I’ll always be fascinated by readers that pick up works in this genre, willingly, read it from front to back, and then pontificate endlessly about violence and fetishism and “the state of the world” and whatnot. Human psychology is fascinating—for some, these stories are cathartic. For others they’re pornographic. For others still they are what they’re meant to be—horror. Whatever they are, so long as that individual is not going out of their way to commit the actions depicted in these works in real life, there’s no issue.
This story was interesting, though I found myself a little bored with the twist ending. I like the fucked up aspects of stories like these, but sometimes they’re too focused on the gore aspect instead of the horror aspect. Again, that’s fine, but my taste leans closer to the psychological. The “journal” is the most interesting part of the story for me, and I quite liked the twist that comes with it. Poor Keichii…
There’s certainly a discussion to be had about sensationalized violence in the media (that is, the news) and the downright deplorable cultural behavior around women—which is just as prevalent in America as Japan, as anywhere else—but I wonder if stories like these are the right place for the discussion? After all, at the end of the day, it’s just a story. Close the book, and it can’t hurt you anymore.
Anyway—if you want an interesting story, I’m afraid this isn’t it. Plenty of gore and fanservice, though, if that’s your thing!