Itou Junji Kyoufu Manga Collection: Kao Dorobou

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In my quest to read the entire Ito Junji Collection, I figured I would write a review for those that did not already have one. For this review series, I will include my favorite and least favorite from the volume at the end.This is my first review ever, so please bear with me.

Story, 7: In the fourth volume, we have six stories, all more or less focused on unexplainable phenomena that occur to a different cast of characters in each story. I thought that each one had its merits, and they were definitely original premises, but I only truly enjoyed "The Hanging Balloons" (which I ... felt established a sense of dread while also explaining the premise at an appropriate pace). A lot of stories seemed to suddenly have a reveal, which is acceptable for a short story, but some seemed like they came out of nowhere (namely "Falling").

Art, 8: This is classic Ito. There are a lot of body disfigurements and horror-stricken characters, so it might be a bit rough if you are unfamiliar with his other work, but I enjoyed it.

Characters, 5: This might be too harsh a rating; given that each story is a one-shot, there isn't much time for the characters to develop/feel distinct, and most of the protagonists and side characters are essentially stock characters. Everyone at least physically appeared more differentiated than the previous one-shot collection ("Flesh-Coloured Horror"), so that was appreciated.

Enjoyment, 6: I was entertained by each story to an extent, but I wasn't particularly blown away by any either. This is essentially by standard rating for anything I enjoyed but didn't have any strong feelings one way or another.

Overall, 6: I would highly recommend this title if you find yourself looking for some solid horror art or simply want to find some interesting stories.

Personal Favorite: "The Hanging Balloons", Least Favorite: "Falling"

Continuing to read the series felt so good. Every story is wrapped up perfectly for my on-the-go quick read. Kinda crazy how they can manage to pull off such a vibe with just one chapter. I like this kind of unconnected story because I don't need to remember anything. The characters names change every chapter, no detail is need to be able to enjoy the story, and its also an advantage for the author too. Because if its a continuous story like Uzumaki, the characters in it looks so dumb.

Art is great as always. I can't say its beautiful tho, cus they draw literal monster ... and nightmare fuel panel to panel. The characters usually have similar design. I mean it is to be expected if you have a ton of characters in one manga. Also the story is oversimplistic, so does the characters personality too. So far i've been enjoying this series and i look forward to more horrorness in the next volume.