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伊藤潤二恐怖博物館 [Ito Junji Kyōfu Hakubutsukan] #3
Flesh-Colored Horror; 肉色の怪; Niku Iro no Kai
Flesh-Colored Horror [肉色の怪 nikuiro no kai, Flesh-Colored Mystery] is the third volume in the Horror World of Junji Ito series. It was released in Japan in 1997 and was translated and released in the United States in 2000 by Comicsone. Currently, it is out of print.
A different version of Volume 3 was published by Dark Horse Comics as Museum of Terror vol. 3.
This book will continue to terrify and titillate those who have developed a taste for Ito's macabre mix of girls, gore, and social series.
Collected Stories:
The Long Hair in the Attic
Approval
Beehive
Dying Young
Headless Sculptures
Flesh-Colored Horror
A different version of Volume 3 was published by Dark Horse Comics as Museum of Terror vol. 3.
This book will continue to terrify and titillate those who have developed a taste for Ito's macabre mix of girls, gore, and social series.
Collected Stories:
The Long Hair in the Attic
Approval
Beehive
Dying Young
Headless Sculptures
Flesh-Colored Horror
220 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1990
23 people are currently reading
1393 people want to read
About the author
Junji Ito
224 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 121 reviews
April 6, 2022
After so long laying my hands on another junji ito masterpiece!
💇♀️ Long hair in the attic ✳️✳️✳️.5
💍 Approval ✳️✳️.75
🐝 Beehive ✳️✳️✳️
💄 Dying young ✳️✳️✳️
🎨 Headless sculptures ✳️✳️✳️.75
💪 Flesh-Colored Horror ✳️✳️✳️✳️.5
~3.4 STARS
Overall this collection was very basic. There were some really good stories like Headless Sculptures and Flesh Colored horror. But this short collection is really good to read when you like miss Junji Ito masterpiece works. It delivers the same amount of craziness and body horror we expect from him.
💇♀️ Long hair in the attic ✳️✳️✳️.5
💍 Approval ✳️✳️.75
🐝 Beehive ✳️✳️✳️
💄 Dying young ✳️✳️✳️
🎨 Headless sculptures ✳️✳️✳️.75
💪 Flesh-Colored Horror ✳️✳️✳️✳️.5
~3.4 STARS
Overall this collection was very basic. There were some really good stories like Headless Sculptures and Flesh Colored horror. But this short collection is really good to read when you like miss Junji Ito masterpiece works. It delivers the same amount of craziness and body horror we expect from him.
April 2, 2024
I will start the review from the last story, before i forget.
Flesh Colored Horror.
First i thought this was a story about a horrifying child, that will torture his comrades in kindergarten and then his teachers, and then his family.
But no, after i saw the mom meeting the teacher, wet as if she had just gotten out of the shower for a second time.
I thought okay this mom, this family has something seriously sick with them.
And yeah they have been abusing that child, the entire idea of a medicine that removes all your skin from your body, and you just live as fucking moving muscles and tendons, is sick.
Junji Ito is sick, and i love him, one of a kind, i still think his pencils are pretty mediocre, maybe even less than mediocre, but his scary ideas, are WOW.
The Long hair in the attic.
A girl gets dumped by a playboy who told her to make her hair long for him, and the girl's hair kills her and goes after the guy to kill him....
And that's not even the scariest thing in this story, the art is just horrifying, seeing that head there tied to the posts of the ceiling by her hair, is just 😱
Approval.
A guy is proposing to the father of the same girl for 13 long years.
Only to learn later that the father is manipulating him, so he poisons him.
And when the father is dying he tells him, that his daughter killed herself after the first time he refused, and she appeared with the guy as her ghost, the father kept refusing to see his daughter's ghost over and over!
Beehive
Just imagine this scene!
My least favorite story 3/5 stars.
A weird boy who communicates with bees and hornets, a fanatic collector of beehives, they cross pass, and the rest is history.
Where does Junji get these ideas?
Dying Young.
There's a weird vibe in Junji Ito stories that i am getting.
Guys are usually getting punished for dumping a girl for cheating for killing someone.
But girls, feel like they are getting punished just for being girls!
Story was about a disease that makes girls pretty but they die in a few weeks, 21st century disease! End of century disease!
That idea about each turn of a century, there has to be serious events happening all over the world, i find that actually appealing, i wouldn't mind reading a book with this as it's sole idea, but please not y2k bullshit.
Headless Sculptures.
Why you scaring me like that man what did i ever do to you 😭
This story was just so good, an idiot sculpture makes headless sculptures, and they murder him and several students because they want their heads.
Grotesque is what you should have in mind when imagining this lol
The art here again was amazing, i like Junji more when the horror is sick, and there is severed heads, or girls growing out of blood like grass, like Tomi, and stuff like that.
This is the first in a long time, where i use all the status updates as my reviews, but it was because i basically made 1 update per story, usually i am just ranting to myself for no reason and no gain at all, but to rant.
I might be reading more Junji Ito soon, but i am not sure, the thing with Junji is, this is not a series, it's stand-alone stories in a collection.
Any collection books like this usually get finished the slowest for me, because you can just read whenever you miss them.
Flesh Colored Horror.
First i thought this was a story about a horrifying child, that will torture his comrades in kindergarten and then his teachers, and then his family.
But no, after i saw the mom meeting the teacher, wet as if she had just gotten out of the shower for a second time.
I thought okay this mom, this family has something seriously sick with them.
And yeah they have been abusing that child, the entire idea of a medicine that removes all your skin from your body, and you just live as fucking moving muscles and tendons, is sick.
Junji Ito is sick, and i love him, one of a kind, i still think his pencils are pretty mediocre, maybe even less than mediocre, but his scary ideas, are WOW.
The Long hair in the attic.
A girl gets dumped by a playboy who told her to make her hair long for him, and the girl's hair kills her and goes after the guy to kill him....
And that's not even the scariest thing in this story, the art is just horrifying, seeing that head there tied to the posts of the ceiling by her hair, is just 😱
Approval.
A guy is proposing to the father of the same girl for 13 long years.
Only to learn later that the father is manipulating him, so he poisons him.
And when the father is dying he tells him, that his daughter killed herself after the first time he refused, and she appeared with the guy as her ghost, the father kept refusing to see his daughter's ghost over and over!
Beehive
The hornets started to make meat balls from my body... to feed the boy...
Just imagine this scene!
My least favorite story 3/5 stars.
A weird boy who communicates with bees and hornets, a fanatic collector of beehives, they cross pass, and the rest is history.
Where does Junji get these ideas?
Dying Young.
Love letters, i never got one when i was ugly that's how guys are.
There's a weird vibe in Junji Ito stories that i am getting.
Guys are usually getting punished for dumping a girl for cheating for killing someone.
But girls, feel like they are getting punished just for being girls!
Story was about a disease that makes girls pretty but they die in a few weeks, 21st century disease! End of century disease!
That idea about each turn of a century, there has to be serious events happening all over the world, i find that actually appealing, i wouldn't mind reading a book with this as it's sole idea, but please not y2k bullshit.
Headless Sculptures.
Why you scaring me like that man what did i ever do to you 😭
This story was just so good, an idiot sculpture makes headless sculptures, and they murder him and several students because they want their heads.
Grotesque is what you should have in mind when imagining this lol
The art here again was amazing, i like Junji more when the horror is sick, and there is severed heads, or girls growing out of blood like grass, like Tomi, and stuff like that.
This is the first in a long time, where i use all the status updates as my reviews, but it was because i basically made 1 update per story, usually i am just ranting to myself for no reason and no gain at all, but to rant.
I might be reading more Junji Ito soon, but i am not sure, the thing with Junji is, this is not a series, it's stand-alone stories in a collection.
Any collection books like this usually get finished the slowest for me, because you can just read whenever you miss them.
September 23, 2019
Junji ito is one of my favourite manga artists of all time, and I especially love his short stories, but I didn't particularly enjoy the ones contained in this volume, apart for two. That's why I will add ratings for the single stories as well.
The Long Hair in the Attic ⭐⭐
A girl with a broken heart dies in mysterious circumstances.
Approval ⭐⭐
A man is on an endless quest to get his girlfriend's father's permission to marry her.
Beehive ⭐⭐⭐
A scary and original story about two boys competing on a weird beehive collection.
Dying Young ⭐⭐
A strange disease spreads into a school, making girls prettier first and dead second.
Headless Sculptures ⭐⭐
An artist has the weird habit of sculpting only headless bodies.
Flesh-Colored Horror ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My favourite story of the volume, a creepy story about a violent boy who looks like a villain but turns out to be a victim of unspeakable abuse and terror. A true Junji Ito horror shot!
The Long Hair in the Attic ⭐⭐
A girl with a broken heart dies in mysterious circumstances.
Approval ⭐⭐
A man is on an endless quest to get his girlfriend's father's permission to marry her.
Beehive ⭐⭐⭐
A scary and original story about two boys competing on a weird beehive collection.
Dying Young ⭐⭐
A strange disease spreads into a school, making girls prettier first and dead second.
Headless Sculptures ⭐⭐
An artist has the weird habit of sculpting only headless bodies.
Flesh-Colored Horror ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My favourite story of the volume, a creepy story about a violent boy who looks like a villain but turns out to be a victim of unspeakable abuse and terror. A true Junji Ito horror shot!
March 12, 2015
Oh, not much here! Just a collection of disturbing and terrifying short stories by the king of Japanese horror manga. You know, ghost lovers and neighbors who shed their skin. I mean, who doesn't live next to a school invested with statues that come out at night to fight over severed heads? I once knew a girl who's hair came alive and lived in the attic. Slice-of-life stories, ho hum!
Ah ha ha just kidding. This book scared the shit out of me.
Ah ha ha just kidding. This book scared the shit out of me.
September 23, 2022
Although this collection wasn't one of his greatest, it was twisted as usual.
November 30, 2020
Not that good.
Total time spent: 48min.
Total time spent: 48min.
May 6, 2021
Ngl, I like me some twisted horror graphic stories from time to time.
I read Junji Ito's 'Uzumaki' some years ago, and, while I am not a big fan of body horror, I actually quite liked 'Uzumaki' because of how original and creepy it was. Most of the 6 stories in this anthology are also unique and chilling, and employ body horror in a way that'll make you feel squeamish but not totally disgusted.
I was, however, slightly disturbed by the last story (though it's also my favourite out of the lot), the namesake 'Flesh-Coloured Horror', because it had some explicit child abuse scenes that I personally wasn't very comfortable with, so a TW for that.
I read Junji Ito's 'Uzumaki' some years ago, and, while I am not a big fan of body horror, I actually quite liked 'Uzumaki' because of how original and creepy it was. Most of the 6 stories in this anthology are also unique and chilling, and employ body horror in a way that'll make you feel squeamish but not totally disgusted.
I was, however, slightly disturbed by the last story (though it's also my favourite out of the lot), the namesake 'Flesh-Coloured Horror', because it had some explicit child abuse scenes that I personally wasn't very comfortable with, so a TW for that.
September 23, 2015
The Basics
A collection of horror one-shots. The title story tells of a school teacher dealing with a troubled student. He is aggressive and bullying toward the other children, and something appears to wrong with his skin. As if it’s thinning. Things get a lot more serious when the teacher visits his home…
My Thoughts
For the most part, I enjoyed this collection, though it’s clear this was earlier in Junji Ito’s career. This wasn’t the stage where he was drawing some of the absolutely insane art that you’ll find in Uzumaki or Tomie. Many of these stories seemed downright mundane as far as the art is concerned, compared to what I know he can do, but the storytelling itself was still strong.
Out of the stories here, I thought the title tale, “Flesh-Colored Horror”, was strong. “Dying Young”, which was about a disease that made the homely girls at a local school beautiful before killing them, was another of the more robust stories. In this case, it was an interesting play on the vampire myth, though other readers might think I’m stretching to say that. I felt there were parallels to be made, and I liked the originality of it. I also felt this story was attempting to be a commentary on vanity, how it destroys, and I appreciated that about it.
The weakest of the stories was definitely “Beehive” for me. It was a revenge story incorporating bees, and it just didn’t do anything for me.
Even though this is a somewhat tame collection for my tastes, I think this would be a great place to start for those of you who want to cautiously get into Junji Ito’s work.
Final Rating
4/5
A collection of horror one-shots. The title story tells of a school teacher dealing with a troubled student. He is aggressive and bullying toward the other children, and something appears to wrong with his skin. As if it’s thinning. Things get a lot more serious when the teacher visits his home…
My Thoughts
For the most part, I enjoyed this collection, though it’s clear this was earlier in Junji Ito’s career. This wasn’t the stage where he was drawing some of the absolutely insane art that you’ll find in Uzumaki or Tomie. Many of these stories seemed downright mundane as far as the art is concerned, compared to what I know he can do, but the storytelling itself was still strong.
Out of the stories here, I thought the title tale, “Flesh-Colored Horror”, was strong. “Dying Young”, which was about a disease that made the homely girls at a local school beautiful before killing them, was another of the more robust stories. In this case, it was an interesting play on the vampire myth, though other readers might think I’m stretching to say that. I felt there were parallels to be made, and I liked the originality of it. I also felt this story was attempting to be a commentary on vanity, how it destroys, and I appreciated that about it.
The weakest of the stories was definitely “Beehive” for me. It was a revenge story incorporating bees, and it just didn’t do anything for me.
Even though this is a somewhat tame collection for my tastes, I think this would be a great place to start for those of you who want to cautiously get into Junji Ito’s work.
Final Rating
4/5
November 8, 2022
Este libro es una serie de historias cortas. Las ideas de cada historia son buenas, pero el desarrollo esta lejos de ser lógico, y los finales son sin mucho sentido.
March 4, 2023
my life will never be the same.
April 6, 2021
I've only read a few Junji Ito collections but I've really enjoyed all of them. A lot of authors rely on really tired tropes and plot twists when they're writing short horror story anthologies but all of his stories have really original aspects that I'm never expecting so it's nice to be able to actually be surprised by what's happening.
January 2, 2017
That "Headless sculptures" story.
Ew.
Ew.
January 26, 2023
Oh my gersh that was weird
December 5, 2023
one shotniete na łacinie, „flesh-colored horror” 10/10, ale powinnam była to przed tomie i uzumaki czytać bo nic ich nie topnie chyba 😔🤚🏻
June 9, 2019
Plot ★★★☆☆
Art ★★★★★
Characters ★★☆☆☆
Average: 3.3
I saw some of Ito's work before reading this and actually thought that it seemed quite nice. This one, however, was definitely a bad start for someone who is trying to get into his work. From the stories to the art, everything felt somewhat dull and not as mesmerizing as the little snippets I had seen around the internet. The ideas for the stories were quite interesting but it didn't actually tap into the horror aspect much, or at least not as much as I had anticipated. Hopefully, the next one gives me some of that shine I've been expecting.
Art ★★★★★
Characters ★★☆☆☆
Average: 3.3
I saw some of Ito's work before reading this and actually thought that it seemed quite nice. This one, however, was definitely a bad start for someone who is trying to get into his work. From the stories to the art, everything felt somewhat dull and not as mesmerizing as the little snippets I had seen around the internet. The ideas for the stories were quite interesting but it didn't actually tap into the horror aspect much, or at least not as much as I had anticipated. Hopefully, the next one gives me some of that shine I've been expecting.
April 4, 2022
• Chapter 1: Long Hair in the Attic ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Chapter 2: Permission ⭐⭐
• Chapter 3: The Bee Hive ⭐⭐⭐
• Chapter 4: Dying Young ⭐⭐
• Chapter 5: Headless Sculptures ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Chapter 6: Flesh-Colored Horror ⭐⭐⭐
Long Hair in the Attic is the most scariest story among the six, followed by Headless Sculptures. Other than that was meh!
• Chapter 2: Permission ⭐⭐
• Chapter 3: The Bee Hive ⭐⭐⭐
• Chapter 4: Dying Young ⭐⭐
• Chapter 5: Headless Sculptures ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Chapter 6: Flesh-Colored Horror ⭐⭐⭐
Long Hair in the Attic is the most scariest story among the six, followed by Headless Sculptures. Other than that was meh!
September 23, 2020
A nice little collection of horror stories, with some beautiful (and terrifying) panels, but unfortunately a tad forgettable.
November 15, 2022
As most of the time with Ito's works, for me at least, it was ok. Great artwork. Great plot, mediocre dialogue and no pay-off at the end.
February 22, 2023
Beautiful, so amazing. It is so perfect to my imagination of horror, I am sorry I didn't read Ito sooner.
March 30, 2023
from time to time i need this.
July 27, 2011
I wasn't sure what I was going to get when I picked up Flesh Colored Horror. I knew it was short pieces by Junji Ito, but I wasn't sure if it was going to be retreads of stuff I'd already read in Museum of Terror or what. Turns out, while the story that opens Flesh Colored Horror (the excellent "Long Hair in the Attic") was in Museum of Terror, the rest were new to me.
Fortunately, being Junji Ito, they're all pretty great, and I particularly liked "Beehive" and "Headless Sculptures," but the stories collected here aren't quite on par with the ones in Museum of Terror, and since the presentation isn't as good either, I'd definitely recommend checking that one out first, and only coming to Flesh Colored Horror if you're a Junji Ito completist (and really, why wouldn't you be?).
Fortunately, being Junji Ito, they're all pretty great, and I particularly liked "Beehive" and "Headless Sculptures," but the stories collected here aren't quite on par with the ones in Museum of Terror, and since the presentation isn't as good either, I'd definitely recommend checking that one out first, and only coming to Flesh Colored Horror if you're a Junji Ito completist (and really, why wouldn't you be?).
October 20, 2020
My favorite stories in this collection were Headless Sculptures and the titular story Flesh-Colored Horror. All of the others in this collection were just okay. The first story I mentioned features headless sculptures coming to life, murdering young people and using their decapitated heads to speak which was unsettling to say the least. The titular story features a disturbed child that's been horribly disfigured by abuse. His insane mother finds beauty in skinless bodies. She uses acidic beauty treatments on herself and her child in an effort to create a way of removing their skin like a suit to become more beautiful. Needless to say, the child abuse and the gradual removal of peeling flesh as a result of the severe treatments were very uncomfortable to read about.
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January 19, 2022
The Junji Ito Horror Manga Collection #3
The chapter Long Hair in the Attic will always be one of my favorites. The storyline and the art possess that quality of sticking in one's psyche — Any of Junji Ito's works, for that matter.
Shimada, in the chapter Headless Sculptures...very disturbing.
* * *
Chapters:
• Long Hair in the Attic
• Approval
• Beehive
• Dying Young
• Headless Sculptures
• Flesh-Colored Horror
The chapter Long Hair in the Attic will always be one of my favorites. The storyline and the art possess that quality of sticking in one's psyche — Any of Junji Ito's works, for that matter.
Shimada, in the chapter Headless Sculptures...very disturbing.
* * *
Chapters:
• Long Hair in the Attic
• Approval
• Beehive
• Dying Young
• Headless Sculptures
• Flesh-Colored Horror
July 4, 2011
Horror!
April 26, 2021
The Long Hair in the Attic is the only story that caught my interest.
August 19, 2019
Recurring theme: Beauty
Recurring emotion: what
I go into Junji Ito's work chronologically, so I have not that much to compare it to, except for Tomie. The art has improved compared to his first published chapter, as have his storytelling, and it show that the mangaka is indeed creative with his work. Very... Very creative.
Long Hair in the Attic 3.7
At first, I did not feel any particular way towards this story, nor the second time (I was rereading the first three chapters after few months of a break). The pacing, even though I know this is a one-shot, felt rushed for me, so I was unable to get into it. But that is about as much as to what I did not like.
Japanese horror is very much about the "show, don't tell," and Junji Ito incorporated this very well. Because of that, perhaps, as a Westerner I felt little impatient with the story I did not develop suspense reading it. But the ending was marvelous, giving me all the morbid satisfaction.
Approval 4.8
This has to be my favourite story of the bunch, and reading it twice showed me all the little details that in the end would fall into place. Exciting stuff. Not scary in the horror-y, gore-y sense, this rating is more biased. It evoked frustration and dread I did not feel since reading 1984 (though they are not similar stories).
Beehive 3.4
A peculiar story about a peculiar hobby. I saw the twist coming. But seeing the main man figuring it out was deeply pleasing.
Now that I think about it, I like the story more that the first one, but the endings have exact reverse reactions from me. This rating is perhaps becoming too emotional.
Dying Young 3.1
Supposedly, people liked this story very much, but to me it just did not make the cut. You know the saying "Beauty dies young" rings true here, and cannot help but wait for the end of this vanity fair .. it ended up not so memorable. As if something was still missing, and this story was still only half-way there.
Headless Sculptures 4.3
This chapter was a hell of a ride. Should've seen it coming, but did not.
Flesh-Colored Horror 3.8
A bizarre, grotesque finale to the volume. It was weird, but it did its job of bestowing unsettling feelings upon me as a reader. I did not want to see that, but it happened.
Usually, such ludicrous macabre does not get high rating from me... But I felt invested in the characters, with one exception, and those pulled the rating higher.
Overall rating: 3.85 stars
Recommended: Yes, to fans of Japanese Horror and of Junji Ito. Probably not to someone who needs more realistic depictions,.. or having the story explained at the end.
Recurring emotion: what
I go into Junji Ito's work chronologically, so I have not that much to compare it to, except for Tomie. The art has improved compared to his first published chapter, as have his storytelling, and it show that the mangaka is indeed creative with his work. Very... Very creative.
Long Hair in the Attic 3.7
At first, I did not feel any particular way towards this story, nor the second time (I was rereading the first three chapters after few months of a break). The pacing, even though I know this is a one-shot, felt rushed for me, so I was unable to get into it. But that is about as much as to what I did not like.
Japanese horror is very much about the "show, don't tell," and Junji Ito incorporated this very well. Because of that, perhaps, as a Westerner I felt little impatient with the story I did not develop suspense reading it. But the ending was marvelous, giving me all the morbid satisfaction.
Approval 4.8
This has to be my favourite story of the bunch, and reading it twice showed me all the little details that in the end would fall into place. Exciting stuff. Not scary in the horror-y, gore-y sense, this rating is more biased. It evoked frustration and dread I did not feel since reading 1984 (though they are not similar stories).
Beehive 3.4
A peculiar story about a peculiar hobby. I saw the twist coming. But seeing the main man figuring it out was deeply pleasing.
Now that I think about it, I like the story more that the first one, but the endings have exact reverse reactions from me. This rating is perhaps becoming too emotional.
Dying Young 3.1
"I'd rather die young and pretty... Than be ugly and old."
Supposedly, people liked this story very much, but to me it just did not make the cut. You know the saying "Beauty dies young" rings true here, and cannot help but wait for the end of this vanity fair .. it ended up not so memorable. As if something was still missing, and this story was still only half-way there.
Headless Sculptures 4.3
Faces are pointless in art. Human faces express so much, but the faces in famous paintings... With few exceptions, those faces show either no expression or thin smiles. So... who really needs it?
This chapter was a hell of a ride. Should've seen it coming, but did not.
Flesh-Colored Horror 3.8
But [Chikara] has a very young, pretty mother... Hopefully, he'll look like her one day...
A bizarre, grotesque finale to the volume. It was weird, but it did its job of bestowing unsettling feelings upon me as a reader. I did not want to see that, but it happened.
Usually, such ludicrous macabre does not get high rating from me... But I felt invested in the characters, with one exception, and those pulled the rating higher.
Overall rating: 3.85 stars
Recommended: Yes, to fans of Japanese Horror and of Junji Ito. Probably not to someone who needs more realistic depictions,.. or having the story explained at the end.
August 11, 2017
Junji Ito es un mangaka japones que comenzó a publicar mangas cortos a principios de los 90's, aunque solo como pasatiempo, aunque a raíz de haber ganado el prestigioso premio Umezu por mejor manga de terror publicado, llevo a que se dedicara a tiempo completo a su carrera como mangaka. Muchos de sus trabajos incluyen la representación de terror sangriento y grotesco, aunque muy bien presentado y sin importar que algunas de sus historias parezcan ser simples siempre tienen un buen desarrollo y muy interesante final.
Habiendo sido influenciado, según el mismo lo a dicho, por mangakas tales como Hino Hideshi, Shinsaku koga, Tsuitusi Yasutaka y el mismo Umezu kazuo, además de el escritor Hp Lovecraft, esto produjo que Ito creara su propio universo macabro donde claramente se pueden observar las referencias artísticas y literarias a los autores mencionados anteriormente, solo que con su propio estilo y que lo ha convertido un autor de culto en el mundo del manga japones.
Flesh-colored horror hace parte de una colección de comics de terror (The Junji Ito horror collection, 1997-1999) la cual esta compuesta por 16 volúmenes, siendo este el tercero (Niku-iro no kai/1997). Este se compone de seis historias cortas, empezando por la llamada Long Hair in the Attic y terminando por Flesh-colored horror. En general es un volumen entretenido que me ha dejado con ganas de leerme toda la colección. Tiene un buen paso y el dibujo característico de Ito que uno siempre espera y que no deja de impresionar. Abajo dejo una pequeña sinopsis de cada historia.
1. Long hair in the attic: Esta hisoria a grandes rasgos trata acerca de una chica llamada Chiemi a la cual su novio acaba de terminarle y los sucesos subsecuentes en su casa debido a tener tan largo cabello.
2. Approval: La historia siguiente es esta y trata acerca de una pareja de novios (Kyosuke y Misuzu) que están pidiendo el consentimiento al padre de Misuzu para casarse y lo que sucede ante las constantes negativas del sujeto ante la petición de la pareja.
3. Beehive: Trata sobre un chico llamado Takano que es aficionado a los panales de abeja y que los recolecta para su colección y como debido al encuentro inesperado con un niño muy extraño, sus rutinarias cazas de panales comienzan a cambiar.
4. Dying young: Narra los sucesos de unas chicas de secundaria, a las cuales, por alguna razón comienzan a volverse bonitas y atractivas para luego morir repentinamente.
5. Headless sculptures: Trata sobre dos estudiantes de secundaria quienes una tarde, después de clases deciden pasar por el club de artes y ayudar a su maestro, pero que al día siguiente aparece muerto y es deber de la chica descubrir el misterio tras ese suceso.
6. Flesh-colored horror: Esta relata la vida escolar de una maestra de primaria y la extraña relación con un estudiante muy extraño de su clase llamado Chikara.
Habiendo sido influenciado, según el mismo lo a dicho, por mangakas tales como Hino Hideshi, Shinsaku koga, Tsuitusi Yasutaka y el mismo Umezu kazuo, además de el escritor Hp Lovecraft, esto produjo que Ito creara su propio universo macabro donde claramente se pueden observar las referencias artísticas y literarias a los autores mencionados anteriormente, solo que con su propio estilo y que lo ha convertido un autor de culto en el mundo del manga japones.
Flesh-colored horror hace parte de una colección de comics de terror (The Junji Ito horror collection, 1997-1999) la cual esta compuesta por 16 volúmenes, siendo este el tercero (Niku-iro no kai/1997). Este se compone de seis historias cortas, empezando por la llamada Long Hair in the Attic y terminando por Flesh-colored horror. En general es un volumen entretenido que me ha dejado con ganas de leerme toda la colección. Tiene un buen paso y el dibujo característico de Ito que uno siempre espera y que no deja de impresionar. Abajo dejo una pequeña sinopsis de cada historia.
1. Long hair in the attic: Esta hisoria a grandes rasgos trata acerca de una chica llamada Chiemi a la cual su novio acaba de terminarle y los sucesos subsecuentes en su casa debido a tener tan largo cabello.
2. Approval: La historia siguiente es esta y trata acerca de una pareja de novios (Kyosuke y Misuzu) que están pidiendo el consentimiento al padre de Misuzu para casarse y lo que sucede ante las constantes negativas del sujeto ante la petición de la pareja.
3. Beehive: Trata sobre un chico llamado Takano que es aficionado a los panales de abeja y que los recolecta para su colección y como debido al encuentro inesperado con un niño muy extraño, sus rutinarias cazas de panales comienzan a cambiar.
4. Dying young: Narra los sucesos de unas chicas de secundaria, a las cuales, por alguna razón comienzan a volverse bonitas y atractivas para luego morir repentinamente.
5. Headless sculptures: Trata sobre dos estudiantes de secundaria quienes una tarde, después de clases deciden pasar por el club de artes y ayudar a su maestro, pero que al día siguiente aparece muerto y es deber de la chica descubrir el misterio tras ese suceso.
6. Flesh-colored horror: Esta relata la vida escolar de una maestra de primaria y la extraña relación con un estudiante muy extraño de su clase llamado Chikara.
November 30, 2023
oh wow that was fucking WEIRD!!!!
now let me say out of all of ito's works ive read, these are easily the worst. idk they just hit different. i mean it makes sense this is early on in his career but. yeuck
ok let me break down my opinions on all the short stories;
the long hair in the attic: ngl kinda sucked!!!! the story felt all over the place, the body horror felt like it had no connection to the story, and it didn't really make sense. 2/5
approval: this was literally not a junji ito story. you cant tell me it was. this shit had no body horror!!!!! thoroughly disappointed in this one. easily the worst of this anthology(?); 1/5
beehive: made no sense. was not scary. i will say though the ending was a bit freaky, but from coming off of tomie....... this was nothing. like i said tho the ending ate - tbh it was the only redeemable thing about this story; 1/5
dying young: yet again not really any body horror which was disappointing. i will say i liked how the endings of these stories slowly get more and more fucked up. this one was a bit insane but tbh i didn't overall like the plot. i can see if/why people would like this, i just didn't; 2.5/5
headless sculptures: now we're getting somewhere!!!! fucked up body horror to the extreme. my god that one shot of the teacher actually made me nauseous. first time ever ito has managed that with me. i will say tho this isn't *the* best of this anthology simply cuz the ending was anticlimactic; 3/5
flesh colored horror: EASILY THE BEST. so incredibly fucked up. everything ate with this. did it make sense? not really. did the narrative, ending, and visuals make up for it? 100%. also i love when ito explains stuff, i know its literally the antithesis of a junji ito novel but when motivations for character's insanity is briefly touched on? chefs kiss; 4/5
overall this was mid. the stories got progressively better though, so there's that. i think ito was still trying to find his style here, so im not too mad at finding it mediocre, as i know more works i'll enjoy await me >:)
now let me say out of all of ito's works ive read, these are easily the worst. idk they just hit different. i mean it makes sense this is early on in his career but. yeuck
ok let me break down my opinions on all the short stories;
the long hair in the attic: ngl kinda sucked!!!! the story felt all over the place, the body horror felt like it had no connection to the story, and it didn't really make sense. 2/5
approval: this was literally not a junji ito story. you cant tell me it was. this shit had no body horror!!!!! thoroughly disappointed in this one. easily the worst of this anthology(?); 1/5
beehive: made no sense. was not scary. i will say though the ending was a bit freaky, but from coming off of tomie....... this was nothing. like i said tho the ending ate - tbh it was the only redeemable thing about this story; 1/5
dying young: yet again not really any body horror which was disappointing. i will say i liked how the endings of these stories slowly get more and more fucked up. this one was a bit insane but tbh i didn't overall like the plot. i can see if/why people would like this, i just didn't; 2.5/5
headless sculptures: now we're getting somewhere!!!! fucked up body horror to the extreme. my god that one shot of the teacher actually made me nauseous. first time ever ito has managed that with me. i will say tho this isn't *the* best of this anthology simply cuz the ending was anticlimactic; 3/5
flesh colored horror: EASILY THE BEST. so incredibly fucked up. everything ate with this. did it make sense? not really. did the narrative, ending, and visuals make up for it? 100%. also i love when ito explains stuff, i know its literally the antithesis of a junji ito novel but when motivations for character's insanity is briefly touched on? chefs kiss; 4/5
overall this was mid. the stories got progressively better though, so there's that. i think ito was still trying to find his style here, so im not too mad at finding it mediocre, as i know more works i'll enjoy await me >:)
September 17, 2023
This manga tell 6 story that isn't connected to each other. The horror isn't an ordinary horror like ghost or monster. They also tap into the physchological stuff. The manga gives out this surreal vibes. Every chapter is sure to be filled with disturbing and uncanny horror. You probably never predict what's the chapter is gonna be, because its just so out of the box.
This is the first collection in the series that have various story. And it is to be expected if its still not perfect. The plot for some chapter feel bland because they just focusing on the horror. Automatically, this affect characters personality too. I can't care enough about what happen to any of the characters. I mean every chapter is a standalone so they never have time to build things up.
My favorite part is the art. Unbelievable how a man can think and draw such a creature. They didn't waste manga panel with a pointless art. I plan on reading all the collection because one panel from volume 10. That alone is speaking how good the art is. So far I'm enjoying everytime i read this series. I'm not a brave person to watch a horror movie alone. So this kind of thrill is enough for me to consume, bite size horror. No long story, just pure horror.
This is the first collection in the series that have various story. And it is to be expected if its still not perfect. The plot for some chapter feel bland because they just focusing on the horror. Automatically, this affect characters personality too. I can't care enough about what happen to any of the characters. I mean every chapter is a standalone so they never have time to build things up.
My favorite part is the art. Unbelievable how a man can think and draw such a creature. They didn't waste manga panel with a pointless art. I plan on reading all the collection because one panel from volume 10. That alone is speaking how good the art is. So far I'm enjoying everytime i read this series. I'm not a brave person to watch a horror movie alone. So this kind of thrill is enough for me to consume, bite size horror. No long story, just pure horror.
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