Smashed

伊藤潤二傑作集 [Ito Junji Kessaku-shū] #11

by Junji Ito

Thirteen Chilling Nightmares Presented by the Master of Horror.

Try not to be noticed when you eat the secret nectar, otherwise you'll get smashed... What horrific events happened to create the earthbound-people tied to a certain place for the rest of their short lives? A strange haunted house comes to town, but no one expects it to lead to a real hell... Welcome to Junji Ito's world, a world with no escape from endless nightmares.

Genres: Manga, Horror, Graphic Novels, Comics, Short Stories, Fiction, Graphic Novels Manga

416 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2019

About the author

Junji Itō (Japanese: 伊藤潤二, Ito Junji) is a Japanese cartoonist and illustrator, best known for his horror manga.
Ito was born in Gifu Prefecture, Japan in 1963. He was inspired to make art from a young age by his older sister's drawing and Kazuo Umezu's horror comics. Until the early 1990s he worked as a dental technician, while making comics as a side job. By the time he turned into a full time mangaka, Ito was already an acclaimed horror artists.
His comics are celebrated for their finely depicted body horrors, while also retaining some elements of psychological horror and erotism.
Although he mostly produces short stories, Ito is best known for his longer comic series: Tomie (1987-2000), about a beautiful high school girl who inspires her admirers to commit atrocities; Uzumaki (1998-1999), set in a town cursed with spiral patterns; Gyo (2001-2002), featuring a horde of metal-legged undead fishes. Tomie and Uzumaki in particular have been adapted multiple times in live-action and animation.

Reviews

[Jesse (JesseTheReader)]

I read this for an experiment I did on my YouTube channel where my best friend picked out my tbr. This was... SOMETHING ELSE THAT'S FOR SURE. I can't say that it was the most horrifying collection of stories, but it definitely delivered some SPOOKS. I think the thing that I liked the most about it was how unique a lot of the stories were. Some of the stories did fall flat in terms of how they were tied up, but overall this was a solid collection. Big trigger warnings for suicide, eating disorder, & animal abuse.

[daph pink ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's that time of the month when I decide to read a Junji Ito book knowing it will wreck my shit and I will not sleep for days.

♈ Blood sucking darkness ⭐⭐⭐

♉ Ghost of prime time ⭐⭐⭐

♊ Roar ⭐⭐

♋ Earthbound ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

♌ Death row doorbell ⭐⭐⭐⭐

♍ The mystery of haunted house ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

♎ Soichi beloved pet ⭐⭐⭐⭐

♏ In mirror valley ⭐⭐⭐⭐

♐ I don't want to be a ghost ⭐⭐⭐⭐

♑ Library version ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

♒ Splendid shadow song ⭐⭐⭐⭐

♓ Smashed ⭐⭐⭐

Overall rating - 3.8~ 4✨

One of the most well-rounded collections I have ever read. I mean the themes captured in it. Wow top notch ❤️




I could pretend I will write more at some point, but y'all know that's...

Bullshit and never gonna happen.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 2 out of 5]

Smashed is the latest collection of short horror mangas by acclaimed (though I don’t know why!) creator Junji Ito, none of which were especially good! I won’t go through each and every one in this bumper book but no single story stood out over the others - they were all pretty dumb!

And that’s the thing with Ito: he’s has no concept of subtlety - which I’m sure is what appeals to some of his readers - but the horror is so over-the-top that it undermines any potential scares and makes it hard to take the stories seriously. Like in Soichi’s Beloved Pet where a creepy kid turns a cute kitten into a monstrous demon - it’s not enough to just do that, Ito has to then turn the cat into some kind of EMP bomb (not really but that’s what it looks like on the page)?! It’s so silly.

Still, I was mildly curious to find out how bonkers Ito would take each story so I can’t say I was too bored by them. But I also wasn’t very engaged either given that the stories are so very simplistic and shallow: people are haunted by ghosts/something until they die or go crazy - repeat ad nauseam!

While the character models look the same here as they do in every other Ito book - he has a very limited range - he can definitely pull off an unsettling image here and there. The vampire bat hopping across the floor, the ghost of the death row prisoner ringing the doorbell every night to apologise to his victims’ kids, the caged demon boy, and the people posing like Christ on the crucifix were all strikingly weird-looking.

Junji Ito fans might find enough in Smashed to make it worth their while but they’re probably going to be the only ones who’ll enjoy this book.

[Sadie Hartmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm just over here laughing because I am the world's EASIEST TO PLEASE horror fan. I swear. I looked at like a bunch of reviews with all these critiques and criticisms and I'm just like, JUNJI ITO FANGIRL FOR LIFE! His short story collection can do no wrong. I have zero complaints. When I'm reading and admiring the artwork, I am in total-blissed-out-fangirl-mode and nothing can go wrong.

READING PROGRESS

--BLOODSUCKING DARKNESS—I loved that. Disgusting. Trigger warning for disordered eating. Bats. Blood.
--Gives new meaning to the phrase, “I died laughing.” GHOSTS OF PRIME TIME. Their faces were scary!

--ROAR- a ghost flood. That one was sad. Junji Ito’s imagination is so powerful and original!who would think of a flash ghost flood??
EARTHBOUND—really liked this one. It had a great story
--DEATH ROW DOORBELL— Sad. Tragic. Trigger warning for suicide
--The Mystery of the Haunted House was GROSS! So good. And had that scary model beast lady in it"
--THE MYSTERY OF THE HAUNTED HOUSE: SOICHI’S VERSION Omg, the artwork is pure nightmare fuel
Ew I skipped this one with the animal cruelty
--IN MIRROR VALLEY- two villages in close proximity hate each other so much they have prevented a young couple to be in love—the consequences of this extreme hate has lasting and catastrophic effects on everyone
--I DON’T WANT TO BE A GHOST-the scariest graphics yet besides the Haunted House one
--LIBRARY VISION— so good! A lot of his stories deal with obsession
--Ooo that was the story that goes with the cover artwork SPLENDID SHADOW SONG. Another story about madness
--SMASHED—omg gross, haha I loved that one. Obsessed with nectar

[Elle_bow 🩷 · Rating 3 out of 5]

As per usual, I loved this! I haven’t read a manga yet this year so I had to scratch that itch. I forgot how creepy and terrifying Junji Ito can be lol

[Lauren Lanz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I told my younger sister about some of the short stories in this horror manga collection. She was intrigued, and we ended up squished together in the backseat of our car reading the rest as one.
Safe to say Junji Ito has done it again, folks.

[Jenny Lawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Currently making my way through the whole Junji Ito catalogue. Consistently bizarre and entertaining.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of horror manga from the master, Junji Ito. Maybe not up to the level of last story collection Shiver, but still creepy, gross, pulpy, funny, scary, with stories of nightmares, haunted houses, ghosts from hell, secret nectar (which can get you smashed in myriad ways), lots of blood, all accomplished through black and white, pen and ink! Ito has one book on his cats, which his fans did not want to hear about, they only want the monstrous, but one story features an insane cat.

[Chrissana Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recopilación de relatos de terror:
1. En frente de Souichi / The souichi front. Este relato no me ha gustado nada, siento que mezcla demasiadas cosas a la vez. La parte de la maldición y los niños con los clavos en la boca, es lo que más me ha gustado, por esa estética tan deformada y grotesca.
2. La mascota de Souichi: Souichi sigue sin gustarme, esté relato gana un poco porque la mascota es un gato. Cuando la familia decide quedarse con un gatito al que llaman Collin, esté poco a poco va teniendo comportamientos extraños, para acabar convertido en una versión gatuna deformada y grotesca al puro estilo Souichi.
3. En el valle de los espejos. Un grupo acude al valle de los espejos para averiguar qué ocurrió y porque desaparecieron todos. Hace mucho tiempo una comunidad se dividió en dos, una en cada extremo del valle, su mirada de odio podía enfermar a su víctima. Llenaron los dos extremos del valle de espejos, al más puro estilo de Romeo y Julieta, dos jóvenes se suicidan porque les prohíben estar juntos. Ahora sus fantasmas acuden para atormentar a los vivos. Es cuando el odio crece y es tan intenso, que el reflejo entre espejo y espejo genera un siseo, y acabará siendo el final de todo.
4. Cualquier cosa menos fantasmas. El protagonista recoge a una mujer en la carretera cubierta de sangre y trata de ayudarla. Poco a poco se irán conociendo y descubrirá que en realidad es una devoradora de almas. Y qué a él le siguen los fantasmas. De momento la mejor historia de todas.
5. Biblioteca de ilusiones: cuenta la historia de un joven matrimonio qué vive en una mansión, con una biblioteca con 135.000 ejemplares. Cuando un libro desaparece, el marido comienza a obsesionarse con vigilar los libros y memorizarlos, porque presiente que algo terrible va a pasar. Poco a poco va perdiendo la cabeza, mientras su mujer no puede hacer nada para evitarlo.
6. Canciones en la oscuridad: comienza con la protagonista caminando por la calle y encontrándose con una cantante callejera. Poco después se dará cuenta de que se ha metido la canción en su cabeza y no puede dejar de escucharla. Comienza a buscarla sin éxito, pero un día escucha la canción en la radio, la cantante ha saltado a la fama y ahora hay fans por todo el país con la canción metida en la cabeza. Desesperada llegará a una clínica para encontrar una solución y allí averiguará ... Mejor léanlo es la mejor parte del cómic.
7. Película Sangrienta: Después de un viaje un hombre vuelve a su hogar con un manjar exquisito, una miel de sabor increíble y una advertencia. No te dejes atrapar! Compartirá la miel con sus amigos, hasta que un día desaparezca y en su casa encuentren una extraña mancha en la pared. Uno a uno irán desapareciendo o más bien siendo ...

[E. G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

--Bloodsucking Darkness
--Ghosts of Prime Time
--Roar
--Earthbound
--Death Row Doorbell
--The Mystery of the Haunted House
--The Mystery of the Haunted House: Soichi's Version
--Soichi's Beloved Pet
--In Mirror Valley
--I Don't Want to Be a Ghost
--Library Vision
--Splendid Shadow Song
--Smashed

[Michael Sorbello · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another horror anthology by Junji Ito. I really enjoyed maybe 3 or 4 out of the 13 tales, and thought most of the others were just decent. I actually tend to like Ito's sad stories more than his pure horror stories. As such, Earthbound, Roar and Death Row Doorbell were my favorites.

Death Row Doorbell: A happy family of five is torn apart when they're assaulted by a gang of rogue bikers during a summer vacation, leaving the father and youngest child dead, and leaving the brother and sister who survived in care of their mother who is now suffering from severe brain damage from the beatings she endured. Every day, the spirit of the gang leader appears at their front door, begging for forgiveness while his body wastes away in prison waiting for his death sentence to be carried out. The brother and sister refuse to forgive him, growing further tormented by the spirit of the man who destroyed their lives until one of them finally snaps. The theme of the story is about how holding grudges and being unable to forgive those who have wronged us ends up hurting the victims much more than it hurts the assailants. Vengeance, hatred and grudges are all horribly self-destructive things.

Earthbound: My favorite of the bunch. A mysterious syndrome goes around where people stand in place like human scarecrows over sites of mourning. Graves, abandoned houses, memorial sites, grief has seemingly become a physical disease which binds someone to a single location until they die of malnutrition. There's more to the syndrome than meets the eye, however. Is it caused by grief, or is it caused by a guilty conscience? Are they being punished by their inability to move on, or are they being punished for more sinister reasons?

Roar: Every day, the ghostly illusion of a flood flows through a ravine because the waters are haunted by the tortured souls of flood victims who were drowned in nearby villages. It deals with themes of survivor's guilt and the dangers of clinging to the past.

My rating: 3.2/5

[Jordaline Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

JUNJI JANUARY

[Ashley Daviau · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my third Ito and I become more obsessed with each one I read. It’s big and chunky and filled to the brim with awesomeness. The artwork is absolutely out of this world, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such beautiful yet creepy illustrations! They are beyond stunning and incredibly creepy and a true work of art. The stories were the true star here though, they truly blew my mind. Each one was creepier and more terrifying than the last and I blew through all of them in one sitting because I just couldn’t stop feasting my eyes and brain on this collection. I think it’s safe to say that Ito is officially an auto buy author after finishing this one. His mind is just deliciously gruesome and creepy and I adore it.

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

stunning art as always, with some real stand-outs like Roar, Earthbound (best Junji Ito story I've read so far) and The Mystery of the Haunted House! definitely a strong collection! excited to read more

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 Stars
As always, these stories by Junji Ito were weird, gruesome and disturbing. I enjoyed some of the stories more than others. By far, my favourite story was Earthbound, which is probably the best short story I’ve read by Junji Ito. The “why” behind the story was so powerful with some serious “gut punch” moments. I also enjoyed Bloodsucking Darkness (eating disorders & blood sucking bats, yes please), Library Vision (a cautionary tale of obsessive book collecting) and Smashed (where people get... smashed). 

If you love Junji Ito’s work, then you won’t be disappointed with this collection. I would definitely recommend this collection to anyone looking to try out some of Junji Ito’s work. This is a great place to start.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This collection was soo disappointing, especially after loving Ito’s Shiver collection. :<

Where Shiver delivered some legitimate scares (I had to cover a particular page in the bind-up because it creeped me out so much!) Smashed is super… lackluster. These read like old-school horror movies, for better or for worse. I find that the B-horror aesthetic makes it so there’s a lot of cringey dialogue and excessive exposition. This results in the narrative being so campy that any scare factor they might have had was removed. That might work for some readers, but it did nothing for me.

Some highlights for me were:
• When the cat in one story comes trouncing over with some grotesque insect in its mouth
• The child from the haunted house story was creepy AF
• The atmosphere of the library story was good
• I never thought someone eating a good ghost could be so unsettling
• The titular story, “Smashed”, was actually really good

I don’t think this will dissuade from reading more Ito, but it’s too bad that this didn’t hit the mark for me. I would recommend to readers looking for B-horror aesthetics in a sequential art format. Otherwise, I would recommend starting with Ito’s Shiver (or maybe his longer narrative work, but I haven’t read any yet, so I can’t personally comment on them.)

[Valéria. · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the strongest collection in my opinion. Most of the stories really delivered what I expect from Ito's body horror. Earthbound and The mystery of haunted house were my favorite. Roar was the weakest, but still had some pretty good panels.
4/5

[Rocio Voncina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Titulo: Smashed
Autor: Junji Ito
Motivo de lectura: Letras Macabras (Isla Macabra 2023)
Lectura / Relectura: Lectura
Mi edicion: Electronico
Puntuacion: 4/5

Esta antologia incluye trece relatos, ilustraciones super macabras y graficas, es espeluznante y tetrico. La locura, la psicosis y la no razon son moneda corriente en las tramas.


Bloodsucking Darkness: relato sobre el trastorno de la alimentacion entremezclado con pesadillas. Body horror presente junto a unas criaturas con mucha sed. 3/5

Ghosts of Prime Time: una muerte misteriosa de una estrella en ascenso. Cuando lo aparentemente gracioso tiene consecuencias fatales. 4/5

Roar: el horror de una inundacion relacionado con un evento fantasmal. A veces los miedos irracionales que no tienen una aparente explicacion, al final logra entenderse por que. 3/5

Earthbound: escalofriante como aparecen las personas en esa posicion. La representacion del peso de la culpa. Excelente. 5/5

Death Row Doorbell: la busqueda del perdon y la expiacion del pecado. Extremo gore. 3/5

The Mystery of the Haunted House: una casa del espanto. Tendre pesadillas con el señor que cobra la entrada, esa cara por favor! jaja. Dos niños curiosos y la consecuencia de entrar en dicha casa, creepy no llega a cubrir el horror. La ilustracion es espeluznante. 4/5

The Mystery of the Haunted House: Soichi's Version: Soichi me da mucho miedo, y las ilustraciones de Binzo me dan panico..final del comunicado. 4/5

Soichi's Beloved Pet: basicamente Collon no comas eso! Lo importante es que Collon este bien. 3/5

In Mirror Valley: el misterio de un pueblo abandonado y lo inexplicable de tantos espejos. La explicacion sobre el sonido que se escucha en el valle relacionado a las miradas me encanto, es super original. La pasion por encima de todo. 4/5

I Don't Want to be a Ghost: un encuentro misterioso con una mujer en la oscuridad de la noche. El origen de Misaki y su madre es increible! El encuentro del amor o la perdida de la fortuna? 3/5

Library Vision: El sueño de cualquier lector, eso si, restemos la locura. 5/5

Splendid Shadow Song: cuidado cuando no puedas sacar una cancion de tu cabeza. 4/5

Smashed: un misterioso nectar de Sudamerica, con un gusto explosivo en el paladar (?) 3.5/5

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

UPDATE December 13, 2023:

The three Shoichi stories in this collection will make much more sense if you read Soichi: Junji Ito Story Collection collection first. The characters are introduced there and the events here follow directly from that book's cliffhanger ending.


ORIGINAL REVIEW:

A fairly tame collection for Junji Ito as far as the art goes, but it still has some pretty twisted stories that help set the mood for Halloween. "Earthbound" was the eeriest for me. Fuchi, the shark-toothed fashion model from Ito's Shiver collection has cameos in a couple of the stories.


FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Bloodsucking Darkness -- Ghosts of Prime Time -- Roar -- Earthbound -- Death Row Doorbell -- The Mystery of the Haunted House [a Soichi story] -- The Mystery of the Haunted House: Soichi's Version -- Soichi's Beloved Pet -- In Mirror Valley -- I Don't Want to be a Ghost -- Library Vision -- Splendid Shadow Song -- Smashed

[Caro the Helmet Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was also very good.
I like how Ito can be super creepy but also funny at the same time.
Or maybe it's not him being creepy and funny.
Maybe it's just him and me being creepy.

[Dev · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC copy of this book from Edelweiss

actual rating: 3.5

This is the second Junji Ito story collection that I have read. The first was Shiver and I definitely thought that one was a bit better, but this was still definitely a very good read. I was once again pleasantly surprised by all the interesting and unique plot lines in the stories. Most horror stories these days seem to just draw from the same 10 cliches that we've all seen a million times, but the majority of these are very different and the fact that you don't automatically know where the story is going or how it's going to turn out really helps make it creepy.

Also - mild spoilers but I just wanted to mention it because it was stressing me out while reading this particular story - but in Souichi's Beloved Pet the cat is okay at the end of the story and doesn't die. I know a lot of people - like me - really don't like animal death in stories and I probably would have been able to enjoy that particular story more if I had been assured ahead of time that nothing bad would happen to the cat ;)

[Baal Of · Rating 4 out of 5]

More Ito, and just as weird as usual. The quality of the stories varies a bit, which is expected with a collection like this, but in general I like Ito's style both in terms of art and imagination. There are some lovely gruesome images in here: The head smashing in Death Row Doorbell, the boy eating the policeman in The Mystery Of The Haunted House (plus the next couple pages), The bodies being piled into the truck bed at the end of Earthbound. Ito seems to be making social commentary in some of these stories, about the price of fame, guilt over past wrongs, or just plain old obsession, but it's not always clear what his point is. In whatever case, the stories are general interesting and strange.

[Armand · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read my share of weird lit, but this one takes the cake. And it's all in graphic format too. Anorexic teens sharing blood meals via vampire bats to stay alive, a bizarre catatonia that renders its sufferers immobile until they literally petrify, an alluring girl who feeds on ghosts for sustenance - all of these and more haunt the pages of this surreal book.

Thing is: Ito's art, with its clean and natural aesthetic, provides a highly effective disconnect against his warped stories that only makes them all the more disturbing. It's like seeing your very own nightmares plying their trade in broad daylight. His technique may be nothing to write home about, but what he lacks in flair he more than makes up for in efficacy. He conjures vivid and disquieting images in these pieces. Witness the chilling death mask of a comedian who was laughing in articulo mortis in Ghosts of Primetime or the freaky scare "actors" in The Mystery of the Haunted House. He can also serve up a full gore bonanza as he did in the eponymous tale, Smashed.

I'm definitely stocking up on more Ito. I'll also check out the animated series based on his oeuvre. It looks positively delicious. In any case, I'm rating this 8/10 or 4 stars out of 5.

[Stewart Tame · Rating 4 out of 5]

Junji Ito is a modern master of horror comics. Smashed is a collection of short stories full of images and concepts to freeze the blood. His pacing is superb, creating an atmosphere of creeping dread.

It's also nice to read short manga for a change. Even Ito’s longer stories tend to be single volume affairs. Several of the tales in this book are interrelated, but, for the most part, they stand on their own.

Some random thoughts:

I love how the cat's appearance slowly morphs over the course of “Soichi’s Beloved Pet.”

“Ghosts of Prime Time” and “Splendid Shadow Song” both feature some decidedly odd concepts in terms of menace. Definitely not typical horror fare.

The title story, “Smashed,” is just plain weird. I mean that in the best, most loving way possible.

As someone who lives with a fair amount of books in the house, “Library Vision” hits a bit close to home …

I think that, at this point, I’ve had enough experience with Ito’s work to just unreservedly recommend anything he's ever written.

[Camden Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

This was my first Junji Ito read, though i’ve been wanting to read his works for years now. I’m so glad I was finally able to pick this collection of short stories up. I was able to enjoy the great work of Junji ito and get a glimpse into the macabre mind of Ito. Some of these stories weren’t particularly scary but others left me shocked and kind of sad. I was glad to finally see Soichi which is a character I’ve heard a lot about. I enjoyed this collection a good bit and I loved how varied it was. The artwork was breathtakingly good and I took my time to admire each page. Glad to finally have read this.

[Orrin Grey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like previous Viz hardcover short story sets, this was a mix of new-to-me and "classic" Junji Ito stories, including "Bloodsucking Darkness," a favorite of mine. That said, this isn't necessarily the place to dig in if you're not already a fan. There are plenty of solid stories here, including many that are very Junji Ito for (more often) good and (more seldom) ill.

I'm personally not a fan of the Soichi stories, though they contain some indelibly Ito-ish images, but there are plenty of ideas contained in here that could not have come from anyone else.

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Junji Ito is the poet of contagion.

[Benoit Lelièvre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Junji Ito is the proverbial guy-who-plays-chess-while-everybody-else-is-playing-checkers of horror. Holy cow, does he just thinks differently or what?

His stories are not goading you into scares. They're sneaking up on you like your bastard drunken friend in the dark after 3 AM. Ito just doesn't give a damn. His best stories are firmly anchored in the bizarre and the inexplicable like Earthbound and Death Row Doorbell and really wreck you up both ways: inwards (the horror within us) and outwards (the greater unknown). A lot of the stories borrow from common horror lore (mostly ghosts), but veer in original and unexpected directions like an evil tree. Since it doesn't follow any concrete trope, you never know what the hell is going to happen.

Don't read this before going to bed. I'm not easy to scare with books (much easier with movies) but Junji Ito's images will follow you in your sleep.

[Sarah ♡ (let’s interact!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Smashed is a collection of thirteen horror stories by the proclaimed “master of horror” Junji Ito and I can see why he has earned this title. My favourite of the tales were Earthbound and I Don’t Want To Be A Ghost. The concept of Earthbound was a very unique one.

There are two Haunted House stories and the first one has some of the best horror imagery throughout the whole book. The final story, titled Smashed the same as this collection, is also filled with plenty of gory moments. I have always been blown away whenever I have seen or read some of these manga panels before, at how incredible the art work truly is. I really do like the blend between manga and horror. These short story books really are a good starting point for getting into Junji Ito’s work and I can’t wait to pick up some more! I am a huge fan of horror comics.

4.5 Stars. 💀 (rounded down to 4 overall)

[Shaza · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5