Fragments of Horror

Story 7/10 Ma no Kakera has stand-alone chapters, with pretty simplistic stories, so don't expect something which will blow you away. Despite that lack of complexity, I didn't find most of the stories really predictable. They usually have a twist, which in some cases will leave you like WTF? (specially Nanakuse Kyokumi and Haunted Wood Mansion stories) Art 10/10 I find Ito Junji's art really great, and Ma no Kakera is not a exception. It fits the story well and creates a proper atmosphere. Characters 6/10 The worst part of Ma no Kakera. They have no depth and are completly forgettable. However, being a totally plot-driven manga, the characters aren'treally important to enjoy it, so the lack of characterization doesn't affect the quality of the story. Enjoyment 10/10 Despite its flaws, I truly enjoyed this manga. I got hooked on it and I didn't stop reading until I finished it. It certainly is not a masterpiece, but will give you a good time. Overall 8/10 If you liked other Ito Junji's works, specially his stand-alone manga, give Ma no Kakera a try. I'm almost sure you'll enjoy it.

Note: I also wrote this review on Goodreads under the name Animelove24 but it is still my review. This review will be consisted of what I thought of each story. Futon: A nice short start to the collection. A little bit horrifying, and a little bit funny. I gets you prepared for how all the other stories are going to be. Wooden Spirit: This one I just found really weird. I didn't really get why the woman was there or why the house turned into a monster. I definitely liked the first one better. Tomio. Red Turtleneck: Here is where I feel the 'Horror' part of Fragments of Horrorbegan. I liked the fortune tellers curse aspect and Tomio getting his comeuppance was nice. And the visuals with the gore were done spectacularly. If I had one problem with this story, its that the curse kind of really had no rules put to it. The whole main plot of the story was that Tomio had to hold onto his head so it wouldn't fall off but at one point he takes his head completely off and then puts it back on and doesn't die. It really takes away a lot of tension the character is seemingly immortal. I also found the introduction of the children near the end to be pointless. I guess the author was trying to explain why the fortune teller did what she did, but the children only stick around for a few pages so its kind of moot. It would have been better if there had been no explanation. Overall the story was nice and gory which is what I think it was trying to be so I would recommend reading if not for the story, but for the visuals. Gentle Goodbye: This is probably one of favourite stories from the whole book if not my favourite. It's a nice sweet story that's full of gore or disturbing images which is a bit of a nice break from the first few stories. Of course is has some supernatural elements, which I can't really mention without spoiling it, but they're not too intrusive as to mess up what is essentially a love story. I would definitely recommend this one for anyone who loves a good supernatural Tale but without it being too scary Dissection-chan: Dissection-chan is weird. Very, very, extremely weird. Its a story about a psychotic girl who wants to dissect herself/ have someone dissect her and a boy whose life has been intertwining with hers since childhood. It's well written story with some creepy images and good character development with the girl Dissection-chan with you at first thinking she is just plain crazy and then slowly develop into thinking that there might be something to her wanted to be dissected with it going back and forth between those thoughts until the very last panel which in my opinion is one of the most disturbing in the book. Blackbird: I really liked the visuals in this horror The bird woman in particular is a nice blend of creepy and beautiful. The story itself is odd. I didn't really understand what was happening, perhaps a weird bit of time travel or something. Some bits were a bit horror of course and as such it was slightly disturbing but I was mostly just confused. That being said if you can get by ignoring the confusing time travel and just pay attention to creepiness and visuals its a nice little read. Magami Nanakuse: This story didn't really make much of an impact on me. It was very short, there wasent really a lot of development within the main characters journey, and all I can really say is that the surprise reveal with the main characters fate is of course a super creepy image that I loved. Whispering Woman: Hands down my favourite story. Pictures: Gorgeous. Story: Slightly creepy but with a bit of a realistic relatable element which are the creepiest sort of stories to me. In this story a woman is hired by a girls father to help her make decisions since the girl is incapable of doing so and the woman does so by whispering suggestions in her ear. As the story goes on you begin to wonder if the woman is all she appears to be as her appearance starts to become more and more deteriorated the more the girl listens. It's not as creepy or horrifying as the other stories and there aren't a lot of disturbing images, but I think that point serves the story well. I would definitely recommend this above all others. TL;DR: The whole book itself is a nice collection filled with stories ranging from terrifying to funny with some drawings in it that are quite beautiful in their own disturbing way and is a good introduction to Junji Ito's work.

TLDR: pretty boring but has some promising moments Right, so I didn't like this very much. I've heard over the years how Ito is this supposedly amazing horror artist and writes these creepy stories. I picked up this copy of short stories and was exited to finally enjoy some horror as its been a while since I've read any. The story's are quite boring besides two, maybe three of them, the art is great, but the story's are quite frankly not creepy or uncomfortable to me. The further I got into the manga the more I enjoyed them I assume this is because, as ITO explains inthe afterword, its the first collection of horror he wrote in 8 years. Boi is he rusty but the later stories get interesting and have a very creepy atmosphere. (I completely agree with his editor about the futon story) Some left me chilly! I want to read more but this being my first dive into his work has left me intrigued but un impressed.

The shorts found here can be pretty hit or miss, when they hit, they hit hard but unfortunately they can also miss hard. As the title suggests "Fragments of horror" are short horror stories that don't share anything thematically or even have any shared characters. Personally, I found Blanket(futon) and Haunted wood mansion to be the weakest of the bunch and they cover the 'miss' section. However, Tomio: Red turtleneck, Black Bird and Whispering woman have quickly become some of my favorite Junji stories. The art is generally pretty solid and does justice to the expectations on Junji manga but Dissection girl has a different art style towhat we're used to and that disappointed me( That could be different for you). Dissection girl does redeem itself in it's unsettling nature and premise though. Overall, definitely a well compiled bunch of stories i'd recommend to anyone that's itching for some creepy,unsettling manga.