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イビツ [Ibitsu] #1-2
Ibitsu
Urban legend has it that a girl in Gothic Lolita garb will sometimes appear at local garbage drops in the middle of the night, putting a question to passersby - "Would you have a little sister?" To reply is to seal one's fate and meet with a diabolical death... at the hands of none other than this twisted sister! And tonight, another man will fall prey to the horror...
416 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 444 reviews
March 22, 2019
2.5 stars
I’m still not sure whether to give this a 2 or 3 star rating but horror manga definitely isn’t my thing. The artwork was VERY graphic and gory at times (triggers for self-harm, child abuse, hints of incest, etc.) and there were too many up skirt shots which I really didn’t appreciate, and one horrible scene involving an iron - ugh.
I actually thought the first side story was pretty good and I liked the ending but the main story was a bit meh. I quite liked the opening couple of chapters where the creepy atmosphere kept me intrigued but then it went into a massive slasher/gore fest which did nothing for me. However, the psychiatrist’s diary section was a good addition and certainly made the story more entertaining and gripping.
Ibitsu has a very simple premise and the execution wasn’t all that great if I’m being honest and I hated the ending. The Lolita doesn’t get her comeuppance and ends up killing the MC and keeping him in her stuffed toy rabbit. There is no overall moral which leads me to ask what was the point of this story? :/
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 8, 2018
Super creepy!
Horror comics live or die by their atmosphere, and this one has plenty of it. An urban legend tells of a girl in Gothic Lolita garb who appears by a trash heap in the dead of night. She asks anyone who encounters her, “Would you have a little sister?” But don't answer or your fate is sealed …
Our story revolves around a young man, Kazuki, who encounters the aforementioned girl while taking out the trash. Naturally, he ignores her question and lives happily ever after …
Ha ha, no. This is a horror manga after all. I don't want to spoil anything, but poor Kazuki definitely goes through Hell and then some … Haruto Ryo’s creation can hold her own against the Jasons and Freddy Kruegers of the world. The pacing is perfect, and there's this wonderful atmosphere of creeping dread to the whole affair. In addition to the main story, there are a couple of unrelated bonus stories that show that the excellence of Ibitsu is no fluke. Highly recommended!
Horror comics live or die by their atmosphere, and this one has plenty of it. An urban legend tells of a girl in Gothic Lolita garb who appears by a trash heap in the dead of night. She asks anyone who encounters her, “Would you have a little sister?” But don't answer or your fate is sealed …
Our story revolves around a young man, Kazuki, who encounters the aforementioned girl while taking out the trash. Naturally, he ignores her question and lives happily ever after …
Ha ha, no. This is a horror manga after all. I don't want to spoil anything, but poor Kazuki definitely goes through Hell and then some … Haruto Ryo’s creation can hold her own against the Jasons and Freddy Kruegers of the world. The pacing is perfect, and there's this wonderful atmosphere of creeping dread to the whole affair. In addition to the main story, there are a couple of unrelated bonus stories that show that the excellence of Ibitsu is no fluke. Highly recommended!
August 13, 2018
Well, I wasn't planning on sleeping tonight anyway...
October 9, 2018
Typical sexualized violence passed off as horror.
June 17, 2025
this certainly had some creepy moments mixed with some pretty intense art. but some of the panels i was like the nudity and weird creepy shots is so not necessary lol. takes away from the story for me honestly, would’ve enjoyed it a lot more otherwise
March 29, 2019
i just finished reading this & damn i wasn’t expecting that whole backstory with the doctor or anything, i like how there was a bit of depth to this & how pieces of the story were slowly coming together throughout.
this was my first manga as well & i did enjoy it, as i read more hopefully i’ll be better at formulating my thoughts & reviews
this was my first manga as well & i did enjoy it, as i read more hopefully i’ll be better at formulating my thoughts & reviews
February 3, 2019
3.0 Stars
This is a dark and gruesome manga with plenty of body horror. Trigger warnings for self harm. The plot was quite simplistic, which unfortunately affected my overall enjoyment of the story.
This is a dark and gruesome manga with plenty of body horror. Trigger warnings for self harm. The plot was quite simplistic, which unfortunately affected my overall enjoyment of the story.
July 25, 2022
Well, some “creepy” moments, some gore, noting much. I feel like it ended before it should have.
August 7, 2019
I feel like I should include a review of reasons why I disliked this!
-overly sexual! why on earth does a young girl, around 15 years old, have her shirt ripped off so her boob is exposed before she is brutally hunted down and then murdered? i think the way the girls especially are tortured and treated in this is humiliating and gratuitous and i highly disliked that about it
-ah yes, of course, the killer is actually a traumatised young girl with PTSD.... except she's..... not? or is she? i do not know. someone explain this ending. i think regardless of that, it is assumed for a good long while that the killer is a young girl who was essentially groomed and then witnessed the brutal murder of her parents, and then is highly sexual and provocative afterwards, and it just felt.... nasty. i got the feeling there was a very low and 'girls are weak' approach to the female characters.
-the violence, especially self harm, just felt wrong. i felt dirty reading this, and not in a way i could have ever enjoyed. it's very gross. i'm used to levels of body horror and self harm- the unsound is a series i really enjoyed and that has a lot of self harm, and lazaretto is one of my favourite series and has high levels of body horror- but in this it just felt, like i said earlier, gratuitous and exploitative. the men in this don't suffer to the same extent. i think in the end the main character experiences a lot of pain, but even then, it doesn't feel as wrong as it does the mostly young girls, including our main villain.
-overly sexual! why on earth does a young girl, around 15 years old, have her shirt ripped off so her boob is exposed before she is brutally hunted down and then murdered? i think the way the girls especially are tortured and treated in this is humiliating and gratuitous and i highly disliked that about it
-ah yes, of course, the killer is actually a traumatised young girl with PTSD.... except she's..... not? or is she? i do not know. someone explain this ending. i think regardless of that, it is assumed for a good long while that the killer is a young girl who was essentially groomed and then witnessed the brutal murder of her parents, and then is highly sexual and provocative afterwards, and it just felt.... nasty. i got the feeling there was a very low and 'girls are weak' approach to the female characters.
-the violence, especially self harm, just felt wrong. i felt dirty reading this, and not in a way i could have ever enjoyed. it's very gross. i'm used to levels of body horror and self harm- the unsound is a series i really enjoyed and that has a lot of self harm, and lazaretto is one of my favourite series and has high levels of body horror- but in this it just felt, like i said earlier, gratuitous and exploitative. the men in this don't suffer to the same extent. i think in the end the main character experiences a lot of pain, but even then, it doesn't feel as wrong as it does the mostly young girls, including our main villain.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 29, 2018
Pretty disturbing story, but I prefer Junji Ito and his much more detailed and out there stories. Still, I felt like reading something horror related, and rather foolishly picked this up. The main story is pretty tiresome, but the pay off is unexpected and really nasty, so if you like that sort of thing, here you go. The side stories were a little more entertaining for me than the main tale, but every one of them ends nastily, so don’t go to this one for a pick me up.
This one had some moments that made me regret reading it, but if you have particularly thick skin, you might enjoy it. Here is really nothing uplifting about, though, and no moral whatsoever.
This one had some moments that made me regret reading it, but if you have particularly thick skin, you might enjoy it. Here is really nothing uplifting about, though, and no moral whatsoever.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 22, 2018
Kazuki walks towards the dumpster by his building one night and encounters a young woman in a dirty lolita style outfit. She asks him if he would have a sister and he says yes, as in he has one. Then this girl follows him and even breaks into his house, insisting she is his little sister and generally freaking everyone out. How far will she go to fulfill this delusion? Why is she doing all this?
Ibitsu is a horror manga centered around an urban legend. A demon lolita asks passersby a question and if they answer at all, she will either kill their little sister to assume her role or act as their little sister with the end goal of eventually killing them. The lolita herself appears pretty monstrous with a deranged smile, hastily sewn slashed wrists, filthy clothing, and an equally dirty stuffed rabbit. Kazuki had never heard of this legend before and has no idea what he got himself into. It starts out with relatively small things like the girl shoving her way into his apartment and washing her filthy stuffed animal, taking the master key to his apartment, eating his sister's makeup, and following him around everywhere to recite everything he's done or bought recently. Her actions escalate past anything I expected. The plot is pretty standard for any horror story where he investigates her past to try to find a way for him and his sister to survive and get her to move on. The lolita is half Samara from The Ring and half Tomie with a splash of urban legend.
I fully expected to like Ibitsu, but one particular aspect really bothered me. The violence towards women took a rather sexual bent for no reason at all. The positions were very suggestive with upskirt poses. The lolita rips open Kazuki's sister's shirt so her breast is exposed and almost presses a hot iron to her crotch, which pushed that act to genital mutilation or female circumcision. That has a whole plethora of connotations that have nothing to do with urban legends or Japan in general. I found that part particularly extreme for no real reason. On the other hand, a death by sledgehammer, which didn't have any sexual connotations, seemed rather censored in comparison to all the other deaths. I found these choices odd. I see the sexualized women and deaths sometimes in manga, but this example is the worst. It simply doesn't belong in this story and should have a good reason for being there. There is a whole genre of manga that people can read if they want sexual content and it felt very forced into this story.
Ibitsu had real promise. Even though it adhered to horror tropes, it managed to set itself apart with the backstory of the lolita and her method of infiltrating the family. The ending was well done, satisfying, and open for continuation. The sexual violence really put me off the story and didn't belong there. There are two small other unrelated stories. One is amazing. It involves another urban legend where couples will be happy forever if they write their name on a particular wall of an abandoned building. The reveal of what's actually happening is so chilling and creepy. The second story is frankly a slight changed rip-off of Stephen King's Misery except with a manga writer. The ending is quite predictable. Overall, Ryo has real promise, but I was a bit disappointed by this story.
Ibitsu is a horror manga centered around an urban legend. A demon lolita asks passersby a question and if they answer at all, she will either kill their little sister to assume her role or act as their little sister with the end goal of eventually killing them. The lolita herself appears pretty monstrous with a deranged smile, hastily sewn slashed wrists, filthy clothing, and an equally dirty stuffed rabbit. Kazuki had never heard of this legend before and has no idea what he got himself into. It starts out with relatively small things like the girl shoving her way into his apartment and washing her filthy stuffed animal, taking the master key to his apartment, eating his sister's makeup, and following him around everywhere to recite everything he's done or bought recently. Her actions escalate past anything I expected. The plot is pretty standard for any horror story where he investigates her past to try to find a way for him and his sister to survive and get her to move on. The lolita is half Samara from The Ring and half Tomie with a splash of urban legend.
I fully expected to like Ibitsu, but one particular aspect really bothered me. The violence towards women took a rather sexual bent for no reason at all. The positions were very suggestive with upskirt poses. The lolita rips open Kazuki's sister's shirt so her breast is exposed and almost presses a hot iron to her crotch, which pushed that act to genital mutilation or female circumcision. That has a whole plethora of connotations that have nothing to do with urban legends or Japan in general. I found that part particularly extreme for no real reason. On the other hand, a death by sledgehammer, which didn't have any sexual connotations, seemed rather censored in comparison to all the other deaths. I found these choices odd. I see the sexualized women and deaths sometimes in manga, but this example is the worst. It simply doesn't belong in this story and should have a good reason for being there. There is a whole genre of manga that people can read if they want sexual content and it felt very forced into this story.
Ibitsu had real promise. Even though it adhered to horror tropes, it managed to set itself apart with the backstory of the lolita and her method of infiltrating the family. The ending was well done, satisfying, and open for continuation. The sexual violence really put me off the story and didn't belong there. There are two small other unrelated stories. One is amazing. It involves another urban legend where couples will be happy forever if they write their name on a particular wall of an abandoned building. The reveal of what's actually happening is so chilling and creepy. The second story is frankly a slight changed rip-off of Stephen King's Misery except with a manga writer. The ending is quite predictable. Overall, Ryo has real promise, but I was a bit disappointed by this story.
January 22, 2020
The plot was rather simplistic and in my opinion, really led nowhere in the end. Guaranteed, there were some disturbing parts here and there but the overall incline towards senseless gore and murdering during the last half of the book really left me out of it.
I really did not see the point of the book. I really hated the ending and it did nothing except for making me feel insanely sympathetic towards the main character. Honestly, the concept was interesting. I just think it could’ve been some better.
I really did not see the point of the book. I really hated the ending and it did nothing except for making me feel insanely sympathetic towards the main character. Honestly, the concept was interesting. I just think it could’ve been some better.
July 28, 2019
Actual garbage. No pun intended.
July 21, 2019
A fairly entertaining and quick read, but not one I'd return to. I've only been reading Junji Ito manga recently, and this was not up to the standard of work like 'Uzumaki'. The art here was decent, nothing stunning but not bad, it flowed well with the story. I don't love stylistic font changes in comics/manga as I feel like it's quite distracting and that good writing doesn't need it. I also had an issue with the unnecessary upskirts, sexual violence, and nudity of underage girls; this is the kind of thing that puts me off manga as a genre in general. The story was okay, it felt a lot like a standard creepy-pasta which I'm not a fan of, but that's just a personal preference. Gore-wise this wasn't too bad but there did seem to be a bit of a focus on self-harm based body horror which I never enjoy seeing - it just seems insensitive and unoriginal; we all know of the 'crazy self abuser' trope. I didn't mind the ending not being happy...probably because I didn't get attached to any of the characters at all. Also, this novel got off on a bad foot quite quickly for me, as the only identifiable characteristic of the antagonist is her lolita "cosplay" - this was clearly written by a man who thinks it's either a Halloween costume or a sexy lolicon getup, but that's a whole different conversation. All in all, 2/5 because it held my attention for at least an hour, even if some of that time was spent staring into the distance wondering why grown men think sexualising pubescent girls is okay.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 25, 2020
The ending of this shocked me and also didn’t. I knew the ending could go in two ways, but I did not expect it to go the way it did but I loved it. This book was so creepy and should not be read at night, but I read it at night. I loved the story revolving around what happens to people when they respond in a certain to a girl dressed in gothic Lolitas question about having a little sister. And I loved that this is part of an urban legend, it was amazing to hear more about this legend and we also learn how it started. The art really matched with the creepiness of the story. And the art was so beautiful and well detailed to make the story feel realistic.
January 8, 2021
Wow this was really creepy and gave me goosebumps. Honestly I think I already read this manga when I was thirteen or fourteen, so I wasn't that surprised cause I already remembered how it ended. But still a good story, with a good view of the past of the lolita girl, and a decent drawing of gore scene. Really recommended if you like creepypasta and urban legends.
August 20, 2021
Skvělé čtení, jeden delší příběh a dva kratší. S tím že i ty kraťasy jsou naprosto super!
Doporučuji
Doporučuji
August 18, 2025
Just when you think a manga is safe… BOOM INCEST
June 3, 2024
"You can hurt me again if you want to. Look! I’ll open this gash up even wider!!! Let’s make more memories you and I! I can always sew it back up, you know! Open it!! Open it!!"
This was disturbing. I’ll never speak to trash ladies ever again…
RTC
This was disturbing. I’ll never speak to trash ladies ever again…
RTC
August 5, 2020
This was very creepy and disturbing. I enjoyed the ending and thought it was perfect for the story, but can understand why some people might not like it.
October 27, 2019
2.9/5
You know what I hate? When random side characters ask the protagonist if they've heard of the exact legend/news story/whatever that the protagonist has just encountered in the opening chapter/scene, and then go into details about it, not for the protagonist's benefit, but for ours. It's lazy and usually handled with a certain amount of jarring awkwardness, brought up out of the blue in the most random points in conversations. Ibitsu's translation in this omnibus does it twice, and even then various parts of the urban legend that kickstarts this plot are repeated to us, in case we forget, I guess.
What is the urban legend? Simple. Anyone who encounters a strange girl in a gothic lolita outfit hanging out in the trash gets asked a question: "Would you have a little sister?" There is no right answer; any possible response leads to an inevitable and extreme death. It's best not to respond at all, but if the protagonist ignored her, well, there would be no story.
On the bright side, there are some awesome moments, and two neat side stories. There are some pedestrian scenes of characters talking or doing mundane things, which probably feature some of the dullest art I've seen in a little while; but when the horror stuff begins, that's when Ryo's artistic strengths truly show with intense strokes of almost paranormal terror. The plot is nothing special, or new. It's merely a reason for the artwork to flourish, and with something this visually well-put-together, why not?
The execution is a little sloppy at times, and it deteriorates into a slasher at around the middle point, but with the help of some strong artwork (at least in the horror scenes) and some effectively staged scenes, Ibitsu is decent horror fun at best and occasionally poorly written trash at worst.
You know what I hate? When random side characters ask the protagonist if they've heard of the exact legend/news story/whatever that the protagonist has just encountered in the opening chapter/scene, and then go into details about it, not for the protagonist's benefit, but for ours. It's lazy and usually handled with a certain amount of jarring awkwardness, brought up out of the blue in the most random points in conversations. Ibitsu's translation in this omnibus does it twice, and even then various parts of the urban legend that kickstarts this plot are repeated to us, in case we forget, I guess.
What is the urban legend? Simple. Anyone who encounters a strange girl in a gothic lolita outfit hanging out in the trash gets asked a question: "Would you have a little sister?" There is no right answer; any possible response leads to an inevitable and extreme death. It's best not to respond at all, but if the protagonist ignored her, well, there would be no story.
On the bright side, there are some awesome moments, and two neat side stories. There are some pedestrian scenes of characters talking or doing mundane things, which probably feature some of the dullest art I've seen in a little while; but when the horror stuff begins, that's when Ryo's artistic strengths truly show with intense strokes of almost paranormal terror. The plot is nothing special, or new. It's merely a reason for the artwork to flourish, and with something this visually well-put-together, why not?
The execution is a little sloppy at times, and it deteriorates into a slasher at around the middle point, but with the help of some strong artwork (at least in the horror scenes) and some effectively staged scenes, Ibitsu is decent horror fun at best and occasionally poorly written trash at worst.
November 5, 2020
Kazuki, a young college student living in a small apartment building, is taking out his trash one night when he sees a disheveled young woman dressed in lolita-style clothing sitting in the street by the neighborhood trash pile. She asks Kazuki if he wants a little sister, and his answer unknowingly turns his life into a living nightmare. The best thing to do would've been to walk away in silence, but he just unknowingly made himself the victim of an urban legend.
There were a couple of good scares and the backstory of the evil girl was somewhat intriguing, but the actual plot was sloppy and all of the characters were annoyingly stupid and underdeveloped. This had the makings of a good psychological thriller but it fell short in almost every way.
***
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There were a couple of good scares and the backstory of the evil girl was somewhat intriguing, but the actual plot was sloppy and all of the characters were annoyingly stupid and underdeveloped. This had the makings of a good psychological thriller but it fell short in almost every way.
***
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October 29, 2018
A girl in gothic Lolita attire sits at night asking passerbys if they would have a sister. And this happens to Kazuki one night, and from there things get very bad.
This is a frustrating one, because the urban legend element is very cool and the artwork is super horrific and disturbing, often times passing into sleaze territory. But on a narrative level its not strictly satisfying, but maybe its just me. I tend not to gravitate towards "endless unstoppable cycle of horror" stories because for me the lack of resolution aggravates. Still worth a look for those who want a sometimes graphic and disturbing manga.
There are some decent side stories in here that play with the urban legend angle as well, with the first, "hall of dolls" being very nasty and the second "the curious case of the editor," being very odd.
This is a frustrating one, because the urban legend element is very cool and the artwork is super horrific and disturbing, often times passing into sleaze territory. But on a narrative level its not strictly satisfying, but maybe its just me. I tend not to gravitate towards "endless unstoppable cycle of horror" stories because for me the lack of resolution aggravates. Still worth a look for those who want a sometimes graphic and disturbing manga.
There are some decent side stories in here that play with the urban legend angle as well, with the first, "hall of dolls" being very nasty and the second "the curious case of the editor," being very odd.
October 10, 2018
Between Meh and Bleh
Mediocre and boorish. I have no issue with gore and such, unfortunately this is the sort of work that thinks horror is just blood, guts, and demented behaviour. Characters are bland, villain is bland, and the twists are bland. The concept drew me ( thus 2 stars ) in but the execution is just sloppy. Read a different horror manga, because life is too short to waste on boorish manga that wouldn't make a gerbil's spine tingle.
Mediocre and boorish. I have no issue with gore and such, unfortunately this is the sort of work that thinks horror is just blood, guts, and demented behaviour. Characters are bland, villain is bland, and the twists are bland. The concept drew me ( thus 2 stars ) in but the execution is just sloppy. Read a different horror manga, because life is too short to waste on boorish manga that wouldn't make a gerbil's spine tingle.
October 19, 2020
TW: mentions of incest/pedophelia, child abuse, gore in this story.
Unfortunately this lacked actual plot and was only semi-creepy. The scariest thing for me was the creepy male fan service. Sexualization of violence and young girls trying to pass off as horror. Gross. Also the plot twist was so immensely boring and dumb the story would be exactly the same without it.
Unfortunately this lacked actual plot and was only semi-creepy. The scariest thing for me was the creepy male fan service. Sexualization of violence and young girls trying to pass off as horror. Gross. Also the plot twist was so immensely boring and dumb the story would be exactly the same without it.
April 14, 2019
There's a decent horror story here, along with some nice artwork. Just nothing really special in my opinion. It was a fun ride, but the ending left me with a big question that I'll never get the answer to. Check it out if you absolutely love horror manga. Otherwise, move along.
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February 20, 2021I don’t feel like it is right of me to rate this book since I am not usually a reader of manga. Although, I must admit that it was a bit of challenge to get used to the style I can see this being very popular title of the kind..
November 11, 2019
3,5 stars
This was a very gory and gruesome manga, with some very graphic scenes.
TW: Self-harm, child abuse, gore, incest, mutilation.
This was a very gory and gruesome manga, with some very graphic scenes.
TW: Self-harm, child abuse, gore, incest, mutilation.
November 5, 2024
A perfect Halloween read for me!~ When I read the description it gave me major creepy pasta vibes or even those old webcomics that didn't move until the last panel that would jumpscare the crap out of you, I always liked those x3 Having finally bought it it was infact very much what I had hoped. Nothing super offensive and nothing too gorey but just a good creepy ghost story. Everytime I thought we'd got to the bottom of the ghost story it kept going deeper too which was entertaining as well!~ There were nifty plot twists and a good amount creepy moments. A solid 5 stars from me! (EDIT: Still not for the faint of heart though as it comes shrink wrapped for a reason. There is what to me is mild gore and, as our antagonist is a little sister yandere, lots of bad things geared towards girls specifically. I saw alot of other reviews saying there was alot of unnecessary fan service, panty shots and what not. I genuinely don't remember seeing any myself I was so focused on the action but with the other things I do remember seeing im sure they're there so be warned about that. This story didn't strike me as particularly sexist either though, as I saw other commenters saying. Yes most of the deaths are women and yes the girls get messed up EXTRA bad compared to the boys but I didnt think that was for any reason other than the Lolita was a Yandere. You know the yandere rule, only 1 woman allowed for senpai and yes you WILL die an extra slow and painful death if you end up in her way.)
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