Smashed: Junji Ito Story Collection

By Junji Ito

Book Overview

Thirteen chilling nightmares, presented by the master of horror.

Try not to be noticed when you eat the secret nectar, otherwise you'll get smashed... What horrific events happened to create the earthbound--people tied to a certain place for the rest of their short lives? Then, a strange haunted house comes to town, but no one expects it to lead to a real hell... Welcome to Junji Ito's world, a world with no escape from endless nightmares.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1421598469
• ISBN13: 9781421598468
• Release Date: April 2019
• Publisher: Viz Media
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 1.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.8" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Bats, ghosts, creepy cats; perfect Halloween reading!

4.5* stars. Like previous Junji Ito anthologies I've reviewed, I will give short thoughts on each story. But overall, this is definitely a solid collection. Particularly for the Halloween/spooky season, though it could obviously be read anytime of year for a good scare. Bloodsucking Darkness: Solid story that wrapped up nicely, with twisty turns and surprises. Also, that's bats! I'm a fan of the sky puppies. Ghosts of Prime Time: I feel like this was one of the weaker stories. It didn't really hold my attention well, and, even as far as the supernatural goes, I didn't feel like the ending made sense, with how the "supernatural" was interacting with the living. Apologies if that didn't make sense, but to explain better, there would be spoilers. Roar: Roar was one of my favorites. It had love, longing, and in a way, it was almost sweet. There was one thing left to be assumed, though, the assumption was pretty spot on with how the haunting acted in the end. Earthbound: Guilt is a dangerous thing. This felt like a good urban mystery with a supernatural twist; not straight-up horror, but it still had that creepy vibe. Death Row Doorbell: This one puzzled me, and I still don't fully understand it... Like, it feels like there should be a lesson for the haunted folks, but they don't really deserve one until they start being haunted... So while the creepiness was there, I kinda give it a, eh, because I don't grasp the purpose. The Mystery of The Haunted House: I can imagine this one happening. It was very creepy, and there's definitely a supernatural thing happening. however, it felt more grounded in reality, and it just had the supernatural part to make what was happening logical, which worked out well. The Mystery of The Haunted House: Soichi's Version: I had read a story with Soichi's family in it before, I believe it was in Lovesickness, also by Junji Ito, and I enjoyed his character for how depraved and really psychotic he is. The boy be crazy, truly. Both versions of the Mystery of the Haunted House were distinct, and even the other returning character at the end of both stories was a delight to see again. Soichi's Beloved Pet: Because I love animals, I feel like this one freaked me out most. I was really worried about the pet. Which, I will give a spoiler here, the pet did not die! Still a very good story, just freaky to me. In Mirror Valley: I liked how the story was told from the past, but still had repercussions in the present. The... "powers" that characters had were also pretty interesting, and I thought unusual. I Don't Want to Be a Ghost: This one felt like a roller coaster. I really felt for the main character, even though his actions related to his wife, I completely disagreed with. It also made me wonder if, when we have streaks of good luck or bad luck, that is determined by how many spirits or guardians we have looking after us at the time. Bit of a personal query, less story-related, but still an interesting thought to have come from a short horror story. Library Vision: As someone whose book collection is considered a library twice over... send help. Please... (I'm joking.) In all seriousness, this was an interesting read, but probably also one of the weaker stories like Ghosts of Prime Time. Splendid Shadow Song: Splendid Shadow Song reminded me a bit of Black Paradox with the scientist/science fiction twist in it. There was a bit of exposition in it that I felt like was a lot for a short story, and I found myself tuning out a little bit as I read one or two panels. Smashed: By far the... oddest in terms of cause and effect. It made me never want to try something that could be ambrosia, but also made me want to travel to little-known regions to find bizarre trees and/or plants. Which you will completely understand when you read this story, as I cannot say anymore for the sake of spoilers.