Ma no Kakera
Fragments of Horror

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Overall- 8.5/10
A pretty decent collection from Junji Ito with consistently good art but not so consistent stories.

1. *Futon*:
5/10
Man, Ito sure does not like guys named Tomio. It won’t be wise to expect much from a story of only 7 pages, and the story does not do much to prove you wrong either. Very simple idea, unclimatic conclusion, really not much to see here story-wise, but Ito’s visual talents never disappoint. The only reason I am rating this this high is because of that 2-page spread.

2. *Wooden Spirit*:
7/10
While this short remains successful in creating a great atmosphere of mystery and also having earning the praise of ... actually holding my attention and not being downright obvious in the solution to it’s mystery, it still suffers from a weak ending that just leaves you wanting for more. Like most of Ito’s short stories, this one too is strongest in the middle.
It would disappoint a new reader but I’ve come to enjoy Junji Ito’s short story collections as small atmospheric pieces, perhaps because I’m a big fan of such supernatural mysteries, and the art at least never lets you down.

3. *Tomio: Red Turtleneck*:
8.5/10
A simple premise of body-horror that was surprisingly well executed. I had feared that this story might just end up being a mediocre one but Ito managed to craft a great climax to this simple tale with the help of his wicked imagination and ever effective skill of presenting even the simplest of ideas in horrifying visual form.

4. *Gentle Goodbye*:
9/10
A very ‘gentle’ story for Junji Ito’s imagination, no doubt. This one does not really aim at being to horrify or scare as almost all the stories from Ito I’ve read yet do. It clearly has a more emotional side which is established in the very first page and progresses as an examination of grief from a very unique perspective, also delivery a good twist or two along the way.

5. *Dissection-chan*:
9/10
I’m not really into the gore aspect of horror and Junji Ito, I prefer the atmospheric and supernatural mysteries, and neither has body-horror being a big favourite of mine, but *Dissection-chan* is an undeniably good short from Junji Ito.
This one does not really jump into the gore and the disgusting visuals as one would expect from the title, but instead delves into morbid fetishes. It creates an adequately unnerving sense of fear and thrill and also gives the reader another great Junji Ito 2-page spread.

6. *Blackbird*:
5/10
Just doesn’t do much for me. An irritatingly dumb ending to an unremarkable premise which started off with some promise but ends up gradually loosing all potential by being absolutely mediocre.

7. *Magami Nanakuse*:
4/10
What the hell?
This one is a story about character quirks or ‘tics’, I guess. I don’t get what Ito was trying to get at with this one but it seems to me that he failed in the most unimaginably absurd manner possible.

8. *Whispering Woman*:
7/10
I don’t really get why I like this one as much as I do. It’s a typical Ito short- interesting concept, great art as always, bland ending but still gives a good mystery and holds your attention for it’s length.
The phenomenon at work, or the ‘mystery’, isn’t really explained but it’s best to approach these works as mood pieces.

This is the second manga by Junji Ito that I've read, the first one being Uzumaki. This is actually a collection of eight short stories, each being an anthology. The stories in this one are quite short but impactful and unique. Some of them are good while others, not so much. Maybe the ones I didn't enjoy were probably not my cup of tea. The art style is beautiful yet creepy as expected by Junji Ito. The art style heavily compliments the story. The only reason I picked "Mixed Feelings" in the recommended section is because I didn't like all of the stories.

TLDR: pretty boring but has some promising moments

Right, so I didn't like this very much. I've heard over the years how Ito is this supposedly amazing horror artist and writes these creepy stories. I picked up this copy of short stories and was exited to finally enjoy some horror as its been a while since I've read any.

The story's are quite boring besides two, maybe three of them, the art is great, but the story's are quite frankly not creepy or uncomfortable to me. The further I got into the manga the more I enjoyed them I assume this is because, as ITO explains in ... the afterword, its the first collection of horror he wrote in 8 years. Boi is he rusty but the later stories get interesting and have a very creepy atmosphere. (I completely agree with his editor about the futon story)

Some left me chilly! I want to read more but this being my first dive into his work has left me intrigued but un impressed.