A collection of some cool stories! These are heavy with ghosts than anything else! Lovesickness has a pretty good message about the dangers of following popular trends and not let anyone control you- for a story published in 1997, this theme has held up quite well, if not stronger. Not my favorite volume, but sure one to have under your belt for 'All things Junji Ito'. ( )

This collection has ten stories overall and is divided into three parts: Lovesickness, The Strange Hikizuri Siblings, and some unconnected short stories.

Lovesickness includes five stories all connected around the beautiful boy at the crossroad.

Crossroad fortune telling is where you stand at an intersection and the first person to walk by has to tell you your fortune. Your fortune can be good or bad, but It’s best to do when the fog is thick. This town is foggy a lot of the time and it really adds to the tension and suspense in the artwork. Ryusuke Fukada has moved back to this town where he gets to reconnect with his childhood crush, but there is something really strange happening to the girls there. I think these first five stories are the strongest in the collection and the most compelling to read. The narrative is strong with a touch of hope.

The Strange Hikizuri Siblings section includes two stories centered around these siblings and how they interact with the world. These were not the strongest in the collection.

The last three additions did not include characters from any of the other stories. “The Mansion of Phantom Pain” is about a boy having pains that extend to the whole house and the workers who live there who try to stop it. “The Rib Woman” involves a girl unhappy with her image that she decides to take drastic measures. “Memories of Real Poop” was just a bizarre way to end this collection.

I think for someone who is not familiar with Junji Ito’s work this was a pretty good introduction to his style and what he is all about. This collection is unsettling and creative. The art style is eerie and beautiful.

If you are a fan of horror and mystery then you will enjoy this.

Special thanks to NetGalley and VIZ Media for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for my honest review. ( )

Another creepy Junji Ito collection, taking aim this time at suicide, phantom pain, and body image. The usual body horror is present, but nothing that really gripped or repelled too much. Overall the characters were too generic, bland, detached, and prone to unreasonable decisions for me to care about the mental and physical torture to which Ito subjects them.

The opening stories are part of a five-part arc called "Lovesickness" about a fortune telling tradition in a little Japanese town that goes incredibly awry. The next two tales are about "The Strange Hikizuri Siblings," a weird and off-putting family of nasty and spiteful orphans. The book is filled out with three random short stories. ( )