Cover Image: Remina

Remina

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An apocalyptic nightmare comes out of space and causes the people of earth to panic. Of course the men decide to sacrifice a female and her lovers try to save her from the mob. I liked the obsession and creepy tones, but the damsel in distress was just pathetic and unrealistic.

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A longer review is forthcoming on review sites, but this was another excellent work by Junji Ito. A gripping page turner in every sense.

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3.5, rounded up because even if it's a bit too on the nose it's still very effective. The story blends science fiction and horror to show how quickly people can turn into monsters when a scientist names an evil sentient planet after his daughter. It's really a statement on idol culture in a lot of ways, with Remina the Girl being regarded as everyone's property, including Remina the Planet's, and her life very quickly slipping out of her control because of it. What was meant to be an honor invites disaster as the planet charges towards its namesake and four very different men try to protect the girl from the literal pitchfork-waving mobs (led by guys in pointy hoods; very subtle) but three of them succumb to their need to own Remina the Girl in some way. It's scary on a social level, and while the lack of subtlety does hurt the book, it still works as a reminder that humans are only one good scare away from the least intelligent animal, ruled by their fear and superstitions.

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A sci-fi horror manga set in Japan in the near future. An astrophysicist discovers a new planet, whose existence seems to prove the reality of wormholes to other dimensions. A pretty significant discovery! And one that wins the scientist both the Nobel Prize and naming rights to the new planet, which he calls after his teenage daughter, Remina. Remina herself is soon a media sensation, becoming a pop star and advertising celebrity. Of course, this is a horror story, so things begin to go wrong: the planet Remina turns and somehow heads towards Earth at nearly the speed of light, and other planets and stars in its path disappear. As Remina comes closer, it becomes clear that it's not quite a planet, given that it has a massive eye and tongue; that it's eating everything it passes; and that Earth is its target. People unsurprisingly panic, and a cult suddenly arises, playing on these new fears to put the blame on Remina and her father. The cult argues that the Oguros have somehow summoned the planet, and the only way to save humanity is to sacrifice them.

The middle and late section of the book get a bit repetitive as the same plot plays out over and over again: the cult finds Remina, attempts to kill and/or torture her, a man saves her, she escapes. The only change from one round to another is that Remina's clothing becomes ever more tattered and scanty. That said, there are some fantastically creepy images throughout: Remina tied to a cross as a massive eye opens in the sky behind her; a nuclear-blasted corpse, its skull grinning through heat-tightened skin; a body melting into goo when exposed to the toxic atmosphere on the planet Remina; the constant mob of screaming mouths and reaching hands, shouting "Kill Remina!" and "Remina the witch!".

Overall, it doesn't reach the heights of terror Ito is capable of in stories like 'The Enigma of Amigara Fault' or 'Uzumaki', but it's nicely scary little story about cosmic horrors and why the brutality of man is scarier than anything out of space.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3617756085

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It's pretty good, it reads as accurate to how people would behave in times of planetary crisis. Not by favorite Ito but an odd interesting tale.

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Junji Ito’s Remina is a wonderful change from his standard horror tales. Instead of body horror and terror of our own planet, here the terror comes from the cosmos. That said, there is still many aspects of Ito’s work that his die hard fans will see. Ito’s ability to draw characters that express grief, terror, or madness is fully on display here. As an entire planet sinks into madness and fear, Ito is able to capture that and, as he has done in all of his other work, translate that to the reader. Remina is a quick, visceral, and entertaining read. It probably wouldn’t be the book I would recommend to someone who has never read Ito before, but it is a fantastic pick up and change of pace if you are already familiar with his work.

Thanks to Netgalley and Viz for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Dr. Ogura discovers a new, unique planet that has emerged from a wormhole. He names the planet after his sixteen-year-old daughter. Remina (the girl, not the planet) is shy and does not crave the spotlight, but her beauty quickly captivates the press and the public. Her star rises quickly, complete with legions of obsessed fans and clubs dedicated to the reluctant celebrity. Her star isn’t the only celestial body on the move, however. Unfortunately, this time it’s a literal one. It is discovered the planet Remina is on a collision course with Earth, destroying everything, including planets, in its path. Could there be some connection between the girl and her namesake planet? Could she be to blame?

I was pretty excited about this book. I have been hearing more and more about Junji Ito, but I had not had the chance to read anything of his yet. I have never really liked manga very much, though not from lack of trying. I generally find manga characters mostly two-dimensional and melodramatic. Therefore, I can never really find myself caring when the inevitably hyperbolic action starts. I have even read books about mangaka in order to understand what it is about manga that so many love. Am I missing something in translation, whether literal or figurative? With my love of horror and Ito’s reputation, I thought I finally might have stumbled upon a manga I would connect with. Alas, it was not to be. I found the characters, including Remina, to be poorly developed and their expressions of feelings to be melodramatic and unrelatable. While the premise and story are good and the art is satisfyingly creepy, there just isn’t enough heart here to care about what happens to the characters once the action grows (predictably) bonkers in the third act.

Though this book didn’t really work for me, I understand and appreciate that many readers will enjoy it. This is why I am giving it three stars instead of two; I recognize that it is a decent manga that many will love. I think it will especially appeal to readers who enjoy manga, science fiction, and horror. As for me, I won’t give up on manga or Junji Ito’s work. I will keep sampling and maybe one day connect with it.

*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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I'm torn about this one. It has an extremely intriguing opening premise, however, the middle bit wanders and the final act is truly bizarre. It wasn’t as enjoyable a read as other Junji Ito works, but still had a sufficiently creepy story to keep me wondering what was going to happen next.

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I have heard great things about the author, Junji Ito. I had never read a manga before, but I was excited to try one. If you are a frequent reader of manga and are comfortable with certain tropes of the genre, this is a very fast-paced sci-fi thriller that reads surprisingly quickly. The art is beautiful and the premise of the story was intriguing. When a star seems to change course and move straight toward Earth, the scientist who discovered it becomes the focus of mass panic. The scientist had named the star after his daughter, Remina, and many people believe that she is the reason that the star is now on a collision course with Earth. I was surprised at how quickly the plot moved; every page held some new twist. However, it was difficult for me to finish because of the many misogynistic tropes and uncomfortable themes. The main character, Remina, was one of only two women in the entire story, and every man feels they have a romantic claim to her. As someone completely unfamiliar with manga, the story was well-written and well-paced but the characters were two-dimensional. I struggled to tell them apart with nothing to define each individual beyond all of them continually fawning over Remina.

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Whew boy, where to start with this one? How about a thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

What a concept! A new planet is discovered in our solar system and it's...wait... it's coming right for us? It's EATING whole planets in its path? Stop and think about how our planet would react to something like this. We've seen how people are coming undone during this plague of a year. If something like this were to actually happen, I daresay that Junji Ito wasn't far off the mark on the human insanity scale.

What worked for me: the slow building of terror and how much the focus was on the horrible things humanity is capable of instead of just the demon planet. Yes the planet is the catalyst for everything happening, but when it comes to the real meat and bones of the horror in this story, it's humanity.

What fell a bit short: it felt repetitive at times. Remina would be hunted, she'd be saved by a man who would claim he'd protect her, he'd fail to protect her, and then lather, rinse, repeat a few times. I would have loved to have seen Remina herself have a little more agency in a story that bears her name.

Overall, the art and imaginative storytelling are a hallmark of Junji Ito's style and are sure to be a treat for his fans, myself included.

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This is a strange one, for sure - but then again, that is what makes all of Juni Ito's books so remarkable. The story stars out harmless enough - an astrophysicist discovers a new planet and proudly names it after his daughter Remina. The public is so excited about this mysterious new planet that over the years Remina herself becomes a celebrity by association. That, however turns sour quite quickly as soon as it is discovered that planet Remina not only eats other planets in our solar system - it has also arrived at Earth, with devastating effects.

The planet-eating-planet is a silly idea, but the illustrations are suitably creepy with its otherworldly eyes, tongues and various inhabitants. The real horror, of course, is how the humans are dealing with this sudden threat to their existence (spoiler: They do not band together to overcome this global crisis and instead look for a convenient scapegoat to blame - Alan Moore's ending for "Watchmen" seems more an more optimistic every year).

All of this is done masterfully in Itos signature style of blending an eerie story and at times quite graphic illustrations with just the right amoung of camp to make it fun (again, we are talking about a planet eating other planets with a giant tongue and everything). Highly recommended if you like graphic novels that are weird and enjoy the stark black and white artwork.

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This was a good intro to his return to new books.
This gave me the Tomie feels.
It was a very interesting take on planets, and what out there in space.
The read flows and the story comes to a horror end.

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This was my first experience with horror manga and I will definitely read more!!!

It was also my first time reading anything by Junji Ito. This book is an apocalyptic first encounter with aliens in a way that I have never seen before. I really enjoyed the ending and would love a sequel that continues from there. I will definitely pick up more of this author's works as well as other horror manga in the future.

*Content warning death of a family member

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So That's It Then?

An alien planet, possibly sentient, emerges from a wormhole and races toward Earth, destroying everything in its path. The astrophysicist who first discovered the hole and the planet named the planet after his cute, hot daughter - Remina. When planet Remina heads toward Earth everyone goes nutz, blames Dad and daughter Remina and starts a manhunt to find and kill Remina so that that act of sympathetic magic will send the planet back where it came from. Really?

Lots of close-ups of Remina, (both of them), lots or running around, and lots of repetition. It's basically a disaster movie with a disaster that's a bit cooler than just an earthquake or a volcano. The hunt for daughter Remina came out of nowhere and goes on forever. Remina is caught a few different times and we get close to explicit torture porn, (whipping, burning, hanging, two different crucifixions), which was both over the top and almost childishly inappropriate.

There isn't too much dialogue and what there is is easily skimmable. As a consequence this was an exceptionally fast read, which was great because there's enough going on that you want to see how it ends, but not enough going on that you're willing to devote a lot of time or attention. There is a fair amount of deranged, manic, and extraordinarily implausible action, so that was fun. For me this fell into the check-it-out category, and now I know a little bit more about Junji Ito. And I know not to name any death planets I discover after any family members.

(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

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This was a weird one. There was a lot going on, and yet there was a lot of repetition and so many characters were flat or passive; it was surprising how compelling the story still managed to be with those limitations. It is a story of ideas more than an in-depth character study, for sure. You get to the end not because of an investment in the weepy ragdoll Remina but because you have no idea where this could all go next. It has moments of true creepiness from both what's going on in the sky and on Earth.

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I was not impressed with this graphic novel. I admit to being unfamiliar with anime, so perhaps I'm missing something, but it was unrelievedly violent in ways that appeared to have very little to do with the storyline. The storyline was bland, predictable, and heavily reliant on Christian mythos, including dying for one's sins and crucifixion - although Remina's only sin was allowing her father to name a newly-discovered planet after her. The entire plot (such as it was) was based on that one idea - that because this planet was named for a 16 year-old girl, she was therefore responsible for its actions. There was little exposition; the story moved almost immediately into the action, such as it was, consisting mostly of chasing Remina around first Japan and then the planet while trying to kill her for being the planet's namesake. This was all that occurred for over three-fourths of the volume. The climax was easily predictable, consisting of the presumably-unknown identity of the homeless man Remina meets coincidentally. On the positive side, I enjoyed the graphic nature of the the volume, and found the artistic style engaging and appropriate to the volume. Overall, while I am sure there are people who would enjoy it, this was not to my taste.

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I loved the artwork, I loved the storyline, I loved the creepiness, and I loved the strangeness & uniqueness of the planet Remina. But there were other aspects that let this manga down, in my eyes. I found the characters flat and undeveloped, even for a graphic novel, and the amount of panels that had Remina 'sobs' or 'sobbing' did not help her character along in my eyes at all. I also found the ending ...lacked something, but I can't put my finger on it. I don't even mind that it was such as open ending (book #2, please?); the climax and conclusion just didn't satisfy.
All this being said, I can envision Remina becoming a movie - it would translate so well to the big screen!

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If you have read Junji Ito's works, you will likely notice that most of Ito's staples are on full display in this manga (elements of the grotesque, a critical lens scrutinizing society, some form of cosmic horror, etc.). One thing that I always say about Ito is that his short stories typically affect me on a more profound level than his long-form manga (Greased/Glycerin especially), but 'Remina' is the "long" manga closest in style to the short stories because it tells a clear, haunting story with a loud warning against fanaticism. Still, I only gave this manga four out of five stars because I would have personally liked to have seen some more character development and, perhaps, fewer panels with comical sound effects from the bad guys and constant sobbing from Remina. If you are a fan of stories that draw biblical parallels, sci-fi with some sprinkles of grotesque horror, or Ito's other works, I recommend that you pick this up when it releases in December.

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A scientist is elated when he finds that a wormhole that he discovered has spit out a planet--a new planet that he names after his beloved daughter, Remina. Remina makes her debut in show businesses, and the people love her. But when it becomes clear that Remina is heading straight for Earth and consuming everything in its path, that love turns to terror, and soon the masses are on a witch hunt to sacrifice her and stop Remina's inexorable approach.

Junji Ito is a genius, and so it feels wrong to say this, but I felt like this story was just okay. Unlike his usual fare--like The Enigma Amigara Fault, which was both unique and discomfiting (and even though I read it years ago I still think about it from time to time and shudder a little), Remina felt like a story that had been done before. His art is phenomenal as always, of course, but I wished that the characters had been a bit more fleshed out rather than having just been archetypes. Then, maybe I would have been invested in the full chapter of Remina and her few allies(?) trying to escape the mob. I certainly wouldn't recommend that fans of Ito's work NOT read this, but if I'm recommending something to someone who has never read anything from Ito before, this would not be my first pick.

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I LOVED Uzumaki when I read it a few months ago and that might have colored my expectations for this book. It was good! Very Lovecraftian cosmic horror and an amazing premise all around. I just had too many issues with the plot and characterization (obvious Christian parallels, a titular character who has absolutely no agency and literally just gets shoved around once the action starts, and many more) to really get absorbed in the story and the horror like I did with Uzumaki. I'll also admit that my reading experience was not ideal as I read an advance copy with a huge watermark that definitely distracted from the art. I likely will read Gyo or Tomie next, but maybe I'll revisit Remina sometime.

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