Lovesickness is a graphic novel that will appeal to young adult and adult readers alike. The illustrations are sharp and evoke the Japanese setting in which the story takes place. The plot itself offers an interesting and compelling fusion of romance and horror. There is the sweetness of young love that slowly burns into terrifying obsession. This graphic novel is perfect for librarians looking to recommend multicultural graphic novels to curious readers.

The stories in Lovesickness all take place in a town where people ask for fortunes at crossroads. The first part of the story is focused on Ryusuke, who has moved back with his parents. The crossroads custom is escalating and recently there has been a suicide. A “beautiful” boy has been telling fortunes and those who have received them are consumed. Each new chapter has a story but then link together and these stories build and build. The first part of the books ends dramatically but that is not the conclusion of the hauntings of the town.

In part two the stories focus on residents instead of having Ryusuke at the centre. Having now had the time to think about my review I prefer the individual stories in Lovesickness. Some were more effective than others, but all had a way of getting under the readers skin in their own way.

Most people who read my reviews aren't aficionados of horror manga and I'm hoping to convert some of you to the unique and compulsively creepy world of Junji Ito, and to convince you to give his work a try.

Ito's stories always center on a strange compulsion that takes over one person, and then a whole lot of people at once: be it an obsession with spiral shapes ("Uzumaki"), or an obsession with the cracks in the side of a mountain ("The Enigma of Amigara Fault") or, in this latest collection "Lovesickness," an obsession with following a stranger's cryptic love advice to the most horrific and self-destructive outcomes possible.

There is always a feeling of eerie dread in Ito's stories. Sometimes the feeling builds to some shocking revelation when you turn a page, but soon the shock will be followed by a panel or scene that's almost-hopeful. In the way of the best eerie stories the moods shift under your feet and you never know what to expect next.

Like Ito's story "Uzumaki"--which I'm guessing is the most widely known in the English-speaking world of Ito's works--"Lovesickness" anchors its many-faceted story by returning frequently to the story of a young couple who seem braver and better than the other characters, and who give hope, to the reader, that maybe not all is lost. It's a lovely human way to tell a supernatural story even if you know from the beginning that, being a horror manga, the heroes are also doomed in the end.

No review would be complete without mentioning the art--so effective and evocative here, as always, with Ito's style, where panels of inchoate lines representing fog and shadow add beats and suspense between the action and dialogue, in such a perfectly paced way. I also love the artfully big letters of sound-words, sprawled across a given panel, for the way they add an onomatopoeic representation of very creepy noises in your mind's ear, as you read along. It's a wonderful and unique reading experience. Many thanks to VIZ media for giving me an early look of this latest Ito collection.

The collection is split into two parts. The main story Lovesickness is fully fleshed out and ramps up quickly into a visually impressive and eerie story about a crossroads where you may ask your fortune and the cosmic horror that follows after receiving an answer from an unknown boy in black. Entrancing and uncanny work.

The latter parts which are made up of shorter form stories are while not as compelling as the titular story, have some fun moments and really creepy bits as well.

Extremely beautiful panelling and haunting imagery from the master of horror Junji Ito, well worth adding to your collection.

Junji Ito, once again, has created a horror manga masterpiece. The first half of this book focuses on our main character, Ryusuke, as he moves back into his hometown where his past comes to haunt him. The second half of the book is made up of short stories that terrify the reader just the same. I recommend this to any horror or manga fan in need of a good fright.

Classic Junji Ito spookiness, with plenty of body horror, supernatural elements, and other eerie aspects to make your skin crawl. The first part of the book centers around the first story (Lovesickness, in which teenagers get their fortunes told at a deadly crosswalk), and for me that was the most enjoyable. The few standalones at the end were mostly enjoyable as well, though the very last story about poop was out of place and seemed pointless.

If, like me, you've been on hold for Uzumaki at your library for about six months with no sign of getting a copy, give this a try.

If you love Junji Ito, you know what you're getting with this newest collection. There's plenty of body horror, existential dread, and unnatural creepiness to get under your skin.

Lovesickness, a tale about teenagers seeking to get their fortunes read, takes up the majority of the book. Next up are a few stories about the Hikizuri siblings, a terrible group of people leading to these stories probably having the most humor I've seen in Ito's writing. To finish up the book are a couple of stand-alone stories, with Rib Woman providing the best "physical" scare.

It's another great read from Ito.

I'd seen aspects of Lovesickness in the Junji Ito Collection Anime, but to read the story as a whole really brought out the full depth of the Crosswalk story. These stories are lighter in horror content than usually found in Ito's books, although 'The Strange Hikizuri Siblings' was a Ito horror highlight!

It's quickly become my favourite collection of Ito's work despite the stories not being as varied as like those within Smashed or Shiver.

Welp, that was certainly a Junji Ito book! Ito deals in body horror, jealousy, paranoia, and general wtf-ery, and Lovesickness is absolutely oozing with those themes. Not for the faint of heart, this collection of stories is textbook Junji, and I am here. For. IT.

I do love Junji Ito’s work and art style so I will continue to read anything he writes. That being said I think Lovesickness had the potential to be the next Uzumaki, but the last few stories had no connection to the beginning. While the stories were fun enough, they did feel somewhat lacking, and the last story made no sense at all.

This short story collection by Ito starts with a high school boy returning to his hometown with its dark secrets. Fortune telling is popular among the youth and adults alike. One wrong fortune brings tragedy to a family. It gets gory and horrifying after that. A ghoul terrorizes and gives bad fortunes to everyone causing mass suicides. The other stories spin off from that. I was not impressed with this collection.

Riveting stories from the horror genre. The author pulls no punches with their graphic style and the artwork carries stories along in an atmosphere of the macabre. This manga is not for the faint of heart.

A student returns to his hometown and is haunted by a choice he made ten years before.

Six strange siblings wreak havok on each other and anyone unlucky enough to cross their paths.

A young boy surrounded by pain.

A young girl uncomfortable with her body.

Junji Ito's newest story collection is full of images that will stay with me for a while. It is suspenseful, creepy, and a book I struggled to put down. The last story is a very short story about poop, which doesn't feel like it fits the rest of the collection but I'm still thinking about it so I guess it did its job.

As this is horror, you would naturally expect some disturbing content but in particular be aware that there are a lot of suicides, a miscarriage, and some body dysmorphia.

It seems like each short story collection that Ito comes out with is slowly dropping in quality. The stories aren't as good and the quality of the horror is not as good. This one is better than Remina but not the best.

This is the second book I've read by Junji Ito, and it is by far the better of the two. The stories in this book are well-written and creepy. I enjoyed the characters, and look forward to reading more by this author.

The book is a series of short horror fiction manga by renowned horror master Junji Ito.
Their arrangement is somewhat strange, about half of the book is dedicated to one story, with the stories getting shorter towards the end of the volume, making the final stories seem kind of unbalanced and anticlimactic, however, the stories are all quite creepy, (save for the final one, which is more of a humorous anecdote) and typical of Ito's writing and drawing style.
This volume has had the original Japanese sound effects and background removed and replaced in English, and sometimes the placement of that text is odd or not quite matching the style of the rest of the page. (Personally, I prefer when the original art is left intact, with a footnote explaining the text)
Overall, it is an enjoyable read, sure to please fans of horror manga!

What a great collection of Junju Ito's stories.

It always amazes me the art of manga, and this collection really highlights the linework and shading.

I really enjoyed the stories collected in this one, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to revisit some of these old favorites of mine.

Another fantastic collection of horror stories from Junji Ito. The first half is about the strange happenings in one foggy town. The others are standalones, all of them are great. I would highly recommend this to anyone who is a fan of horror and graphic novels.

This is your class Junju Ito book. There was a nice successful read. I enjoyed the short comedic story at the end.

Ito never fails to capture the essence of what it is to be creepy. His stories are always in equal parts unnerving and intriguing. You can be sure that in Lovesickness, like with all Ito's works, you will not be left disappointed.