Shiver: Junji Ito Selected Stories

by Junji Ito

An arm peppered with tiny holes dangles from a sick girl’s window… After an idol hangs herself, balloons bearing the faces of their destined victimes appear in the sky… An amateur film crew hires an extremely individualistic fashion model and faces a real bloody ending… An offering of nine fresh nightmares for the delectation of horror fans.

Genres: Manga, Horror, Graphic Novels, Comics, Short Stories, Fiction, Fantasy

400 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 7, 2015

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

[daph pink ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I keep coming back to you . BACK TO YOU!!

Ohhh yess , I promised myself that I will read a lot of JUNJI Ito books in 2021 , and here's the first part of that promise. I am all set to get disgusted and horrified again. AGAIN.

1. Used Record or Second-Hand Record あやつりの屋敷 - ★★★
What happens when people get attached to a second hand record and start taking each other's lives? The concept was actually good but I didn't found the story to be impact , like i am most likely to forget it in a month or two.
The blurb of the story at the end was more scary then the entire premises, if you see Junji Ito somewhere observing you, run away because you might be the concept of his next story.

2. Shiver なめくじの少女 - ★★★★
WTH WTH WTH WTH ?? What if humans start respiring through spicules like insects?
I am disgusted for life , will never be able to see insects w/o thinking about this story. And that art omg , I am falling in love with his art over and over again.

3. Fashion Model 双一の呪い日記 - ★★★
What happens when a fashion model(creepy looks and disgusting smile??) starts following amature filmmakers? This was obvious and creepy.

4. Hanging Balloons 顔泥棒 - ★★★★★
Imagine your balloon headed doppelgangers hunting you the moment you step out of your house? i cant imagine , i am already shit scared. The concept was exceptional. Again i cant with this man , his brain is just wired differently then rest of us.

5. Marionette Mansion あやつりの屋敷 - ★★★★
Bored and tired of doing things , why not hire people to control your actions like puppets ? until you no longer can control yourself. This particular story was so intriguing and interesting , like I mean how come JT think like this? I gotta meet this man.

6.Painter -★★★★
a story about a strange but beautiful woman named Tomie who wishes for an artist to accurately capture her beauty, and all the misfortune that happens as a result. This is the first chapter from the book TOMIE , which i am yet to read but after reading this , i am even more excited , and wth was the drawing at the end. MASTERPIECE!

7.The Long Dream トンネル奇譚 - ★★★★★
Imagine every time you dream your dreams keep getting longer and a stage is reached when your dream become eternal ? BYEE , I am going what is this thinking? My personal fav till now!

8. Honored Ancestors 顔泥棒 ★★★★★
Imagine wearing heads to your ancestors to preserve memories of your lineage. AN UTTER PERFECTION.

9. Greased 闇の声 ★★★★
The after note wass more scary.

10. Fashion Model ★★
a bonus story

[s.penkevich [hiatus-will return-miss you all] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Junji Ito said “I know what you sickos want”

AND HE DELIVERS.
Terrifying marionettes, holes appearing all over bodies, head-eating caterpillars, people being hung by giant balloon’s of their own head, a model terrified of having her body cropped in photos has her body chopped instead…all the violence, dismemberment, fear and and horrifically unsettling imagery of famed Junji Ito is alive in Shiver. A Selected Stories collection chosen by the author himself, Shiver dives right into the dark side of possibility for stunningly surreal scares and unforgettable artwork. The stories are brief, but—not unlike a jump scare—leave your heart racing long after the time it takes to frighten it. Because lets be honest, the best part of an Junji Ito collection is flipping the page and being assaulted by an image that makes you go “holy shit!” Like so:

Yea thats the good stuff. You know thats what you came here for. And Ito will not disappoint you. Because everything is all tense and eerie and you turn the page and:

Chilling. Creepy. You love it. It’s spooky season, get some Junji Ito ASAP because its the festive frightful trip you need. Just keep an eye over your shoulder because who knows what could be lurking there…

[Lauren Lanz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me and my fear of dolls were chilling until Junji Ito created a short story about goddamn cooking oil that made my skin crawl. This man can do anything.

The king of horror manga is at it again.
Scratch that: I’m at it again, catching up on his work.
This collection was just- weird and gross and unique in the best ways. Everything I’ve come to expect from Ito and his mangas. The variety in the types horror he presents -especially in his short story collections- is fantastic.

If you’ve got trypophobia, be weary because this book will make you uncomfy. Funny enough, I’m afraid of dolls, and there was a puppet story in here that played perfectly into my fears. I loved it nonetheless!

There's something about Junji Ito's art style that conveys horror unlike anyone else. He's one of my favourite manga authors for sure; this collection was awesome!

[Mika · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first time reading selected stories from Junji Ito. I choose this one as my first 'cause from all selected stories, this one was the only one that had more than two stories that I liked a lot. Thought it would have the highest possibility for me to enjoy it, so I picked it up.

Used Record
I tend to dislike stories about music or sport, this one wasn't an exception. I already knew what this story will be about at the first few pages and the ending wasn't really scary as it was just a repetition of something that already happened to a different character. The melody from the afterlife wasn't really original. At least for me, I already heard such stories plenty of times before.

2/5

Shiver
The second short story is already the one with the same title as the book. Definitely liked this one more, I really liked the concept. The author commentary also helped me understand how Junji Ito came up with this. At first I thought Rina was sick from the doctor visits (evil doctor), but the evil was more in hiding than I thought. It features holes in the human body, so beware if you have trypophobia!

3/5

Fashion Model
A short story that I'm familiar with. Fashion model is about how models can either be beautiful, ugly or look even sinister. What if a fashion model is actually a monster? The face of Fuchi was so creepy and it still haunts me. I really like this short story!

4/5

Hanging Blimp
Another short story I'm familiar with and also the reason I decided to read this short story collection book first. I'm obsessed with this one! Just like Junji Ito was excited to draw his own dream, I was excited to read it. It's so psychological, making one wonder at the start of the story if it's all just a hallucination resulting from the grief of a loved one.

5/5

Marionette Mansion
Puppets and marionetts turned into horror isn't a new concept, but one that I always enjoyed seeing. The puppet Jean-Pierre wasn't looking creepy, but his actions were very unsettling. That the ending was ambiguous made it even better. Were they turned into puppets or were they puppets from the start?

Exploring power dynamics through puppets and finding out who the real marionettes are in this short story gave it a mysterious touch.

The Puppeteer might think they're controlling the puppet, but it's actually the puppet doing the controlling.

5/5

Painter
This is a short segment of the long Tomie manga. Not really my favourite short story as it's actually connected to something way longer. Compared to the other short stories so far, this one feels so unnatural to be in a short story collection. Per se it's not bad, I really like Tomie as a character, she's charming and bewitching, but it should have just stayed in its respective book.

I understand that 'The Painter' was the first appearance of Tomie as a character, but it feels so wrong to read it in a short story collection 'cause Tomie isn't a character that one briefly meets. She's somebody one can't stop thinking about, sooner or later one starts to become obsessed with her. She's more than just a painting.

(I will give it 5 stars 'cause the story was good nevertheless and I love Tomie).

5/5

The Long Dream
I always make myself suffer whenever I see this short story again. It gives me dread in a different way than most people who read this story.

Just like Mami and Tetsuro, I also experienced long dreams. My dreams are very detailed and feel extremely real. Sometimes when I wake up from them I write them down. It's like a dream journal, but I only document those who feel special from the rest and who I might use for my own stories. There were occasions were two weeks passed in the dream, but in real life only a couple of hours passed. When I woke up, I could tell everything that happened in the past two weeks as if actual two weeks passed. I always felt weird 'cause of this.

It's such a fitting horror story for me as it's kinda creepy to perceive a dream as that long.

5/5

Honored ancestors
Last time I saw this story it was alright and this time it was alright once more. Compared to the other short stories in this collection, it had less content. It felt rushed and if details were missing. The idea behind this story was clear, but so fast that I couldn't enjoy it to the fullest.

3/5

Greased (Glyceride)
It's disgusting and unpleasant to read about. It's not scary or disturbing, it's just disgusting. Not really liking this one.

2/5

Fashion Model: Cursed Frame

Extremely short, so it was just alright. Creepy, but not too creepy.

3/5

———
Total: 3.7
≈ 4

StoryGraph review

[Paul Bryant · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of short stories which have no logic except dream logic (i.e. no logic) but a whole lot of eidetic disgusting body horror and very crazy zoned-out dialogue – I will give you a flavour

This isn’t a caterpillar – it’s an assembly of the skulls of my ancestors.



That wasn’t a human face. That was the face of someone who lives beyond the black darkness!

Several thousand years ago, we met in her hospital room and our love blossomed!

In these stories giant faces of real people appear in the sky with nooses dangling from them, and they then try to find and hang the person whose face they have. Or people get a disease where you get holes all over.



Or people drip their pimples over their next of kin

The pimples on my face multiplied almost before my eyes



To a large extent this is easy stuff – we can all come up with strange or horrible ideas from dreams - I dreamed I was the last chocolate in a box and a huge hand was trying to find me and eat me; I dreamed when I went into a department store in town all the store assistants started unzipping their clothing to reveal a smaller store assistant inside; but Junji Ito’s artwork makes it nearly worthwhile ploughing through the daftness.

Got to admit that the unflinching focus on schoolgirl or teenage girl protagonists seemed very pervy, eventually (but he does draw them beautifully!)



Anyway, my advice is, if you see this guy on the street



run away fast. He’s freaking weird.

[Sarah ♡ (let’s interact!) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shiver is a collection of short horror stories that really highlight why Junji Ito is considered to be a master of the horror genre.
The stories featured are:
- Used Record
- Shiver
- Fashion Model
- Hanging Blimp
- Marionette Mansion
- Painter
- The Long Dream
- Honored Ancestors
- Greased
- Fashion Model: Cursed Frame (a previously unpublished new story)

Fashion Model was a standout to me, the monster of the tale being absolutely horrifying to look at. The art style here is terrific, Ito at his best! Really glad there was a bonus story featuring the “model” Fuchi.
Shiver made me question if I suffer with trypophobia…! 😖
Painter is another highlight, which feature’s one of Ito’s best and most well-loved characters/creations, Tomie. (I need to work out how to imbed pictures onto my reviews!)

There is also an author’s notes at the end of each story, explaining abit about the creative process and thought behind each of them. Also, there is some concept art sketches. I liked this further insight into how these horrifying tales came to be.

This is the second Junji Ito story collection I have read and it’s definitely my favourite so far ! There are some iconic body horror moments here. Can’t wait to read more of his stories in the future.

[S. Zahler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Few horror cartoonists—if any—elicit the shudders that I feel when I read a tale by Junji Ito of Japan. The current widespread availability of his work in the United States shows an increasing interest here, and it’s not hard to fathom why this is so. My favorite stories by this mangaka are his short, standalone tales. His drawings are fairly realistic with simple clean character designs, but when he adds texture or renders a “shock panel,” his art gets significantly darker, more detailed, and quite vivid.
The Ito collection entitled Shiver is my favorite of what I’ve read so far, though Fragments of Horror has some gems in it as well. In the former, Ito contrives a series of interesting weird fiction scenarios that grow more unsettling as the stories progress, and his splash panels leap off of the page and are truly unsettling. These are not “fun” images of zombies munching on a victim or some vampire’s sanguinary sucking, but genuinely disturbing nightmares that put a bad smell in the air that hangs between the tip of your nose and the open book.
I have read (watched, written, drawn, recorded, and filmed) a lot of repellant stuff, but the acne-centric story ‘Greased’ is a truly repulsive wonder, as are the revelations in the story “Shiver.” In addition to these and other repugnant morsels, nonsensical but engrossing nightmares that seem stolen straight from Ito’s id are explored in ‘Hanging Blimps,’ and the premise of ‘Marionette Mansion’ is a very bizarre original about a family that chooses to give control of their limbs over to unseen controllers in the crawlspace above. Clever premises, engaging mysteries, malodorous shock panels, and nightmare wanderings combine in the uniquely unsettling and uncommonly vivid work of Junji Ito, whose manga I highly recommend to horror fans.

[Bookishrealm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me tell ya'll something...

Junji Ito is a sick man. This collection had me itching and scared at the same damn time. He is the mastermind of horror manga and I genuinely understand why people adore his work. I think that after reading this specific collection I know to take reading him very slowly and with caution. I don't think that I have trypophobia, but after reading this one I may reconsider that notion because the way my skin crawled made absolutely no sense. Ito is skilled at tapping into the many things that scare us while also providing a certain level of entertainment. He is both a skilled artist and writer and I have renewed respect for his craft. I can't say I'm anticipating reading more after this, but slowly going through his backlist should be an entertaining and horrific experience.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cursed record that dooms its listeners. A mysterious jade carving that bestows a horrific disease on those who possess it. A monstrous fashion model. Ghostly blimps of the dead. A crazed puppeteer who turns his family into marionettes. A muse that drives painters mad. A man whose dreams distort time and, eventually, his body. A man determined to carry on his family’s lineage, no matter what. And a nightmarishly greasy house and the poor family the grease envelopes.

Shiver is one of Junji Ito’s better horror manga collections. Some of his stories are a bit weak, containing only a striking image or idea and a lot of fluff around it, but some are quite brilliant and unique. Ito’s stories are nothing if not original, though often they’re too absurd or silly, undercutting the horror with unintentionally amusing over-the-top moments.

Ito’s art is first rate and nowhere else is the body horror aspect to his stories more effective than the ones in this collection. Like the holes in people’s bodies in Shiver, the bizarre ways Mukoda morphs in The Long Dream, the heads upon heads in Honored Family, and the gross-out scene in Greased Oil where the brother squeezes the zits on his face, pouring oil onto his tormented sister’s face. The character design of Fuchi in Fashion Model is also genuinely disturbing. This book has some really haunting and unnerving imagery that’ll stick with you - excellent stuff for a horror comic to have.

The stories, though simplistic, are mostly quite entertaining too - Used Record, Shiver, Fashion Model, and Greased Oil were my favourites. I didn’t think Honored Ancestors or Fashion Model: Cursed Frame were very good and Painter is quite forgettable too.

The others had elements I liked in fairly average stories. Hanging Blimp, Marionette Mansion and The Long Dream are the unique stories I mentioned earlier - nobody else could come up with killer ghostly blimps that try to hang you while wearing a giant mask of your head! And Marionette Mansion is insanely goofy in concept, while The Long Dream is pure weirdness. And yet, as inventive as they are, they’re less scary because they’re so strange, verging on the comedic. I won’t go into details in case anyone’s worried about spoilers so I’ll just say that some of the imagery in these three stories just made me laugh.

Also included are brief commentary pieces for each story, along with notes and sketches. They add a little something to each as Ito illuminates how each story was conceived and I thought it was really interesting to see how he outlines his stories.

While my reaction to this collection was mixed, I have to admire the creativity here and Ito’s skill as an artist remains impressive to say the least. If you’re a Junji Ito fan, you’ll read Shiver anyway, but for anyone who’s interested in the author, I suggest starting with Shiver (or Frankenstein, or Lovesickness) as one of the better collections of his distinctive brand of horror manga.

[Sadie Hartmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED THIS SOOOOO MUCH

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shiver is a collection of horror manga by the mang-ka Ito (Uzumaki, Tomie), an elegantly curated collection of 9 his best short stories, illustrating a range of his work. Includes short reflections on the origins of each piece, and a page of early drafting of ideas and sketches that informed each piece, too.

The stories are comics horror, so you get to see it, not just read about it, obviously. So let's say you like Poe’s Tales of Mystery and Imagination, a creative witch’s brew of scares? Well, Ito is in Poe's club, and maybe Lovecraft's (because of the monsters and weird creatures, mainly). Ito gives us stories culled from over thirty years of work, all emanating from strange images and dreams that evolved into stories. Some images/stories are gross, some are disturbing, as is appropriate to the genre, but many of them give you what the title promises: Shivers. Includes “Marionette Mansion," about stories of nightmare marionettes, “Painter,” about a painter who is driven insane painting Tomie, a beautiful femme fatale (wait: is that redundant? Is it possible to have an unattractive femme fatale leading men to destruction?) that became a focus of Ito for many years, collected in separate volumes; “Grease” features a family that is made greasy through compulsive drinking of salad oil (I know, yuk! That was the grossest one for me).

But Shivers focuses mainly on people, like you and me, who are driven insane by obsessive-compulsive urges or images, to the point of catatonia.

[Elle_bow 🩷 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the format of the short stories this time. All my other Junji Ito books have been one big story or reoccurring characters so I enjoyed being able to read short versions of his work. I also loved the author commentary!

[Kelsey (munnyreads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“A story about balloon headed dopplegangers out to hunt their counterparts the moment they go outside.” 😀 consider me unsettled.

I’ve recently fallen down the Junji Ito rabbit hole and despite horror not being my cup of tea, I cannot look away. Some stories here were much stronger than others, my favorite being Hanging Blimp and The Long Dream. The author commentary after each story was super interesting in seeing how Junji Ito finds and grows his concepts.

[alka]

this was disgusting.




loved it <3

[Johann (jobis89) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection was unbelievable. Favourite Junji Ito so far!

[Mariana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Estas historias me provocaron repulsión, sorpresa e incomodidad, por eso le doy 5 estrellas por todas las cosas que me hizo sentir.
Definitivamente me estaba perdiendo de algo muy original y extraño, ¡qué ganas de leer más cosas escritas por Junji Ito!

[Daye · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved (?) every minute of this

[Tammie · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a big fan of anything creepy and strange, I really enjoyed Junji Ito’s Shiver. Shiver is a collection of 9 short stories that the author personally selected, as well as a new story that was previously unpublished (I enjoyed all the stories, though my favorite was Marionette Mansion). As a fan and collector of his manga such as Tomie, Uzumanki and Gyo-I highly recommend Shiver to horror/manga fans.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shiver is a collection of ten short horror tales by Junji Ito.

Horror manga is quickly becoming one of my favorite things so I was eager to dive into this one. Each of the tales in Shiver is unsettling in its own way. Body horror and a general sense of unease are the order of the day.

While I enjoy most comics and manga I read, few of them produce an emotional response. I wouldn't say I felt nauseous after reading these but there was definitely an uneasiness, a sense of revulsion. I stayed the course and enjoyed the parade of the grotesque Junji Ito marched before me. He's a master, no doubt about it.

Shiver is revolting in the best way possible. Five out of five stars.

[nark · Rating 4 out of 5]

absolutely unhinged... and beautiful. i loved it.

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 Stars
Junji Ito is the master of creating some of the most weird and disturbing imagery in graphic novel horror. Drawn in the classic manga style, all the artwork in this collection was done in black and white, which fit the tone of the stories well. There were so many memorable panels that will undoubtedly stick in my brain. I particularly loved the incorporation of so much body horror in the stories.

Like in every collection, I enjoyed some stories more than others. Some of my favourites in this collection include Painter, Greased Oil, & the bonus story, Fashion Model: Cursed Frame. I did not love this one quite as much as spiral horror manga, Uzumaki, but I am still very excited to read more by this talented author.

[Davis Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely the best of Ito’s collections that I’ve read so far. Every single story in this collection is brilliantly terrifying and shockingly unique. The last story in particular is one of the grossest things I’ve ever seen in the best way possible. I typically find Ito’s character work to be the weakest link in his storytelling but I found myself rooting for quite a few of the protagonists in this collection. If you’re looking to get into Ito’s work and have no idea where to start, I can’t recommend this collection enough. You’ll see the full breadth of what his wonderfully horrific mind can come up with.

[Scott Neumann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic, my favorite Ito so far. So gruesome, so disturbing the stuff that nightmares are made of. Favorite story definitely is Hanging Blimp (once having a nightmare similar to this, that still resonates years later). Standouts include Painter ( a Tomie story) and Marionette Mansion. From the stunningly grotesque imagery to the masterful storytelling this is a must for any fan of horror.

[Books with Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.75 ⭐️

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Junji Ito never ceases to mystify and horrify me at the exact same time. Another great read, and one that will leave me sleepless tonight.

[Moon_child31 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love creepy stuff lol☕️

[♡ retrovvitches ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

ok wow this is now my favourite so far!!! wow this had some of the nastiest stories and i loved it. also, the inclusion of his creative process and tough sketches was such a nice touch. wish i read this sooner!!!!

[Tony Vacation · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent selection of horror manga, Junji Ito's Shiver collects stories that will be new to those who have already read the astounding Uzumaki, the bonkers Gyo, the impish Dissolving Classroom, the affectionate Cat Diary: Yon & Mu and the eclectic Fragments of Horror. Those who have read Ito's exhaustive exploration of gender politics, Tomie, will remember the story re-printed here, which features that titular and ever -resurrecting femme fatale tormenting a painter, a photographer and a sculptor, after each one fails to capture her beauty with their respective mediums. The remaining stories will be an embarrassment of grotesque riches for fans and new readers alike: A vinyl record of a posthumous scat performance by a dead warbler drives record-store regulars and jazz bar drunks to murder! The sky is suddenly populated with floating heads the size of hot air balloons, each one dangling a noose destined for the neck of the citizen below whose faces matches their new airborne overlord! The existential horror of experiencing an eternity during one night's sleep! A woman awakes to discover she has amnesia, an overbearing boyfriend and a prospective father-in law that skitters across the floor like a centipede! A wealthy puppeteer uses his fortune to pay servants to live in the ceiling and control all of his and his family's movements with strings. Production for an indie film goes south when a sharklike fashion model is casted! Living above a poorly ventilated grease-trap diner turns into an oozing scatological nightmare for a dysfunctional family! I wish there were even more stories for me to tease with exclamatory sentences! Junji Ito is the greatest living horror writer/artist, period.

[Stewart Tame · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ll admit it. I intentionally slowed my progress through this book. After each story, I would put it down and read something else for a while. I wanted time to let Ito’s imagery linger, and not just rush headlong into the next story.

Shiver is a collection of short stories by legendary horror manga-ka, Junji Ito. He’s a master of pacing, with a visual imagination that is just indescribable. I would cheerfully put him up against legends like Graham Ingels or Bernie Wrightson--even Basil Wolverton, though he's known more for the grotesque than outright horror--any day.

I also love how we get Ito’s own commentary after each story, along with notes and preliminary sketches. Seeing some of the groundwork helps me to appreciate these stories all the more.

And Ito is about ideas at least as much as he is visuals. Take the opening story, “Used Record,” for instance. There's really no strong visual inherent in the concept, but the story works beautifully nonetheless.

Shivers is a fine collection from an exceptional creator. Highly recommended!

[The Artisan Geek]

10/9/20
Read this a while back, just as everything Ito makes, it was really good!

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