Such a gorey and very weird read! All stories start out very mysterious and end with a super unique plot, unlike anything I've ever read. So definetly a fun, quick read!

The thing with the grandfather felt disgusting and like crossing the line, the rest of the short stories were really cool concepts and the art was well done. But because for me personally the grandfather thing was crossing a moral line for me far too much and so I refuse to rate this any higher than a 3 I might even give it a 2.75. I would recommend reading this only if you are willing to be spoiled on what the grandfather thing I am referring to is and then deciding based off that if you'd like to read it, or if you are willing to skip it entirely.

I really hate giving negative reviews. It feels so mean for some reason. But honestly, we need to talk about this book. How did the editors go through this thing and gave the green light for publication? Let me tell you why. There's the third story in this collection called 'The Family Portrait', where a grandfather (yeah) is lusting after his teen granddaughter. There's a gross scene towards the end where he sucks on her boobs and fingers her. Was it needed to make it effective? No. Was it there only for the cheap shock factor? Yes. The story would have been fine and even better without this angle. Why was it there? Seriously, no idea. Besides the tones of victim blaming was very loud in this one. I cannot believe that in this day and age, the publisher ls let this get published. Other than that this wasn't the most interesting manga collection at all nor the most gross. It was simply bad. Shallow. The stories were half baked at best. There was a lot of potential which was simply lost because of poor execution. The artwork is definitely commendable but this won't be a memorable collection of stories for the right reasons. A skippable book which shouldn't have been published in the first place.

Shintaro Kago doing what he does best: weirdo horror, gore, and disturbing. His art is excellent as always, I love the movement and consistency of his work and how visceral and bizarre he can get. The downside though is that the artwork really carries this collection. The stories themselves are interesting but weak, they wouldn't stand on their own if it was anyone else illustrating them. The first two were decent with an interesting premise but the others were just not very good. They had cool elements but they just didn't hold up well when you put more than surface level thought into them. I enjoy Kago's work but Ibdont think this is his strongest set of stories.

Thank you NetGalley and Famtagraphics books for this ARC.

I love everything Fantagraphics publishes, and this was no exception! As a first time manga reader (I typically read graphic novels/comics), I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this. I found the stories to be direct enough that we had a clear idea of the story's plot as it evolved, while still leaving an aire of mystery. My favorite was "Curse Room" by far!

Thank you NetGalley & Fantagraphics Books for granting my wish for this arc!

4.5/5.0 Stars

BRAIN DAMAGE – Short Storie Collection – by Shintaro Kago – Translation by Zack Davidson

‘In 2018, manga artist Shintaro Kago made his English debut with Dementia 21, a collection of absurdist manga short stories. Readers found themselves delighted and disgusted by his penchant for body horror, black comedy and the surreal paired with his emphatic, kinetic art style. Kago returns at the height of his powers with Brain Damage, where he dials up the gore and absurdity to new heights.’

‘Labyrinth Quartet’ – Creepy Good!

‘Curse Room’ – Love The Ending!

‘Portrait Of Family’ – Creepy Good! Also…Gross!

‘Blood Harvest – Love This One!

Also, LLLOOOOVVVEEEE THE GRAPHIC! *chefs kiss*

Manga/Horror
Age: 16 & Up
Scheduled For Release, Though Subject To Change: July 15, 2025

Thank you, NetGalley and Fantagraphics Books, for providing me with an eBook ARC of BRAIN DAMAGE at the request of an honest review.

Rating: B-

A free copy was provided by netgalley.

A single volume of manga with four short stories, Brain Damage by Kago is reminiscent of the style of Kazuo Umezu, classic horror author. This is a translated piece of work in the early stages of review. I found a typo on one of the pages. Sound effects haven't been translated yet.

The stories are quite short but they're honestly very unique compared to other stories I have read. I really liked the gore and art style, especially the perspectives and the backgrounds. My favourite was probably the dangerous car story, though it was very strange.

Included also are: helping the dead realise they are dead, grandpa has dementia, a person trying to make a four panel comic.

I guess one of my main dislikes of the stories were the offbeat endings. It felt like the darkness of the stories were then made comedic by a single panel tadah! ending. Also that there was a lot of nudity in one of the stories that was pretty gross.

Worth reading but it may not be remembered.

I think where this graphic novel succeeds is in crafting unique, genuinely terrifying scenarios, but it falls flat in the execution and particular details that are chosen. Labyrinth Quartet was my favorite of the bunch with its exploration of twisted view of self identity with a narrative that provided a lot of momentum. Curse Room was a bit confusing at times, but the premise was unique and intriguing. Family Portrait is a hard pass from me due to the entirely unnecessary incestual and predatory elements. The story would've been just as suitable without them and it felt present entirely for disturbing shock value. Blood Cars is the ultimate anti-used car agenda and personified cars in a way where their history bites back. Overall, the art design was decently consistent, but I don't think that the style nor the subject matter were for me even though the intentions were ambitious.

I feel torn on this. I'm giving it 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 stars because the stories I liked, I liked. But I really took issue with Family Portrait and the sexualization of what was a literal child?? Japan is different but I read a lot of horror manga and that was just too gross, too far. I didn't find it funny or amusing in the slightest, it just nauseated me as a woman.

The other stories were better, absurdist horror takes. I read a lot of Junji Ito and I just got into Masaaki Nakayama as well, so this is a new brand of comedy-horror manga I haven't tried yet... I usually love comedy-horror but this just wasn't it for me I guess. I'm willing to try more from this author though, I'll just temper my expectations. I was so excited for this and I think that made the disappointment hit harder.

Publishing date: 15.07.2025 (DD/MM/YYYY)
Thank you to NetGalley and Fantagraphics Books for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

I won't sugarcoat anything and simply state that I didn't like this. Sadly, this was a massive miss for me.

Originally I thought this would be similar to Junji Ito's works, with the super creepy cover and the description it sounded so familiar in a sense. I think my expectations were unrealistic.

Breakdown per story:
Labyrinth Quartet - Slasher horror, interesting concept but underexplored, ending was unsatisfying

Curse Room - Maybe the best one, but also underexplored and unsatisfying ending, wish i got to see more examples of "treatment"

Family Portrait - The bane of my existence, I was sick the entire time reading this. I should have paid proper attention to the description of this one and known it would trigger my PTSD. I also really hate how the main character was treated by, well, everyone here. Highly dislike this one.

Blood Harvest - Middling concept, underwhelming, my opinion of this one might be a little clouded due to reading the prior story first and holding a negative opinion of the whole work

I am so sad that this didn't work for me, but that is just the way the cookie crumbles. Won't be recommending this one, but might consider the author's previous work. 1 star

Thank you, Fantagraphics Books, for granting my wish for Brain Damage here on NetGalley! 🔪🩸☠️🫀

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5

I was intrigued when I saw the cover! I really like the art! It reminded me a little of Junji Ito’s mangas.

This was an extremely quick read for me. I enjoyed a couple stories more than the others. They were all bizarre and creepy in their own way. The 3rd story was weird and not in a good way. I didn’t really enjoy that one.

There was a slight level of dark humor to some of the stories, which I didn’t mind. There was also a level of uneasiness to each story that kept me reading. But I don’t see any of these stories really sticking with me. It was a fast read to get out of a reading slump. The art throughout was wonderfully macabre too, which definitely complimented the stories.

This was… fine. Kago’s art is as wild and detailed as ever, and the ideas are definitely out there zombies, body horror, surreal comedy, all cranked to eleven. But honestly? I was kind of bored. The shock factor wears off pretty quickly, and the stories didn’t really go anywhere that surprised me. It felt like weirdness for the sake of weirdness.

That said, I still admire how unique his style is, and there were a few moments that made me smile or cringe in a good way. Just not something I connected with overall.

3.5 ⭐️✨

~Thank you, Fantagraphics Books and Net Galley, for the advanced reader copy! I review this voluntarily ~

I have been a big fan of Shintaro Kago and his art works for a while. They're bloody, surreal and delightfully disturbing. “Brain Damage” is no different. Four macabre stories full of dark humor and wonderful absurdity.

Each story has its own charm and style that in the end all make you think, “What the hell happened?”
As you read each story, the body horror and gore escalate in a way that keeps you wanting more.

“Blood Harvest,” the last of the stories, is the prime example. A story of mysterious and gruesome automotive deaths. Victims found mangled in cars as if they were in a terrible accident; however, the car itself is left intact as if nothing ever happened. Once it starts, the gore train keeps on rolling. Each death panel made me cringe, but I looked on in awe of how much detail Kago can fit in there. “Blood Harvest” was my favorite. It left me with a lot of unanswered questions, but that only adds to the surreal feeling you get when reading Kago’s work.

It's a quick read, I can see myself going back to.
I would recommend this to fans of horror manga, especially Euro-guro.

my first time reading a manga by this author and definitely won't be the last! i need more even though some stories didn't fully work for me. 👀

these are my ratings for each story:
labyrinth quartet - 3⭐️
curse room - 5⭐️
family portrait - 3⭐️ this would've been a higher rating if it wasn't so damn weird 😭
blood harvest - 2.5⭐️

i still highly recommend reading this if you like horror mangas, this was unique and the artwork was gross at times! for fans of junji ito, try this out!

This book was 5 short and twisted horror stories. I was a bit confused at times and some of them made no sense, but they definitely were not boring. Very disgusting, especially one of them.Lots of gore and nudity. Even though the stories didn't make sense, it was different and creative. The illustrations were done very well to, although sometimes their faces didn't match the mood they should have been in.

Having been a fan of Kago's artwork on Instagram, I was excited to receive a copy of this latest manga for review. This is a collection of 4 horror short stories. They all are quite graphic - themes of violence, body horror, cannibalism, sexual harassment, incest, just general gore.

What I loved most about these stories is how unhinged they were and how, especially towards the end of the stories, they went in unanticipated directions. The stories would zig when I thought they would zag. I loved the creativity and concepts of the stories even if I didn't always like the pacing.

Labyrinth Quartet - 3 - Probably my least favorite just due to the initial repetitiveness. I enjoyed where/how the story ended though.
Curse Room - 5 - Love the creativity / world building. Lots of dark humor and interesting/gross artwork.
Family Portrait - 4 - This was an uncomfortable one and had some questionable elements of sexual harassment / comments about "asking for it," but it's a question of the story vs the author's actual opinions/views. Certainly memorable - a wtf ridiculousness.
Blood Harvest - 5 - This was truly unhinged and went in unexpected directions. I loved the concept, creativity, and ending. Incredible artwork.

Now I want to read all of his other books.
I'd recommend this for fans of Junji Ito, and the PTSD Radio manga series,

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for review.

This was a surprise, I love horror and I love manga and graphic novels, but this was something I never really seen before. The stories are amazing, the drawing even better, I read it in 2 hours because it was so captivating. The different scenarios are very different from one another and It can be a pro or a cons depending on the person. But I really enjoyed it!

Unique plot lines with absurd body horror! Kept me interested, but some of the dialogue was borderline incoherent. A fun read.

I would have given this 5 stars had the third story not been in there. It was extremely graphic and unnecessary I felt that the incestual relationship and pedophilia could have been left out and the story
Would have been much better.

As I started reading the book I found myself thinking "why Is It called Brain Damage?", since none of the stories seem to revolve around that. That might be because the brain damage in question is the one the reader might suffer after finishing each story!

I found myself going wild in my room when the plot twist of each story unfolded itself. I even found myself trying to predict them after the impact the first story left on me, to no avail.

The book is short, true, but each story is written in a thight way. They don't feel rushed, nor too short, nor like there was more that should have been said, despite leaving some questions unanswered. I agree with the sentiment of the author, horror works best when it's a little vague.

The stories have a little bit of everything, from gore to body horror, to real life horror, to supernatural. There's a little bit for everyone, and every story is filled to the brim with absurdist comedy as well as a healty dose of black comedy, without poking fun at any kind of group like it's usually done.

Before reading this I didn't knew anything about Shintaro Kago but after experiencing his style It's quite eager to read more from him!