Manga Review: 'Shiver' by Junji Ito
In the world of manga, no name is more well-known in the horror genre than Junji Ito. Both a literary and artistic genius, Ito’s work is best known for his disturbing illustrations, which utilize body horror and his signature shading-style to highlight the terror that exists in the bizarre and eldritch world that his stories take place in.
Among Ito’s work, two of his most famous stories are “Uzumaki” and “Tomie,” which are in his portfolio of longer stories. In addition, Ito is also noted for his short stories, which are often chronicled in his many collections. “Shiver” is one such collection.
Published in 2015, it contains nine such short stories: “Used Record,” “Shiver,” “Fashion Model,” “Hanging Blimp,” “Marionette Mansion,” “Painter,” “The Long Dream,” “Honored Ancestors,” and “Greased,” along with a bonus story in the form of “Fashion Model: Cursed Frame.” Does Ito continue to deliver chilling tales from his strange and terrifying world with this collection? Let us open the book, shall we?
Each story has its own unique charm and theme which it embodies, and they all send chills into the reader’s spine in their own ways.
The first thing that must be said for Ito’s work is that it is unique in terms of its content and themes. Never expect to go into one of his stories knowing what is going to happen, you will probably end up being very wrong.
Another important piece of information one must know is that in addition to Ito’s world being horrifying, it is very, very, very strange. These themes of strangeness are most present in the stories “The Long Dream,” “Honored Ancestors,” and “Greased.”
“The Long Dream takes place in a hospital’s neurosurgery wing, where a patient complains how every dream he has each night starts to feel longer. As the dreams get longer, they start to have strange effects on him. “Honored Ancestors,” tells the story of a girl who loses her memory for a reason nobody, not even the reader, is sure about, but does it have something to do with something at her boyfriend’s house?
“Greased” is by far one of Ito’s grosser stories, centering around a family that lives above a failing barbeque shop and what the terrible, greasy conditions do to them. These stories are all interesting yet disturbing in their own way, and while they certainly contain some very memorable panels of Ito’s artwork, I personally find them to be outclassed by the other stories found within this book.
“Used Record” and “Marionette Mansion” are some of Ito’s less graphic works, but I like them due to how they feel more akin to “The Twilight Zone” than something that involves the main character mutating horrifically.
I find this change of pace to be very welcome, and they certainly make for a creepy and mysterious read. “Used Record,” tells of a sought-after vinyl, one where the lyrics sound emotionless, lifeless, yet strangely beautiful. “Marionette Mansion,” asks the question of whether we control the puppets, or they control us.
“Marionette Mansion” is one of my favorite of Ito’s short stories, mostly due to the puppet designs and the enigmatic events surrounding the story, and “Used Record,” tells a great mystery story with a chilling reveal.
The remaining stories in this collection, however, are without a doubt the best ones. “Hanging Blimps,” tells of a strange epidemic that takes Japan following an idol’s suicide, and is as strange and disturbing as an Ito story can possibly be, but the stories that take the cake are definitely “Painter,” “Shiver,” and “Fashion Model.”
“Painter” is great in that it centers around Tomie, a recurring antagonist in Ito’s world who acts as an evil seductress, using her supernatural beauty to drive men to madness. Here, she decides to prey upon a painter, who comes to regret his decision to use her as a model.
“Shiver,” the titular story of the collection, deserves its spot very much, utilizing sensory imagery to truly make the reader feel discomfort while reading the effects of a curse taking the main character’s neighbors.
“Fashion Model” needs no introduction, being one of Ito’s most well-known stories. The main character sees a fashion magazine one day and sees a model in it that has features that are far too monstrous for a model, and perhaps even a human, to possess. The image of this model stays with the reader and soon begins to haunt him. This story was popular enough to spawn a bonus story in “Fashion Model: Cursed Frame,” and Ito even decided to make Fuchi, the fashion model, a recurring antagonist in his world.
While some of the stories certainly engaged me more than others, “Shiver” still stands as another great compilation of Ito’s literature. Each story has its own unique charm and theme which it embodies, and they all send chills into the reader’s spine in their own ways.
Each one is a great sample of Ito’s work, with some being more focused on body horror, some on more supernatural horror, and some on the mystery. I would highly recommend sampling this book to see if you like Ito’s style, and if you do, I would ask you to give his magnum opus, “Uzumaki,” a look. In the meantime, stay out of the cold, you might just shiver.
