No Longer Human (Junji Ito)

This book is truly Ito at his absolute best. The original book, is truly an amazing story. But I honestly prefer Ito's version. Ito not only builds onto the story with his an insanely horrific, yet strangely beautiful illustrations. He adds on to the storyline in ways that make sense and elevated the reading experience.If you've never read the original, or know little of the story, here's a forewarning. There is a reason this book is known as one of the most depressing books every written. And Ito does not hold back on illustrating some pretty horrific things. It can be a tough read if you're sensitive to these topics.If it's a read you're willing to take on, I say 100% go for it!! I finished it the night I got it. As painful as the story is, it's an amazing story. And Ito's art makes any book worth the purchase. I'm happy I took the chance and got it!

So Junji Ito ... my wife is addicted to his writing and manga ... so when he was at SDCC ... I knew I was in trouble.So we went to his speaking engagement and the man is really brilliant (honestly I had no idea who he was prior to this) ... I felt bad for him because his hands are very badly gnarled because of years of drawing. But no one can take away the horror he inspires with everything he writes and draws.He creates horrors that give nightmares horrors ... the things he writes and draws is amazing and terrifying and beautiful at the same time. The stories are all enthralling and tell tales that will give you nightmares but you will soon realize that even your nightmares pale in comparison to the nightmares he is writing. It's truly awe inspiring to be honest.One day we will lose this horror genre master but for now, I recommend everyone buy his books and be both inspired and terrified.

The artwork in this is superior compared to his other short story manga as far as the clothing of the characters. If you read the short stories first you can see it has elements of Tomie, and Painter. It has a lot more characters in it. It has the ancestor spirits in it. I read it along with "Nihilism" by Seraphim Rose, and "Afraid: demon possession and spiritual warfare in America." I knows it's easy to interpret a lot of what happens to the main character as psychological but it can also be viewed as spiritual. What the character is going through is like a black void nihilistic view of life and his journey, but marred by deep either demonic or psychological issues. I viewed them more as demonic as the story unfolded in that well, not to spoil it but things did not get better despite him wanting them to get better. I thought about it and I think you can also view the main character as the physical "embodiment" of nihilism in human form because nihilism leads to death and as Seraphim Rose said, is satanic/demonic. The book had characters adhering to Amida or Shin buddhism but it didn't seem to help the characters. Also, according to that demonology book, Christians must be cognizant of 3 enemies: the devil, the world, and our sinful nature. The main character acknowledged the last 2 but I think his unrecognized problem, and even the other characters in the book, were the real demons haunting them; they all really needed an exorcist. So for me this was enlightening, and helped me focus on relying on "extra nos" and hopefully I dont spiral mentally like the characters in this book. I really believe almost every character had some kind of demonic element to them except for maybe his brother or his mother. Also, for those who catch it he literally went through "aerial tollhouses" for his 10 misfortunes during a possible out of body experience(one must float upwards to heaven by conquering vices). At least that might be how an Eastern Orthodox interprets that part, See Lazar Puhalo's book on death and the soul

In what may be the single bleakest depiction of man that I’ve encountered, Junji Ito adapts an almost cinematic beauty to otherwise unacceptable plot conditions. Originally authored by Osamu Dazai, this edition contains nearly endless depth and loads of shock-horror (for those who are inclined) as well as being almost entirely illustrated to boot! While I can’t claim to be in-love with any particular character or frame of reference to the stories origin, I can say that you will NOT be bored while reading, “No Longer Human” by Junji Ito

Fair warning; I am about to display some possibly cringe behavior as a result of fangirling too hard for both the infamous mangaka, Junji Ito, as well as the classic author, Osamu Dazai. I want to commend whoever came up with this concept of combining two of my absolute favorite pieces of Japanese entertainment in their respective mediums together to create this masterpiece! Osamu Dazai’s legendary novels have held a special place in my heart because of how deeply I related to his depressive thoughts shared within his expressive writing. Paired with Dazai’s phenomenal work is the similarly phenomenal work from the legendary mangaka, Junji Ito. I have always admired Junji Ito’s hauntingly beautiful and intricately detailed artistry displayed throughout his manga. I had to order this book instantly I became aware of this unlikely collaboration. Once it was delivered, I couldn’t resist but binge its contents immediately. This work did not disappoint, I guarantee it! I was so impressed and completely blown away throughout this entire work that I couldn’t help myself from each page turner that I ended up finishing it within a few hours!10/10 BEST EVER! TRULY A MASTERPIECE! I RECOMMEND TO THOSE WHO ARE MISSING OUT! APPRECIATE!