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Tomie #1-3
Tomie
Tomie Kawakami is a femme fatale with long black hair and a beauty mark just under her left eye. She can seduce nearly any man, and drive them to murder as well, even though the victim is often Tomie herself. While one lover seeks to keep her for himself, another grows terrified of the immortal succubus. But soon they realize that no matter how many times they kill her, the world will never be free of Tomie.
750 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1987
About the author
Junji Ito
244 books12.8k followersJunji Itō (伊藤潤二)
Born in Gifu Prefecture in 1963, he was inspired from a young age by his older sister's drawing and Kazuo Umezu's comics and thus took an interest in drawing horror comics himself. Nevertheless, upon graduation he trained as a dental technician, and until the early 1990s he juggled his dental career with his increasingly successful hobby — even after being selected as the winner of the prestigious Umezu prize for horror manga.
The most common obsessions are with beauty, long hair, and beautiful girls, especially in his Tomie and Flesh-Colored Horror comic collections. For example: A girl's hair rebels against being cut off and runs off with her head; Girls deliberately catch a disease that makes them beautiful but then murder each other; a woman treats her skin with lotion so she can take it off and look at her muscles, but the skin dissolves and she tries to steal her sister's skin, etc.
Ito's universe is also very cruel and capricious; his characters often find themselves victims of malevolent unnatural circumstances for no discernible reason or punished out of proportion for minor infractions against an unknown and incomprehensible natural order.
His longest work, the three-volume Uzumaki, is about a town's obsession with spirals: people become variously fascinated with, terrified of, and consumed by the countless occurrences of the spiral in nature. Apart from the ghastly, convincingly-drawn deaths, the book projects an effective atmosphere of creeping fear as the town's inhabitants become less and less human, and more and more bizarre things begin to happen.
Before Uzumaki, Ito was best known for Tomie, a comic series about a beautiful, teasing and eternally youthful high school girl who inspires her stricken admirers to murder each other in fits of jealous rage. Eventually, unable to cope with her coy flirtation and their desire to possess Tomie completely, they are inevitably compelled to kill her — only to discover that, regardless of the method they chose to dispose of her body, her body will always regenerate.
In 1998, during the horror boom that followed the success of Ringu, Tomie was adapted into a movie. Since Tomie, many of his works have been adapted for TV and the cinema.
Born in Gifu Prefecture in 1963, he was inspired from a young age by his older sister's drawing and Kazuo Umezu's comics and thus took an interest in drawing horror comics himself. Nevertheless, upon graduation he trained as a dental technician, and until the early 1990s he juggled his dental career with his increasingly successful hobby — even after being selected as the winner of the prestigious Umezu prize for horror manga.
The most common obsessions are with beauty, long hair, and beautiful girls, especially in his Tomie and Flesh-Colored Horror comic collections. For example: A girl's hair rebels against being cut off and runs off with her head; Girls deliberately catch a disease that makes them beautiful but then murder each other; a woman treats her skin with lotion so she can take it off and look at her muscles, but the skin dissolves and she tries to steal her sister's skin, etc.
Ito's universe is also very cruel and capricious; his characters often find themselves victims of malevolent unnatural circumstances for no discernible reason or punished out of proportion for minor infractions against an unknown and incomprehensible natural order.
His longest work, the three-volume Uzumaki, is about a town's obsession with spirals: people become variously fascinated with, terrified of, and consumed by the countless occurrences of the spiral in nature. Apart from the ghastly, convincingly-drawn deaths, the book projects an effective atmosphere of creeping fear as the town's inhabitants become less and less human, and more and more bizarre things begin to happen.
Before Uzumaki, Ito was best known for Tomie, a comic series about a beautiful, teasing and eternally youthful high school girl who inspires her stricken admirers to murder each other in fits of jealous rage. Eventually, unable to cope with her coy flirtation and their desire to possess Tomie completely, they are inevitably compelled to kill her — only to discover that, regardless of the method they chose to dispose of her body, her body will always regenerate.
In 1998, during the horror boom that followed the success of Ringu, Tomie was adapted into a movie. Since Tomie, many of his works have been adapted for TV and the cinema.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,649 reviews
August 25, 2020
let’s break it down woot woot
good:
- almost 800 pgs of junji ito’s artwork?? i mean, what a lovely treat for my eyeballs
- spicy commentary on the effects of societal beauty standards
bad? how dare i have anything negative to say, i KNOW:
- it felt repetitive...story after story of unsuspecting ppl being affected by tomie, ending in her or their death (not even like fun death. just a lot of stabbing and dismembering, booooOring)
- i wish there had been more body horror involved. the bio horror that is tomie’s regenerative ability was pretty much the most extreme part of this book, and while it was cool, it wasn’t NEARLY as trippy or grotesque as the imagery seen in uzumaki, gyo, or some of ito’s other shorts.
- some of the stories were definitely a bit on the absurd side, even for the usual bizarre shit that ito brings to the scene.
overall, glad i can check this off my list. def think it’s a bit overhyped tho (pls don’t come for me junji is still a king)
good:
- almost 800 pgs of junji ito’s artwork?? i mean, what a lovely treat for my eyeballs
- spicy commentary on the effects of societal beauty standards
bad? how dare i have anything negative to say, i KNOW:
- it felt repetitive...story after story of unsuspecting ppl being affected by tomie, ending in her or their death (not even like fun death. just a lot of stabbing and dismembering, booooOring)
- i wish there had been more body horror involved. the bio horror that is tomie’s regenerative ability was pretty much the most extreme part of this book, and while it was cool, it wasn’t NEARLY as trippy or grotesque as the imagery seen in uzumaki, gyo, or some of ito’s other shorts.
- some of the stories were definitely a bit on the absurd side, even for the usual bizarre shit that ito brings to the scene.
overall, glad i can check this off my list. def think it’s a bit overhyped tho (pls don’t come for me junji is still a king)
May 28, 2024
3.5 stars ✨
.........
RE-READING because someone gifted me the paperback
TOMIE PART 1 - 3/5
TOMIE PART 2: MORITA HOSPITAL -4/5
BASEMENT-3/5
PHOTO-3/5
KISS-3/5
MANSION-4/5
REVENGE-3/5
Waterfall Basin-4/5
PAINTER-4/5
ASSASSIN-3.5/5
HAIR-3.5/5
ADOPTED DAUGHTER-2/5
LITTLE FINGER-3/5
BOY-2/5
MOROMI-3.5/5
BABYSITTER-3/5
GATHERING-2/5
PASSING DEMON-2/5
TOP MODEL-3/5
OLD AND UGLY-3.5/5
.............................................................................................
Original review
a main course without dessert🙄
.........
RE-READING because someone gifted me the paperback
TOMIE PART 1 - 3/5
TOMIE PART 2: MORITA HOSPITAL -4/5
BASEMENT-3/5
PHOTO-3/5
KISS-3/5
MANSION-4/5
REVENGE-3/5
Waterfall Basin-4/5
PAINTER-4/5
ASSASSIN-3.5/5
HAIR-3.5/5
ADOPTED DAUGHTER-2/5
LITTLE FINGER-3/5
BOY-2/5
MOROMI-3.5/5
BABYSITTER-3/5
GATHERING-2/5
PASSING DEMON-2/5
TOP MODEL-3/5
OLD AND UGLY-3.5/5
.............................................................................................
Original review
a main course without dessert🙄
February 10, 2020
Beauty...
... is in the eye of the beholder.
I've often said that books are more disturbing to me than films, as I can imagine much worse than a film is going to show me (most of the films that truly get under my skin are things like The Haunting (1963) where you don't actually see anything). With the proper writing and descriptions, I can unnerve myself more than a film ever could... Junji Ito seems to exist just to hear statements like that, ask angrily "You can imagine worse than I can show you?" proceed to give me a Kubrick stare and say "Challenge accepted." He then proceeds to draw the most horrific imagery; pure unfiltered nightmare fuel at its finest. Sure, it's still a book, but Ito doesn't need my imagination to scare me, he does it fine on his own.
I read the gigantic Tomie omnibus released by Viz, which is a large hardcover comparable to the size of hardcover Stephen King or fantasy novel. In other words, if you dropped it on your toe, you take a chance of crushing the digit rather than bruising it (I'm sure Ito would delight in that thought). This makes sense though giving that Ito wrote Tomie periodically from 1987 - 2000. You can also tell that it started early into his career as the first two stories are nowhere near as polished. The art is very basic in these two, the narrative isn't as strong, and some of the sequencing is a touch on the confusing side.
Let's get this out of the way, the book as a whole is uneven. Some of the stories work significantly better than others. Characters are seemingly set up as important (and may even be for a few chapters) and then are dismissed. Plotlines come and go, and if you look at the most recent chapters and the storyline, you could be easily forgiven for questioning how the hell we ended up in this direction.
That said, the uneven nature of Tomie almost works in its favor for me. Not because it improves the story, but because we get to see something of a history of Ito himself. As he started this so early into his career and played with it for 13 years, we get to see him evolve as an artist all around. Reading this book as a whole, you will see Ito grow as an artist, you will see him control the pacing/narrative much better and you'll see him learn how to absolutely make you dread turning the pages.
The more problematic nature of Tomie, rather than the pacing, is some of the underlying themes. Tomie... is something, but what I can't say. Part succubus, part grudge spirit; she can seduce about any man she meets, captivating them to the point where they will kill for her or, as is frequently the case, kill her. What feels like an issue here is that I really don't know what Ito is getting at with this. On one hand, part of me feels that it's a criticism of masculinity and how Japan can fetishize school girls (as frankly one of the creepiest aspects of the book is how EVERY man no matter what age wants Tomie). On the other, it also feels borderline misogynistic how Tomie being viewed by so many as the perfect idol of femininity, does nothing other than destroy all the lives around her. There are cases to be made for both sides in different chapters (hell, sometimes in the SAME chapter), and I'd be lying if I didn't say it made me uncomfortable at some points.
...
Let me repeat that, "it made me uncomfortable." While I can criticize, or at the very least point this aspect and question it (without an answer, I should add), I also have to concede that just making the reader uncomfortable may very well be the only point. It adds, in its own way, to the overall level of uncomfort while reading. It is problematic, but to a certain extent, horror in general is always problematic when examined thoroughly. It is both the most progressive and regressive of genres (punishment for anything considered outside of the classic idea of proper behavior, yet a genre where a woman typically defeats the psychotic male wielding a phallic symbol by outsmarting him... yes, horror tropes are often very conflicted as a whole on what sort of message they want to send).
Is Tomie a masterpiece? No. Uzumaki will almost certainly go down as Ito's masterwork... but Tomie is a special sort of oddity. It's pacing may be all over the place, and admittedly some chapters are not effective, but when it is, it is terrifying. While it is no longer a career spanning work as Ito has fortunately gone on to create many more nightmares for us, it is long enough that we see him learn his craft, making this both a fascinating, and yes, terrifying work. Well worth a read for any horror fan. 4/5 stars.
Also, before I go, let me leave you with one last nightmare inducing image, because, well... ITO!
You are so very welcome. Pleasant dreams.
September 10, 2017
I have a problem with this narrative of the femme fatale being portrayed as a bitch who drives men to violence; as a monster who broke their hearts. Tomie is objectified throughout this book and there is no character development. In fact, she hardly even feels like a character. Tomie is a reflection on what the author hates in all woman and a justification for violence against them. At the end the reader knows nothing about Tomie or what motivates her. In addition, some of her cruelty doesn't make sense and is simply there to make the reader hate her leading them to believe that she deserves to be brutally murdered.
In some of the stories her wrong is that she has simply rejected these men. The reality is no woman had it coming not even one as cruel as Tomie. Even today woman are being mutilated or killed for not being interested. It is within our culture that men feel entitled to the bodies of women and this thought is what puts all women in danger. Cast as the seductress she receives the hatred from men of wanting to possess her like an object rather than a person with feelings, hopes, and goals. This story perpetuates male violence and the idea that a woman must be docile willing always to be loved, and that anger, greed, and gluttony are disgusting and unfeminine. However, the artwork is incredibly detailed and it is in a way a compelling story.
In some of the stories her wrong is that she has simply rejected these men. The reality is no woman had it coming not even one as cruel as Tomie. Even today woman are being mutilated or killed for not being interested. It is within our culture that men feel entitled to the bodies of women and this thought is what puts all women in danger. Cast as the seductress she receives the hatred from men of wanting to possess her like an object rather than a person with feelings, hopes, and goals. This story perpetuates male violence and the idea that a woman must be docile willing always to be loved, and that anger, greed, and gluttony are disgusting and unfeminine. However, the artwork is incredibly detailed and it is in a way a compelling story.
July 25, 2024
Out of the 3 Junji Ito books I’ve read this year this one is my last favourite. It’s not bad by any means, I still thought the individual stories were cool but compared to how interesting the other 2 books were (in terms of concept) this one wasn’t as exciting.
Like the idea of a succubus that doesn’t die isn’t that interesting compared to cursed spirals or weird germs. I still enjoyed it, I guess I was kind of expecting more since the other 2 were so good.
Also, Tomie is the definition of gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss.
Like the idea of a succubus that doesn’t die isn’t that interesting compared to cursed spirals or weird germs. I still enjoyed it, I guess I was kind of expecting more since the other 2 were so good.
Also, Tomie is the definition of gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss.
August 3, 2023
Tomie is a lovecraftian monstrosity trapped in the body of a stunningly beautiful girl. She can seduce nearly any man with nothing but a single glance, driving them mad with lust and envy until eventually pushing them to commit brutal murders. Though strangely enough, the victim of the murders are almost always Tomie herself. Countless men and women have fallen victim to Tomie's supernatural charms and Tomie herself has fallen victim to hundreds of atrocities as a result, but soon the world begins to realize that no matter how many times they kill Tomie, the world will never be free of her cruelty. She keeps coming back.
The story begins with Tomie seducing her teacher and a group of male students. They go insane with rage and lust, brutally dismembering her corpse, scattering her by a river all while fighting amongst each other like a flock of savages. Tomie’s streak of seducing victims with her demonic charm finally comes to an end, until she shows up to school the very next day to continue driving everyone insane. It turns out that chopping up Tomie didn’t kill her, it only allowed her to divide, spread and conquer like an army of humanoid cancer cells.
The book is a series of stand-alone stories revolving around the many replicas of Tomie. Each story gives us a way of seeing different sides of the same monstrous girl. She appears as the daughter of a mourning elderly couple, the narcissistic model for a wannabe millionaire painter, a perverted child seducer, a medical experiment gone wrong, we see many faces of Tomie and we’re never truly certain on which face is the real her. She’s like every mythological seductress all rolled into one. She’s a siren, succubus, lamia, Lilith, medusa and every other deadly seductress you can possibly think of. On top of this there’s Ito’s signature grotesque body horror to go along with each version of the wicked maiden.
Tomie is an enigma. If you slice her open, she heals right back up. If you cut her into a hundred pieces, each piece will regenerate and take on its own form and personality. At first we see her as a victim because of how brutally she's murdered by a teacher and a group of students, but as we come to learn more about her, it's almost as if she wants to be killed over and over. She's intentionally cruel, manipulative and psychotic, playing the damsel in distress one moment and happily destroying the lives of innocent people the next. She intentionally pushes people beyond their limits, taking a sick pleasure in the chaos she creates as the world goes mad with lust over her beauty. And since she keeps coming back, there's no limits or consequences to the amount of chaos she can conjure up. It's a very interesting take on lovecraftian horror, interweaving folklore from mythological creatures scattered throughout history wrapped up in the body of a seemingly innocent beautiful girl.
Tomie is the first manga Junji Ito ever published, so its age does show a bit at times, especially near the beginning of the story. It was also published over a very long period of time, there’s a massive difference between the first few chapters and the later chapters. If you’re not too impressed with the beginning, the art, quality and storytelling improve significantly over time, so it’s still great for a first published work and gives you a taste of the weirdness and brutality Ito is capable of. I would recommend Uzumaki first if you’re new to Ito, but Tomie is still definitely worth checking out.
My rating: 4.0/5
The story begins with Tomie seducing her teacher and a group of male students. They go insane with rage and lust, brutally dismembering her corpse, scattering her by a river all while fighting amongst each other like a flock of savages. Tomie’s streak of seducing victims with her demonic charm finally comes to an end, until she shows up to school the very next day to continue driving everyone insane. It turns out that chopping up Tomie didn’t kill her, it only allowed her to divide, spread and conquer like an army of humanoid cancer cells.
The book is a series of stand-alone stories revolving around the many replicas of Tomie. Each story gives us a way of seeing different sides of the same monstrous girl. She appears as the daughter of a mourning elderly couple, the narcissistic model for a wannabe millionaire painter, a perverted child seducer, a medical experiment gone wrong, we see many faces of Tomie and we’re never truly certain on which face is the real her. She’s like every mythological seductress all rolled into one. She’s a siren, succubus, lamia, Lilith, medusa and every other deadly seductress you can possibly think of. On top of this there’s Ito’s signature grotesque body horror to go along with each version of the wicked maiden.
Tomie is an enigma. If you slice her open, she heals right back up. If you cut her into a hundred pieces, each piece will regenerate and take on its own form and personality. At first we see her as a victim because of how brutally she's murdered by a teacher and a group of students, but as we come to learn more about her, it's almost as if she wants to be killed over and over. She's intentionally cruel, manipulative and psychotic, playing the damsel in distress one moment and happily destroying the lives of innocent people the next. She intentionally pushes people beyond their limits, taking a sick pleasure in the chaos she creates as the world goes mad with lust over her beauty. And since she keeps coming back, there's no limits or consequences to the amount of chaos she can conjure up. It's a very interesting take on lovecraftian horror, interweaving folklore from mythological creatures scattered throughout history wrapped up in the body of a seemingly innocent beautiful girl.
Tomie is the first manga Junji Ito ever published, so its age does show a bit at times, especially near the beginning of the story. It was also published over a very long period of time, there’s a massive difference between the first few chapters and the later chapters. If you’re not too impressed with the beginning, the art, quality and storytelling improve significantly over time, so it’s still great for a first published work and gives you a taste of the weirdness and brutality Ito is capable of. I would recommend Uzumaki first if you’re new to Ito, but Tomie is still definitely worth checking out.
My rating: 4.0/5
February 7, 2017
I quite enjoyed Uzumaki, Junji Ito's strange and terrifying epic of a town infested with and ultimately consumed by spirals. It was weird, and beautifully rendered, and even translated into English, beautifully written. Tomie is as strange and gorgeous, but I was so bothered by its implications that I can't recommend it as emphatically.
This story focuses on a girl, named Tomie, who entrances any man that she meets and ultimately works them into such a frenzy that they kill her and dismember her. However, she also is seemingly immortal, and each fragment of her thus produced grows into a new version of her. There isn't even really an overarching story (as there is in Uzumaki). Rather, its told as a series of vignettes. The story jumps around between a wide variety of characters who intersect with Tomie. Most go mad, or die, or meet an otherwise sticky end. Tomie likewise is not really a character herself; when she does speak, it's to selfishly demand expensive gifts or to ridicule those around her as unattractive, stupid, or worthless.
And here we get to the problem of the book--I feel like this is a male fever dream about violence against women. Here the titular character is inescapably beautiful, petulant, and demanding of attention...and it is these qualities that lead men to sadistically murder her and chop her up. A woman who embodies the worst sexist stereotypes forces men to do violence to her (and to others, in some cases). Men who beat women, or rape them, or otherwise abuse them, frequently draw on such stereotypes as justifications. Maybe Ito thought he was writing a satire--certainly there are comedic elements in the story, as when (in one vignette) a group of men are so entranced by Tomie that they pile on to what they think is her body and carve each other up in a fight over her while she escapes with another man. But for this book to be a satire, someone would need to question the stereotypical idea that women's behavior is the cause of their own violation. And no one does that anywhere in the book. If Ito is assuming his readers should already have dispelled that idea from their head, he is likewise assuming that the cultural pool of stereotypes from which he drew Tomie is not pernicious and broadly embraced. And I don't think he's right.
I can't knock Ito's talent--the art and story are rich and compelling as with Uzumaki. But I couldn't shake the feeling that this was just an excuse to show women being dismembered because they deserved it.
This story focuses on a girl, named Tomie, who entrances any man that she meets and ultimately works them into such a frenzy that they kill her and dismember her. However, she also is seemingly immortal, and each fragment of her thus produced grows into a new version of her. There isn't even really an overarching story (as there is in Uzumaki). Rather, its told as a series of vignettes. The story jumps around between a wide variety of characters who intersect with Tomie. Most go mad, or die, or meet an otherwise sticky end. Tomie likewise is not really a character herself; when she does speak, it's to selfishly demand expensive gifts or to ridicule those around her as unattractive, stupid, or worthless.
And here we get to the problem of the book--I feel like this is a male fever dream about violence against women. Here the titular character is inescapably beautiful, petulant, and demanding of attention...and it is these qualities that lead men to sadistically murder her and chop her up. A woman who embodies the worst sexist stereotypes forces men to do violence to her (and to others, in some cases). Men who beat women, or rape them, or otherwise abuse them, frequently draw on such stereotypes as justifications. Maybe Ito thought he was writing a satire--certainly there are comedic elements in the story, as when (in one vignette) a group of men are so entranced by Tomie that they pile on to what they think is her body and carve each other up in a fight over her while she escapes with another man. But for this book to be a satire, someone would need to question the stereotypical idea that women's behavior is the cause of their own violation. And no one does that anywhere in the book. If Ito is assuming his readers should already have dispelled that idea from their head, he is likewise assuming that the cultural pool of stereotypes from which he drew Tomie is not pernicious and broadly embraced. And I don't think he's right.
I can't knock Ito's talent--the art and story are rich and compelling as with Uzumaki. But I couldn't shake the feeling that this was just an excuse to show women being dismembered because they deserved it.
April 26, 2021
me whenever tomie did anything; you’re doing amazing, sweetie 📸
this was such a fun horror. and don’t get me wrong, tomie is a horrible person (although i’m convinced she wasn’t always that way because of the first chapter and what we’re told about her later on, but that’s neither here nor there) but there’s just something so compelling about the fact that tomie wouldn’t have been able to do half the things she did in this book if the men hadn’t played right into her hand. the thing we’re told makes tomie a “bitch” is just the fact that she’s pretty and she knows it, but why is that her problem? if people weren’t obsessed with her looks then she wouldn’t even know she was pretty, and if she didn’t know she was pretty then why would she be so obsessed with getting revenge on men for what they’ve done to her?
that being said, fuck tomie for literally grooming a kid at one point. that was so out of character for her considering she’d only ever gone after adults, but it makes me so mad.
this was such a fun horror. and don’t get me wrong, tomie is a horrible person (although i’m convinced she wasn’t always that way because of the first chapter and what we’re told about her later on, but that’s neither here nor there) but there’s just something so compelling about the fact that tomie wouldn’t have been able to do half the things she did in this book if the men hadn’t played right into her hand. the thing we’re told makes tomie a “bitch” is just the fact that she’s pretty and she knows it, but why is that her problem? if people weren’t obsessed with her looks then she wouldn’t even know she was pretty, and if she didn’t know she was pretty then why would she be so obsessed with getting revenge on men for what they’ve done to her?
that being said, fuck tomie for literally grooming a kid at one point. that was so out of character for her considering she’d only ever gone after adults, but it makes me so mad.
April 26, 2021
My first Junji Ito experience and...wow. What kind of brain can come up with this sh*t? It’s fantastic.
The origin of Tomie was my favorite part for sure. The ending wasn’t what I wanted but it was still good.
It’s a series of novellas and they were all enjoyable but it felt a bit long. Also, good lord is this an arm workout. Holding this up actually made my arm sore for days. No joke.
Definitely interested in picking up his other books.
The origin of Tomie was my favorite part for sure. The ending wasn’t what I wanted but it was still good.
It’s a series of novellas and they were all enjoyable but it felt a bit long. Also, good lord is this an arm workout. Holding this up actually made my arm sore for days. No joke.
Definitely interested in picking up his other books.
November 4, 2020
Just in case you have missed it, Viz Media released three compendiums of Junji Ito's works: Gyo, Uzumaki, and the newest one, Tomie.
Viz Media's Tomie compiles Ito's 14-year work in this beautifully bound tome of horror. To give you a background about this episodic manga's main character, just remember these four things about her:
1. Tomie can seduce about any man she meets. These men will do anything just to get her.
2. These men will ultimately want to kill her, often times chop her to bits.
3. But Tomie almost cannot die. She heals most of her nonfatal wounds very fast.
4. Whenever a body part is chopped off of her, that part spawns another living Tomie.
When these four things are combined, a genuinely eerie cycle of gore, murders and tons and tons of bitching Tomies.
Tomie's stories are told in chapters, vaguely connected with each other. I can even say that it is a collection of standalone short stories that have a beginning act, a second act and always a horrific conclusion. This book gets its strength from the harrowing details of Junji Ito's illustrations, giving it a uniquely dark psychological feel of a world totally ruled by this girl Tomie. Like his other works, Tomie gives the readers an uneasy feel of a large-scale, town-wide claustrophobia where everybody is trapped in this seemingly insurmountable problem. This theme can be seen in his other works Gyo and Uzumaki.
Collecting more than a decade of Ito's works, a reader can also see how the author gradually hones his crafts through the years. The only downside of it is that there is no story development at all. The chapters are good by themselves but they really do not add up to something that can be a worthy conclusion of the whole series. Like how do we stop this girl from invading and multiplying, or how to stop her from luring men to their demise. The last chapter offers tiny bit of resolution but nothing is really resolved at all. I think what Tomie needs is a protagonist. Someone who will be our eyes of the story's progression and the key as to how Tomie can be stopped.
I recommend this Junji Ito manga if you are really into horror stuff. It is nicely bound and has some very disturbing imagery inside.
Viz Media's Tomie compiles Ito's 14-year work in this beautifully bound tome of horror. To give you a background about this episodic manga's main character, just remember these four things about her:
1. Tomie can seduce about any man she meets. These men will do anything just to get her.
2. These men will ultimately want to kill her, often times chop her to bits.
3. But Tomie almost cannot die. She heals most of her nonfatal wounds very fast.
4. Whenever a body part is chopped off of her, that part spawns another living Tomie.
When these four things are combined, a genuinely eerie cycle of gore, murders and tons and tons of bitching Tomies.
Tomie's stories are told in chapters, vaguely connected with each other. I can even say that it is a collection of standalone short stories that have a beginning act, a second act and always a horrific conclusion. This book gets its strength from the harrowing details of Junji Ito's illustrations, giving it a uniquely dark psychological feel of a world totally ruled by this girl Tomie. Like his other works, Tomie gives the readers an uneasy feel of a large-scale, town-wide claustrophobia where everybody is trapped in this seemingly insurmountable problem. This theme can be seen in his other works Gyo and Uzumaki.
Collecting more than a decade of Ito's works, a reader can also see how the author gradually hones his crafts through the years. The only downside of it is that there is no story development at all. The chapters are good by themselves but they really do not add up to something that can be a worthy conclusion of the whole series. Like how do we stop this girl from invading and multiplying, or how to stop her from luring men to their demise. The last chapter offers tiny bit of resolution but nothing is really resolved at all. I think what Tomie needs is a protagonist. Someone who will be our eyes of the story's progression and the key as to how Tomie can be stopped.
I recommend this Junji Ito manga if you are really into horror stuff. It is nicely bound and has some very disturbing imagery inside.
June 3, 2022
خـب. بیاین قبل از اینکه وارد ریویوی من از تومیه بشیم، یکم دربارهی ژانر وحشت و زیرژانرهاش صحبت کنیم.
وحشت خودش ژانری از ادبیات گمانه زنه که هدف ایجاد ترس، رعب و انزجاره.
وحشت دارای زیر ژانرهای مختلفیه. مثلا اسلشر که توش قاتلی با مشکلات روانی با استفاده از ابزارهای تیزی مثل چاقو، اره، ساطور یا تبر یک یا چند قربانی رو سلاخی میکنه. یا مثلا هیولا که در اون یک یا چند قربانی در حال فرار از حملات خب هیولا هستن :)))
به نظرم این عکس طبقه بندی کاملی از زیرژانرهای وحشت ارائه میده:
تومیه جزء آثار زیرژانر بادی هارر یا همون وحشت جسمی از ژانر وحشت طبقه بندی میشه.
وحشت جسمی به آثاری گفته میشه که وحشت گفته میشود که ترس رو از طریق نابودی یا اضمحلال واضح بدن ایجاد میکنن
مثلا جهش یا قطع عضو، سکس غیرطبیعی، پوسیدگی، بیماری، انگل، و چیزهایی از این قبیل.
حالا دربارهی تومیه.
تومیه کاواکامی شخصیتی فم فتاله. فم فتال به زنهای خیالی اغواگر و بسیار زیبا گفته میشه که قربانی خودشون رو به روشهای مرموزی میکشن.
خط داستانی تمام چپترها همینه. خلاصهی پشت جلد مانگا.
اما چیزی که تومیه رو متمایز میکنه، آرت بینظیر این مانگاست. جونجی ایتو ۲۴ سال روی این مانگا وقت گذاشته.(میییییدوونممم. برگات.) و سعی کرده توی هر چپتر قتل رو، وحشت بدنی رو، احساس انزجار رو به نحوهی متفاوت تر و خلاقانه تری به نمایش بگذاره.
اما، از اول مانگا تا آخرش، من حتا یک بار هم احساس نکردم که ماهیت تومیه یه شخصیته. کاملا تک بعدی و غیرقابل لمسه. انگار تومیه صرفا دلیلی برای موجودیت این مانگاست. پلات هم عجیب بود. اوج و فرودش کاملا احساس نمیشد.
در کل پیشنهاد میدم اگه قراره این مانگا رو بخونین، تمرکزتون بیشتر روی جلوههای بصریش باشه. :)
اگه تا اینجا خوندی، ممنونم!
پ.ن: من، تمام داستان:
پ.ن. شمارهی دو: کردیت پ.ن. شمارهی یک برای رزیه. =)
پ.ن. شمارهی سه: ممنون از نیلیا که بهم قرض داد بخونمش. :))
وحشت خودش ژانری از ادبیات گمانه زنه که هدف ایجاد ترس، رعب و انزجاره.
وحشت دارای زیر ژانرهای مختلفیه. مثلا اسلشر که توش قاتلی با مشکلات روانی با استفاده از ابزارهای تیزی مثل چاقو، اره، ساطور یا تبر یک یا چند قربانی رو سلاخی میکنه. یا مثلا هیولا که در اون یک یا چند قربانی در حال فرار از حملات خب هیولا هستن :)))
به نظرم این عکس طبقه بندی کاملی از زیرژانرهای وحشت ارائه میده:
تومیه جزء آثار زیرژانر بادی هارر یا همون وحشت جسمی از ژانر وحشت طبقه بندی میشه.
وحشت جسمی به آثاری گفته میشه که وحشت گفته میشود که ترس رو از طریق نابودی یا اضمحلال واضح بدن ایجاد میکنن
مثلا جهش یا قطع عضو، سکس غیرطبیعی، پوسیدگی، بیماری، انگل، و چیزهایی از این قبیل.
حالا دربارهی تومیه.
تومیه کاواکامی شخصیتی فم فتاله. فم فتال به زنهای خیالی اغواگر و بسیار زیبا گفته میشه که قربانی خودشون رو به روشهای مرموزی میکشن.
خط داستانی تمام چپترها همینه. خلاصهی پشت جلد مانگا.
اما چیزی که تومیه رو متمایز میکنه، آرت بینظیر این مانگاست. جونجی ایتو ۲۴ سال روی این مانگا وقت گذاشته.(میییییدوونممم. برگات.) و سعی کرده توی هر چپتر قتل رو، وحشت بدنی رو، احساس انزجار رو به نحوهی متفاوت تر و خلاقانه تری به نمایش بگذاره.
اما، از اول مانگا تا آخرش، من حتا یک بار هم احساس نکردم که ماهیت تومیه یه شخصیته. کاملا تک بعدی و غیرقابل لمسه. انگار تومیه صرفا دلیلی برای موجودیت این مانگاست. پلات هم عجیب بود. اوج و فرودش کاملا احساس نمیشد.
در کل پیشنهاد میدم اگه قراره این مانگا رو بخونین، تمرکزتون بیشتر روی جلوههای بصریش باشه. :)
اگه تا اینجا خوندی، ممنونم!
پ.ن: من، تمام داستان:
پ.ن. شمارهی دو: کردیت پ.ن. شمارهی یک برای رزیه. =)
پ.ن. شمارهی سه: ممنون از نیلیا که بهم قرض داد بخونمش. :))
February 24, 2022
This is a story about a mysterious girl that attracts violence and creates various horrors, sometimes even unwittingly.
It's filled with grotesque imagery and it's creepy.
I think the only real issue I had with this book is that it gets a bit repetitive at times.
Still made for a fun read but I can't see myself returning to it.
It's filled with grotesque imagery and it's creepy.
I think the only real issue I had with this book is that it gets a bit repetitive at times.
Still made for a fun read but I can't see myself returning to it.
June 27, 2023
absolutely love the artwork. Tomie is still one of my favourite psycho characters ever. truly one of the most cruel, conniving, selfish, vain, insane and psychopathic characters ever. most of her actions and decisions are purely motivated by nothing other than making people suffer. i highly recommend getting the physical copy of this if you're a fan of horror manga.
July 18, 2023
"Tomie" era uno de los últimos títulos icónicos de Junji que me restaba leer. Y amé la figura de la mismísima Tomie, pues es realmente la expresión "Hell is a teenage girl". Solo que la parte de adolescente acá es más bien simbólico, pues Tomie es una cosa medio ancestral, medio cósmica y sumamente lovecraftiana. Por fuera, y en su estado más sencillo, con una belleza que puede manipular, y lograr que cualquiera enloquezca. Y, por dentro, una maldad monstruosa e infernal.
November 24, 2021
Tomie is a beauty that seduces men and drives them to madness and murder, usually hers.
On the heels of Uzumaki and Gyo, I pulled this off the pile. Fantastic stuff.
Tomie is a collection of tales featuring Tomie, a girl who makes men want to possess her and want to murder her, not necessarily in that order. Tomie is a regenerating monster of unknown origin, recovering from the most grievous wounds and even growing new Tomies from whatever is left over when she's murdered.
Each tale is a tale of obsession and murder, most featuring Tomie dying at least once. Not explaining what Tomie is makes things more unsettling. Like most Junji Ito works, it's full of unsettling body horror. I have to think he researched deformities before he set out on this journey of the grotesque. Striking, nauseating images are the order of the day.
Tomie was unsettling, bizarre, grotesque, and awesome. Four out of five stars.
On the heels of Uzumaki and Gyo, I pulled this off the pile. Fantastic stuff.
Tomie is a collection of tales featuring Tomie, a girl who makes men want to possess her and want to murder her, not necessarily in that order. Tomie is a regenerating monster of unknown origin, recovering from the most grievous wounds and even growing new Tomies from whatever is left over when she's murdered.
Each tale is a tale of obsession and murder, most featuring Tomie dying at least once. Not explaining what Tomie is makes things more unsettling. Like most Junji Ito works, it's full of unsettling body horror. I have to think he researched deformities before he set out on this journey of the grotesque. Striking, nauseating images are the order of the day.
Tomie was unsettling, bizarre, grotesque, and awesome. Four out of five stars.
January 8, 2020
This is only my second manga, and it's also my second by Ito. My introduction to manga was with UZUMAKI, and I think that set the bar too high. I'm worried it's all going to be downhill from here. That's a joke, I know there is so much amazing manga in the world, but I honestly can't believe that I read such an amazing one first.
TOMIE has all of the stunning artwork of UZUMAKI, but I just didn't quite love the story as much. It's good, but it's also a bit flawed. This is a large compilation, and unfortunately all of the stories have the same basic storyline. When you read them all back to back they become a bit repetitive, but I have to remember that these stories were originally released on their own, so reading them spread out would have been a much different experience.
I was really drawn in at the beginning. Tomie is far from perfect, but she definitely does not deserve her fate. After a school field trip goes horribly wrong for her, her classmates, and her teacher, some version of Tomie returns to enact revenge. She becomes a beautiful siren that is absolutely irresistible to men, however, their devotion always comes at a cost.
The art in this deluxe version is exactly what I have come to expect from Ito. It's so twisted and wrong, violent and disturbing. I find myself just staring at his art. It's both repellent and horribly stunning. While I did enjoy the stories collected here, they were all basically different versions of the same revenge narrative that Ito establishes early on. I didn't mind it as much while I was reading it, but in retrospect all the stories are basically the same. Regardless, I still recommend this manga because of the absolutely brilliant art. I can't wait to read GYO by Ito next. At some point I'm going to have to branch out and find another horror manga. But for now, I'm really enjoying Ito's work.
4.5 stars
TOMIE has all of the stunning artwork of UZUMAKI, but I just didn't quite love the story as much. It's good, but it's also a bit flawed. This is a large compilation, and unfortunately all of the stories have the same basic storyline. When you read them all back to back they become a bit repetitive, but I have to remember that these stories were originally released on their own, so reading them spread out would have been a much different experience.
I was really drawn in at the beginning. Tomie is far from perfect, but she definitely does not deserve her fate. After a school field trip goes horribly wrong for her, her classmates, and her teacher, some version of Tomie returns to enact revenge. She becomes a beautiful siren that is absolutely irresistible to men, however, their devotion always comes at a cost.
The art in this deluxe version is exactly what I have come to expect from Ito. It's so twisted and wrong, violent and disturbing. I find myself just staring at his art. It's both repellent and horribly stunning. While I did enjoy the stories collected here, they were all basically different versions of the same revenge narrative that Ito establishes early on. I didn't mind it as much while I was reading it, but in retrospect all the stories are basically the same. Regardless, I still recommend this manga because of the absolutely brilliant art. I can't wait to read GYO by Ito next. At some point I'm going to have to branch out and find another horror manga. But for now, I'm really enjoying Ito's work.
4.5 stars
July 17, 2019
--Tomie
Afterword
Afterword
June 2, 2019
‘Painter’ was one of my favourites from the collection Shiver, and I’d wanted to read more about its central character, Tomie, ever since. Tomie is a beautiful girl who sparks mania in almost everyone she meets: first comes intense attachment, then the desire to murder her. She’s also an indestructible monster who can create infinite copies of herself. Tomie collects three volumes of manga, 20 stories in total.
There are lots of ways to read Tomie. Some argue the stories’ focus on repeated violence against women makes them misogynistic by default, but Tomie can also be interpreted as a comment on society’s obsession with possessing and/or destroying beauty. Despite Tomie’s villainy, there is something satisfying about seeing her mock and denigrate the men who so pathetically trail around after her, and also something triumphant about the fact that no matter how many times, and how violently, she is killed, she can never be destroyed; she keeps coming back. Her curse is tragic, but Tomie herself is often depicted taking pleasure in her eternal invulnerability, and the men who covet and stalk her are surely not meant to be sympathetic. As a horror heroine, she’s the perfect combination of sympathetic final girl and hateful queen bitch.
Having read this, I better understand why so few Tomie stories are collected elsewhere. The effectiveness of Tomie as a character depends partly on the reader understanding her powers and recognising her face, as she often shows up with a different name... or as something not quite human. The best stories, such as ‘Photo’, ‘Mansion’ and ‘Top Model’, tend to be part of interlinked sequences – though there are some strong standalones, like ‘Painter’ and ‘Boy’. The recurrent themes also produce a sense of overload across 700+ pages. For me, the weakest felt like strings of violent scenes with little plot, but at their best, the Tomie stories are essential horror.
---
‘Tomie’, first published (as far as I can tell) in 1997, is as close as the character gets to an origin story. The narrator is Tomie’s friend Reiko, who explains that Tomie is dead – violently murdered, in fact: ‘pieces of her body were found scattered everywhere’. But then, after her funeral has taken place, she comes back to school... The story suggests Tomie may be seeking revenge for the manner of her death – it’s also implied she wasn’t actually human to begin with – and establishes a villain (Mr. Takagi, a teacher Tomie was involved with). It’s interesting to follow the evolution of Junji Ito’s style through this book: in terms of both illustration and story, this very first Tomie manga is amateurish, even incoherent at points.
‘Tomie Part 2: Morita Hospital’ shares its titular setting with the story that follows, ‘Basement’. In a theme that will recur throughout the collection, two young couples – Yukiko and Tadashi in ‘Morita Hospital’, and Reiko and Sato in ‘Basement’ – become entangled with Tomie, incurring her wrath. It becomes clear that Tomie inspires obsession in men but also, ultimately, drives them to kill. Yet Tomie can’t truly die, and – in an echo of her first murder – dismembering her body only causes her to multiply.
In ‘Photo’, Tsukiko poses as a member of the school photo club in order to take pictures of her classmates’ crushes, which she then sells back to them at exorbitant prices. The scheme also gives her an excuse to photograph her own crush, Yamazaki. Tsukiko is dismayed when Yamazaki asks for a photograph of Tomie (who is now head of the ‘ethics committee’) but, when she develops the photos, they all have something very strange about them. Thus another rule of the Tomie canon is established: photographs reveal her true form – a fact that is as much a surprise to Tomie as it is to Tsukiko.
‘Kiss’ and ‘Mansion’ also feature Tsukiko and Yamazaki. The three stories form a trilogy which culminates in the reappearance of Takagi, as well as a payoff to the mysterious prologue of ‘Photo’. By now, the art has improved significantly, with large panels used effectively to show close-ups on Tomie’s distorted face or sightless eyes. I also love the way Takagi is drawn; the character is recognisable, but small tweaks make his expression seem more unhinged with every appearance. ‘Mansion’ has an indelible climactic image I have definitely seen before, can’t remember where – probably in some blog post providing examples of how freakish and terrifying Junji Ito’s creations can be.
‘Revenge’ is a standalone story in which a group of mountaineers come across the naked body of a young woman. Despite sub-zero temperatures, she turns out to be alive, and proceeds to wreak havoc on the group’s dynamic. Not one of the best, though I found the final panel chilling.
At this point, the reader is well aware that Tomie can replicate herself endlessly. ‘Waterfall Basin’, which features the final appearance of Takagi, underlines this by featuring an army of Tomies, but the concept doesn’t really go anywhere. ‘Assassins’, in which two versions of Tomie each demand that the other is destroyed, is also relatively weak.
Between those two is ‘Painter’, which remains one of my favourite Tomie stories. Mitsuo Mori is a succesful artist, satisfied with his work until he meets Tomie at one of his shows. She mocks his paintings, drives his muse away and suggests he should paint her instead. In the context of the whole series, I can now recognise Tomie’s comment that ‘snapshots don’t do me justice’ as a sly callback to the events of ‘Photo’. Mori is driven mad trying to capture Tomie’s true essence... and when he eventually does, she is enraged, with gory consequences for them both.
‘Hair’ goes in a slightly different direction: instead of a man getting obsessed with Tomie, the story centres on two young girls. Chie finds a box of Tomie’s hair in her father’s study; she and her friend Miki become transfixed by it and begin to see visions of Tomie. With Tomie, even something as innocuous as a clump of hair is capable of inspiring murderous passion. When the hair starts to ‘infect’ Chie and Miki, it leads some of the most disturbing imagery in the book – scenes that made me physically squirm.
At the beginning of ‘Adopted Daughter’, you wonder whether Tomie has finally met her match. She is taken in by the Hinadas, an elderly couple notorious for adopting a string of unfortunate young women. The ‘daughters’ invariably die soon after being adopted, and the rumour is that the Hinadas literally suck the life out of them. The irony is that, while they are not quite the villains everyone assumes, meeting Tomie turns them into monsters.
I didn’t care for ‘Little Finger’. The male lead, Hiroya, is drawn with exaggerated features to emphasise his ugliness, but the exaggeration is taken so far that the character appears clownish. This sits uncomfortably with the rest of the illustrations in Tomie which, while often bizarre and horrifying, are always finely done and have their own sort of in-world realism. ‘Moromi’, in which one of Tomie’s lovers/killers tries to dispose of her body in a sake factory, is the worst in the book and feels phoned-in.
However, sandwiched between ‘Little Finger’ and ‘Moromi’ is ‘Boy’, another of my favourites. Tomie is at her most ruthless here as she gets her claws into a lonely little boy and convinces him she’s his real mother – only to later reject and taunt him once she’s grown stronger. As with ‘Hair’, it’s refreshing to get a different perspective to balance out all the stories about tormented men.
Despite some stiff competition, ‘Babysitter’ is probably the most stomach-churning entry in Tomie. When Erita arrives for her latest babysitting job, she’s locked inside by the sinister parents. The ‘baby’ has Tomie’s face (of course), though it can hardly be said to resemble a human child in any other sense. Erita’s ensuing ordeal makes the bloody ending feel cathartic.
‘Gathering’ has a good core concept: Tomie’s fans have become so numerous and devoted that they have formed a cult; Umehara is introduced to the group when his friend Miyagawa suggests they attend ‘a gathering’ together. But Umehara, whose girlfriend Naoko has recently passed away, is immune to Tomie’s charms – which, naturally, enrages her. Interestingly, he’s also one of the few men to encounter Tomie and survive relatively unscathed.
To close the book, there’s another (loose) trilogy. ‘Passing Demon’, ‘Top Model’ and ‘Old and Ugly’ are set in a city where a number of near-identical little girls – identical in that they all look just like Tomie – are growing up in different families. These stories take the concept of ‘Assassins’ a step further by pitting several (part-)Tomies against one another, while a mysterious ‘man in black’ fulfils the Takagi role.
Yasuko, the sister of one of the Tomie-girls, acts as the protagonist here, but the most compelling figure is Ryo, the arrogant title character of ‘Top Model’. The handsome, successful Ryo is more of an equal to Tomie than any of her other suitors, which is perhaps what makes his story one of the strongest.
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There are lots of ways to read Tomie. Some argue the stories’ focus on repeated violence against women makes them misogynistic by default, but Tomie can also be interpreted as a comment on society’s obsession with possessing and/or destroying beauty. Despite Tomie’s villainy, there is something satisfying about seeing her mock and denigrate the men who so pathetically trail around after her, and also something triumphant about the fact that no matter how many times, and how violently, she is killed, she can never be destroyed; she keeps coming back. Her curse is tragic, but Tomie herself is often depicted taking pleasure in her eternal invulnerability, and the men who covet and stalk her are surely not meant to be sympathetic. As a horror heroine, she’s the perfect combination of sympathetic final girl and hateful queen bitch.
Having read this, I better understand why so few Tomie stories are collected elsewhere. The effectiveness of Tomie as a character depends partly on the reader understanding her powers and recognising her face, as she often shows up with a different name... or as something not quite human. The best stories, such as ‘Photo’, ‘Mansion’ and ‘Top Model’, tend to be part of interlinked sequences – though there are some strong standalones, like ‘Painter’ and ‘Boy’. The recurrent themes also produce a sense of overload across 700+ pages. For me, the weakest felt like strings of violent scenes with little plot, but at their best, the Tomie stories are essential horror.
---
‘Tomie’, first published (as far as I can tell) in 1997, is as close as the character gets to an origin story. The narrator is Tomie’s friend Reiko, who explains that Tomie is dead – violently murdered, in fact: ‘pieces of her body were found scattered everywhere’. But then, after her funeral has taken place, she comes back to school... The story suggests Tomie may be seeking revenge for the manner of her death – it’s also implied she wasn’t actually human to begin with – and establishes a villain (Mr. Takagi, a teacher Tomie was involved with). It’s interesting to follow the evolution of Junji Ito’s style through this book: in terms of both illustration and story, this very first Tomie manga is amateurish, even incoherent at points.
‘Tomie Part 2: Morita Hospital’ shares its titular setting with the story that follows, ‘Basement’. In a theme that will recur throughout the collection, two young couples – Yukiko and Tadashi in ‘Morita Hospital’, and Reiko and Sato in ‘Basement’ – become entangled with Tomie, incurring her wrath. It becomes clear that Tomie inspires obsession in men but also, ultimately, drives them to kill. Yet Tomie can’t truly die, and – in an echo of her first murder – dismembering her body only causes her to multiply.
In ‘Photo’, Tsukiko poses as a member of the school photo club in order to take pictures of her classmates’ crushes, which she then sells back to them at exorbitant prices. The scheme also gives her an excuse to photograph her own crush, Yamazaki. Tsukiko is dismayed when Yamazaki asks for a photograph of Tomie (who is now head of the ‘ethics committee’) but, when she develops the photos, they all have something very strange about them. Thus another rule of the Tomie canon is established: photographs reveal her true form – a fact that is as much a surprise to Tomie as it is to Tsukiko.
‘Kiss’ and ‘Mansion’ also feature Tsukiko and Yamazaki. The three stories form a trilogy which culminates in the reappearance of Takagi, as well as a payoff to the mysterious prologue of ‘Photo’. By now, the art has improved significantly, with large panels used effectively to show close-ups on Tomie’s distorted face or sightless eyes. I also love the way Takagi is drawn; the character is recognisable, but small tweaks make his expression seem more unhinged with every appearance. ‘Mansion’ has an indelible climactic image I have definitely seen before, can’t remember where – probably in some blog post providing examples of how freakish and terrifying Junji Ito’s creations can be.
‘Revenge’ is a standalone story in which a group of mountaineers come across the naked body of a young woman. Despite sub-zero temperatures, she turns out to be alive, and proceeds to wreak havoc on the group’s dynamic. Not one of the best, though I found the final panel chilling.
At this point, the reader is well aware that Tomie can replicate herself endlessly. ‘Waterfall Basin’, which features the final appearance of Takagi, underlines this by featuring an army of Tomies, but the concept doesn’t really go anywhere. ‘Assassins’, in which two versions of Tomie each demand that the other is destroyed, is also relatively weak.
Between those two is ‘Painter’, which remains one of my favourite Tomie stories. Mitsuo Mori is a succesful artist, satisfied with his work until he meets Tomie at one of his shows. She mocks his paintings, drives his muse away and suggests he should paint her instead. In the context of the whole series, I can now recognise Tomie’s comment that ‘snapshots don’t do me justice’ as a sly callback to the events of ‘Photo’. Mori is driven mad trying to capture Tomie’s true essence... and when he eventually does, she is enraged, with gory consequences for them both.
‘Hair’ goes in a slightly different direction: instead of a man getting obsessed with Tomie, the story centres on two young girls. Chie finds a box of Tomie’s hair in her father’s study; she and her friend Miki become transfixed by it and begin to see visions of Tomie. With Tomie, even something as innocuous as a clump of hair is capable of inspiring murderous passion. When the hair starts to ‘infect’ Chie and Miki, it leads some of the most disturbing imagery in the book – scenes that made me physically squirm.
At the beginning of ‘Adopted Daughter’, you wonder whether Tomie has finally met her match. She is taken in by the Hinadas, an elderly couple notorious for adopting a string of unfortunate young women. The ‘daughters’ invariably die soon after being adopted, and the rumour is that the Hinadas literally suck the life out of them. The irony is that, while they are not quite the villains everyone assumes, meeting Tomie turns them into monsters.
I didn’t care for ‘Little Finger’. The male lead, Hiroya, is drawn with exaggerated features to emphasise his ugliness, but the exaggeration is taken so far that the character appears clownish. This sits uncomfortably with the rest of the illustrations in Tomie which, while often bizarre and horrifying, are always finely done and have their own sort of in-world realism. ‘Moromi’, in which one of Tomie’s lovers/killers tries to dispose of her body in a sake factory, is the worst in the book and feels phoned-in.
However, sandwiched between ‘Little Finger’ and ‘Moromi’ is ‘Boy’, another of my favourites. Tomie is at her most ruthless here as she gets her claws into a lonely little boy and convinces him she’s his real mother – only to later reject and taunt him once she’s grown stronger. As with ‘Hair’, it’s refreshing to get a different perspective to balance out all the stories about tormented men.
Despite some stiff competition, ‘Babysitter’ is probably the most stomach-churning entry in Tomie. When Erita arrives for her latest babysitting job, she’s locked inside by the sinister parents. The ‘baby’ has Tomie’s face (of course), though it can hardly be said to resemble a human child in any other sense. Erita’s ensuing ordeal makes the bloody ending feel cathartic.
‘Gathering’ has a good core concept: Tomie’s fans have become so numerous and devoted that they have formed a cult; Umehara is introduced to the group when his friend Miyagawa suggests they attend ‘a gathering’ together. But Umehara, whose girlfriend Naoko has recently passed away, is immune to Tomie’s charms – which, naturally, enrages her. Interestingly, he’s also one of the few men to encounter Tomie and survive relatively unscathed.
To close the book, there’s another (loose) trilogy. ‘Passing Demon’, ‘Top Model’ and ‘Old and Ugly’ are set in a city where a number of near-identical little girls – identical in that they all look just like Tomie – are growing up in different families. These stories take the concept of ‘Assassins’ a step further by pitting several (part-)Tomies against one another, while a mysterious ‘man in black’ fulfils the Takagi role.
Yasuko, the sister of one of the Tomie-girls, acts as the protagonist here, but the most compelling figure is Ryo, the arrogant title character of ‘Top Model’. The handsome, successful Ryo is more of an equal to Tomie than any of her other suitors, which is perhaps what makes his story one of the strongest.
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November 2, 2021
"Desde el día en que la vi, no sé qué hacer con mi vida."
Este tomo es una recopilación de 20 capítulos, en los que seguiremos las andanzas y planes de un demonio llamado Tomie en diferentes escenarios.
Ella es una joven inmortal con una belleza irresistible que nadie puede capturar, y que vuelve locos y violentos a todos los hombres que la admiran, cayendo presas de las malévolas circunstancias que rodean a esta "chica".
Posee una personalidad muy particular y egocéntrica, generando sentimientos de atracción, obsesión, miedo y desesperación. Tiene debilidad por generar caos y terror a donde quiera que vaya, desencadenando horribles muertes con su encanto innato.
Durante el transcurso del manga podemos ver la evolución del dibujo e historia del mangaka.
Es el primer manga que escribió y realmente es una de sus mejores obras, con un mensaje bien interesante en torno a la naturaleza humana, a pesar de lo repetitiva que puede llegar a ser por ser historias no lineales.
Una historia llena de body horror, muertes violentas y bizarras, locura en todas partes, y un personaje principal tan hechizante como irritante, del que es imposible no admirar su tenacidad y maldad. Posee unas escenas impresionantes y realmente perturbadoras que tienen ese marcado estilo del autor, en el que la belleza se mezcla en perfecta armonía con lo macabro y bizarro.
Este tomo es una recopilación de 20 capítulos, en los que seguiremos las andanzas y planes de un demonio llamado Tomie en diferentes escenarios.
Ella es una joven inmortal con una belleza irresistible que nadie puede capturar, y que vuelve locos y violentos a todos los hombres que la admiran, cayendo presas de las malévolas circunstancias que rodean a esta "chica".
Posee una personalidad muy particular y egocéntrica, generando sentimientos de atracción, obsesión, miedo y desesperación. Tiene debilidad por generar caos y terror a donde quiera que vaya, desencadenando horribles muertes con su encanto innato.
Durante el transcurso del manga podemos ver la evolución del dibujo e historia del mangaka.
Es el primer manga que escribió y realmente es una de sus mejores obras, con un mensaje bien interesante en torno a la naturaleza humana, a pesar de lo repetitiva que puede llegar a ser por ser historias no lineales.
Una historia llena de body horror, muertes violentas y bizarras, locura en todas partes, y un personaje principal tan hechizante como irritante, del que es imposible no admirar su tenacidad y maldad. Posee unas escenas impresionantes y realmente perturbadoras que tienen ese marcado estilo del autor, en el que la belleza se mezcla en perfecta armonía con lo macabro y bizarro.
December 18, 2020
''Her only real interest is in herself. My daughter sees men as little more than adornments. She wants to be desired.... just a boost to her ego.''
how many Tomies do u think are out there?
i always loved her aesthetic and now i finally read the complete work. i can die in peace. i even preordered the Tomie Funko Pop :) please get me help.
love the sapphic vibes of the movies. i just found out that they were gonna adapt into a series for Quibi but well now rip to both.
August 20, 2021
This one left me with a lot of thoughts.
Horror factor aside (Junji Ito always hits body horror in a perfect spot for me), I often see the character of Tomie discussed negatively. I've seen a ton of reviews saying that the character lacks any actual character development (often falling into the "mean pretty girl" trap) and honestly I'm not interpreting that as the point.
Tomie is literally devolving as a character and becoming more monstrous/less human. Every time she is killed (each time Tomie dies, she meets the same end of being dismembered), new Tomies grow from the pieces. How do we expect a young teenager who was murdered by her classmates and teacher (who slept with her and possibly impregnated this underage student) to show growth as a character if she is losing her humanity every time she grows a new version of herself?
I also think it's interesting how Tomie's beauty is CONSTANTLY negatively discussed by the characters in the stories and reviewers alike. Saying that Tomie is evil BECAUSE she's pretty and mean feels like a surface-level critique to me. Women in the stories become jealous of her beauty and men are driven to madness by it. Granted, Tomie does seem to exhibit traits of a succubus, using her beauty to get what she wants, but that's only after she's so far detached from her humanity and has been split apart time and time again that it's unsurprising. Each Tomie, we learn throughout, has a shared set of memories. Do we expect a parasitic (dare I say demonic?) entity to behave in a positive, character-developmenty manner when she remembers every single event across all of her lives that end with men ripping her to shreds?
While reading, I drew a lot of comparisons to the film Jennifer's Body. While there are obvious cultural differences between Tomie and Diablo Cody's feminist black comedy, I think if you enjoy one, you'll enjoy the other. Especially if you like themes of young women becoming villainized for their perceived attractiveness and subsequently taking down the men who treat them like physical objects only to be owned.
Horror factor aside (Junji Ito always hits body horror in a perfect spot for me), I often see the character of Tomie discussed negatively. I've seen a ton of reviews saying that the character lacks any actual character development (often falling into the "mean pretty girl" trap) and honestly I'm not interpreting that as the point.
Tomie is literally devolving as a character and becoming more monstrous/less human. Every time she is killed (each time Tomie dies, she meets the same end of being dismembered), new Tomies grow from the pieces. How do we expect a young teenager who was murdered by her classmates and teacher (who slept with her and possibly impregnated this underage student) to show growth as a character if she is losing her humanity every time she grows a new version of herself?
I also think it's interesting how Tomie's beauty is CONSTANTLY negatively discussed by the characters in the stories and reviewers alike. Saying that Tomie is evil BECAUSE she's pretty and mean feels like a surface-level critique to me. Women in the stories become jealous of her beauty and men are driven to madness by it. Granted, Tomie does seem to exhibit traits of a succubus, using her beauty to get what she wants, but that's only after she's so far detached from her humanity and has been split apart time and time again that it's unsurprising. Each Tomie, we learn throughout, has a shared set of memories. Do we expect a parasitic (dare I say demonic?) entity to behave in a positive, character-developmenty manner when she remembers every single event across all of her lives that end with men ripping her to shreds?
While reading, I drew a lot of comparisons to the film Jennifer's Body. While there are obvious cultural differences between Tomie and Diablo Cody's feminist black comedy, I think if you enjoy one, you'll enjoy the other. Especially if you like themes of young women becoming villainized for their perceived attractiveness and subsequently taking down the men who treat them like physical objects only to be owned.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 19, 2024
underwhelming
January 16, 2019
Junji Ito's work is pretty hit or miss for me — I feel like I usually love or hate it — and this was, sadly, the biggest "miss" thus far. I just couldn't get into this at all and didn't feel like it carried Ito's usual brand of bizarro, gross horror that I get so intrigued by.
October 22, 2023
This was my first experience of Junji Ito's work and it was as weird and wonderful as everyone suggested.
Creepy and awful, Tomie likes to inspire love in men and jealousy in women, and it often ends with her being chopped up and/or murdered in other fantastically gory ways, only for her to regenerate from her wounds.
Some of the chapters connect, others stand on their own, but all have the same kinda vibe.
Tomie's an awful character, and this collection truly inspires sympathy and pity for those unfortunate to come across her.
Some of the artwork is fantastic; some is lost in the amount of black-and-white gore splattered on the page. Overall, there's an eerie quality to it all that drives the story onwards.
I liked it a lot, but don't think I could read this level of torment again.
Creepy and awful, Tomie likes to inspire love in men and jealousy in women, and it often ends with her being chopped up and/or murdered in other fantastically gory ways, only for her to regenerate from her wounds.
Some of the chapters connect, others stand on their own, but all have the same kinda vibe.
Tomie's an awful character, and this collection truly inspires sympathy and pity for those unfortunate to come across her.
Some of the artwork is fantastic; some is lost in the amount of black-and-white gore splattered on the page. Overall, there's an eerie quality to it all that drives the story onwards.
I liked it a lot, but don't think I could read this level of torment again.
March 12, 2023
A huge tome of short stories all featuring the beautiful femme fatale Tomie - more demon than human. She seduces men for her own vanity and when they fall in love with her they typically end up going insane and kill Tomie... who when split in half regenerates like a flatworm creating endless Tomies.
The first few chapters establish Tomie and how her regeneration/spread works. The final few chapters has a longer narrative that provides a sort of conclusion. But the majority of this book is unconnected stories all featuring Tomie in some way.
The body horror when Ito lets loose is fantastic. More Tomies growing out of the original Tomie like tumours is a sight to behold.
That's the weakest aspect of this book, after awhile each of the stories starts to blur as you become more familiar with Ito's formula. There's only so many stories of a beautiful young girl seducing a man and driving him insane that I can take. The stories featuring a female protagonist were generally stronger. A think a better reading experience would be to take say the best 300 pages of this 700+ page book and make a "best of" Tomie volume.
The first few chapters establish Tomie and how her regeneration/spread works. The final few chapters has a longer narrative that provides a sort of conclusion. But the majority of this book is unconnected stories all featuring Tomie in some way.
The body horror when Ito lets loose is fantastic. More Tomies growing out of the original Tomie like tumours is a sight to behold.
That's the weakest aspect of this book, after awhile each of the stories starts to blur as you become more familiar with Ito's formula. There's only so many stories of a beautiful young girl seducing a man and driving him insane that I can take. The stories featuring a female protagonist were generally stronger. A think a better reading experience would be to take say the best 300 pages of this 700+ page book and make a "best of" Tomie volume.
December 17, 2020
Tomie features some great artwork and body horror, but becomes repititive after some chapters.
December 1, 2022
Avevo adocchiato ormai da tempo le opere di Junji Itō con l’intenzione di comprarne almeno una prima o poi, ma a causa della quantità spropositata di fumetti accumulati dentro casa, ancora in attesa di essere letti, e che continua ad aumentare di settimana in settimana insieme a tonnellate di libri gettati a random in ogni angolo di superficie rimasta libera dentro casa, mi sembrava davvero immorale acquistare uno dei corposi volumi e pubblicati qui in Italia dedicati al crudele e disturbante universo orrorifico realizzato dal mangaka giapponese, col rischio che mi piacesse facendomi aggiungere un’altra serie alle altre, sacrificando altri soldi e spazio all’altare del mio inguaribile ed insaziabile collezionismo ossessivo compulsivo.
Poi destino ha voluto che mia moglie comprasse questo splendido volume ad opera di J-Pop dopo aver visto alcune anticipazioni della serie anime "Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre" in arrivo su Netflix il prossimo gennaio, introducendo l’orrore indicibile ed agghiacciante che si celava tra le sue pagine all’interno della nostra casa…
Così, avendolo lei dimenticato in bagno qualche giorno fa, me ne sono prontamente impossessato leggendolo nell’arco di quattro terrificanti giorni che mi hanno causato più di un brivido ed incubo a causa delle immagini più raccapriccianti che abbia mia visto in vita mia in un manga, ma lasciandomi comunque e decisamente più che soddisfatto.
Iniziamo subito col dire che la qualità delle storie qui raccolte è molto variabile, oscillando tra il passabile ed il memorabile, e soffrendo di una certa ripetitività di fondo, stesso dicasi per alcuni personaggi tutt'altro che interessanti, una conclusione decisamente poco brillante a mio parere rispetto al resto del volume, ed i disegni decisamente acerbi nei primi capitoli, che vanno fortunatamente migliorando di pagina in pagina evidenziando l’evoluzione degna di nota dello stile dell’autore, che si è dedicato alla realizzazione di questo classico dell’orrore per ben tredici anni.
Ma a parte ciò, anche il meno riuscito di questi racconti, che formano tra loro un’unica agghiacciante ed indimenticabile storia, è riuscito a farmi accapponare la pelle al punto che in alcuni momenti avevo quasi paura a voltare pagina, per poi ritrovarmi invece a farlo puntualmente con mani tremanti, cosa che non avrei mai detto vista la quantità incalcolabile di film, fumetti e libri horror, passatami davanti agli occhi in vita mia.
Cinque stelle date di pancia ad un’opera prima originale, unica e diversa da qualunque cosa abbia mai letto prima, contenente uno degli incipit più brutali ed agghiaccianti di sempre, ed altre scene ed immagini talmente truculente ed orribili che non dimenticherò mai finché campo, ma che mi è piaciuta comunque al punto che probabilmente leggerò nuovamente molto presto questo corposo volume, al quale si aggiungeranno irrimediabilmente ed inesorabilmente prima o poi anche tutti gli altri realizzati dall’autore, che avevo sfortunatamente e vergognosamente snobbato ed evitato finora.
Perché anch’io sono rimasto ammaliato da Tomie, la giovane maliziosa e diabolica studentessa destinata a diventare l’ossessione di tutti gli uomini che la incontrano, venirne fatta a pezzi ogni volta, per poi tornare e distruggere senza pietà le vite loro e di tutti quelli che hanno la sventura di incrociare la sua strada.
Una lettura decisamente non per tutti, ma senza dubbio imperdibile se siete in cerca di qualcosa di originale, torbido e raccapricciante.
Buonanotte e sogni d’oro.
September 10, 2017
Lesson learned: life is hard as an immortal succubus (already knew that from personal experience). Take advantage of your talent to charm men before they eventually mutilate you.
May 29, 2022
"That wasn’t the first time that a man has tried to kill me.
Wha… what wasn’t the first what? What wasn’t?
It always happens. Whenever a man falls for me, he lashes out and tries to take my life. They all want to do it, and they all want to carve me into little pieces. Strange, isn’t it?"
Tomie is a succubus like woman who can seduce you with a wink of her eye. Whoever gets attached, falls madly in love, and they become obsessive. Obsessive in a way where they hack her into tiny pieces. That never stops her from multiplying and seducing other innocent people. The song Maneater was written about her.
This short story graphic novel was Ito’s masterpiece. The illustrations were spooky and horrifying and the story followed those lines perfectly. The stories will seem repetitive to some but they all got more grotesque as time went on. My black soul loved this anthology. Tomie preyed on your insecurities and used that to her advantage, she is evil in heels.
Tomie was amazing and one of my favorites by Ito. This book is one of the main reasons why he’s the master of horror manga. If you love terrifying stories, give this a try.
Just beware of Tomie, she’ll chew you up and spit you out like old gum.
Wha… what wasn’t the first what? What wasn’t?
It always happens. Whenever a man falls for me, he lashes out and tries to take my life. They all want to do it, and they all want to carve me into little pieces. Strange, isn’t it?"
Tomie is a succubus like woman who can seduce you with a wink of her eye. Whoever gets attached, falls madly in love, and they become obsessive. Obsessive in a way where they hack her into tiny pieces. That never stops her from multiplying and seducing other innocent people. The song Maneater was written about her.
This short story graphic novel was Ito’s masterpiece. The illustrations were spooky and horrifying and the story followed those lines perfectly. The stories will seem repetitive to some but they all got more grotesque as time went on. My black soul loved this anthology. Tomie preyed on your insecurities and used that to her advantage, she is evil in heels.
Tomie was amazing and one of my favorites by Ito. This book is one of the main reasons why he’s the master of horror manga. If you love terrifying stories, give this a try.
Just beware of Tomie, she’ll chew you up and spit you out like old gum.
July 9, 2022
junji ito you will ALWAYS be famous
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