Itou Junji Kyoufu Manga Collection 16: Frankenstein

Frankenstein has always been one of my favourite stories of any medium - I know, kind of ironic considering, I still haven't finished the original book by Mary Shelley. Then again, just like the titular character, who wouldn't have things some other person's or force's way, I saw the films, read and researched on things and somehow patched together a plot summary of my own over the years. The general idea of the story was always really compelling to me: a man wanting to surpass god, as well as the sympathetic attempts of the monster, who was shunned out of society for being different alwaysspoke to me on a personal level, so the first moment I noticed on Book Depository, that an english translation of Junji Ito's Frankenstein manga was available, I immediately grabbed my credit card and ordered it. So what's there to say about Ito's Frankenstein? Well for starters it's Frankenstein alright. Ito took minimal freedom in re-telling the Frankenstein story. You can go step by step through the Wikipedia article on Shelley's Frankenstein and it'll match up 90% of the time. If you're not familiar with the classic novel, the story is about Victor Frankenstein, who inspired by alchemy throughout his childhood sets out to create life, where there is none. Blinded by ambition, he eventually finds himself succeeding, but creating a creature too repulsive to let out walking in the sunlight alone. The story, that's often considered a horror classic, ultimately diverts into a double character-drama; one, who is guilt-tripping over the pandora's box he just opnened and another, who being the content of said box, is struggling to find his place in a world, that clearly doesn't welcome him. Like I said, the story mostly aligns with the original Shelley novel, however diverts in some places. Most notably the climax; Ito seemingly took more inspiration from the 1932's Bride of Frankenstein movie rather than the source material. Thinking things through I doubt, that effectively benefited the story or characters, but it doesn't really ruin them or take the overall narrative in a different direction. Given those minor changes and probably some details the artist couldn't bring onto just 200 pages of comic panels, Ito still does a pretty good job at adapting the story. The story is still coherent and the two lead characters are pretty decently presented - even if I do find, there was a bit of that lacking. Artwork was good, but I did feel like the author was page-limited to a degree, where panels just weren't placed as strategically as they could be. Take the first facial reveal of the monster we see. The art is good, but the full reveal is on an uneven page number. You turn the page and get this build-up of the monster getting up, but the suspense gets lost, when the facial reveal is right there to the right. In the manga's defense, I'm not sure whether this is just a flaw of the edition I bought or whether it was in every printing of the manga. Another thing on the artwork. Every panel with the monster looks pretty detailed and good, but it is giving me vibes, that Ito's interpretation of the monster is cosmetically very derivative of his otherwise recurring Fashion Model character of his short stories. So to summarize: it's a fine book and I'm sure glad Ito had interest in re-adapting a favourite story of mine into a different medium. It's faithful to the source material, so if you're only familiar with the general idea of Frankenstein, but want to know the original story and are not much of a novel reader and more into manga/comics than this is quite the recommendation for you. On the other hand Ito doesn't do much to make the story his own, even the schocker artwork is mostly derivative of his other work, so he isn't pushing himself to new levels with this book either. It's a good read, but there are probably better ways to experience Frankenstein and Ito. 6/10

Frankenstein – Spoiler Free – Recommended TLDR Story – 7/10 – 7 x 0.275 = 1,925 Art – 8/10 – 8 x 0.2 = 1,6 Characters – 6/10 – 6 x 0.225 = 1,35 Enjoyment – 5/10 – 5 x 0.3 = 1,5 Total: 6,375 -> 6 Disclaimer This review will only cover the Frankenstein story, as many compilations have more than just the aforementioned story. In this case, not all the additional tales that MAL indicates – The Hell of the Doll Funeral and Memories of Real Poop – are present in the edition I own (the second one is absent). Moreover, Frankenstein, by its size, deserves to have a proper reviewconducted without other short stories in the mixture. Story – 7/10 The story is an interesting take on Mary Shelley’s original story of Frankenstein. It follows the troubles of Victor Frankenstein, creator of the Frankenstein – an artificial human being created from the corpses of dead people and resurrected through intensive research in Germany. The story deals with being human, loneliness, “playing God”, mortality and the need for company. It has almost, from a certain point onwards near the end, an element of terror: we never know if divine judgment will fall upon Victor. Other than this, the execution is of great quality and makes Frankenstein a work that is easily accessible to the broader Otaku public. Art – 8/10 The art is typical for a Junji Ito adaptation. The cadence of the panels is also well done, making the story easy to follow. The monsters are “monsterish” enough to be believable, and one can easily associate a created image of Frankenstein with the characters that Junji Ito drew. Characters – 6/10 The characters are simple and humane and fulfil their purpose. There isn’t, naturally, that much development in a 180 pages long adaptation. Other than Victor and Frankenstein, the rest of the characters are just there to fill the cast. The interactions between the two main characters are the only thing that matters for the story. Enjoyment – 5/10 The Enjoyment is nothing stellar; it is just a good adaptation of a good story. It is simple and not over the top. For its simplicity, it deserves a non-enthusiastic recommendation.

Damn son, I nearly got teary there at the ending like never I would think I’d nearly cry at a Junji Ito series in my life! It tells a man who created the famous beloved monster himself, Frankenstein and he’s basically yeeted away from him so he doesn’t get caught on a ship. However he becomes sick and tells his story to the captain who saved him. I really liked the buildup on the story like it is intense enough that you don’t know who dies or who survives. Definitely read this folks, it’s just super good for your horror genre collection!