This author is one that I follow a lot. He has been cranky know a lot of books lately this is not one of the best examples of his work, but it is a good read.

I xannt ever say a nothing bad about these books. Mr. It's art is disturbingly amazing. The stories are also very good and yes disturbing. But I just love all his work

Another great collection from Junji Ito, The art is beautiful and delightfully creepy as always. I know I can always recommend Ito when it comes to horror manga!

interesting ghost stories but it was very long and very dull. I didn't know if I had to know about Japanese folktales to actually like them. I did like that they all were connected but it took a while to read and the artwork mad my eyes dilate. Maybe it was my copy?

This was an interesting manga for horror master Junji Ito. The artwork was fantastic as usual. The story was just ok. A little repetitive if I'm being honest. But overall I enjoyed this. If you're a horror fan then check it out and decide for yourself!

This book was a bit of a rollercoaster for me. The first story was just SO good, but the quality dwindled as I progressed through the book. As other reviewers have pointed out, it was confusing that the author chose to end the collection with such a low-note of a story, but who am I to question the artist. Overall, it fell kinda flat for me once I got out of the initial story.

If you're not familiar with Ito's work, he hands out the creepy like candy on Halloween (which is when I'm reading this, incidentally), and he makes sure you get some body horror for good measure. The Lovesickness story arc accounts for the bulk of this book, and it brings the creepiness in the form of an urban legend. A town is haunted by a folk tradition of crossroads fortunetelling, where you stand at a crossroads and ask the first person that walks by to listen to your problems, then answer a question concerning them, basically telling your fortune. The most popular question is some form of "Will I find love?" Lots of school girls start doing this, and some have been committing suicide after encountering a handsome young man in black who gives them a bad fortune. Ryosuke, the MC, has just moved back to town after being gone for 8 years, and has his own reasons for wanting to find the one dubbed "Crossroads Boy." There's lots of ghostly goodness going on, with plenty of body horror to make you shudder. Oh, and the fog they're talking about in the city? The so thick you can't see anything till you're right up on it? I live in that stuff, it's spooky af- google tule fog and look at the pics, it'll give you an idea of what this story is talking about. It made things extra creepy for me, though YMMV.
Next we have a few stories about the Strange Hikizuri Siblings, and I'll just say that's one messed up family. The Mansion of Phantom Pain was disturbing, and The Rib Woman was kinda meh. Still, a good collection; Ito's art is spooky/creepy/weird as always, and the overall mood will give you the shivers.

#LovesicknessJunjiItoStoryCollection #NetGalley

On the entirely opposite end of the scale is a recent collection of Junji Ito’s horror short stories, Lovesickness. These ten stories are full of violent ghosts and existential horror rather than jump scares, and the art is just as creepy as the tales. It’s easy to see from this volume why Junji Ito is known as a master of horror. This is one best to read in the daytime, if you’re as faint-hearted as me—and it still may keep you up at night!

This is one of the more weird story collections I’ve read of Junji Ito’s works. Known as the master of horror manga, Junji Ito has delivered some true spine-chilling page-turners. When it comes to Lovesickness, I felt that it was somewhat lacking. Perhaps I put his works on too high a pedestal as I did read Smashed! And Remina, before I did these creepy tales. Regardless, if you’re looking to read something unsettling or something more ingrained in folklore style settings, you can’t go wrong with this collection.

I stop short of deeming Lovesickness horror though, depending on what country and language you are reading it in, you might have a different experience than I did. All of the stories in this collection felt like I was reading through urban legends from small-town Japan. If you’re an American reader, the pacing and often goofiness reminded me of the Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark series I read so often in elementary school. That isn’t a jab at Lovesickness- though… at least not entirely. I am reminded of the eeriness of reading those books in the dark. Simultaneously, short stories like “The Strange Hikizuri Siblings” came off more as goofy than anything I could actually be scared of. The way this family is drawn is absolutely terrifying, and to their credit, they do kill someone with zero remorse. Is my apathy for something like cold-blooded murder something Ito was aiming for? Or am I just not scared because of their cartoonish personalities? Maybe there’s genius in there.

After being a little underwhelmed for 2 stories and 334 pages, we get to the short stories Phantom Pain and The Rib Woman. These two are by far my favorite of the entire anthology, and they are among the shortest stories- each being barely 30 pages each. The former story excels at torturing the main character physically and psychologically. In the end, no one really wins in a Junji Ito story but what makes this short story leagues better than its 2 predecessors is its ability to truly close the walls around both the tale’s main character and the reader. The Phantom Pain is about a house that slowly takes the ability to feel pain and illness from someone and have another individual absorb it. It’s a cycle of suffering that never ends- no happy ending. It’s Classic. Rib Woman delivers the same sense of impending danger. It is a truly punishing story of falling for the evils of societal beauty standards. Even at its ends, we are left to always wonder, along with the characters, if they will ever be safe again.

Despite some of the shortcomings I felt came from this collection, without a doubt, Ito’s style of art remains the perfect aesthetic for his own twisted sense of horror. For this reason alone, is this anthology of stories worth adding to your collection. The “monsters” are gruesome and detailed. I found myself staring at an entire panel or page, just admiring the chaotic beauty dedicated to each wrinkle of clothing or the look in someone’s eyes. Perhaps the greatest terror of all is how he can transform everyday “people” into true monsters. Lovesickness and its proceeding stories remind us that the true devils are among us, out of the shadows and perhaps someone you know and care for dearly.

I’ve made it clear enough, I think, in saying that this wasn’t my favorite collection to read through, but it was still visual candy to horror manga fans out there. Whether you agree with me or not, I encourage anyone to pick up this series of horror stories. Just be sure not to judge a few stories on the whole collection. I mean, it could be worse. You could have the last story in the collection be titled “Memories of Real Poop.” Now that would be true horror.

I really enjoyed the first Junji Ito collection I read, "Venus In The Blind Spot." I didn't find "Lovesickness" quite as enjoyable - partly because it doesn't come together very well as the stories feel quite different in tone and one of them is a quite long multi-part series. The illustrations are great and there is lots of gore and weirdness, but there didn't feel to be much of a "theme."

After reading this I now fully understand the Junji Ito hype, because this was creepy as heck, y'all. The art has so much depth and he is able to transition to just bonkers intense horrifying scenes and concepts after filling you with dread. The main storyline is ostensible about fortune telling and creepy mysterious charismatic identity confusion, but the themes of grief, secrets, letting others pick your destiny, and the effort it takes to fight against callousness and evil are really powerful. The other short stories included are more disturbing than creepy but round out a very good horror collection.

Another Ito masterpiece finally earning much deserved mainstream attention in the U.S. Shocking and austere and wildly beautiful, not unlike the rest of his work.

I received a free eARC of this title through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This was my first Junji Ito novel collection. I’ve heard about the author from others but have never had the opportunity to actually read one of their titles.

The first collection of stories by far was my favorite. I could not put the book down because I found it intriguing and it left me with more questions than answers at the end, which I personally love. The characters were interesting and realistic. All in all, the first book is the reason this collection has 4 stars for me. This story alone is 5 stars.

The second set of stories was my least favorite. I didn’t really like any of the characters and was expecting to learn more of why they were the way they were. Instead, they were just short stories of their lives and just left me not caring at the end. I would give it maybe 2 stars if only just for the artwork.

The third story came back and was interesting and got me back in to the book. It was creepy and scary and I couldn’t put it down. 4 stars for that story.

The last story was good as well. It had an interesting idea and a turn of events I was not entirely expecting. To me, it spoke to the price of fitting unrealistic expectations for women and how it effects their mentality. Another 4 stars for that one.

I feel like I should at least mention that the artwork was amazing. It was in black and white and I feel that adds to the horror genre in manga novels.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC which I received in exchange for an honest review!

Lovesickness is the third manga I've read by Junji Ito and I was not disappointed. It was uncomfortable, disturbing, and scary pretty much the entire time and that was exactly what I wanted from this horror manga.

This collection uncovers the disturbing side of love. Heavy emphasis on self-love, familial love and relationship love. As expected from Junjo Ito, I was left disturbed and equally enlighten. Definitely a needed addition to any Junjo Ito or horror manga fan.

Junji Ito is a master a creating spooky and unsettling stories, and this volume does not disappoint! This collection of stories features plenty of haracters getting drawn into confusion and terrifying situations with the supernatural. I highly recommend this for any YA or adult graphic novel collection!

Lovesickness was a much better read for me and way more the vibe I kind of anticipate when reading Ito’s work. As a collection of short stories this worked really well and explored a few different characters. The title stories – Lovesickness – filled half the book as it explored “The Beautiful Boy at the Crossroads” across five chapters. I really enjoyed how Ito explored the theme of obsessive love and how ever-consuming it can be – especially when influenced by a ghost. Another aspect worth mentioning is how it tackles grief and regret too, how that can eat you away, but ultimately you need to face these issues and turn it into something good.

We then get to see more of the Hikizuri Siblings who’ve appeared in another of his collections. This family is weird! Last time we saw them from an outsiders perspective, but this is from their point of view and I must say things aren’t any better within the foundations of this family. They’re spooky and always fighting.

But my favourite story in Lovesickness has to be The Rib Woman (see last image below). I just felt super drawn to this ghastly woman and the idea’s she represented. Definitely an interesting take on addressing the problems with the beauty standards set for women.

This was a really fun creepy collection. At first I thought all the short stories were going to be separate from another but I really enjoyed the fact that they were somewhat linear.
I always appreciate the dark psychological horror that's present in Ito's work and was not left disappointed for Lovesickness.

This does have some triggering themes however so perhaps something to keep in mind if you're sensitive to such content: suicide, gore, violence, violence resulting in miscarriage.

ARC from Netgalley.
Junji Ito is an absolute genius! His stories are always so impactful and horrific while being so entertaining. It blows my mind that he not only writes the stories, but also does all the illustrations. I know he's been popular in the world of manga for a long time, but I'm glad I have found him and am reading through his catalog.
Lovesickness is another collection of stories, the title story being about half of the Volume.
Highlights/Summaries:
"Lovesickness" - Ryusuke returns to his childhood home of Nazumi, a mist covered town with a particular oddness: Crossroads Fortunes. It is said that if you stand at a crossroads in the mist and ask the first person who crosses your path for you fortune (a question about your future) it will come true. This compulsion and adherence to it dominates the lives of people of town. Midori, a childhood friend and secret love of Ryusuke's reconnects with him at school, but when Ryusuke finds out that the crossroads fortune he gave as a bratty child that led to a woman's suicide was Midori's aunt, he refuses to date her. Around this time, a "beautiful boy dressed in black" begins appearing to women in the mist and the chaos and insanity of "suicide and murder by crossroads fortune" begins anew. Ryusuke becomes consumed with giving good fortunes to others as a way to atone for his past mishap. When a woman who killed herself when Ryusuke didn't return her love begins to haunt others, it is assumed that Ryusuke himself is "the beautiful boy", which causes him to be chased and pursued in the mists. Unable to take it anymore, he reveals his childhood deed to Midori. She is unable to forgive him, but it leads to the knowledge that "the beautiful boy" is the spirit of the unborn child Midori's aunt was pregnant with when she died. Midori is driven insane by the whole ordeal and kills herself. After that, Ryusuke begins to "live" in the mists and becomes "The Boy in White", giving good fortunes and counteracting the actions of the evil spirit of "the beautiful boy".
"Hikizuri Siblings" - This family of horrible children actually turned my stomach a bit reading the two stories. In the first one, one of the daughters, Narumi, tries to escape her family by dating a guy. When one of her brothers brings her back home, they stage an elaborate prank to convince the boyfriend she is dead. When it is revealed she isn't, after some really horrible stuff with a fake corpse, the boyfriend has a heart attack and dies. In the second tale, eldest Kazuya invites Sachiyo to take photos of supernatural elements around their house. During a fake seance, Shigoro (the most horrible brother) scares Sachiyo away. Kazuya has to lead the family away from the house when his wrath against Shigoro summons the real spirit of his father.
"The Mansion of Phantom Pain" - Kozeki begins work at a house where the son of the family is in intense pain. The phantom pain requires workers to go around and massage the aura and objects of the house to ease his physical pain. It seems hokey, but the money is good. When Kozeki has worked their the longest of the workers, he begins to feel the pain as well...
"The Rib Woman" - A young woman is unhappy with her body and elects to get a few ribs removed. But where do those ribs go and what does it have to do with the haunting music in the night?
"Memories of Real Poop" - A boy wants to buy a pile of fake poop at a festival, but decides against it. When he goes back to get it, bullies make his life hell and he is forever associated with poop.

Another amazing collection. "Lovesickness" and "Phantom Pain" are the gems here, but the true terribleness of the Hikizuri family left a bad taste (which is a first for the stories of Ito's that I've read) and dropped it to 4 stars for me.
You should still be reading this author. So amazing...
High recommend.

Lovesickness is a great addition to an avid collector of Junji Ito's works, but I wouldn't consider it a must-read. Ito shows skill in short story form, but, personally, I still prefer his longer works where he dedicates more time toward character development.