6 chapters tell the story of four people who met to commit group suicide. However, their attempt led to a bizarre turn of events that opened the door to the spirit world and all the disturbing phenomena it carries with it.
As with every Junji Itou’s story, the signature uneasiness and creep factor are always present, especially in the later chapters.
The charm of this story for me is how the spirit world is presented and how souls are depicted as beautiful gems (dubbed as “Paradoxical Night”). These sphere-like jewels brims with life that is also capable of immense destruction.
Moreover, I find the interactions among the four main characters. Marusou, Taburo, Piitan, and Barachii are quite tense yet comical at certain points. They all have their moments and each of the characters is fleshed out and played out their roles perfectly.
There are also 2 bonus stand-alone chapters in the form of The Licking Woman and Mystery Pavilion which are great creep-out chapters as well. You can finish the bonus chapters in about 2-3 minutes so I won’t discuss them thoroughly here as the titles speak for themselves.
A must-read for Junji Itou’s Fans, and a good starting point for beginners who want to read horror mangas like Gyo, Tomie, or Uzumaki. 8/10.
