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horrorpunkxiu

  • United Kingdom
  • Joined Aug 7, 2018
  • 26 / Other

As a fan of guro anime and manga, my friend and I were both utterly surprised when we figured out I hadn't actually come across any of Junji Ito's works before. She set me with links and as this was the shortest one, I decided to start here for my Ito binge for the night. 

Mimi's Ghost Stories is a one volume, six chapter manga book that revolves around Mimi, a young (slightly annoying) girl who somehow always ends up surrounded by ghosts or in a situation with them, or at least the paranormal. From ghosts to strange creatures, and a creepy short story at the start, this psychological horror manga is probably one of the better places to start with Ito.

I will admit, I did enjoy this, but not as much as I thought I was going to. In fact, I was a little bit let down - having looked into his more gore artwork, and this being psychological, it was a bit deflating to read through. If you're here for Ito being a gore author/artist, definitely do not hold this up to the standard for it. If you want a more psychological read - this is definitely better for the genre.

With well-rounded art and solid storylines, this is definitely some of the best guro mangas I have read - probably the best despite my issues with the character and the let down that it was less gore than I originally expected. I believe if I hadn't been expecting what I had with this, it would definitely be a 4 or 5-star rating from me. Hopefully, if I reread this in the future and I'm more expectant of it and more in the mood for psychological horror, then my rating will go up. It feels almost taboo to give Ito a lowish rating, but the world always surprises you.

If you like psychological horror, this is more than likely one of the shorter mangas you should check out. It's gripping, and some did give me chills. This was an awesome introduction to Ito for me, and I'm about to go read as much as I can from him in one night. A definite recommendation.

8/10 story
9/10 art
7/10 characters
8/10 overall
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