Tomie

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Japanese: 富江

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 3

Chapters: 20

Status: Finished

Published: 1987 to 2000

Genres: Drama, Horror, Supernatural

Theme: Gore

Demographic: Shoujo

Serialization: Nemuki

Authors: Itou, Junji (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 7.78¹ (scored by 41,595 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #1401²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #159

Members: 90,122

Favorites: 3,650

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Wikipedia

7.78

Ranked #1401Popularity #159Members 90,122

MangaNemukiItou, Junji (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /3

Chapters: /20

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Synopsis

In a high school classroom, students mourn the loss of one of their own: Tomie Kawakami, who has been murdered and dismembered. Shocked by the announcement of her death, the class is puzzled by the cruel fate that has befallen someone so dear to them; such a radiant and beautiful girl did not deserve such a hideous demise. However, a strikingly familiar student suddenly appears at the classroom's entrance. Gorgeous, slender, and with a beauty mark under her left eye, Tomie smiles and apologizes for being late.

But this is just the beginning of the mysteries surrounding this seemingly inhuman woman. The men unlucky enough to catch her eye become smitten with her instantly, but also become driven by a dark impulse to dismember her, one they often succumb to. And each time, Tomie returns from the dead to continue her favorite pastime: toying with men.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Tomie was published in English by ComicsOne on April 4, 2005. VIZ Media republished the series in a single hardcover omnibus on December 20, 2016. The story Painter was also published by VIZ Media as part of Shiver: Junji Ito Selected Stories. The series was also published in Polish by Japonica Polonica Fantastica in two-volume edition in February and in May 2015, respectively; and in Spanish by Ediciones La Cúpula, but discontinued after the second volume, and will be republished by ECC Comics in August 2016.

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Related Manga

Sequel:	Itou Junji Kyoufu Manga Collection: Nikuiro no Kai
Side story:	Tomie: Nottori, Tomie: Control
Other:	Miirareta Souichi
Adaptation:	Itou Junji: Collection - Tomie, Itou Junji: Collection

More characters
Characters

Tomie

Main

Izumisawa, Tsukiko

Main

Sato, Fumihito

Supporting

Mio, Yukiko

Supporting

Yamazaki

Supporting

Kimata

Supporting

Horie, Nana

Supporting

Taichi

Supporting

Iwata, Tadao

Supporting

Mori, Mitsuo

Supporting

Reviews

Nov 16, 2023

JayremyTM

Recommended

Not that I would say it's my favorite piece of work from Junji Ito, but one of them at least. Tomie is the first piece of work from Junji Ito sensei that I actually got to read and understand what it's truly all about. I mean, I randomly saw a short clip of Tomie popping up on my Twitter feed one day, and I got interested, so I started watching and catching up with it pretty quickly. Tomie isn't just a good horror manga that you need to read, but in the general world of horror, it's one of the best pieces of work that ...

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Sep 18, 2023

Wystaria

Mixed Feelings

I'm going to be honest... this was kind of disappointing. I feel like I've heard a lot of talk about "Tomie", but now that I've actually read it, I feel sort of misled. I may reread it to ensure I didn't miss any crucial details. As a first-time reader though I'll say this story isn't for everyone.

There's a lot of body horror involved and I found that to be pretty interesting. Otherwise, I have several issues with how this story was presented. The first is that it's episodic. Normally, I wouldn't really make such a big deal out of this, but unlike "Uzumaki", I feel ... like "Tomie" actually needs a concrete line of narrative in order to be more comprehensible and enjoyable. As it is, the different "episodes" feel very disconnected, and because they all tend to follow a similar plotline, they also become repetitive. It's a shame because I feel like "Tomie" would have had a lot of potential as a more fleshed-out story, but I guess that's not really to be.

I also want to make note of the fact that the quality of art changes a lot throughout the series. The earlier chapters especially are rather rough around the edges; for example, there's a panel in the first chapter that isn't even colored in.

Another problem I had with the narrative was that almost every character was unlikeable - especially Tomie. I wish we'd been given more of a backstory to get to know who - or what - she is and what her life has been like. I don't think in the slightest that she deserved being treated the way she was, but it's not like she was presented in a light that easily lended to the creation of sympathy. She takes advantage of old people and children and I find that hard to defend when I know so little about her. I suppose one could draw all sorts of conclusions about victim-blaming and such from this (I believe I have heard "Tomie"-related discussion on this topic before). However, I think that those kinds of messages don't have to be obscured to the degree they are in "Tomie" - with some exceptions, thankfully. If you've seen the movie "Jennifer's Body", then perhaps you'll know what I mean when I say that it executes the concept of "Tomie" better than "Tomie" itself does. In fact, I think that movie is a great example of what a world of difference a proper backstory and characterization can do. Could I defend Jennifer's actions? No, but at the very least I knew enough about Jennifer and her story to know WHY she was doing what she was doing. And unlike with "Tomie", the subtle messaging about victim-blaming (among other themes) was both more creative and better-connected to the narrative. As a whole, this series has a lot of moments where it sets up characters and plotlines only to never really use them to their full potential. That was frustrating to me.

Finally, I want to point out that, in tandem with a lack of backstory for Tomie, there's a lack of explanation of who or what she is and how her "powers" even work. And I think this is a problem because it creates inconsistencies and confusion in the narrative that makes piecing together what's going on even more difficult. I felt at several points that Junji Ito was just kind of... making things up as he went, and in my mind that is not the kind of impression you want to give your readers. For example, at some point there are rumors spread about a whole horde of Tomies living in a lake (which is true), and yet when the villagers go to investigate, they find no one there. But then, later in the chapter, all the Tomies emerge from the water. Maybe I'm just stupid but I find moments like these to be annoying, especially because simple questions like "Where did all the Tomies go?" could have been easily resolved with one or two cutaway panels.

As a whole, this isn't a bad work but it's definitely not my most favorite thing I've read. It's good to read if you want to make a small commitment to something short, but otherwise I wouldn't get my hopes up much. Maybe you'll find some sort of meaning in it that I missed.

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Feb 17, 2022

DYNASTIA

Not Recommended

Funny

I started reading Junji Ito from here, and I frankly feel like I should have just skipped this...
It's all undoubtedly very mediocre for a J-Horror saga.

Tomie seems to be a horror creature flimsily assembled from the discarded pieces of several other works, taking some bits of gothic horror, slasher flics, ghost stories, cosmic horror...
A patchwork of mismatched influences all centering on the character of Tomie, a monster with a human figure, but as irresistible as she's indestructible, a ''waifu'' Michael Myers.

For the length of its three volumes, this all remains very repetitive. The art, especially from the earlier chapters, is subpar. Every character is so ...

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Recent Forum Discussion

Poll: Tomie Chapter 1 Discussion AlexSadist-sama - Apr 6, 2012	14 replies	by Clowngirlie »» Feb 16, 4:49 AM
New Tomie One-Shot - 'Tomie: Control' waalex11 - Feb 15	2 replies	by waalex11 »» Feb 16, 2:56 AM
Poll: Tomie Chapter 20 Discussion Makoto - Jun 26, 2017	28 replies	by Biisoo »» Dec 27, 2023 10:53 AM
Poll: Tomie Chapter 8 Discussion AlexSadist-sama - Apr 6, 2012	7 replies	by katsudanaoko »» Dec 3, 2023 3:57 PM
Poll: Tomie Chapter 11 Discussion AlexSadist-sama - Apr 6, 2012	9 replies	by staruke »» Oct 13, 2023 8:29 PM

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