Liminal Zone - Junji Ito

One of the characteristics that make Junji Ito a master of horror, aside from his own imagination and creativity, is the way his stories are often connected to Japanese folk character and tradition. It's something that all the best horror writers do, tapping into mythology and dark fears rooted in traditions that have an element of the eerie or bizarre about them. That's true about at least two of the stories in this new collection, but there are other deep concerns related to recent social and health issues that seem to have influenced and added to how Ito approaches the dark turns each of these stories take.

In his afterword, Ito talks about how these stories may have only made it to the light of day because of the Covid lockdown. Developed from sketches of ideas that had been around for a long time, it seemed the right time to let his imagination and talent loose on them. The fevered aspect of the stories certainly reflects some of the concerns and fears going through his and other minds around this time, although few I would imagine as vividly imaginative as Junji Ito. The execution of these stories, if I can put it that way, is deadly.

Weeping Woman Way

One tradition that is not unique to Japanese culture is the idea of the professional mourner. In Weeping Women Way, the weirdness starts when Mako and her boyfriend Yuzuru stop off at a small village and witness a weeping woman at a funeral, not just sobbing her eyes out but seeming to be genuinely overcome with grief, even though employed as a professional mourner. It's a old tradition to help the dead pass over into the spirit world, but it died out long ago, so the couple are surprised to see one.

It seems to have a deep impact on Mako, who since they saw this, is filled with sadness and unable to stop crying. They return to the village of Tohoku looking for a cure or find why this is happening and find another strange village with a line of buildings on Weeping Woman Way where they learn of the legend of Lady Orui, who 200 years ago wept so much she filled a lake and saved the local people from a severe drought. The strange inhabitants of the village believe they can bring her back...

Madonna

Transferred recently to Tensei Academy, a missionary girls' boarding school, Maria Amano finds that the school is a little strange, if not just downright creepy. The Principal's wife thinks she is the Blessed Mary and is a bit of a scary character. There are all sorts of rumours surrounding her and the cause of her behaviour, and rumour has it that she is a witch. There are other strange behaviours however relate not least to their obsession with the Virgin Mary. And why is there salt everywhere? Things are going to get even more strange. as Ito characteristically pushes this one to the limit, maybe even a little over the limit this time.

The Spirit Flow of Aokigahara

"Mount Fuji is Japan's most sacred mountain. It's not surprising this strange kind of phenomenon would happen", Norio says early in the third story in the collection and it's definitely not surprising that these things occur in a Junji Ito story about a young man suffering a terminal illness who has travelled there to end his life. The question is how strange can it get, and... well, it's Junji Ito so I suppose that question is easy to answer as well.

How about a blinding light in the forest where Norio has ventured with his girlfriend Mika, stripping and blanching a ring of trees that to a hard-to-find cave known as the Dragon's Mouth? How about the belief that it's the exit for the spirit flow and that there are believed to be a network of caves underneath? You may wonder where this is going to go, but only Junji Ito really knows, and only he can illustrate it in his own inimitable way...

Slumber

Slumber is based around an interesting and strange premise that seems to be inexplicable. Tayuka Terada has terrifying dreams of himself wandering the streets and hacking victims to death. What is even more terrifying than these nightmares is that they seem to be really happening, the news reports showing the same victims that he killed in his sleep. And now he finds the hooded parka and the knife in his room. A student lawyer, who has failed his bar exam three times, is the stress getting to him? And becoming a killer isn't a good start for a career as a lawyer.

There is evidently a twist, somewhat fantastical of course, but like the other stories in this collection, it's about pushing these ideas as far as they can go, as deeply and dark as they can be, without the restrictions of an imposed page count. That means that the artist is free to let these stories flow at their own pace, each of them building to a punchy, explosive revelation. More than just being effective little horror tales with dark twists, the beauty of these stories in how Junji Ito illustrates fear, horror in his own shockingly effective way. 

Reading notes: Liminal Zone is published in hardcover edition by Viz Media on the 1st September 2022. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance watermarked preview copy for review.