After-Images, Cannibalism, and Revenge: Junji Ito's Fragments of Horror
Welcome to Over Under's first real blog post!
Today, I'll be looking at Junji Ito's Fragments of Horror.
Now, I know what you're thinking: comic books aren't real books. English majors should be reading the classics. The Odyssey, Les Miserables, Anna Karenina
Welp. I'm trying to fill my quota and comic books are the easiest way achieve that.
And we could talk about what makes literature "literature" another day (to be honest, I think comic books are totes literature). But for now, let's move on!
I found out about Junji Ito after "The Enigma of Amigara Fault" made it's way around Tumblr. I decided to pick up his newest collection of stories on Amazon.
When you hold the book flap to the light, you can see embossed images of floating eyes, a flying woman, and pulsating veins. The body horror comes from the first story, "Futon," in which a man severely hallucinates and hides under his futon.
Although Junji Ito is famous for his depictions of body horror, the stories that spooked me the most exposed very little gore.
"Gentle Goodbye" carried the atmosphere of your usual ghost story. The fear of repeating history, the inevitability of death, the devotion to loved ones.
Like most ghosts, they are attached to places or people because of a past trauma or a desire to protect their loved ones. But what sets apart "Gentle Goodbye" from other ghost stories is when characters are forced into becoming a ghost by the prayers of the living. This begs the question of authority even after one lacks a tangible, operating body. It's almost like a horrific rebirth. They didn't ask to be born.
My next favorite story is "Blackbird."
When a passing bird-watcher helps an injured hiker to the hospital, they find that they were followed. I'm not gonna give out anymore deets. BUT OMIGOD. The question that stayed with me from this story was: "WHAT IN THE WORLD?! TIME-TRAVEL, BUT WHY?!"
Also, a sidenote, it might just be me being an ego-centric American and imposing my views on a Japanese manga, but the blackbird seems a bit racially charged??
I was going to ask a question about cannibalism concerning this story, but now, I can't really tell. Is the blackbird even human? You have to read it for yourself. All I'm gonna say is "Bon appetit to the circle of life."
The last story, "Whispering Woman," was a good 'ole tale of revenge. Also another story without much gore. The whispering woman has a strange devotion to instruct her young and indecisive client. But it's not in vain...
Afterlife revenge from "Whispering Woman" made up for the dissatisfaction of "Gentle Goodbye."
Some themes that I didn't get to explore were irony, humor, and eroticism. In Fragments of Horror, characters receive their karmic conclusion, others stumble upon strange women (one of which deems houses as sexy?!), and some are satisfied after having granted their wish of dissection voyeurism.
