Seems like a lot of people don’t like Dissolving Classroom. I was excited to just have any new Junji Ito stories to read, so that may have positively colored my opinion, but I’m reasonably confident this is solid work. The central story arc contains a lot of Junji Ito’s more forward dark humor, which typically earns a mixed reception if you look reactions to his Souichi stories.

What sets this apart from those is that the consequences in these stories are heavy and deadly, lending a genuine source of dread to the otherwise zany madness. As absurd as these stories and characters may be, the sense of threat demands they still be taken seriously. I found these works suspenseful, as the motivations of the recurring characters were mysterious, and it was always uncertain which pitiful side characters would make it out alive. It’s an unusually balanced mix of comedy and horror from Ito.

The unrelated bonus stories are extremely weak. Five or so pages each of concepts that aren’t fleshed out enough to derive any meaning from their attempted philosophical themes. They have the aura of being forced-out stories Ito needed to release for a paycheck. Can’t blame him, but these still felt like he was writing the first ideas that came into his head.