June 15, 2019
Junji Ito's strength is in brewing up horror concepts; his one-shots show his talent more than his long-form work, or whatever Tomie is called. (Uzumaki is still gr8 tho)
February 15, 2020
The face burglar ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Scarecrows ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Falling ⭐⭐⭐
The red string ⭐⭐⭐⭐
My dear ancestors ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The hanging balloons ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Scarecrows ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Falling ⭐⭐⭐
The red string ⭐⭐⭐⭐
My dear ancestors ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The hanging balloons ⭐⭐⭐⭐
June 11, 2020
Muy flojo el cuento que da nombre a la colección, son excelentes los cuentos finales.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews