The Night Market I didn't feel very scared, but this one definitely sets a darker tone. Especially the 3rd story.
Each story was fascinating, the first story was a Groundhog Day but with a twist. The second story was like Sophie's cottage from Howl's Moving Castle but darker. The third story was....dark.
What is amazing is despite each story having such scary themes, each one had a moment where I was like "Oh I want to be in this world." Each had just a slight glimmer of the fantastic that really pulled me in. Though a lot of times, not for long.
A collection of 3 short stories by Tsunekawa Kotaro. The first story is a Groundhog Day kind of a story; MC was stuck repeating an Autumn day again and again. I have read quite a few stories with similar setup but the author definitely has put a new spin on it. In the second story, MC inadvertently entered a house that transported itself all over Japan and he can’t leave unless someone else takes his place. I was quite surprised by how it turned out at the end. The 3rd story is about a girl whose grandma can make people hallucinations and she also has the same potential. I have a mixed feelings regarding this one. I find the hallucination parts very interesting but I don’t understand the whole cult thing.
As you'd guess from the title, there's a lot of melancholy in this volume. The stories, especially the title story, are dark and atmospheric. Although Tsunekawa has always been billed as "horror fantasy," genre-wise, 秋の牢獄 is the first story of his that really horrified me with its implications.