@@sotoskun861 not necessarily a refrence. The name Naruto comes from those spiral treats in ramen that kishimoto ate after school and uzumaki means whirlpool and whirlpools are spirals so I'm sure you can see the similarity
It's funny seeing how, ideed, the stories seem disjointed most of the manga, but towards that point they all start to swirl together and flow into one point... almost like the narrative is a spyral itself
There are tons of hidden spirals throughout each story. For example, take the misquote story. The concept of population growth is turned into a spiral that is expanding out from the center. The horror comes from the reversal of that spiral, an interpretation of what it would mean for an expanding population to work back to a singular point. That is why we get the un-birthing happening in the hospital.
One thing that doesn’t get mentioned often is how specifically Kirie doesn’t admit things are as wrong as they are because she’s surrounded by it all the time, while Suichi notices almost at once because he goes to school out of town. It speaks to how people often can’t see what’s in front of them simply because it’s familiar.
Sounds like she will love the show for the reasons the fans dont. It was made more jointed and flowed more like a story vs anthology put together. hope she tries the show.
Junji ito is a master Horror genre Mangaka. Tommie is another of his works which you should definitely pick up. Much more tamed compared to his work but Is a master of thriller is Naoki Urasawa, you have to read 20th century boy and MONSTER. Completely mind blowing story telling.
I’m not into horror so I don’t read Ito’s work, but one time I read a short story of his, “The Enigma of Amigara Fault,” and I’ll forever believe it’s one of the greatest one-chapter mangas of all time.
I watched one of Junji Ito's interviews and he said: "I want the reader to have an uncanny feeling more than fright. That sense of wonder which also comes up in sci-fi". The part where you mention his "unsettling beauty", which lures you in and entices you before horrifying you, reminded me of that.
"The mosquito" is my favorite chapter. I love the setting with the hospital, the characters with the seemingly innocent pregnant mothers. It was horrifying yet still link with the spiral shape in a twisted way (no pun intended)
That was kind of my least fav part. I mean what does pregnant women drinking human blood like mosquitos have to do with anything related to the plot and spirals? It felt useless to the plot. As well as people turning into snails.
@@justsomedinosaur9440 It's explained in the manga, the mosquitos make a spiral shape tornado when they mate and the women use a spiral drill to drink blood. Back in the days we also use spiral shaped mosquito-repelling incense. So yeah, the spiral is still the main link to the horror.
I also read Uzumaki last week! While I was reading it, I noticed that the story begins with a lot of very loosely connected stories that feel more like one-off stories in the first third of the story, then the 2nd third has more two or three chapter stoiries, and the last third is basically one major story that brings everything together, sort of like how a spiral begins with a wider spacing, and as you get to the center of the spiral the space becomes smaller and smaller. It really feels like Ito used a spiral as a constructive base for the story which is super cool
Oh wow I never expected this review from you. Junji Ito is easily the most well known horror manga author. Uzumaki is probably his most popular work but his other stuff are really good and usually don't get as much recognition (particularly his one off short stories) so you should definitely check them out if you liked Uzumaki.
One good bundle of many short stories is Fragments of Horror is not only beautiful in terms of cover art, hardcover it even has a dust cover it also has great short stories and is cheap.
Been following your channel for a while and I just stumbled on this video after finishing the anime of Uzumaki. Only because I heard it was very true to the book. From what I'm getting from your spoilers they really did just try and tell that story
It's one thing when just using a description in a bid to unnerve a reader, our imagination does a lot of the heavy lifting, it takes an unbelievable amount of skill to make a single drawing so unsettling, and to do that through an entire story is really something else.
That's what I admire about Junji Ito the most. Fear of the unknown is the core of horror. The visual medium can therefore easily fall flat if the execution is subpar. That's precisely why the anime adaptation ("Junji Ito Collection") was considerably worse because it just didn't capture the depth of the original drawings. It lost parts of that unfathomable, and failed to replicate the mystery and unsettling details.
Did Merphy just reviewed the work of a GOAT horror mangaka?!? One of us! One of us! P.S. Don't you think the spirals undulating is so unsettling? I did
I'd argue that Junji Ito is one of the best and well accomplished the cosmic horror genre. Lovecraft was a fantastic author (not a fantastic guy) but Junji improves on the format by maintaining the mystery and not over explaining the cosmic forces at play. Less is more in this genre, and the body horror is both sickening and beautifully illustrated. Amazing author and amazing manga
I was too quite frustrated by Kirie denial attitude, to me she's not really written as "a main character" but more like "a witness" to the events. The spiral is the real star of the show.
I absolutely delight in everyday things being turned horrifying and concepts being taken to all of their logical extremes, so you can imagine Uzumaki and Junji Ito’s work overall feels like it was filling this hole made just for me. Excited to see you bringing your booktube analysis to manga!
One-shots (or single-chapter manga) are definitely where Junji Ito shines, and he has a lot of them. The obvious place to start with those is The Enigma of Amigara Fault, which you can find collected with Gyo (which is a short series) and another one-shot in a two volume set. Or you can just find chapters online if you want. Also, the Tomie series shouldn't be overlooked. Also, as far as the artwork goes, it might help to know that Ito was a dentist (aka a doctor) before he was a mangaka, which is why the anatomy in particular is so detailed and fine-tuned to a sometimes gruesome extent.
I actually really appreciate manga reviews from you (and others who aren't "traditionally" anime/manga fans). The perspective here is different than the average fan and it makes it more interesting to me. Great work!
Junji Ito's Cat Diary: Yon and Mu is a fantastic read too. It has Ito's wonderful creepy visual style, but is all about his home life with his wife and cats.
Just finished it, loved the metaphor of the story for destruction by obsession but also destruction by the stagnation caused by obsessive/stubborn/vain mindsets, and all of that leading into a cycle we fall into because of our own human flaws- yet even in the end we still have each other
Definitely pick up some of Ito's other stuff. They printed Gyo and Tomie with similar covers, both are great and also contain some of his short stories (which tend to be amazing as well)
Uzumaki is so amazing! I remember not liking it as much as I was reading and when I finished, but it just stuck so hard with me. Without even rereading it, I kept thinking higher and higher of it and now almost on it's own it became one of my favorites. I kinda felt like the spiral got me somehow lol. Great review Merphy, there is so much amazing manga out there and I'm so glad you're getting into that world!
I highly recommend checking out his comedy manga about him, his wife, and their two cats. It's amazing how his creepy art style can suddenly be turned on it's head to effectively serve comedic purposes.
Great video I picked up Uzumaki not to long and I am a big manga fan and I have been wanting to read it soon but I am reading other manga right now but I can't wait to spend a day reading this.
One of the best experiences is watching you getting into the media we love! Its a different media, with different and fascinating thematics / ways to tell stuff! Theres a lot of trash too, but i think your Patreons and the youtube ppl will direct you to the good ones!
i just found this and am impressed, i have never really been into anime, but this is just amazing, one of the most original unique ip's i've ever seen. hope there is a second season in the pipes, keep up the hard work, never change.
Having Murphy discover manga (any kind) is such a boost for me and my past self that had been embarrassed having different tastes than my peers. Nobody does horror like Junji Ito. NOBODY
Uzumaki is one of the few of his that does have a cohesive storyline throughout the book. A lot of Junji Ito's books are more collections of short stories than novels. The black ones - Gyo, Uzumaki, Tomie - are the more "novel" - esque books, that have a consistent throughline. He's written two other short novella-length Manga, Sensor and Remina, as well, though I can't personally recommend because I haven't read them myself yet. Uzumaki is by far my favorite of his, but I would be remiss if I did not mention his adaptation of Osamu Dazai's No Longer Human. Dazai's semi-autobiographical book is already haunting in and of itself, but adding Ito's artwork to it elevates it to something that NEEDS to be read. It's just as stunning, just as haunting, and so innately and inescapably human. It's so dang good.
Wow, nice to see you start to open up to the medium after getting hooked up with One Piece and tried to look for more new tittles. Glad you picked up Itou's work too, he's considered a classic for horror manga genre, you should also check his short stories. Btw, Uzumaki is about to get an animation adaptation around next year i believe. ps. the chapter with haunted spiral hair thingy is the lowest part of Uzumaki, in my opinion. That is just too silly, and almost have no continuation.
My job as a writer and filmmaker is to understand character development and storytelling, and how the audience interacts with the piece, and I find your video invaluable. TY🙏🏾
Kyaaa~! I'm so glad you read it!! I love Ito's work and Uzumaki is definitely one of his best. My book club is reading Uzumaki this month (my pick) and I can't wait to bring up some of your perspective. I really like Kirie's hair story because it's horrifying but pretty in a weird way and the first time I read it I hated the Jack in the Box stalker story but I appreciate it more now. If you want more Junji Ito I recommend the collection of short stories called Shiver. It's a power house of some of his best ideas. Thank you so much for this video!
@@isaiasramirez8224 The dude above me stated them but I would add Kingdom, Holyland, The Climber, Innocent, Steel Ball Run, Real to that list. Plenty of great seinen manga titles.
@@isaiasramirez8224 And while Steel Ball Run is fantastic, I wouldn't recommend people jump straight to it, as it is part 7 of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Part 8 is another great seinen manga. Some other great titles outside of the ones listed above are: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (if you've seen the movie and liked it at all, the manga is even better and goes way further). Spirit Circle Golden Kamuy Kaiji Planetes (from the author of Vinland Saga) Solanin (from the author of Goodnight Punpun) The first user recommended anything by Naoki Urasawa, and while I agree with that, I'd say the best starting point is probably Monster. Or 20th Century Boys, but I think Monster edges it out as an introduction to Urasawa's works.
Woohoo! I had just finished this a month ago, I’m not sure if it was that scary at face value(some of it I found more outlandish than anything), but I think the looming terror of certain imagery that stays in your mind the further you get is something really impressive. I guess I’d call it haunting more than horrific, might just be semantics, Agree with you on certain chapters falling a bit flat, but it still culminated so well that I kinda overlook it. Great Review 👍🏻
First One Piece content now Junji Ito! Love to see it! All of his hardbacks they have been bringing over are great. Uzumaki was my first of his as well. Remina, Gyo, Sensor are all really good. Tomie is another long running one that is interesting despite being more disjointed than his other works. His shorter stories are great as well.
By the way this is getting a high quality anime adaptation (seemingly thus far) and the teaser dropped this year looks impeccable. It also uses music from the same composer who did the score for Hereditary and it seriously slaps.
I love that you are getting into Manga and reviewing this one specifically. I have always wondered how someone who's not an Otaku will feel about his work. Keep on going, great video!
I am so glad you started reading Junji Ito! He is one of my all time favorites. I love your content! Please keep up the fantastic work and thank you for the great videos!
Glad you're starting to read Junji Ito. I recommend you read Tomie when you get the chance. When I read it, I felt that this must be what the first readers of Dracula must have felt while reading that. Like there was a brand new monster in the world. Easily my favorite Junji Ito story.
Read this because of you and AGH. It’s so good. I thought Kirie’s hope was going to eventually defeat the spiral somehow, but I guess since this is an eldritch horror manga that wouldn’t make sense. It hurt so good watching her and suichi, after fighting so hard and getting further than anyone through this insane tragedy, just decide to give up and let the spiral take them. They’d lost everything, but at least in the eternal moment of the spiral they knew they would NEVER lose each other, and that was kind of beautiful? They went through hell together, and they survived to the point that it seems they’ll basically exist forever together in that moment since time gets completely dilated to the point of stopping the closer one gets to the center of the spiral and now they lay in the heart. Also, so what happens to the brother?! He just chills as a snail forever? He was far away enough that he shouldn’t have been sucked into the spiral, so I feel like he’d just be gone on his own adventure once Kirie ends (and in some sense resets) the curse by giving up. Idk man, cool manga, the more I think on it the more I love it
Just completed reading uzumaki and I am content with your review .you literally shared every thought that I was contemplating after completing it. Loved it ❤️
Ohhhhhhhhh your reading more manga!!!!! That’s awesome. So many great stories to discover. I’d HIGHLY recommend 20th Century Boys ( the reprint ended recently ) amazing story telling.
you're doing a great job of reviewing! I totally agree with your review and love his other works. Junji Ito mostly makes short stories, so you might enjoy those, as well!
I love that you've gotten into manga. Booktubers like you and Daniel Greene, coming from a different UA-cam subculture than anitube, obviously come at this subject matter from a different perspective and with a different style. It freshens up the conversation in an interesting way.
Great review! I didn't enjoy most of Ito's works (except Enigma of Amigara fault) but it's nice to see new people getting into manga as a medium and giving it exposure. A few recommendations I think you'd love: - Monster, Homunculus: these two are similar in tone to Uzumaki, unsettling and twisted - Oyasumi Punpun: this one could break you, don't read if you're not in a good place mentally - Dorohedoro: absurd, dark, amazing art, worldbuilding and characters - Great Teacher Onizuka: funny and surprisingly endearing slice of life with interesting messages
Just recently re-read this as it's my favorite manga/book, and enjoyed this review from beginning to end! You did a great job of highlighting the themes and depth of the characters, which I feel like goes undiscussed a lot regarding it.
What I like about the story is that it is literally a spiral, a vortex, as the characters get sucked in and get stuck you do too, you feel the confusion, the horror, the melancholy, it is amazing.
I flew through it in a single night the first time I read it. I'm an obsessive personality as well so I understand exactly what you mean. It's one of my favorite horror stories ever.
What I love about Junji Ito is that while his genre of expertise is Horror, he's naturally a very silly guy xD Whenever I got to the milder sections of Uzumaki I couldn't help but think "ahh, you needed a break from the tension for yourself, didn't yah?" Idk how true that is, but to me his work reads as very urnest, especially the milder sections
Love how Lovecraftian Uzumaki seems, asked for it for my Christmas and I am excited for the animated version. I’ve never really been a fan of anime, I’m alright with manga, but Uzumaki seems like it will be a great anime
19:00 "you can't get out of the town WHICH I *LOVE."* Never going to forgive Konami for cancelling a Silent Hill game with Junji Ito attached on monster design. For. SHAME.
Very happy you read this! There are some great horror manga out there and there are some really comedic and hilarious manga as well. Definitely explore the genre.
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
...and then you look at Sanji's eyebrows and realize..."my God...they're spreading."
That reminds me, oda had thought of name "naruto" for sanji first. But when he got to know that it was taken, he went with sanji
@@jojosoni6355 it’s amazing he went with “Sanji” because if you know then you know
@@sysy6332 ik
@@jojosoni6355 is it a coincidence that Naruto was born in the spooky month and his last name is Uzumaki? Probably definitely homage to ito.
@@Rhekon hmm... Could be. I don't know for sure.
Excellent choice! Junji Ito is very much the face of horror manga. He’s a master of “the page turn” jump scare.
She should read his cats story😂
Does this book have any connection to Naruto saga? Cause is has the name of the clan and the spiral insignia of the ninja clan.
@@sotoskun861 no dude, not a slight connection
@@jacobsion5516 Oh ok. So in Naruto must be some kind of reference to it. Still im gonna check this manga.
@@sotoskun861 not necessarily a refrence. The name Naruto comes from those spiral treats in ramen that kishimoto ate after school and uzumaki means whirlpool and whirlpools are spirals so I'm sure you can see the similarity
It's funny seeing how, ideed, the stories seem disjointed most of the manga, but towards that point they all start to swirl together and flow into one point... almost like the narrative is a spyral itself
O.O
That's a really cool thought!!
👀
Like the houses.
There are tons of hidden spirals throughout each story. For example, take the misquote story. The concept of population growth is turned into a spiral that is expanding out from the center. The horror comes from the reversal of that spiral, an interpretation of what it would mean for an expanding population to work back to a singular point. That is why we get the un-birthing happening in the hospital.
One thing that doesn’t get mentioned often is how specifically Kirie doesn’t admit things are as wrong as they are because she’s surrounded by it all the time, while Suichi notices almost at once because he goes to school out of town. It speaks to how people often can’t see what’s in front of them simply because it’s familiar.
I really hated Kirie. If I were Shuichi, I'd just break up. I am leaving this town whether you come with me or not
Sounds like she will love the show for the reasons the fans dont. It was made more jointed and flowed more like a story vs anthology put together. hope she tries the show.
Junji ito is a master Horror genre Mangaka. Tommie is another of his works which you should definitely pick up.
Much more tamed compared to his work but Is a master of thriller is Naoki Urasawa, you have to read 20th century boy and MONSTER. Completely mind blowing story telling.
It's Naoki Urasawa btw
Urasawa is the GOAT, monster is just amazing
I also recommend these two stories and Pluto as well.
@@Ytinasniiable third to goat
@@dadandadandan And *Billy Bat* and *Asadora* and *Happy!* and *Yawara!*
*Urasawa is on another level.*
9:00 Merphy, if you didn't know, this panel with the girl with a spiral in her head became REALLY iconic
Yeah it's probably one of the most (if not the most) famous panels from the manga
It was like the only thing I'd seen from it before I started reading
I remember Uzumaki scaring the shit out of me as a kid. It wasn't even jumpscare scary, it gave me nightmares long after the fact.
is this a recommendation?
@@paperstars9078 yes,very good. Read it
@@jaielrobinson2476 I still need to finish berserk, I'll put it on the list.
@@paperstars9078 Do take your time with Berserk. That's a special one. :)
YOU READ IT WHEN YOU WERE A KID? Respect+
I’m not into horror so I don’t read Ito’s work, but one time I read a short story of his, “The Enigma of Amigara Fault,” and I’ll forever believe it’s one of the greatest one-chapter mangas of all time.
That is probably my favorite work of him. The concept is absolutely insane.
I think about this one every-so-often. It's the first one I read from him and I've never been able to let it go.
Also army of one, that one is at the same level
Would you say that story was meant for you? A perfect fit?
This is my hole it was made for me
Merphy reviewing Junji Ito is not something I ever thought I would see.
I felt it coming. She is getting into manga and loves horror who else but Ito fits that bill.
“Beautiful, terrifying, and occasionally incredibly silly” is basically Junji Ito in a nutshell.
JUNJI ITOOOO!!! AAAHH. You picked my favorite Junji Ito manga.
I watched one of Junji Ito's interviews and he said: "I want the reader to have an uncanny feeling more than fright. That sense of wonder which also comes up in sci-fi". The part where you mention his "unsettling beauty", which lures you in and entices you before horrifying you, reminded me of that.
This is insane. As a huge fan of One Piece, and someone who's read all of Junji Ito's work, this is a treat!!! Thanks Merphy
Merph: Doesn't like chapter with hair spirals.
Also Merph: Has hair spirals.
Sus
gotta say didn't expect this, a happy surprise to be sure can't go wrong with Junji Ito.
"Feeding those mushrooms to people is really disturbing."
Clearly, Merph hasn't read or watched Dorohedoro.
Dorohedoro is amazing, master class world building and aesthetic.
@@caladbolg8666 True
That series is climbing up in my tbr
@@caladbolg8666 unreal manga and and actually good cgi anime as much as I wish it’s was drawn
"The mosquito" is my favorite chapter.
I love the setting with the hospital, the characters with the seemingly innocent pregnant mothers. It was horrifying yet still link with the spiral shape in a twisted way (no pun intended)
That was kind of my least fav part. I mean what does pregnant women drinking human blood like mosquitos have to do with anything related to the plot and spirals? It felt useless to the plot. As well as people turning into snails.
@@justsomedinosaur9440 It's explained in the manga, the mosquitos make a spiral shape tornado when they mate and the women use a spiral drill to drink blood. Back in the days we also use spiral shaped mosquito-repelling incense. So yeah, the spiral is still the main link to the horror.
I also read Uzumaki last week! While I was reading it, I noticed that the story begins with a lot of very loosely connected stories that feel more like one-off stories in the first third of the story, then the 2nd third has more two or three chapter stoiries, and the last third is basically one major story that brings everything together, sort of like how a spiral begins with a wider spacing, and as you get to the center of the spiral the space becomes smaller and smaller. It really feels like Ito used a spiral as a constructive base for the story which is super cool
Oh wow I never expected this review from you. Junji Ito is easily the most well known horror manga author. Uzumaki is probably his most popular work but his other stuff are really good and usually don't get as much recognition (particularly his one off short stories) so you should definitely check them out if you liked Uzumaki.
One good bundle of many short stories is Fragments of Horror is not only beautiful in terms of cover art, hardcover it even has a dust cover it also has great short stories and is cheap.
Been following your channel for a while and I just stumbled on this video after finishing the anime of Uzumaki. Only because I heard it was very true to the book. From what I'm getting from your spoilers they really did just try and tell that story
It's one thing when just using a description in a bid to unnerve a reader, our imagination does a lot of the heavy lifting, it takes an unbelievable amount of skill to make a single drawing so unsettling, and to do that through an entire story is really something else.
That's what I admire about Junji Ito the most.
Fear of the unknown is the core of horror. The visual medium can therefore easily fall flat if the execution is subpar.
That's precisely why the anime adaptation ("Junji Ito Collection") was considerably worse because it just didn't capture the depth of the original drawings.
It lost parts of that unfathomable, and failed to replicate the mystery and unsettling details.
@@LinkEX the Junji Ito collection was phenomenal...maybe not as good as the Manga but as anime adaptations go its one of the best
Did Merphy just reviewed the work of a GOAT horror mangaka?!?
One of us! One of us!
P.S. Don't you think the spirals undulating is so unsettling? I did
I'd argue that Junji Ito is one of the best and well accomplished the cosmic horror genre. Lovecraft was a fantastic author (not a fantastic guy) but Junji improves on the format by maintaining the mystery and not over explaining the cosmic forces at play. Less is more in this genre, and the body horror is both sickening and beautifully illustrated. Amazing author and amazing manga
I am the only reply
@@jimmylance2844 not anymore
AFAIK, a lot of the explanation actually came from people who later expanded upon Lovecraft’s work, not Lovecraft himself.
Like Derleth, I think.
I was too quite frustrated by Kirie denial attitude, to me she's not really written as "a main character" but more like "a witness" to the events. The spiral is the real star of the show.
Loved the video! Just purchased Uzumaki and I'm super excited to come and read it!!
I absolutely delight in everyday things being turned horrifying and concepts being taken to all of their logical extremes, so you can imagine Uzumaki and Junji Ito’s work overall feels like it was filling this hole made just for me. Excited to see you bringing your booktube analysis to manga!
The hole calls for you.
@@Finallegend_ please nooo that hole story was disturbing 😣😣
One-shots (or single-chapter manga) are definitely where Junji Ito shines, and he has a lot of them. The obvious place to start with those is The Enigma of Amigara Fault, which you can find collected with Gyo (which is a short series) and another one-shot in a two volume set. Or you can just find chapters online if you want. Also, the Tomie series shouldn't be overlooked.
Also, as far as the artwork goes, it might help to know that Ito was a dentist (aka a doctor) before he was a mangaka, which is why the anatomy in particular is so detailed and fine-tuned to a sometimes gruesome extent.
I actually really appreciate manga reviews from you (and others who aren't "traditionally" anime/manga fans). The perspective here is different than the average fan and it makes it more interesting to me. Great work!
Junji Ito's Cat Diary: Yon and Mu is a fantastic read too. It has Ito's wonderful creepy visual style, but is all about his home life with his wife and cats.
Love to see you branching out, and this was a fantastic review of Uzumaki. Glad you enjoyed it and hope you continue to read more of Ito's work.
I paused for a moment on patreon wondering if I read the title right lol
Wow! you are so good at this!
Just finished it, loved the metaphor of the story for destruction by obsession but also destruction by the stagnation caused by obsessive/stubborn/vain mindsets, and all of that leading into a cycle we fall into because of our own human flaws- yet even in the end we still have each other
Your enthusiasm for Uzumaki is great! Your review aligns with my feelings, too.
Junji Ito's use of body horror always does a good job of making me feel really unsettled.
I'd never thought you'd pick up smth from junji ito, but don't get me wrong: I'm all here for it!
Definitely pick up some of Ito's other stuff. They printed Gyo and Tomie with similar covers, both are great and also contain some of his short stories (which tend to be amazing as well)
This is one of my top 10 manga. His one-shot collections are also extremely exceptional
Agreed he has a really good anthology of short stories, I really like the enigma of emigara fault
The enigma at Amigara fault is my favorite Junji Ito story. Its attached to the 2-in-1 deluxe edition of Gyo. You should definitely check it out!
now you should read some of his short stories. they're some of his best work
Uzumaki is so amazing! I remember not liking it as much as I was reading and when I finished, but it just stuck so hard with me. Without even rereading it, I kept thinking higher and higher of it and now almost on it's own it became one of my favorites. I kinda felt like the spiral got me somehow lol.
Great review Merphy, there is so much amazing manga out there and I'm so glad you're getting into that world!
I highly recommend checking out his comedy manga about him, his wife, and their two cats. It's amazing how his creepy art style can suddenly be turned on it's head to effectively serve comedic purposes.
The fact that ur a novel reader makes your reviews about manga a fresh breath of air compared to other reviews
Great video I picked up Uzumaki not to long and I am a big manga fan and I have been wanting to read it soon but I am reading other manga right now but I can't wait to spend a day reading this.
One of the best experiences is watching you getting into the media we love! Its a different media, with different and fascinating thematics / ways to tell stuff! Theres a lot of trash too, but i think your Patreons and the youtube ppl will direct you to the good ones!
i just found this and am impressed, i have never really been into anime, but this is just amazing, one of the most original unique ip's i've ever seen. hope there is a second season in the pipes, keep up the hard work, never change.
I love how hyped you are about this! I'd definitely recommend Tomie, and all of Ito's short stories are fantastic
Having Murphy discover manga (any kind) is such a boost for me and my past self that had been embarrassed having different tastes than my peers. Nobody does horror like Junji Ito. NOBODY
Uzumaki is one of the few of his that does have a cohesive storyline throughout the book. A lot of Junji Ito's books are more collections of short stories than novels. The black ones - Gyo, Uzumaki, Tomie - are the more "novel" - esque books, that have a consistent throughline.
He's written two other short novella-length Manga, Sensor and Remina, as well, though I can't personally recommend because I haven't read them myself yet.
Uzumaki is by far my favorite of his, but I would be remiss if I did not mention his adaptation of Osamu Dazai's No Longer Human. Dazai's semi-autobiographical book is already haunting in and of itself, but adding Ito's artwork to it elevates it to something that NEEDS to be read. It's just as stunning, just as haunting, and so innately and inescapably human. It's so dang good.
Wow, nice to see you start to open up to the medium after getting hooked up with One Piece and tried to look for more new tittles. Glad you picked up Itou's work too, he's considered a classic for horror manga genre, you should also check his short stories. Btw, Uzumaki is about to get an animation adaptation around next year i believe.
ps. the chapter with haunted spiral hair thingy is the lowest part of Uzumaki, in my opinion. That is just too silly, and almost have no continuation.
My job as a writer and filmmaker is to understand character development and storytelling, and how the audience interacts with the piece, and I find your video invaluable. TY🙏🏾
Best Part about being new to Manga is there is alot of great Storys ahead of you!!! Hope we can see more of this content!
Kyaaa~! I'm so glad you read it!! I love Ito's work and Uzumaki is definitely one of his best. My book club is reading Uzumaki this month (my pick) and I can't wait to bring up some of your perspective. I really like Kirie's hair story because it's horrifying but pretty in a weird way and the first time I read it I hated the Jack in the Box stalker story but I appreciate it more now. If you want more Junji Ito I recommend the collection of short stories called Shiver. It's a power house of some of his best ideas. Thank you so much for this video!
Actually, there are so many good manga titles, you never feel the lack of it.
Any recommendations outside of Shounen?
@@isaiasramirez8224 Vinland Saga, Vagabond, Oyasumi PunPun, Berserk, anything by Naoki Urasawa
@@isaiasramirez8224 The dude above me stated them but I would add Kingdom, Holyland, The Climber, Innocent, Steel Ball Run, Real to that list. Plenty of great seinen manga titles.
@@isaiasramirez8224 And while Steel Ball Run is fantastic, I wouldn't recommend people jump straight to it, as it is part 7 of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Part 8 is another great seinen manga.
Some other great titles outside of the ones listed above are:
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (if you've seen the movie and liked it at all, the manga is even better and goes way further).
Spirit Circle
Golden Kamuy
Kaiji
Planetes (from the author of Vinland Saga)
Solanin (from the author of Goodnight Punpun)
The first user recommended anything by Naoki Urasawa, and while I agree with that, I'd say the best starting point is probably Monster. Or 20th Century Boys, but I think Monster edges it out as an introduction to Urasawa's works.
@@nedaej9824 agree
Woohoo! I had just finished this a month ago, I’m not sure if it was that scary at face value(some of it I found more outlandish than anything), but I think the looming terror of certain imagery that stays in your mind the further you get is something really impressive. I guess I’d call it haunting more than horrific, might just be semantics,
Agree with you on certain chapters falling a bit flat, but it still culminated so well that I kinda overlook it. Great Review 👍🏻
First One Piece content now Junji Ito! Love to see it! All of his hardbacks they have been bringing over are great. Uzumaki was my first of his as well. Remina, Gyo, Sensor are all really good. Tomie is another long running one that is interesting despite being more disjointed than his other works. His shorter stories are great as well.
Merphy: some parts seemed silly than scary.
Me: yeah, like the hair. It was funny.
Merphy later on: _like the hair..._
👀👀👀
By the way this is getting a high quality anime adaptation (seemingly thus far) and the teaser dropped this year looks impeccable. It also uses music from the same composer who did the score for Hereditary and it seriously slaps.
wow, i didn't expect this review at all. great!
I love that you are getting into Manga and reviewing this one specifically.
I have always wondered how someone who's not an Otaku will feel about his work. Keep on going, great video!
Loved this review. Please do more manga reviews every now and then.
YESSSS IM SO GLAD YOU ARE READING JUNJI ITO MERPHY!!
I am so glad you started reading Junji Ito! He is one of my all time favorites. I love your content! Please keep up the fantastic work and thank you for the great videos!
Glad you're starting to read Junji Ito. I recommend you read Tomie when you get the chance. When I read it, I felt that this must be what the first readers of Dracula must have felt while reading that. Like there was a brand new monster in the world. Easily my favorite Junji Ito story.
Waaaah I'm so excited for merphy to get more into manga! Junji Ito is such a good author
woah! I DIDN'T EXPECT THISS merphy picked up uzumaki omg
I really like Merphy's top. It looks comfy yet professional.
Read this because of you and AGH. It’s so good. I thought Kirie’s hope was going to eventually defeat the spiral somehow, but I guess since this is an eldritch horror manga that wouldn’t make sense. It hurt so good watching her and suichi, after fighting so hard and getting further than anyone through this insane tragedy, just decide to give up and let the spiral take them. They’d lost everything, but at least in the eternal moment of the spiral they knew they would NEVER lose each other, and that was kind of beautiful?
They went through hell together, and they survived to the point that it seems they’ll basically exist forever together in that moment since time gets completely dilated to the point of stopping the closer one gets to the center of the spiral and now they lay in the heart.
Also, so what happens to the brother?! He just chills as a snail forever? He was far away enough that he shouldn’t have been sucked into the spiral, so I feel like he’d just be gone on his own adventure once Kirie ends (and in some sense resets) the curse by giving up. Idk man, cool manga, the more I think on it the more I love it
Love listening to your analysis! Thanks for putting out QUALITY 🌸✨
Excellent choice Merphy! Bought this book for my birthday, absolutely loved it! Keep reviewing more Manga! 💯🔥
Just completed reading uzumaki and I am content with your review .you literally shared every thought that I was contemplating after completing it. Loved it ❤️
I watched your review, and I became very interested in reading Uzumaki, I started it this week and I must say it is incredible!! I love the art!!!
great vid merph, loved uzumaki such a unique way of doing a horror story
Ohhhhhhhhh your reading more manga!!!!! That’s awesome. So many great stories to discover.
I’d HIGHLY recommend 20th Century Boys ( the reprint ended recently ) amazing story telling.
I'm glad you read Uzumaki!! Pls do Hellstar Remina as well, one of Junji Ito's most underrated works
you're doing a great job of reviewing! I totally agree with your review and love his other works. Junji Ito mostly makes short stories, so you might enjoy those, as well!
Didn’t expect this, thank you! I love Junji Ito. Tomie is my favorite book but I’d really recommend shiver, it’s a collection of stories
I love that you've gotten into manga. Booktubers like you and Daniel Greene, coming from a different UA-cam subculture than anitube, obviously come at this subject matter from a different perspective and with a different style. It freshens up the conversation in an interesting way.
Great review! I didn't enjoy most of Ito's works (except Enigma of Amigara fault) but it's nice to see new people getting into manga as a medium and giving it exposure.
A few recommendations I think you'd love:
- Monster, Homunculus: these two are similar in tone to Uzumaki, unsettling and twisted
- Oyasumi Punpun: this one could break you, don't read if you're not in a good place mentally
- Dorohedoro: absurd, dark, amazing art, worldbuilding and characters
- Great Teacher Onizuka: funny and surprisingly endearing slice of life with interesting messages
Wow, didn't see this coming. I love your choice in manga! Can't wait to see more!
Love junji ito and happy to see merphy reviewing more manga.
Just recently re-read this as it's my favorite manga/book, and enjoyed this review from beginning to end! You did a great job of highlighting the themes and depth of the characters, which I feel like goes undiscussed a lot regarding it.
this is amazing...junji is a boss of horror and i hope u get to know more of his work as well...keep up the good work
What I like about the story is that it is literally a spiral, a vortex, as the characters get sucked in and get stuck you do too, you feel the confusion, the horror, the melancholy, it is amazing.
So happy to see you getting more and more into manga. It's such a wonderful medium.
Loved this vid! Beautifully explained and explored
I flew through it in a single night the first time I read it. I'm an obsessive personality as well so I understand exactly what you mean. It's one of my favorite horror stories ever.
What I love about Junji Ito is that while his genre of expertise is Horror, he's naturally a very silly guy xD Whenever I got to the milder sections of Uzumaki I couldn't help but think "ahh, you needed a break from the tension for yourself, didn't yah?" Idk how true that is, but to me his work reads as very urnest, especially the milder sections
"after school my hair took me to the station... because it wanted a larger audience" made me laugh out loud 😅
Love how Lovecraftian Uzumaki seems, asked for it for my Christmas and I am excited for the animated version. I’ve never really been a fan of anime, I’m alright with manga, but Uzumaki seems like it will be a great anime
Great surprise!!! One of my favorites of all time!
YES! I was so happy to see you review Uzumaki. It's definitely one of the great works of horror.
Yeee, my favorite book genre and my favorite book content creator.
Monster is a favorite of mine. Fell in love with the story almost instantly and have went back to it a few times over the years.
19:00 "you can't get out of the town WHICH I *LOVE."*
Never going to forgive Konami for cancelling a Silent Hill game with Junji Ito attached on monster design. For. SHAME.
I'm so excited for you to experience Junji Ito. Such a nice man and such a unique storyteller.
Very happy you read this! There are some great horror manga out there and there are some really comedic and hilarious manga as well. Definitely explore the genre.
Read Hellstar Remina, it’s shorter and a really good one.
Whatever you do, do not read Hanging Balloons, made me afraid of the dark for two weeks.
I just finished this manga and HOLY GOD it left me deep in thought. Now I don't think I can get the images Junji drew and the spiral out of my head.
YUUUUUSSSS! After i fell behind on One Piece (waiting for Dress Rosa to come in the mail) I’m glad we got more manga vids I can watch!!!
"the doctor *naturally* deciding to put the baby back inside the mother"
Excuse me ma'am, NATURALL???