The Liminal Zone is a collection of horror stories written by Junji Ito.

I don’t read a lot of horror, in manga or novel form, but this one attracted me and I’m so glad I requested an Advance Copy of it. I’ve never read other works by Junji Ito, these stories are so bizarre and creepy but at the same time, I can’t stop thinking about them, and it’s been a few days since I closed the book.

Weeping Woman Way - a couple goes exploring in a town and stumble across a funeral with a weeping woman (professional mourner). After coming in contact with the weeping woman, Mako finds herself unable to stop crying - even to the point of completely soaking their bed at home. The couple returns to the town to try and get answers.

The drawings of the weeping women were chilling, especially the corpse who kept weeping long past her death.

Madonna - a religious horror story that follows a school girl at her new religious boarding school as the principal does everything he can to find the reincarnation of the virgin Mary.

Who doesn’t like a religious horror story?

The Spirit Flow of Aokigagara - follows a couple of they go into Japan’s infamous “Suicide Forest” to die together after one of them get diagnoses with a terminal illness. Once arriving, the couple finds an unexplainable spiritual beam that draws Norio in and begins to create changes in him.

This story’s artwork still gives me the creeps. Characters end up being drawn simply, but their eyes are so haunting.

Slumber - every morning Takuya wakes up and has memories of a murder that happened the night before, but he doesn’t remember preparing for the murders, or his motive.

This one still left me a tad bit confused by the end of it… it’s nothing that made me mad or upset with the story, afterall, when do you know every answer at the end?

Overall, I would recommend this to any horror manga readers out there for some creepy and spine tingling horror.

*Thank you VIZ Media LLC and Netgalley for an advanced electronic version of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I've read about 10 books by Junji Ito this year alone (making up for lost time) and this one was one of the better ones. There are only 4 stories in this collection but each one is excellent. Madonna was particularly creepy, though as other reviewers mentioned, it does deal with religious trauma. Highly recommend for libraries with a robust graphic novel, comic and manga section.

Another solid collection by Junji Ito. I always look forward to his collections. The artwork is fantastic and the stories are always pretty unique.

I knew what I was getting into by reading a Junji Ito book. I made sure to read it on a bright sunny day. I still got the shivers with how creepy this is.

Another Junji Ito worth reading. He notes that these stories were first serialized on LINE, which gave him more freedom--I could see that in his stories; I felt like he jumped around more in terms of subject and tone, and his art feels more vivid. Standouts include "Weeping Widows," "Madonna," and "Slumber."

Junji Ito does it again in this compilation of several surreal horrifying tales of murder, madness, and despair. Though not as solid as his other longer works such as Uzumaki, this new manga still delivers a discomfiting and mystifying vibe. I especially enjoyed The Spirit Flow of Aokigahara in which a couple's discovery of a mysterious event in the forest leads to unearthly transformation. Recommended for fans of horror and Junji Ito's previous works.

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

I used to not be a huge fan of the horror genre, however, I feel Junji Ito really captures and mixes supernatural and human horror well.

The first story is about weeping women and an old tradition of hiring weeping women for funerals. However, when a couple visits a town with such women, one of them begins to cry uncontrollably and can't stop. This one was pretty supernatural heavy but still following Ito's style of horror. I thought it was an interesting story with a good ending.

The second story is about a couple who find a cave where spirits come out of the mouth. I felt like this story dealt a lot with addiction and letting go. It was not my favorite story, however, it was still worth the read.

The next story is about a guy who believes he is a murderer when he falls asleep. This story was a bit trippy. It had a lot of psychological themes going with it. I thought it was good though. Definitely a terrifying idea.

Finally, the last story I wanted to talk about is the one titled "Madonna". This one is about a religious school who essentially is a cult in disguise. I think this one I found the most terrifying because while it had supernatural elements involved, a lot of the events could have been avoided if not for the immorality of man. This was probably my favorite story even though it was the most cringe stories I've read from Junji Ito.

Definitely worth a read. As a trigger warning, it does have themes of religious trauma and self-harm. However, if that is not something triggering for you, it's definitely worth a read.

Having read everything that has been translated into English from Junji Ito, I have on more than one occasion noticed how repetitive many of the stories can be. As talented as Ito is at his art style, his writing seems to me to become different variations of stories he has already written. And in this instance, I would say that the artwork lacked in it's ability to evoke any sort of fear or horror unlike other instances. No story in this particular collection was unnerving. That being said, it is in my opinion that fans of Junji Ito always return to his work and so I have no doubt that this collection of stories will be just as successful as his others. Like many other reads, I found myself waiting to see what new sinister story/drawing Ito could curate now.

I've never read anything by Junji Ito that I didn't like, and with The Liminal Zone he proves he's still going strong. My favorite story was Madonna, which combined his classic creepy art style with a dose of religious fervor. I can't wait to recommend this one to my customers.

In the afterward, Junji Ito wonders if not having limitations on length has made his works weaker. Hard disagree. The stories can now be exactly what they need to be, without needing to be whittled down to fit a pre-existing space (trying not to make a hole joke here). These four stories are great examples of what happens when he is given free rein on his work: consistently creepy, never overstaying their welcome, allowed to breathe and/or build tension as needed. Two of the stories, Weeping Woman Way and Madonna, feel like whole movies played out on the page, and I found the other two twisty, unguessable, and downright unnerving. So, happily, exactly what I expect from Junji Ito.

Junji Ito nailed it again. I am a fan of his work and this one did not disappoint. The stories and art were just as dark, disturbing and thought provoking as usual. My favorite was the Weeping Widows, but they were all good. I would highly recommend for anyone who likes horror, manga with unique artwork, or is already a fan of Junji Ito.

I received an advanced reader copy from NetGalley to post this review. I have always been curious of Junji Ito's work, but I have not gotten a chance to read it until now. I will say, this type of horror manga is not my style, most definitely. I prefer the slice of life manga, fantasy, something imaginative and fun. That took a star off my review, but the rest of it is completely from the book. Ito continues to write creepy and crazy stories, Imagining things that I've never even thought of, and that will definitely be in my nightmares for the next few days. All of these stories are more on the mental side, hence the name "Liminal Zone", and they get creepier over time. My favorite story was titled "Slumber", and I really enjoyed the twists and turns in that one. Overall, while it was not my style, I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who likes horror, or Ito's work in general. Masterful job as always

Without a doubt, one of Junji Ito's best collections to date. All four of these long stories were ideas almost abandoned and you'll be thankful that time has allowed Junji Ito to return to them. Each one tells a dreadful, disturbing, and engaging tale that will leave the reader overwhelmed and horrified. And likely with more questions than answers. Highly recommended to fans of horror and manga alike, particularly those who enjoyed Uzumaki and/or Sensor.

A collection of short horror stories exploring the space between the living and the dead. My favorite was "Weeping Women," where a couple comes across an off-the-grid town of women who cry for the souls of the dead, which causes the girlfriend to begin crying uncontrollably even after returning home. Both the art and the stories themselves are unique and fantastic.

I'm a long-time fan of Junji Ito, but this compliation seems to be the latest in a line of underwhelming releases. It definitely felt like a collection of B-stories, something that is confirmed in Ito's author's note at the end of the collection. He shares that he's been feeling like he's running out of ideas and that this collection is comprised of stories that he deemed not up to par for his other compilations. Any one of these stories combined with a group of stronger stories would have worked, but on their own they don't really hold up. I hope that Ito is able to take some time to replenish his creative energy rather than forcing out more stories. Until then, I'll hold out hope and keep supporting him.

I always appreciate the way Ito can make any story unpredictable. He can come up with a completely original idea and send shivers down your spine with artwork or plot or ridiculous characters. Reading this book felt like asking a question on Google, being redirected to redit for an answer you’d expect only to be met with the complete opposite and falling down a rabbit hole from which there’s no return. I read this book in one sitting, I quite literally couldn’t tear my eyes away from the pages.

This collection did not disappoint. The artwork of ‘Weeping Woman’ was incredible. The conclusion to the last story, ‘Slumber’, left me speechless. ‘Madonna’ particularly stood out to me, I didn’t realise how scared I am of being chased by the Virgin Mary.

I’ll probably come back to this story when I can get my hands on a physical copy, and will definitely be recommending it to others. Thank you to Netgalley and VIZ Media for sending me an ARC.

anyone who knows me knows that i love junji ito, so i was absolutely stoked to read this. these stories were bonkers! i know that’s not everyone’s cup of tea but i loved it. the stories in this collection don’t correlate to each other, but i think that’s what makes it more fun. as always, the art in these stories is gorgeous and frightening at the same time. a very short collection for a quick, entertaining read!

thank you to viz media for gifting me a copy through netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC! Junji Ito returns with this collection of creepy and disturbing tales. As usual, even if I don't love the stories, they are satifying in their art and unsettling nature. Would recommend to fans of Ito and of horror.

Thank you to NetGalley for a early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly I was majorly surprised, when it comes to anthologies in general you usually have a few that come off on top but with this collection of Junji Ito stories I genuinely enjoyed each one. As always the art was amazing and often disturbing though much less then previous projects leading me to think it’d be a good recommendation to anyone who hasn’t read the authors other works as a sort of soft entry into the madness of Mr. Ito’s work. Each story was well paced and bizarre in content keeping up previous works precedent. Overall this was a wonderful short story collection that never failed to keep me enthralled and didn’t have any one weak story inside it! Although I will say that ending the collection on “Slumber” was the perfect choice as physiologically speaking it’s definitely the most disturbing and leaves me even as I write this deeply unsettled.

Deliciously creep. The short stories and visuals weave together to leave an unsettling feeling throughout.