The more stories I read by Junji Ito, the more I think that the reason his stories can be so hit-or-miss with me may have something to do with page count. Like prose writers have word count limits when submitting stories to magazines and anthologies, manga artists have a page count limit they must adhere to. And for an artist like Ito, where he tells mostly self-contained stories rather than an ongoing series, that can have its disadvantages in telling the equivalent of a short story.
With his latest collection, Statues, Ito gives us ten stories that are mostly good or, at the very least, interesting. And yes, before I start, the artwork in each story is perfect. Like all Ito stories, it is extremely detailed and even capable of giving me a shiver or too.
Some of the stand out stories include “Red Thread,” which follows a teenage boy whose body becomes covered in red stitches following his break up with his girlfriend (in Japan, destined lovers are said to be tied together by a red thread). The story wavers between whether the lead’s red thread with his ex is now tangling around him, if his late grandmother is doing some old tradition to protect him, or if this is the beginning of some strange disease, and it’s honestly fascinating to watch. Another stand out is “The Circus Has Come to Town,” where an entire town’s men become obsessed with a beautiful circus performer, even as her costars die in horrible ways during the course of the show. Something about that story, and the lengths some people will go for a pretty girl, just stays with the reader. Another story, “Town of Maps,” has a very fun premise with a great ending, and “Scarecrow” takes a bonkers premise, runs with it, and makes it work.
As for some of the other stories, most of them weren’t bad. At least, not really. Some were just two short, and it shows. The titular story, “Statues,” as well as the final story, “Suicide Note,” both have great story ideas, and the scary imagery to match them. However, “Statues” seems to end rather abruptly, and “Suicide Note” ends with a twist in the last few pages that feels kind of forced. Like Ito knew he only had a few pages and couldn’t think of any other way to end it. They’re great stories, don’t get me wrong, but I feel like if Ito were given more pages to work with, they could be better.
Oh, and there’s one story, “Die Young,” that caught my attention, but not necessarily in a good way. Set in 1999, it tells of a strange phenomenon where girls considered ugly suddenly start getting pretty. However, their beauty comes with a price, and their health fails after a few days. It was published in 1991, and just feels really dated in 2026. There’s some speculation online Ito wrote the story with the theme of accepting oneself and your looks, as well as the consequences of pursuing beauty. However, it just comes off cringey to me in this day and age.
All in all, I give Statues by Junji Ito a 3.6 out of 5. While it’s not his best collection, there are some great stories in there, and some that would have shone even more if given more room. If you like Ito’s work, you’ll want to get a copy right away. If you’re just getting into him, then this is a decent enough collection to get a feel for his work, though there are better ones out there.
One thing’s for sure: as long as he keeps putting out collections, I’ll likely keep reading them and letting you know what I think. After all, with that artwork and some of these stories, how can I not?
Rami Ungar The Writer 