Remina is an excellent title by famed author Junji Ito. Like his other works, Junji Ito's art enhances the story's tension. The story itself is about a scientist and his daughter who becomes the namesake of a newly discovered planet. While at first shy to her newfound celebrity status, admiration turns to obsession and later fanatical fervor as planet Remina turns out to be more than the world bargained for. Suspense and mania builds to hysteria throughout the work and never seems to let up.

I was given an e-book ARC of Je unji Ito's Remina by Netbgalley. The story contains a nice suspenseful build with more than enough shocking events to keeps the reader turning pages. there is a surprising 'chero. is very realistic. Thoreywas something ab.at it that reminds me of Stephen King's Children
I give this book 4 out of S.
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In classic Junji Ito form, this story starts crazy and just continues to escalate in insanity from there. The fast approach of mysterious planet Remina, as it swallows stars and planets alike in its path to earth, actually filled me with a deep sense of dread. The fever and paranoia of the people nearing doomsday was thrilling and unnerving. I was terrified for Remina (the girl) and for what was ultimately going to happen to the planet.

As far as artwork goes, the story isn't as horrifying as some of Ito's other work, but it's certainly bizarre. Actually "bizarre" as a descriptor works pretty well for most of the chapters. Like, there's a moment when the hell planet is licking earth so hard it's spinning and the characters begin to float as gravity disappears. Bizarre.

It actually reminded me a little of Uzumaki in how the events are affecting so many people and how the story turns into people bounding miles through the air towards the end haha. Uzumaki is hands down a better story overall though. This one felt a little too short and falls a little flat in some areas.  Too many questions go unanswered/unexplained. But even being one of the lesser works of Ito that I've read (so far) it is still very much worth your time reading.

3.5 stars, rounded up for the rating system. Thanks to Netgalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review!

This was TERRIFYING! I knew that Junji Ito was graphic and intense, but I had never read anything from this author before so I definitely jumped in blind. The art style is STUNNING. It's not my personal style, but I can appreciate the artistry in it. It was true art!

I once saw a quote attributed to Matthew M. Bartlett, in which he tries to define cosmic horror:

"For me, cosmic horror is about not only man’s insignificance, but his fragility, both physical and mental. Except for the fact that man is haunted by the vast gulf of nonexistence before his lifespan and its fast-returning resumption, he is in a fundamental way not terribly different from a newborn who dies within minutes of his birth. There’s an awakening into incomprehensible chaos, bright and loud and terrifying, and then it’s all gone. Forever. In our moment of chaos, we witness abjection, corruption, violence, and a ubiquitous instability of all systems—a general sense that we are at all times unsafe. And while there are beautiful things here for some of us–love, comfort, entertainments, the company of friends, and of animals–we fear that those good things exist only to mock us. In the end, we face the ultimate forgetting. All of that, and then there are the monsters."

While I'm not sure I fully agree, I find it the closest to defining cosmic horror in the sense of how it makes me personally feel. Cosmic horror is, and I say this on a personal level, the most terrifying of all horror sub-genres, because it's the one that makes me feel dread less because of the monsters, but because of the ideas it presents about the world and how insignificant people are.

Well, that was depressing... Still with me? This is Junji Ito doing cosmic horror.

Yes. Yes it is as terrifying as that sounds.

This is a hard one to review without spoilers. The plot follows the arrival of a mysterious new (or in the classic nature of cosmic horror, very, VERY OLD) planet that appears from a wormhole, lightyears away from Earth. The planet is named Remina after the daughter of the doctor who discovered it. Remina-mania occurs and the girl becomes something of a celebrity in her own regard because of this.

When things go bad, and boy do they ever go bad, people need to blame someone.

This is Ito fully embracing cosmic horror. That definition I posted above... it could practically have been written to describe this book. It shows horror in everything. Celebrity? Horrifying. Science? Terrifying. Hope? Don't make me laugh.

I do not personally believe this is Ito's greatest work. (that is Uzumaki and likely always will be).. but honestly? I think it's his most terrifying. I'm sure it may depend on one's view of cosmic horror, but even if you don't find it the most terrifying sub-genre, if you're an Ito fan, it's well worth a look. A full 5/5 stars

A mix of horror and science fiction, the art in REMINA called to me like a siren. The story & illustrations were fantastical, horrific, and chilling - a combination that kept me turning the pages. Honestly, I'm a fan of most things Junji Ito puts out, and while there were times REMINA felt a little lacking, as if something was missing or the story wasn't quite complete, I still felt myself drawn into it. It was terrifyingly enjoyable.

Not the best book by Ito with almost half the book being spent flying through the air but certainly a good one to add to a library collection.

Another Junji Ito masterpiece. Fast paced, story was insane, and the art was classic Ito. So much happened in the story that made it hard to follow what was going on, but still a good read.

I'm really not sure what to think of this. It has a surreal dystopian horror element. It gets under your skin because it's on the line of being real and not real in parts. The art is so freaky that you start to get as unsettled as some of the characters are. This story isn't my cup of tea but for those that enjoy horror they may enjoy it.

A really dark, effective graphic novel by one of the greats in the field of Japanese horror. Definitely a buy for adult graphic novel and manga collections.

Although I haven’t read everything that horror mangaka Junji Ito has done, which goes back to the 1980s, I have read enough to express an opinion about what works and doesn’t work about his way of visual storytelling. His style of horror often works because of his impressive artistry, but when it comes to ongoing narratives where characterization and drama should be key, that’s where Ito starts to lose it. Enter: Remina.

Originally published by Japanese publisher Shogakukan in 2005 – now published as an English-language edition by Viz Media – Ito’s sci-fi horror centers on an unknown planet that emerges from inside a wormhole. Its discoverer, Dr. Oguro, christens the body “Remina” after his own daughter. The sixteen-year-old Remina becomes an instant celebrity as the planet itself picks up speed as it moves along in its curious course, eliminating planets and stars one after another, until finally Earth faces extinction. 

I’ve always felt that Ito has always had interesting ideas that form the basis for his horror, as in the case of this title, it explores the fears of celebrity, mass hysteria and even cult-inspired movements. Remina’s character arc is about that journey of self-discovery that feels appropriate in the life of a teenage girl… until people start believing that she is the cause of the planet Remina accelerating to Earth. However, there is never enough time for these ideas to breathe, because Ito wants to rush to the horror as soon as possible.

Taking place in the future, Ito never delves into why the futuristic setting is significant to the story itself, instead seeming content to merely show that flying cars and space travel is a common thing. The story could’ve been told in a contemporary setting, though it falls into the same problem from Uzumaki, in that the longer the story goes on, it just gets so silly to the point that the horror element is no longer scary. As much as Ito is doing a familiar horror trait of making humanity just as monstrous if not more so, it’s hard to root for any characters, because they seem to get thrown into the narrative without much development.

Junji Ito is a better artist than he is a writer. He creates imagery that is haunting and stays with you, usually involving characters who look like they are on the brink of madness. Although the futuristic setting is bland overall, apart from the Jetsons-like automobiles, Remina is described as a “demon planet”, which is a pretty accurate description, from its giant eye and giant tongue that destructively slurps at our home planet.

Ito’s tale of a hellstar may have a chilling presence, along with quality art, but Remina is frustratingly lacking in substance.

I am a huge fan of Juni Ito. I have read almost all of his works. My favorite of all time is Uzumaki. Remina did not live up to that standard. It was a much shorter work and could have used more fleshing out. It was too short and choppy. Everything escalated quickly which did not allow me to get to know any of the characters.

I did not like this book. I thought the story was going somewhere, but it ended with nothing. Not a bang, not a whimper, at best, a fizzle. Too much suspension of belief was asked for.

In works such as Uzumaki, Tomie, and Gyo the Japanese horror writer, artist and Eisner winner Junji Ito has ploughed an uncomfortable furrow with an often disturbing blend of universal and uncontrollable horror alongside the subtleties of human behaviour in the face of the terrible unknown. In Remina – firstly published in Japanese in 2005 under the name of Hellstar Remina – Ito tries to go full on with the existential dread and visceral horror as a new planet threatens the extinction of the Earth and its inhabitants.

After discovering a new planet that has appeared out of nowhere from a wormhole, renowned scientist Dr. Oguro names it Remina after his daughter. As the planet’s fame grows, so does that of his offspring who becomes a reluctant star with thousands upon thousands of screaming fans. But the heavenly body turns out to be rather more hellish – destroying the likes of Neptune and Uranus – and heading to Earth on a destruction course. As the behaviour of the planet becomes ever more bizarre so does that of the people on Earth; suffering a kind of mass hysteria in the face of planet wide devastation, a mob decides that the only to stop Remina the planet is to sacrifice Remina the girl. As she tries to escape, with the help of various friends and hangers on, the true nature of the horror that is engulfing the planet becomes apparent and the world descends ever more into chaos.


It’s unsurprising that Ito has cited HP Lovecraft as an influence in the past, with Remina recalling much of Lovecraft’s spirit – the constant air of the smallness of humanity and our powerlessness in the face of entities that go beyond our limited means of understanding. There’s very little hope on offer embedded within our protagonists either – people are either part of a selfish elite who will use their money and power to try and escape the oncoming horrors, or small-minded venal humans who regress into superstition and fear. Even our titular character (the human version) is something of a cypher, an innocent girl firstly sucked into the jaws of fame and later into the terror of infamy. The late appearance of another protagonist adds the possibility of some hope in the face of the abyss, but Ito does not let humanity cover itself in glory through the course of the story. It’s delving into subjects of mob rule and a populace driven by fear provide some uncomfortable parallels with the state of the world today.

Indeed, Ito tries to deal with many subjects in what is one of his first forays into sci-fi and perhaps sometimes bites off more than he can chew. Alongside aforementioned examinations of fame, power and superstition there are also of plenty sci-fi trappings. But Ito gets caught up with his grandiose horror and – even in the face of Armageddon – things do start to get contrived. A chase scene in which the protagonists float over an Earth knocked out of its orbit is commendable for its invention yet drifts into the realms of the ridiculous. Add in the fact that many of the characters are archetypes and underwritten, Remina is often left wanting on a narrative level.

But unsurprisingly Ito provides many bravura set pieces. A moment in which a character is crucified on the charred remains of their relative is gruesomely well done, a disturbing image of a world burning physically and losing itself to degradation and blasphemy. Another in which the titular planet lets loose a tentacle to lick a groove in the Earth is so bold that you cannot help but admire the sheer audaciousness of the idea. Ito’s style presents us with mess and decay, viscera and destruction. A world in which human order is destroyed by nature and the unknown forces of the universe. The wide-eyed characters – usually denoting a strain of innocence in Manga – here imply fanaticism and insanity. Ito creates a consistently disturbing world of darkness, of smoke and ash and brimstone. A literal Hell brought to Earth.

There’s a certain disturbing joy to Remina, as there is in much of Ito’s work, to experience the world descending into chaos. But the narrative flaws are noticeable and Remina is one of Ito’s more minor works in which atmosphere triumphs over coherence.

I've read other works by Junji Ito previously and I found them to be extremely weird, but somewhat entertaining.  Ito has a style that may be upsetting to many, especially being that the stories usually revolve around a beautiful young girl that causes men to act irrationally crazy and violent.  Remina is pretty much he same, but with a better story.  I like the backstory of Remina's father discovering a planet and naming it after his daughter and the resulting hysteria that causes the world to panic when the planet hurtles its way to Earth.  What I didn't like, however, is the violence towards Remina that occurred.  I know it's fiction, but with the violence women face on a daily basis in real life, especially from men who think they own women and their bodies, I found it disturbing and didn't finish the book.  It's a shame too because the story about the planet Remina is a good one and I found it to be more fun and interesting thant men constantly going crazy in too many ways over a beautiful woman.  The author should find a different premise because the beautiful and helpless young woman causing chaos story is getting boring.

Junji Ito is one of the most well-known horror mangakas with an epic catalog under his belt. Remina, released by Viz, feels fairly consistent with his previous works but does manage to branch out a bit into more technological sci-fi alongside his usual cosmic and body horror.

Remina’s plot revolves around a world-renowned scientist discovering a strange new planet. The planet is found on the scientist’s daughter’s birthday, causing him to name it after her, Remina. Other bizarre coincidences between the planet and his daughter begin to occur as Remina seems to gradually come closer to earth. During this seemingly inevitable collision, the public has a growing obsession with the scientist’s daughter, and things quickly escalate from there.

With Remina, Ito goes further with futuristic sci-fi elements than any of his previous work. The setting is an idealized Tokyo in the year 20xx. Buildings with swooping designs and hover cars cover the urban landscape. It is possible there was a deeper meaning intended from this setting contrasting with apocalyptic themes. Still, it could also simply be Ito wanting an excuse to draw something different with futuristic art designs. It’s an interesting departure from his previous work and one that might not really hold huge importance to the overall story but doesn’t distract from it too much either way.

Art throughout is top-notch, and some of Junji Ito at his best. Fantastic character expressions and horrific details are all here, along with the aforementioned futuristic architecture. My personal favorites saw immensely intricate body horror and surreal and abstract cosmic images that show up a bit later on. If Remina was Ito working digitally, it’s indistinguishable from any of his traditional work. His iconic hatching style is preserved and most prominent when in gruesome detail.

The story starts strong and gets straight into chaos almost immediately. From early on, Remina quickly becomes a scenario of escalating circumstances that takes the reader on a rollercoaster of events. Themes of obsession, cult, and mob mentality are featured heavily throughout. Existential dread and desperation loom over every character’s actions and motivations. This leads to a lot of interesting and terrifying scenarios. Ito also manages to balance his dark sense of humor, commonly causing laughs along with scares.

Unfortunately, I did feel that some of the later sections get a bit over the top and slightly more difficult to follow. For some more into heavy action anime and manga, it might not seem like a huge change in tone, but it came across as a little jarring to me. At times it can feel like characters appear like a revolving door coming and going. By the end, it more or less comes together, but coincidence does play a huge part in the narrative. As insane as things get, though, I still really enjoyed this chaotic journey.

Remina takes the reader on a wild and horrifying journey full of apocalyptic and cosmic terror. Junji Ito’s art throughout rivals some of the best in the industry. There are moments near the end that seem slightly out of tone with the rest of the narrative, but it does little to take away from most of the story. Remina might not be the most tonally consistent, but it’s still a scary good time.

Discovering a new planet should be special and exciting. In Remina, it's terrifying, as this planet emerges from a wormhole and heads towards Earth, consuming everything it comes into contact with. What will happen when it finally reaches us? Everything seems to hinge on the daughter of the scientist who discovered the thing in the first place. She's the planet's namesake and has a strange connection to it.

As I continue my journey into manga, Junji Ito's name comes up again and again, especially when dealing with horror. I am so glad that I keep finding more and more titles from him. VIZ Media has reprinted this tale from 2005 in a new, gorgeous hardcover edition and it's just as crazy and intense as the creator's other work.

What strikes me with Remina and other Ito stories is how it starts with a small yet strange premise and then pulls it out into a crazy spiral that is just so horrific. In this case, the question asked is, “What would happen if we discovered a new planet?” and it ends with said globe having eyes and a mouth that is so very creepy. 

Almost all of the story takes place on earth, with this new enemy from the stars slowly making its way to us. Remina the person is thrust into fame as everyone associates her with this bold new discovery. That turns to fear as they realize the planet is coming towards us and wreaking havoc along the way. Ito delivers a fascinating examination of our obsession with celebrities and how quickly we can turn on them, even if something isn't there fault. It's just as, if not more, relevant today than it was when this was first published. 

Ito captures the innocence of Remina the person very well. She's uncomfortable with all this attention at first and even tries to shy away from it. She never fully accepts it and that just makes the public love her even more. You can see how people's expressions change from getting even just a glimpse of her. This is like what people did when The Beatles came by. 

The strange planet is something else entirely. You might think it's just a big ball when you first see it...but then it sticks out its long tongue and you're in for something else entirely. I love how Ito stays on a shot for a few panels, letting the unsettling quality of these images really sink in. It's so very disturbing and it works wonders here.

The one aspect of Remina that doesn’t really click is the young woman herself. She doesn't really do anything on her own. Everything in the book happens to her without her actually standing up and taking charge of her life. As things get heated and the world is in greater and greater danger, she bounces from one guy to the next, who basically pulls her along to either try to save her or kill her, depending on their beliefs. 

Remina is another solid example of Junji Ito's unparalleled horror work. There is nothing else like this out there. Every story is completely unique and stands on its own, delivering the kind of terror that will stay with you for some time. I'm certainly going to look at the stars differently after reading this.

Manga is not usually something that I read (especially horror manga), but I've heard amazing things about Junji Ito's works. 

This was creepy, slightly confusing, and the art just made the story. 

I'm not sure when I will pick up another one of Junji Ito's works, but the art made sure I will pick up another one. 

I would highly recommend this to anyone who has read his previous works, or enjoys horror manga.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the e-arc. All opinions are my own.

A rare venture in sci-fi for one of horror's master mangaka, this new edition of Junji Ito's Remina is a must-have for longtime fans and new readers alike. Ito's work has a tendency to make my stomach twist in a way that no other author or artist can -- and this tale is no exception. It is -- as Ito's work frequently is -- frightening not because of the otherworldliness, though; it's because it's ultimately about the unknowablity of humans themselves.

Once again Ito has surpassed himself, a master of horror and such weird and wonderful delights. 
Transport yourself to the distant planet Remina, a triumph that emerged from a strange worm hole. Get to know the curious character that is Dr Oguro and quickly lose yourself in the strange happenings and fickle inhabitants as the planet progresses. 

Yet another beautiful collected edition of one of Ito's stories, after loving Hellstar Remina (originally published in 2005) it is a delight to see the story come to live yet again in this new edition. 

A must read for fans of Lovecraft.