Apr 28, 2014
If you're new to Shintaro Kago, or guro in general, this is not the place to start. That being said, if you've read some of his other stuff and are attracted to extremely dark subject matter, you'll greatly enjoy this; it was the most brutal collection of his stories I have thus read.
**You probably shouldn't be reading things like this at all if you're easily triggered, but nonetheless, major trigger warnings for self harm and rape**
A short review of each chapter that was available in English:
The Collection contains fantastic character development, satirizing, defining, and distorting the idea of collection and collectors, as
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portrayed through the protagonist. Her sadistic blindness contrasted with her subjects' growing sense of fear had me violently wishing the manga would end in justice. I won't say whether or not it did, but regardless, the ending is fantastic.
Harakiri was hard for me to personally stomach (haha) because it dealt with self harm, which is a rough subject for me to look on objectively, so admittedly the following is very biased. I suppose this story could be interpreted as humor, but I did not find it funny, though it effectively commented on how people, teens in particular, can so mindlessly subscribe to trends. The characters in the manga were interesting to follow to see what choices they made, but ultimately, I wouldn't count this as the strongest chapter.
Suck It. Oh boy. This is probably the single most disturbing thing I have ever seen, read, or heard. Do not go into this manga lightly. Heed the warnings of those who have been scarred. Seriously. If you feel uncomfortable with the chapters that came before this one, skip it. Still, it had enormous emotional capability and a terrifying progression, making it probably my favorite piece. This is not an easy thing to forget; it will make an impression and stick there.
Thank god Fetus Collection is the next chapter, because any reader will need a breather, and this provides it. Kago returns to his typical humor and satire with this fun little tale of the art of aborted fetus arranging. The only downside is the end; it was abrupt and unsatisfactory.
Unscratchable Itch was solidly good. It had graphic and effective art, creepy characters and atmosphere, and a superbly creative premise. Once again, the end disappoints, being a bit cliche, but its very worth reading through.
Last but not least is Holy Night, a fantastic little concept executed nicely. Its length, characters, art, and story were all well developed and though it ended on a somewhat mediocre note, it made for a perfect conclusion to this anthology.
Happy Kijin Gahou-ing.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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