Noah’s Barks pages relating to manga. These are generally imported from my MyAnimeList account.
‘Avant-Garde Yumeko’ is Shūzō Oshimi’s semenal coming-of-age short story about a girl’s "unconventional" artistic influence.
This Junji Ito compilation features stories I’ve already read. Instead of a standard review, this entry is just to catalog my having read it.
A horror manga anthology written by Masaya Hokazono, ‘Black Book’ strongly resembles ‘Seeds of Anxiety.’
In ‘Blood on the Tracks,’ Shūzō Oshimi returns to psychosexual horror-drama with a story about a boy and his manipulative mother.
In an oversaturated genre, ‘Chainsaw Man’ manages to stand out from the competition with just enough grit and flavor. A blunt and shameless action series that feels refreshing in its willingness to embrace pulp.
Practically a bible for ‘Death Note’ fans, this bonus volume contains an underworld’s worth of trivia, synopses, author responses to previously unanswered questions, and a prototype ‘Death Note’ chapter.
While Shūzō Oshimi normally handles sexual content with tact, ‘Drifting Net Café’ is possibly his most exploitative work. How much does it drag the work down? (Warning: Review is currently only unedited notes.)
‘Flower Guy,’ AKA ‘Hanao,’ is a one-shot horror manga by Yuka Yamada, created when he was only 16 years old.
Will you be the first person to track down the manga ‘Night Warriors: Darkstalkers’ Revenge,’ a rare, official English release that’s gone unarchived?
‘Ghost Heights Management Association’ is an uncommon Junji Ito black comedy story. A one-shot about a character managing a hotel of ghouls.
A pandemic threatens all of Japan in ‘Infected Island,’ a mediocre medical thriller written by Masasumi Kakizaki, author of ‘Rainbow’ and ‘Green Blood.’
In ‘Inside Mari,’ an early-adult shut-in finds himself suddenly inside the body and personal life of a high school girl. Shūzō Oshimi explores gender dynamics and alienation in this somewhat comedic psychodrama.
This isn’t a full review of this compilation. I had read all stories in here before other than ‘Masei,’ for which I wrote a single, cheap, and negative one-liner.
One of the rare longer series by Junji Ito, ‘Dissolving Classroom’ centers on a macabre, unusual, and often dangerous family of ghouls. Sometimes creepy, sometimes funny, but always bizarre.
A departure from his usual modus operandi, Junji Ito’s ‘Mimi’s Tales of Terror’ sees him adapt an anthology series covering Japanese urban legends.
This short manga serves as a prequel to the cursed ‘Mobile Suit Gundam F91’ movie.
This anthology of stories based on the manga ‘Parasyte’ compiles works from popular and upcoming shoujo manga artists.
Junji Ito adapts ‘No Longer Human,’ one of the most famous Japanese novels. Can the supernatural horror author handle a psychological drama?
Ever wanted to read an anthology based on the ‘Ace Attorney’ video game series comprised of unrelated, one-shot gags by different authors? No? Oh.
Unsurprisingly, ‘Seeds of Anxiety+’ is the sequel to the series of the same name minus a plus sign. Will this horror manga withstand its diminishing returns?
‘The Nightmare of Fabrication’ is a short, one-shot spinoff of the classic anime series ‘Serial Experiments Lain.’
The shonen classic that never was. What haunted Hiroyuki Takei’s ‘Shaman King?’ (Includes ‘Complete Collection’)
One of Shūzō Oshimi’s finest works, this modest, one-volume manga covers the high school life of a girl with a debilitating stutter. Heartfelt and sincere, it appropriately wastes no words.
An early effort by Shūzō Oshimi, ‘Sweet Poolside’ is a short romance story between a boy and a girl who bond over their gender incongruities.
Possibly my favorite manga, Shūzō Oshimi’s ‘The Flowers of Evil’ delivers a story about societal repression, isolation, and perversion.
For the first time, I explore the horrors of Japanese manga legend Noroi Michiru with the story, ‘The Dwarf – Luger.’
How much will Akira Himekawa expound upon this relatively (and literally) small ‘Zelda’ world in her adaptation of ‘The Minish Cap?’
‘Venus in the Blind Spot’ is yet another collection of random, mostly horror, mostly forgettable Junji Ito stories.
‘Yuutai Nova’ is about a man with the power of astral projection. It struggled to get its own feet off the ground and was cancelled.
