Title: Black Paradox

Author: Junji Ito

Publisher: VIZ Media 2009

Genre: Manga Horror

Pages: 208

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Where I Got It: Library

Four people intent on killing themselves meet through the suicide website Black Paradox: Maruso, a nurse who despairs about the future; Taburo, a man who is tortured by his doppelganger; Pii-tan, an engineer with his own robot clone; and Baracchi, a woman who agonizes about the birthmark on her face.

They wander together in search of the perfect death, fatefully opening a door that leads them to a rather bizarre destiny…

Why did I love this story so much? It’s full of otherworldly scenes, unreliable characters, and terrifying visions. Right away we get four characters than find themselves in a strange situation. From there, things get weirder and weirder. I loved see an escalation of horror as we progressed through the chapters. The central idea of where the stones come from and what they actually are was just amazing! I could not come up with an idea like that. I loved seeing Junji Ito’s mind work to confront his characters with choices and consequences. So good!

Next up on the TBR pile: