Horrific Imagery: Junji Ito and The Human Centipede

If you haven’t been under a rock lately, you may have heard about a terrible movie called The Human Centipede. The reason I bring this up on a (mostly) manga blog is that while I was initially interested in the film after only seeing the trailer, the horror of what exactly is happening to the victims therein sank in, and its focus on the way the “centipede” is connected ruined it.

Consider Junji Ito’s Gyo. The man can stick tubes in every orifice of a bloated, gaseous corpse, pop it on top of a pair of creepy mechanical spider legs and run it all over Japan and I’m disgusted, disturbed and unable to put it down. I’m disgusted and disturbed by the very idea of Human Centipede and have no desire to even be in the same theatre as it. Why?

Higurashi – When They Cry: Cotton Drifting Arc

A couple of months ago I recommended Higurashi – When They Cry (ひぐらしのなく頃に; Higurashi no Naku Koro ni ) after finishing the “Abducted By Demons Arc.” Last month the first volume of the “Cotton Drifting Arc” was released by Yen Press and I, of course, had to pick it up. I was all ready for more chills, menacing schoolgirls and dismembered corpses. While I wouldn’t say I was disappointed, I certainly didn’t get what I was expecting.

Sleeping With the Lights On – Junji Ito

Before I begin, I’d like to let you know that it took me forever to find a couple of images of Ito’s work that won’t give you the creeps and/or nightmares. That should tell you all you need to know about how deeply the disturbing and vivid imagery runs in his manga. The horror starts right away in some of his stories and continues coming at you from all sides until it’s over, while in others there’s very little more than a vague feeling of unease before the big reveal.

Manga Recommendation: Higurashi – When They Cry

Feel like you’re sleeping too much? That the silence in your house is just too damn peaceful? Higurashi will be happy to fix that for you.

Already a longtime fan favorite in Japan, Yen Press introduced Higurashi to the mainstream by serializing it in their manga monthly YenPlus. It has since been moved to a strictly tankoubon format, and the official word is that the choice was made so the series would be released in a more timely format. I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that the story just gets more twisted and grisly as it goes on. Nothing at all. Heh.