It's pretty good, it reads as accurate to how people would behave in times of planetary crisis. Not by favorite Ito but an odd interesting tale.

I'm torn about this one. It has an extremely intriguing opening premise, however, the middle bit wanders and the final act is truly bizarre. It wasn’t as enjoyable a read as other Junji Ito works, but still had a sufficiently creepy story to keep me wondering what was going to happen next.

Whew boy, where to start with this one? How about a thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

What a concept! A new planet is discovered in our solar system and it's...wait... it's coming right for us? It's EATING whole planets in its path? Stop and think about how our planet would react to something like this. We've seen how people are coming undone during this plague of a year. If something like this were to actually happen, I daresay that Junji Ito wasn't far off the mark on the human insanity scale.

What worked for me: the slow building of terror and how much the focus was on the horrible things humanity is capable of instead of just the demon planet. Yes the planet is the catalyst for everything happening, but when it comes to the real meat and bones of the horror in this story, it's humanity.

What fell a bit short: it felt repetitive at times. Remina would be hunted, she'd be saved by a man who would claim he'd protect her, he'd fail to protect her, and then lather, rinse, repeat a few times. I would have loved to have seen Remina herself have a little more agency in a story that bears her name.

Overall, the art and imaginative storytelling are a hallmark of Junji Ito's style and are sure to be a treat for his fans, myself included.

This is a strange one, for sure - but then again, that is what makes all of Juni Ito's books so remarkable. The story stars out harmless enough - an astrophysicist discovers a new planet and proudly names it after his daughter Remina. The public is so excited about this mysterious new planet that over the years Remina herself becomes a celebrity by association. That, however turns sour quite quickly as soon as it is discovered that planet Remina not only eats other planets in our solar system - it has also arrived at Earth, with devastating effects.

The planet-eating-planet is a silly idea, but the illustrations are suitably creepy with its otherworldly eyes, tongues and various inhabitants. The real horror, of course, is how the humans are dealing with this sudden threat to their existence (spoiler: They do not band together to overcome this global crisis and instead look for a convenient scapegoat to blame - Alan Moore's ending for "Watchmen" seems more an more optimistic every year).

All of this is done masterfully in Itos signature style of blending an eerie story and at times quite graphic illustrations with just the right amoung of camp to make it fun (again, we are talking about a planet eating other planets with a giant tongue and everything). Highly recommended if you like graphic novels that are weird and enjoy the stark black and white artwork.

This was a good intro to his return to new books.
This gave me the Tomie feels.
It was a very interesting take on planets, and what out there in space.
The read flows and the story comes to a horror end.

So That's It Then?

An alien planet, possibly sentient, emerges from a wormhole and races toward Earth, destroying everything in its path. The astrophysicist who first discovered the hole and the planet named the planet after his cute, hot daughter - Remina. When planet Remina heads toward Earth everyone goes nutz, blames Dad and daughter Remina and starts a manhunt to find and kill Remina so that that act of sympathetic magic will send the planet back where it came from. Really?

Lots of close-ups of Remina, (both of them), lots or running around, and lots of repetition. It's basically a disaster movie with a disaster that's a bit cooler than just an earthquake or a volcano. The hunt for daughter Remina came out of nowhere and goes on forever. Remina is caught a few different times and we get close to explicit torture porn, (whipping, burning, hanging, two different crucifixions), which was both over the top and almost childishly inappropriate.

There isn't too much dialogue and what there is is easily skimmable. As a consequence this was an exceptionally fast read, which was great because there's enough going on that you want to see how it ends, but not enough going on that you're willing to devote a lot of time or attention. There is a fair amount of deranged, manic, and extraordinarily implausible action, so that was fun. For me this fell into the check-it-out category, and now I know a little bit more about Junji Ito. And I know not to name any death planets I discover after any family members.

(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

This was a weird one. There was a lot going on, and yet there was a lot of repetition and so many characters were flat or passive; it was surprising how compelling the story still managed to be with those limitations. It is a story of ideas more than an in-depth character study, for sure. You get to the end not because of an investment in the weepy ragdoll Remina but because you have no idea where this could all go next. It has moments of true creepiness from both what's going on in the sky and on Earth.

I was not impressed with this graphic novel. I admit to being unfamiliar with anime, so perhaps I'm missing something, but it was unrelievedly violent in ways that appeared to have very little to do with the storyline. The storyline was bland, predictable, and heavily reliant on Christian mythos, including dying for one's sins and crucifixion - although Remina's only sin was allowing her father to name a newly-discovered planet after her. The entire plot (such as it was) was based on that one idea - that because this planet was named for a 16 year-old girl, she was therefore responsible for its actions. There was little exposition; the story moved almost immediately into the action, such as it was, consisting mostly of chasing Remina around first Japan and then the planet while trying to kill her for being the planet's namesake. This was all that occurred for over three-fourths of the volume. The climax was easily predictable, consisting of the presumably-unknown identity of the homeless man Remina meets coincidentally. On the positive side, I enjoyed the graphic nature of the the volume, and found the artistic style engaging and appropriate to the volume. Overall, while I am sure there are people who would enjoy it, this was not to my taste.

I loved the artwork, I loved the storyline, I loved the creepiness, and I loved the strangeness & uniqueness of the planet Remina. But there were other aspects that let this manga down, in my eyes. I found the characters flat and undeveloped, even for a graphic novel, and the amount of panels that had Remina 'sobs' or 'sobbing' did not help her character along in my eyes at all. I also found the ending ...lacked something, but I can't put my finger on it. I don't even mind that it was such as open ending (book #2, please?); the climax and conclusion just didn't satisfy.
All this being said, I can envision Remina becoming a movie - it would translate so well to the big screen!

If you have read Junji Ito's works, you will likely notice that most of Ito's staples are on full display in this manga (elements of the grotesque, a critical lens scrutinizing society, some form of cosmic horror, etc.). One thing that I always say about Ito is that his short stories typically affect me on a more profound level than his long-form manga (Greased/Glycerin especially), but 'Remina' is the "long" manga closest in style to the short stories because it tells a clear, haunting story with a loud warning against fanaticism. Still, I only gave this manga four out of five stars because I would have personally liked to have seen some more character development and, perhaps, fewer panels with comical sound effects from the bad guys and constant sobbing from Remina. If you are a fan of stories that draw biblical parallels, sci-fi with some sprinkles of grotesque horror, or Ito's other works, I recommend that you pick this up when it releases in December.

A scientist is elated when he finds that a wormhole that he discovered has spit out a planet--a new planet that he names after his beloved daughter, Remina. Remina makes her debut in show businesses, and the people love her. But when it becomes clear that Remina is heading straight for Earth and consuming everything in its path, that love turns to terror, and soon the masses are on a witch hunt to sacrifice her and stop Remina's inexorable approach.

Junji Ito is a genius, and so it feels wrong to say this, but I felt like this story was just okay. Unlike his usual fare--like The Enigma Amigara Fault, which was both unique and discomfiting (and even though I read it years ago I still think about it from time to time and shudder a little), Remina felt like a story that had been done before. His art is phenomenal as always, of course, but I wished that the characters had been a bit more fleshed out rather than having just been archetypes. Then, maybe I would have been invested in the full chapter of Remina and her few allies(?) trying to escape the mob. I certainly wouldn't recommend that fans of Ito's work NOT read this, but if I'm recommending something to someone who has never read anything from Ito before, this would not be my first pick.

I LOVED Uzumaki when I read it a few months ago and that might have colored my expectations for this book. It was good! Very Lovecraftian cosmic horror and an amazing premise all around. I just had too many issues with the plot and characterization (obvious Christian parallels, a titular character who has absolutely no agency and literally just gets shoved around once the action starts, and many more) to really get absorbed in the story and the horror like I did with Uzumaki. I'll also admit that my reading experience was not ideal as I read an advance copy with a huge watermark that definitely distracted from the art. I likely will read Gyo or Tomie next, but maybe I'll revisit Remina sometime.

This is somewhere between three and four stars for me, rounded up to four for my review. The story itself is mostly just fine. It is interesting and says some intense things about celebrity culture, fanaticism, misogyny, and power imbalances. It delves into the silly category in a couple places (like how keh keh keh and sob sob sob are used repeatedly and the rise to fame for Oguro family was *snaps* fast). What elevates it is hands down the art. Reading this, I felt uncomfortable. I was disturbed. My skin crawled. The run-of-the-mill story became something disconcerting and frightening thanks to Junji Ito's incredible art.

Unfortunately I cannot get to this sync properly with Adobe app on my tablet so I cannot review this. I was expecting this to be able to sync with the Netgalley app, but it did not. I'm sure I will love it when I'm able to get a copy

Junji Ito, well known for his horror manga, spins a tale of obsession and the lengths people will go when they're living in fear.

A scientist names a discovery of his, a planet in a distant solar system, after his beloved daughter Remina. At first people are enchanted by the planet and its namesake, but soon interest leads to fear as extremist thought patterns emerge when the planet starts to launch itself towards earth. As with other Junji Ito titles, body horror and shocking imagery illustrate this volume, and Remina & company are left to flee for their lives.

Typically I'm a big fan of Ito's work, but I wonder if perhaps his main strength lays in short stories. The pacing was solid until about halfway through the volume, and at that point I found myself feeling like all of it was a bit... excessive and unnecessary? Even for Ito. Scenes of torture, Remina surviving trauma that never seems to end, a giant tongue literally causing everything to fall apart as the story drops into an absurdist fantasy nightmare. I think maybe I needed to be in a different mindset for reading this manga, though I did get a chuckle from certain things, and I very much enjoyed the hero who emerged partway through the story.

If you are a fan of Ito, give this a try. I'm going to have a bit of difficulty recommending this title to the general public, but I think that's okay- Junji Ito is Junji Ito, and this is DEFINITELY an Ito book, even if it's not an Ito written for me.

Remina has always been one of Ito’s most underrated gems, a classic example of science fiction and cosmic horror wrapped up in one wonderful little volume. After the discovery of a new planet that appeared out of a wormhole, humanity is initially excited. The scientist that discovers the wormhole names the planet after his beautiful teenage daughter Remina and the girl is instantly catapulted to stardom. Once they realize that the planet is moving toward Earth, destroying stars and planets along the way, the world is plunged into a state of madness and terror.

The story is not subtle in criticizing society’s almost religious worship of idols like Remina, who becomes the people’s outlet for their joys and anxieties. The biblical imagery is clear as Remina and her father are hunted to be crucified in hopes of averting catastrophe in the opening pages. What follows is an incredible story of a world swept in madness for fear of an unknown threat from the farthest reaches of space.

This is a fun story that keeps the pace going on full-throttle, after a point the chase becomes a little tiresome as it seems to go on for ages. Ito’s art is as detailed and surreal as always and he creates imagery that is truly terrifying. It is a fun ride and is an essential read for fans of Lovecraftian horror.

Junji Ito's "Remina" is an interesting concept: a new planet is discovered, it eats away every other planet on its way, and only few survive.

The art is amazing, as it conveys a sense of horror and despair in the reader, while also accentuating the character's trauma and fear. It's a shame the book doesn't leave you completely satisfied as the story never hits home.

This is a cosmic horror story that ramps up quickly. A new discovery of a planet brings fame to a scientist and his daughter. The attention turns sour when the discovery sets its sights on Earth. In classic Ito fashion, this starts in the innocent with wisps of the everyday creep then barrels into the absurd and horrific. It is a quick Ito read, but not my favorite. I don't have a gut or visceral reaction to the cosmic horror elements, but do find the mob mentality terrifying. Also, there aren't any images that have burned into my brain like other Ito stories.

Still a good addition to an Ito or manga collection. Will consider for purchase for our library's adult graphic novel collection.

I want to read this but I can’t download it, no matter how many times I try to do so. It keeps going straight to error whenever it is close to completing, if there is another way to download it I would like to know, because I really want to read this.

Junji Ito does it once again! This was probably one of my favorite stories that he has created so far. It features wicked gore and horror aspects, while touching on some honest portrayals of human behavior during crisis. The whole time I was reading it, I couldn't help but think of how people will respond to crisis in the most abhorrent ways, and Junji displays that so clearly in Remina.

I'm used to his work always featuring understated horror, real creepy aspects. Remina has that, but it also showcases his talent at creating true gorey masterpieces. This whole story is filled with blood and guts to satisfy the wicked soul.

Definitely one for the physical book shelf.