Reviews

I have said similar things in the past, but the more I read Ito, the more I feel like he's just a strange author. He has this habit of getting latched onto an idea, and turning it into this weird, creepy concept that becomes sprawling in scope. But he doesn't really know how to maintain that scale for long. It's like asking someone who is used to piloting a raft to begin captaining a cruise ship. Both of those things are technically boats, but the latter requires much more knowledge and responsibility, and the skills to maneuver one don't really translate.

This shows in Lovesickness. The story starts simple, grounded, with a few protagonists, an antagonist, and a spooky situation that gets some great scares and awesome visuals that are truly horrifying. Then the story is built out, showing the same concept but in new and inventive ways. It seems good, but then the strands become unraveled. Characters stop behaving rationally. It's understandable why the protagonist here would want to keep seeking out the various encounters with the evil forces here, because he has a personal connection to all of it. But when a woman insists upon confided a secret to him, and he says no, the woman just... continues to confide to him, and he continues to just deal with it? As someone who has been traumatized multiple times, and someone who is already suspicious of the weird things happening in this cursed town, this obviously crazy person harassing him nonstop rings no alarm bells?

And then the distraction comes in. Naturally, the story evolves into the whole town being crazy, with hundreds of victims and a creeping curse that affects anyone around. There's an evolution in the protagonists, things have really ramped up, and it feels like everything is getting close to a resolution of some sort. Even a scary, horrifying, negative resolution would be great. But the story basically resolves in saying, "Welp, town's crazy, but my involvement in it is done," and the story concludes there. I sincerely felt like I skipped some pages, and had to figure out if that was really the end of the story.

It's as if Ito has these fantastic ideas, writes them out. But then, at some point, he gets bored of the story, concludes it as fast as possible, and moves on to his next project. As someone with ADHD, I can super relate, but it's extremely jarring. This is coupled with just a sloppy writing style, where sometimes characters act against their characterization, and with a lot of various tropes and repetitive ideas that just become grating the more you read.

I still can't say Ito is bad. He is clearly unique, and has a spirit for creation that most don't. But he is most certainly an oddball writer, one who is inconsistent in quality at best, and confusing and easily-sidetracked at worst. His stories may sometimes be compelling, and even gripping, and he has a few bangers that are critical material. But he seems extremely overrated by the broader public.