Junji ito is a master of horror and one of my favourite writers and artists. Mimi’s Tale of Terror is another great work in his collection of great works. Like Dissolving Classroom, this is a collection of stories following a few central characters, who appear in every story. This manga was an adaption of Shin Mimibukuro (New Earmuffs), which is a collection of urban legends and allegedly true ghost stories.
Quick Info
- Title: Mimi’s Tales of Terror
- Author: Junji Ito
- Publish Date: 1st January 2003
- Genre: Horror / Manga
- Sub-Genre: Short Stories
- Pages: 224
- What to Expect:
- Weird and horrible
- Nightmare fuel
- Incredible artwork
– Rating: 3.75 stars –
Trigger Warnings
Body horror, gore, death, suicide, child death, death of parent, blood, confinement, grief, psychosis
If I have missed any out or you feel like something should be added, please leave a comment.
Synopsis
Student, Mimi, and her boyfriend Naoto encounter one chilling encounter after another. A strange woman lives next door, dressed head to toe in black, but why does she make no noise? A cemetery’s graves keep moving, making it feel like Mimi always has eyes on her. A bizarre red dot, found in a room under a house which can’t be opened from the inside, seems to grow and change everyday.
My Thoughts
Even though, I love Junji Ito and his work, this was a case of some of the stories work for me and other don’t. There are 9 stories in here and some were less than 10 pages and some were nearly 40, so there was a great variety in length, which made some better than others. All were creepy and weird, as is Junji Ito’s way, but sometimes they don’t all hit the same.
Mimi is a very bland character, she is prone to some angry outbursts but aside from that is just a standard every woman. We are pulled along with her through these stories. The other side characters were fine, again not really the most interesting part.
The monsters/antagonists are great as always, these are the best part of any of Junji Ito’s work. These were great even in the very short stories, they still packed a punch. The artwork is great in this. I found there were some character designs that were unusual for his work – specifically the women who lives next door – which I enjoyed a lot.
Overall, a great collection, maybe not his greatest, but still worth the read specially if you are a fan of his work already.
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