Soichi: Junji Ito Story Collection is a chilling and darkly humorous anthology that showcases Junji Ito’s signature blend of horror and the bizarre. The stories center around Soichi, a mischievous and creepy boy with a penchant for curses and strange behavior. Ito masterfully balances unsettling imagery with moments of absurdity, making Soichi both disturbing and oddly entertaining.

My review is coming a while after pub date but I don't think it needs to be said that Junji Ito is a legend of horror and this one is right in line with his others.

Soichi is perhaps one of Junji Ito's creepiest characters - and that's saying a lot! This is quite a great collection of stories.

I think I like Junji’s short story collections more than his lengthier books. Don’t get me wrong, I love both, but these little snippets are awesomely done. Artwork always spectacular,

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4/5 stars overall
5/5 stars for art
3/5 stars for stories/chapters

The Master of Horror has done it again. Soichi features numerous stories telling the terrible stories of the titular character through the eyes of his cousins and classmates. Soichi is honestly one of the most fucked up characters I've ever read about. The shadows around his eyes, the iron smile of nails, his evil little laughter. Multiple times throughout this book, I gasped and had to stop reading for a moment, I was do disturbed. And yet. Other times I felt like I was just watching a creepy little kid by creepy. I've read other Soichi stories by Ito that were better, but the art *shivers* the art is what kept this book from being a solid three stars. If you can stand horror and you like manga, you ABSOLUTELY have to give this one a whirl.

Junji Ito is a master of horror. I actually am usually not a horror fan but I love his work and read all of it. I admittedly liked Tombs more than Soichi, I thought the stories were overall better, but still really enjoyed this

Wow, I’m usually a big Junji Ito fan but I really disliked the main character of the stories. I kept yelling to myself that he should be kicked out of school or sent to a psychiatrist for all the stunts he pulled. But alas, this is all fiction.
I thought it was well written and had enough stories of Soichi that keep me intrigued even though I disliked the character. But oof, I have many words for Soichi.

The story about the petty curses and the noise were my favorite. How petty does one have to be to construct a room within rooms. It was hilarious. Thanks Viz Media for the ARC!

Junji Ito has such a cult following at our library that I ordered this regardless of my personal thoughts of the book, but this wasn't a win for me. It has all the classics of a Junji Ito book with the black and white sketched artwork, and the strange, creepy characters and events. But Soichi is such an irritating character I didn't want to keep reading and why I ended up putting this down for a while. Usually, the dread factor is what pulls me in with these stories, but there was dread here, just annoyance. I kept waiting for one of the family members or schoolmates to beat the crap out of him, but that doesn't happen, and then the ending is so abrupt. I'd like to think Soichi got what he deserved, but I doubt it. If you're looking for a Junji Ito book to read, skip this one for one of his other collections.

Reviewed for Booklist magazine - it's one of the Junji Ito titles that could go into a school library because it doesn't push the body horror into an inapporpriate area, but definitely still for high school. Soichi is creepy and there are some stories that are uncomfortable, but that's the nature of what Ito does in his horror stories.

"Soichi: Junji Ito Story Collection" is acollection of ten tales that delve deep into the sinister and bizarre world of Soichi Tsujii, an unhinged second son of the Tsujii family. Soichi possesses an eerie ability to turn any occasion, from summer holidays to birthday parties, into a nightmare with his horrific curses and nail-chewing antics.

The book unravels the terrible secret behind Soichi's origin, offering readers a glimpse into the disturbing mysteries that surround him. Meanwhile, the older brother, Koichi, driven to his wit's end by Soichi's relentless pranks, constructs a soundproof room with four mysterious doors. As readers venture further into the narrative, they will encounter a handmade casket left behind by their grandfather, which holds an otherworldly secret that shakes the very foundations of the Tsujii family.

Junji Ito masterfully weaves tales that blend horror and humor, showcasing Soichi as his favorite antihero. The stories are brilliantly crafted, filled with suspense, dark humor, and unsettling imagery. Fans of Junji Ito's work will find this collection a chilling and entertaining addition to his bibliography. "Soichi: Junji Ito Story Collection" delivers a captivating and spine-tingling experience that will leave readers craving more of Soichi's eerie
adventures.

I just reviewed Soichi: Junji Ito Story Collection by Junji Ito. #SoichiJunjiItoStoryCollection #NetGalley

I was truly enamored with the graphic novel, Tombs, by creator Junji Ito not too long ago so I was very eager to dig into this graphic novel. The title, with "Story Collection," had me thinking we'd be getting something very like Tombs with a variety of dark, creepy stories. But it's not quite along the same lines.

Yes, there's creepiness here, but it's centrally focused on one young boy, Soichi - a disturbed individual.

Soichi is the second son of an otherwise normal family. He likes to tease in the very worst of ways - if someone gets hurt by something he does, it's just that much better. He chews nails. Not "chews ON his nails" ... he literally always has some nails in his mouth, which he might spit out, intending to spear someone or something. He's the annoying little brother, taken to an extreme, and even being in a strict school environment doesn't sort him out.

The book has ten Soichi stories that reads more like a novel than individual stories, and by the end of the book I felt as though they were pretty much the same. Soichi didn't grow - he didn't grow into a better person and he didn't grow into a worse or more deviant character.

Overall, this was one good story, told ten times with some variations without enough changes to make it interesting each time.

Looking for a good book? Soichi: Junji Ito Story Collection is a dark and disturbing (in a good way, for those of us who like dark and disturbing) graphic novel without enough variation to justify 400+ pages.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I am a longtime Junji Ito fan, but this was my first introduction to Soichi stories in print f0rm (only having seen his couple of episodes of Maniac on Netflix). I had requested this title before watching the series and then disliked him in the series so much I nearly didn't read the book, but I am so glad I did. Soichi is such a strange little guy, and his antics were the perfect blend of joyously eccentric and bloodcurdling. Junji Ito strikes again!

Junji Ito is just an absolutely incredible author and illustrator, and his stories are like no other. This collection contains stories about one of his most well known characters, Soichi, who was brought to life in multiple animated adaptations of Ito's stories. This is a beautiful collection full of horrifying stories, definitely a must-buy for Junji Ito fans and horror fans alike.

One of Junji most interesting characters a mischievous, cunning character that keeps you reading because you're wondering what will he do next.

This manga book features various stories related to an evil little boy named Soichi (who was previously in a story in another Junji Ito collection, but I cannot remember which one). He likes to suck on nails and cause chaos to everyone around him. The book starts with his cousins visiting while on vacation and having to deal with Soichi's mean pranks. The book continues with other scenarios that Soichi gets into, with other characters returning every once in a while. Soichi is at times very annoying, but there is also a lot of dark comedy throughout the stories that some people might find amusing. This was not my favorite short story collection of his, since they all revolve around the same characters. I much prefer the collections that contain a variety of stories and settings. I also found Soichi to be annoying at time, but I would still read another Soichi collection if one were to be released though, since I generally love Ito's works.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy of Soichi. The Collections of Junji Ito are just as creepy as his full stories and this was just as good, the art work is so detailed.

A short story collection featuring the unusual child, Soichi, this graphic novel by the incredible Ito is a mixed bag. Some stories were strong and creepy, but then others fell short. I think for me, the weakness was that this one was one of Ito's 'lighter' works, incorporating humor that sometimes hit and other times fell flat. This is still a goo read for any fan of Ito.

Anyone who's been following my reviews for a while knows that I have a convoluted relationship with Junji Ito's works: I either obsess over them and find them to be absolutely flawless, or I spend most of the book bored out of my mind. Unfortunately, the latter was more frequently the case with Soichi (though I did find it to be unique enough to be worth 3 stars instead of the 2 I initially planned on giving it). I didn't care a lot for Tomie, either, so maybe I just don't mesh well with these collections Junji Ito does revolving around a single character.

That said, there was some genuinely creepy imagery in here (I never got over being chilled a bit by the shots of Soichi with his mouth full of nails), and I loved the Easter egg of the famous model from another of Junji's works.

The whole collection is really over the top and definitely one of Junji's sillier works, but I think a lot of his readers are going to love it. It wasn't a new favorite for me, but I'm still glad I read it.

This was not my favorite Junji Ito of the bunch. I felt like this one dragged on a lot longer than the others, and I enjoyed the others I read. I felt like it was a lot of the same story, and none of them felt like I had much of an investment in them until we got to the cloth doll story; that one was my favorite. Definitely some better Ito stories and books out there, but I would still recommend this to those that are interested in voodoo dolls, weird family magic, and a crazy younger brother

Thanks NetGalley, VIZ Media, and VIZ Signature for access to this arc

2/5 stars

I simply cannot with this. I'm giving it 2 stars bc its Junji Ito and I do like his art style, but the storyline was just incredibly repetitive and just... dumb lol. The thing that did it for me was the mosquito with Soichi's face that gave Michina mosquito bites that grew into tentacles..... I just can't lol