富江 Part3: Again

Tomie #3 of 3

by Junji Ito, 伊藤潤二

最近伊藤潤二名氣如日中天，在台灣的人氣也相當旺，東立不但將其舊作以漫畫精選的方式集結出書，他的新作亦不斷地代理來台，本周要介紹的這部【富江 PART III】，便是2003年1月才剛集結的新作。

【富江系列】是伊藤相當重要的作品，因為它不但是伊藤的出道作，伊藤依然持續不定期為【富江】畫新作。由【富江】，可以感受到伊藤這些年來畫工及內容上取向上的改變。

由本書前半段依然是維持著【富江】原始基調---"一個讓男人愛到無法自拔而將她分屍的女人。但分屍之後，每一部份的屍塊又會再生成一個完整的富江，然後再被分屍…如此不斷地重覆"，但本書最後幾回談論了富江的"成長"與"老化"，將【富江】帶到另一個新領域。

若是想要進來伊藤恐怖世界玩玩的話，富江將是你最佳的入門導覽…

Genres: Manga, Horror, Comics, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Dark

221 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2001

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

[A. Raca]

Manga konusunda çok yeniyim ve Junji Ito bana sevdirdi. Tomie hikayeleri ürkütücü olan, çizimleri de çok güzel bir seri. Gyo'yu da okuyacağım...

Yüz güzelliğiyle erkekleri büyüleyen, onları kölesi yapıp öldüren bir yaratık Tomie. Kendisini üzen erkekleri de üzüyor azcık ;)

[Michael Sorbello]

Tomie is a lovecraftian monstrosity trapped in the body of a stunningly beautiful girl. She can seduce nearly any man with nothing but a single glance, driving them mad with lust and envy until eventually pushing them to commit brutal murders. Though strangely enough, the victim of the murders are almost always Tomie herself. Countless men and women have fallen victim to Tomie's supernatural charms and Tomie herself has fallen victim to hundreds of atrocities as a result, but soon the world begins to realize that no matter how many times they kill Tomie, the world will never be free of her cruelty. She keeps coming back.

The story begins with Tomie seducing her teacher and a group of male students. They go insane with rage and lust, brutally dismembering her corpse, scattering her by a river all while fighting amongst each other like a flock of savages. Tomie’s streak of seducing victims with her demonic charm finally comes to an end, until she shows up to school the very next day to continue driving everyone insane. It turns out that chopping up Tomie didn’t kill her, it only allowed her to divide, spread and conquer like an army of humanoid cancer cells.

The book is a series of stand-alone stories revolving around the many replicas of Tomie. Each story gives us a way of seeing different sides of the same monstrous girl. She appears as the daughter of a mourning elderly couple, the narcissistic model for a wannabe millionaire painter, a perverted child seducer, a medical experiment gone wrong, we see many faces of Tomie and we’re never truly certain on which face is the real her. She’s like every mythological seductress all rolled into one. She’s a siren, succubus, lamia, Lilith, medusa and every other deadly seductress you can possibly think of. On top of this there’s Ito’s signature grotesque body horror to go along with each version of the wicked maiden.

Tomie is an enigma. If you slice her open, she heals right back up. If you cut her into a hundred pieces, each piece will regenerate and take on its own form and personality. At first we see her as a victim because of how brutally she's murdered by a teacher and a group of students, but as we come to learn more about her, it's almost as if she wants to be killed over and over. She's intentionally cruel, manipulative and psychotic, playing the damsel in distress one moment and happily destroying the lives of innocent people the next. She intentionally pushes people beyond their limits, taking a sick pleasure in the chaos she creates as the world goes mad with lust over her beauty. And since she keeps coming back, there's no limits or consequences to the amount of chaos she can conjure up. It's a very interesting take on lovecraftian horror, interweaving folklore from mythological creatures scattered throughout history wrapped up in the body of a seemingly innocent beautiful girl.

Tomie is the first manga Junji Ito ever published, so its age does show a bit at times, especially near the beginning of the story. It was also published over a very long period of time, there’s a massive difference between the first few chapters and the later chapters. If you’re not too impressed with the beginning, the art, quality and storytelling improve significantly over time, so it’s still great for a first published work and gives you a taste of the weirdness and brutality Ito is capable of. I would recommend Uzumaki first if you’re new to Ito, but Tomie is still definitely worth checking out.

***

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[Eni Gajanova]

Jako bizarno, ALI prvi broj je bio najbolji a zatim sam imala osećaj kao da kvalitet opada.

[Vladimir Veškovac]

Najslabiji deo trilogije. Tek na momente dobiješ ono što očekuješ, ali je generalno slabo.

[Dimitris Papastergiou]

It was ok.

I get why people love Junji Ito and his artwork is awesome most of the time but the story was repetitive and rushed.

[Dragana Zečević]

Najslabiji dio trilogije. Čak na kraju i nije skroz razjašnjeno šta je ona tačno bila,tako da mlaka mi ne reakcija na ovaj dio. Takođe,bilo je dosta ponavljanja.

[KK]

Prvi deo je bio najbolji. Ima po koja dobra priča i u drugom delu ali treći je definitivno najslabiji. Crtež kida i zato volim Djundjijeve radove ali priča je ovde slabija nego u nekim njegovim drugim mangama koje sam čitala.

[Catalina]

this one was dark af

[marko]

Sve u svemu “Tomie” je po mom mišljenju najslabija Đunđijeva manga, često repetativna i bez konkretne poente, ali je ipak dovoljno strašna, originalna i bizarna da bih je bez razmatranja preporučio svima koji vole Đunđijevo stvaralaštvo.

[Romane]

Tomie: Again

More of Tomie — one of Junji Ito's legendary horror manga.

The first chapter, Little Finger, introduces Tomie presenting as a young adult, presumably indicating that she can age.

In this volume, Tomie is illustrated in different ages. The stories are interconnected. Most of the parts made sense for me at the conclusion of the manga.

Junji Ito is excellent in conveying the existence of this captivating creature.

At it's heart, it's a story about a vengeful monstrosity trapped in a bishoujo's body, who wrecks people's lives without regard. She continues to cause her own suffering — or even death — again and again. Yet she preys on people's desperation knowing how far some will go to have her or be her. Lastly it shows what happens to people like that in the end, whereas people bring their own demise after loving and lusting after her.

I appreciate the afterword, which was written on 2010. That was 12 years ago. Really makes you think how dedicated Junji Ito sensei is in all of his works.

* * *

Chapters:

• Chapter I: Little Finger

• Chapter II: Boy

• Chapter III: Moromi

• Chapter IV: Babysitter

• Chapter V: Gathering

• Chapter VI: Passing Demon

• Chapter VII: Top Model

• Chapter VIII: Old and Ugly

[Elysa]

It has been inspiring to see the development of Junji Ito's style with this series; spanning over a couple decades, this man has continued his dedication to this manga (reference to his afterword). I found myself unable to finish one short story – as soon as I would see "END", I had to find out what were going to be the next circumstances for another Tomie appearing in the world. The way the story came to a close was an interesting direction and quite satisfying. Horror manga is fascinating in the way the human psyche is distorted and explored but even simply witnessing the detail of the gruesome scenes elicits an odd sort of admiration. I would strongly recommend this manga.

[Lily]

Absolutamente perturbador. Junji Ito no decepciona.

[❀ iro ❀]

4.5*

Ended in a bittersweet note that I wasn't expecting. The concept of the war between the three Tomies could have been a whole ass manga series on its own. Really loved this.

[lis]

Ah que grotesco y fascinante son estos libros.

[Yana C.]

Manga rating (vol 1-3): 4/5

[Guido]

Leído dentro del tomo 2 de la edición argentina.

[BozCitac]

The third volume about Junji Ito's abominable creature disguised as a girl (who hurts others and gets hurt even more herself) contains 5 short standalone tales and a longer one divided into 3 chapters.

Little Finger – The first one left the biggest impression on me. Tomie goes through a bizarre ordeal that is seemingly an agony for her, but in the end it all ends up being an elaborate ruse by Tomie to torture a random poor guy (I guess?) 4/5
Boy – Alright, nicely drawn, albeit predictable. 3/5
Moromi – This one gets way too surreal without a real conclusion. 2,5/5
Babysitter – Probably the weakest one in the volume. It boils down to a simplistic predictable supernatural story with Tomie just being shoehorned awkwardly – the heart-shaped monster named Marina that's at the center of the story abruptly reveals near the end that her "real" name is Tomie, and then everything just explodes into blood and gore for no reason. 1,5/5
Gathering – Repeats the standard formula about Tomei hurting others and being hurt herself, without a real ending. 3/5
Maniac, Top Model, Old – The three-part story arch gets pretty convoluted and arguably some of the plot points should have been developed further before a rushed-out ending. Although the story actually encompasses several decades and raises many questions, it ends with the most outrageously unsatisfying Gainax cliffhanger-hook. 2,5/5

[İlteriş]

I will review Tomie as not specifically this part but a whole manga series in this review because the pros and cons are pretty much common in every Tomie issue. The manga has a messed up beginning and a creepy plot. It is fun to read it but it would be better if the characters should act more intelligently. Besides, many stories are too straightforward. I was expecting more plot twists and more elements to spice the story up. For example, there is one story that I can call it my favourite among all Tomie stories. It is exactly what I was looking for. It was the little finger story. The Gathering is also a nice one. The top model is fine. That is bad that not every Tomie story is like that.

[JL Shioshita]

The last collection of Tomie stories is in my opinion the strongest. We have individuals actively trying to stop her or figure out a way to destroy her. We have a young man who is actually able to resist her, though is left psychically scarred afterwards. We have copious amounts of gore and some genuinely creepy and disturbing moments. What more could you ask for. If you liked the first two volumes, you will not be disappointed.

[B0R3D]

Chapter 1: I can't explain how much I hate this fucking monster. Please just get rid of it.

Chapter 2: This bitch is literally going everywhere destroying happy families. Fuck you.

Chapter 3: The fuck is wrong with this woman monster!? Why does every person fall in love with her?

Chapter 4: Just how many more Unexplained powers?? Please enlighten me with a nice explanation Mr Ito.

Chapter 5: Glad atleast one character didn't suffer that much because of her.

Chapters 6,7 and 8: Yeah, that's what I want to know. WHO ON EARTH IS TOMIE!?

[Elif]

I have been reading this manga for almost a year now. The beginning parts were fun to read, but I became bored as I continued to read more. Eventually, I stopped reading for months. Tomie is kind of a story collection. In the end, some parts are colliding. But the majority is based on the same plot. Tomie is making an appearance, a man falling in love, and murder starts. After 5 chapters it becomes dull and repetitive. I loved Uzumaki and I wanted to like this book so badly but unfortunately, it was a disappointment.

[☆Tete☆]

No se si es por el hecho de haber dejado pasar un tiempo para concluir con la colección de Tomie, pero enserio he disfrutado mucho de este tomo.
Y es que el problema que he tenido es que la historia siempre es repetitiva, en donde me atrevería a afirmar que el elemento terrorífico de las creaciones de Junji Ito son los dibujos, más no la historia.
Pero esta vez la verdad me han parecido un poco más dinámicas y frescas, digo aún siguen cortando a Tomie en pedazitos pero hay algo que les aporta más frescura.
En fin Tomie, una femme fatale de infarto 💅a quién amo demasiado 🖤

[Nekochimachan (⁠｡⁠•̀⁠ᴗ⁠-⁠)⁠✧]

I found this particular volume of Tomie surprisingly engaging. Unlike the previous volumes, I found this one to be less annoying. The enigmatic nature of the main character can be frustrating, but it's satisfying to see her face consequences in certain chapters. I appreciated that some of the characters in the book were not taken in by Tomie's manipulations and recognized her for who she truly is. The complexity of the storyline evoked strong emotions in me, particularly in the scenes where she kisses a kid and never appreciates her followers. That's all.

[Kat]

Rating : 5 ⭐️

Tomie is such an iconic character, I love her. She just has everyone at her feet while being confident and pretty.
The drawings are gorgeous and the plot of the story is entertaining. We see how Tomie always wins at the end, no matter what happens to her. She always makes the people who wronged her pay. It’s a horror manga but it’s not scary, it’s maybe a little disturbing with the gross drawings of Tomie being torn to shreds.

[Libbies_library]

✨Writing a grouped review for all 3 volumes ✨

A trademark Junji Ito premise and creepy imagery, Tomie follows Tomie, a high school student who was brutally murdered by her class and teacher but just doesn't seem to want to stay dead.

As I said, great premise and I enjoy Ito's art style and creepy illustrations. Unfortunately this series is just quite repetitive and the questionable content in some chapters prevents this from being any higher.

[Micah Castle]

Review of the series:

Like Floating Classroom, I'm guessing these were serialized and not intended to be read back-to-back since Tomie does get repetitive after the first few stories. Although, like always, Ito's artwork is creepy as hell and phenomenal and the stories themselves are solid spooky tales, I really wanted an overarching story line instead of one-shots that weren't interconnected nearly at all.

Still, it's the Tomie series is worth the read.

[Ann Park]

Un poco al estilo de Uzumaki va aumentando la intensidad de las historias y son cada vez más horribles desde el tomo dos... No me parece tan atractiva o interesante como Uzumaki claro, pero se lee con la misma rapidez, un poco al lote, un poco todo caótico, pero está bien... Aunque levemente agotadora la repetición de los temas con Tomie, los dibujos geniales si.

[alba ੈ✩‧₊˚]

Con este volumen me he tomado a tomie de una manera mas comica y me he reido bastante.
Es gracioso como escapa de todo lo que hacen, ella es libre.

Al final Tomie es igual que la pantera rosa, tom y jerry… y demas personajes que siempre se salen con la suya

(Ademas me encantó el epilogo de junji ito, le amo)

[Fernando Yataco]

El Último tomo de Tomie trajo, al igual que los otros, historias macabras de este personaje y lo que hace brotar en los hombres y en todos los que la conocen.

Debo decir que la última de estas historias no me gustó tanto como la otras. Así mismo, debo reconocer que en este tomo se han mantenido la escencia de las historias de Tomie desde el primer tomo.

[Aliaa]

I guess that means no explanations for me.. Weirdly enough I am fine with it.
That part was gruesome and I think I will forever remember that one particular scene with the saki, I swear I was about to puke, it was awesome.