The Enigma of Amigara Fault

by Junji Ito

Following an earthquake in an unnamed prefecture of Japan, a fault is discovered on Amigara Mountain, very close to the epicenter of the quake. On the slopes of the mountain, two hikers meet; a man named Owaki and a woman named Yoshida. The former assumes that they are both here to see the fault, which has captured the attention of the global press. Following the sound of voices to the fault, the two of them marvel at the strange sight before them: countless human-shaped holes in a rock face exposed by the earthquake.

Genres: Manga, Horror, Comics, Short Stories, Fiction, Japan, Japanese Literature

33 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Junji 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.

Reviews

[abs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cave divers when they see a human-shaped hole 🤸

[Styx · Rating 5 out of 5]

Main character is gender goals

[Myles Gerber · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s my hole it was made for me

[Anja · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5-4*

[Giovana Queiroz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Que maluquice

[Dre Scott-Urichen · Rating 5 out of 5]

SMASH A MILLION TIMES OVER

[Ilona Brieden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Il est incroyable. J'adore l'horreur et j'ai normalement pas facilement peur devant, mais celui-ci m'a terrifié quand je l'avais lu, j'avais eu du mal à m'endormir.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

short but super effective. does well to keep you wondering but start to slowly put some pieces together, giving you the space to come up with even more disturbing connections and ideas. the imagery of getting stuck within the holes while paired with the descriptions given is skin-crawling, and the scenes are brief enough they leave the imagination running. the irrational fear leading people to go into the holes to begin with is really interesting too, i personally interpreted it as how irrational or deep anxieties will make you compulsively engage in something harmful that logically you know you shouldn’t, because the fear is so intense you just want to give into it, if that makes sense. a seeking for relief, for confirmation, a “just checking” kind of thing. it makes sense to you in the moment, but can seem bizarre. the story wants you to ask questions and doesn’t answer them, like ‘if yoshida was so afraid, why did she go in?’ she was deeply terrified of it. she couldn’t control her fear, making her need to find and look at the hole, to free it up, to go in, because she always knew where it was and that it was waiting for her. she couldn’t accept it, leaving it to just be, and ultimately doomed herself.

at least i feel the story is trying to give a sensation similar to that. it makes it feel more human and grounded and therefore more creepy to me personally rather than the idea it’s entirely supernatural because it can be such a real emotion. it’s something that can connect to the reader and make them realize they could easily do it too. if you saw a hole supposedly formed thousands of years ago and perfectly shaped to your silhouette that some instinct within ensured you that it was meant for you, if you knew exactly where it was, would you be able to ignore it? or would you dread it, always wondering why it was there? would you let that dread eat at you? can you live with the uncertainty as you see it lure in the people around you? would what lies within be worth it?

[Aeshatou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars. I am desensitized to a lot of horror at this point, so I must admit the story is very creepy but I am not moved greatly.

That being said, it’s still really great. Remember the infamous story of the man who got stuck in a cave upside down? That story has terrified millions of people. Quite literally. The intense fear…the thought of being stuck in a cave in a horrible position. In the dark. Wondering and waiting.

This story reminds me of that unfortunate situation (RIP). The inevitability of their utterly horrific fate. The unfairness of both situations in real life and in the book. The body horror…being twisted in incomparable ways. The pain and fear. Junjj has written a story that plays on many fears and thus is impactful. Especially when you think, this can happen..as it did and does.

[Elysya Scerbo-pasta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this years ago, probably about when it was first released, and it stuck with me all this time. I was discussing this author and remembered the premise of this story, unsure if it was one of his, but, lo and behold, of course it was.

The pacing is absolutely perfect. It has just the right amount of exposition and explanation to keep you satisfied but questioning. The horror of existential dread, being drawn to a prolonged and painful end, the dread of the unknown. It’s very short, but it’s the perfect length and I read it a couple of times to really absorb it.

If you’re in the mood for a short horror read, I strongly recommend.

[Renny Gong]

Afterward, read a little bit of the Wikipedia page for “Death Drive” : In classical Freudian psychoanalytic theory, the death drive (German: Todestrieb) is the drive toward death and destruction, often expressed through behaviors such as aggression, repetition compulsion, and self-destructiveness.

[Tyler Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

An incredible concept. One I feel accustomed to writing a feature length adaptation of one day. The ending is quite creepy, but leaves a bit more to be desired from a “what’s the point” perspective. But that’s where I come in 😈😈😈

[Hanin Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story begins after an earthquake reveals a strange mountain full of human shaped holes. People from all over come to see it and some start to believe that one of the holes was made just for them. I read this one during my Summerween marathon and it fir the mood perfectly.

[Belén · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8
My first Junji Ito, now I'm excited to read more! I liked it, it was short, sweet, I appreciated that last panel, it was a nice plot twist. I didn't feel like it lacked anything, which is weird bc it was so short. Interesting

[Nana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Underrated! Ojalá todo fan del horror, o de los trabajos de Junji Ito, leyera esta historia corta. ¡Merece más reconocimiento!

[Marvelous · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sufficiently freaked out. Could not care less about the love story, however.

[Ambrose van Gessel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need more

[Shivam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was great.

[Ariela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick reread of one of my fav short-mangas from one of my fav mangakas. Everything from Junji Ito sufficiently creeps me out, this is no exception.

[Tina Gómez · Rating 4 out of 5]

pésima idea leerlo a media noche, pero excelente lectura

[Siena · Rating 5 out of 5]

what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck wait were they about to kiss what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck

[Jay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh i mean, it's not as terrifying as his other works which are able to strike a balance between the creeping terror of uncanny valley and the suffocating vastness of existential horror

[panjiereads · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5⭐️
Funny but still interesting lol.

[Oli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing final page.

[Liv !! · Rating 4 out of 5]

why the main character kinda …

[inkenmm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ewwwh - erstaunlich, wie man mit so wenig Text auf so wenigen Seiten so viel in einem auslösen kann!

[Nile Ferguson · Rating 5 out of 5]

this shit actually made me lose sleep in 2016

[Meat Head · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was good but too short

[CL Vuncannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely terrifying, I come back to this at least once a year and it still gives me the heebie jeebies even though I know what's coming.

[Annie Osborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally a good horror! I wish I had found this in October. I have not read any Manga since I was a teenager and this standalone was a great touch back into the genre.