Because Junji Ito!
The Master of Horror made a manga about super cute creatures, so he had to make them evil and scary.
There is not much of a story, the whole thing is a slice of life, about Ito moving in with his wife Ako and her cats, Muu and Yon, whose name can be read like “Death” and who has a skull shaped spot. That’s enough for Ito to decide that the cat is not only evil and malevolent, but also out to get him! So it begins a story of horror and tension between the Master of Horror himself and the two cute (actually all but cute, in his art) felines, which hasn’t got that many interesting plot points, even though the premise is fine, the story is nothing special, 5/10.
Speaking of art, though, it’s a very different matter, and I’m surely not the one who has discovered that Ito’s unique style is great, even though, for how much I could ever love it, there’s no denying that drawing cute things made scary with it, lets it down a little bit. The cats lose a lot (if not all) their cuteness and become really unsettling at times, but some other times they are not really scary enough to sell the scene well (Mu in particolar, who looks really fluffy). Nevertheless, the art style does miracle on the cats, and also on Ako, who is drawn with blank white eyes and is REALLY creepy, almost everytime she is present. Even though is does a great job at it, monsters and body horror, certainly suit it best, 9/10.
Human characters are fine, nothing spectacular, nothing terrible, they are stereotypes of Ito and Ako’s personality, but the great characterization of the cats bumps it from total mediocrity: they truly are the main characters of the story and it feels like it, they are perfectly normal cats who happen to be evil and inconspicuous (just like normal cats) and never feel fake, it’s just very evident that they are a bit exaggerated by Ito’s iagination (both at the time and when writing), 7/10.
In the end, I found it really enjoyable, even though it isn’t Ito’s regular work, it’s light hearted and funny, and the horror is twisted in an unusual (but often very nice) comedic way, without letting you forget how Ito earned his nickname. The book is also very short, both in chapter length and in chapter amount, so it’s very light and relaxing to read (if only it wasn’t 12€ for only 120 pages…).
The little inserts in between chapters (little Q&A that was published along with the chapters in the original release, with some very funny scenes and facts) also add to the score.
Keeping the price out of the equation, it’s very enjoyable, 8/10.
Overall, a deserved 7/10, it’s not incredible, but it’s something different that any Junji Ito fan should read and could enjoy
