This is compared with Junji Ito's works, and for good reason. They are dark and bizarre horror stories, quintessential to this style of Japanese horror. But readers should be aware that this is on the grittier end of this style of manga, leaning heavily into body horror, at times of a sexualised nature.

It is a visceral style that is not for everyone, but for those it is for, this is a solid collection of stories with engaging art and intriguing storytelling. I would be curious to pick up Kago again.

I knew nothing about Kago or Brain Damage before reading this book other than I liked the description of absurdist manga short horror stories. This book contains four such stories on topics such as killer cars and knife-wielding stalkers. The book is as described! Each is only a few pages; they contain confusing turns and lots of gore. However, I absolutely cannot stand the one story where the granddaughter uses her body to be sexually assaulted by her grandfather with dementia for reasons that, while related to the story, are beyond appropriate or necessary. Honestly, everything after that point was irredeemable to me despite enjoying the concepts of the other stories. Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for this ARC.

This definitely wasn't my favorite horror manga that i've ever read. Generally, the stories felt pretty dumb and while there might have been an interesting concept somewhere in there, I do not think the author did a good job executing it.

Brain Damage presents a collection of short stories by Kago-sensei. Reality, madness and gore merge with enthusiasm and give rise to some of the most disturbing stories I've read recently.
Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for this advanced reader's copy.

HOLY SHIT. What an f-ed up group of stories, and I mean that in the best possible way. I’ve read my share of Junji Ito and Kazuo Umezu, but Kago takes horror manga to another level. I was truly creeped out by all four stories. Kago gives readers a new take on the classic tropes of zombies, vampires and serial killers. You’ll want to add this one to your shelf.

This is one of the creepiest books I've read in awhile. One of the stories could be triggering for anyone who has experienced SA. Great gore and horror manga. The art is fantastic. This is a very dark book. Not for those who prefer their horror only be suspenseful. Good book for library collections, though should only be recommended for those who truly like dark horror. Be selective in recommendations.

This title is slightly difficult for me to review as I have very conflicting feelings. As someone who has only dabbled in horror manga, namely Junji Ito, I don't have a lot to compare this particular collection to, most of all Kago's other works. What I can say definitively is that the imagery is disgusting and stomach churning (in the most positive way possible), but I found a lot of the story telling to be a let down. For me personally, I found the stories to not have clear direction and only be a means for the gross payoff. That's not necessarily a terrible thing, I would still recommend this title to my friends or patrons who are into Junji Ito or want a brutal horror manga. Overall, it will most likely escape my memory and not have the staying power that some other manga's have for me.

Four stories, two great, one fantastic (squeezing way more twists into the narrative than the other three), and one was solid. You can decide for yourself which is which.

If you're interested enough to read this review, you should just pick up the book. Trigger warnings aplenty, but this is actually pretty mild compared to some of the creator's other work.

Also, I loved the mini commentaries on each installment by Kago at the end of the book, I wish all short story collections included this kind of honesty and insight.

In 2018, manga artist Shintaro Kago made his English debut with Dementia 21, a collection of absurdist manga short stories. Readers found themselves delighted and disgusted by his penchant for body horror, black comedy and the surreal paired with his emphatic, kinetic art style. Kago returns at the height of his powers with Brain Damage, where both the gore and the horror are amplified.

Brain Damage is an anthology of four new short manga stories steeped in existential horror and dismembered body parts. In “Labyrinth Quartet,” four identical women are hunted in an urban labyrinth by a masked serial killer who seems obsessed with tetrads. In “Curse Room,” a nurse is tasked with administering to zombies, keeping them calm and accepting of their death, and protecting the world from their flesh-eating rampages. In “Family Portrait,” a perverted old man who is beginning to struggle with dementia deteriorates in front of his family and their town, but when strangers start disappearing, his grandchildren suspect something. Finally, in “Blood Harvest” a series of gruesomely mangled bodies are found in automobiles, and it appears something hungry haunts these hulks of glass and steel.

Shintaro Kago’s storytelling, with its surreal scenarios and bizarre endings, is disturbing. Readers are oft provided with an explanation for the horror, but rarely a resolution, which makes these tales all the more gruesome. There are points where the gore and the sex become extreme, so readers sensitive to body horror are cautioned, but those are not the focal points of these stories at all. The way Shintaro Kago crafts a tale, inventing worlds where very little is as it seems or is expected and the environment itself is always predatory, is more than enough to scare readers. The graphic novelization of these tales, complete with the internal organs and scattered limbs, simply propels the horror further. Anyone interested in horror graphic novels, especially body horror, will thoroughly enjoy this book.

kago's work is definitely an acquired taste, but this one unfortunately didn't match up to his earlier work. the first story in this collection was definitely the most solid--that final page was truly a gut punch. but! the rest of the stories truly didn't make much sense, and not in an absurdist way. it was more so that the stories didn't really get too fleshed out and it made kago's trademark grotesquerie fall flat.

I specifically chose this book to read for the cover art and the description. I'm someone who likes horror in certain settings, and this was done pretty well. As a big fan of Junji Ito and his macabre elements, this felt very similar to his work, so enjoyed it. There were some elements that I felt were a little out there, but I'd be willing to read this again.

Brain Damage was a typical horror manga in my opinion. The common tropes were there. Sometimes they worked and sometimes they didn't. It was visually unsettling, but some of the stories did not seem fully formed. The most innovative and surprising story was Blood Harvest. I am not traditionally a fan of haunted car stories, but something about it made me really enjoy it. Curse Room gave me similar feelings where it is a play on an undead/zombie theme, but it works really well. I didn't really care for Family Portrait (due to the subject matter) or Labyrinth Quartet (I was confused about what was happening the entire time). Overall, I would read another horror manga by Kago, but with a fresh perspective that it will be hit or miss for me personally.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC.

Compared to other horror manga, this had more light humor intermingled, but this didn't align with the overall tone of some of the stories. It made the stories feel rushed. That said, each story had brilliant concepts and ideas, and I was intrigued to keep reading to find the reasoning or end. Kago's work can be profound in ideas, but maybe my main issue is with the storyboarding.

This had promise at the beginning and then went downhill fast for me. "Labyrinth Quest", which I would argue was the best, was the shortest of the stories by a long shot. I wanted more from that one. Why were they doing what they were doing? "Curse Room" was an interesting take on zombies and brought a new twist on an old tale. That is where the good ends for me. "Family Portrait" was vile. It is supposed to be horror but pedophila and incest are not it. I hated that one. The last story, "Blood Harvest" had potential but went on too long and over explained what was happening.

A collection of four one-shots from the creator of Dementia 21 and Super-Dimensional Love Gun, this collection skirts now-traditional horror tropes like serial killers, dopplegangers, zombies, omnipotent characters with a very limited/diminishing sense of perspective, and killer cars.

In some respects, it's a bit like Shintaro Kago took a look at popular horror tropes of the late 20th century and took them to their most absurd conclusion. In that respect it shares a framework with his prior works published in English, and similarly the mix of the ordinary and grotesque that characterizes a lot of Japanese horror. However, this illusion of the mundane is shattered in each of the four tales as the situations develop further and further into absurdity, mixing the horror elements with comedy as the reality of each situation breaks around the limits of the concept.

This makes this collection unlike a lot of contemporary horror (like say, the collective works of Junji Ito, whose works this collection is getting a lot of comparison in these reviews) since each tale hits a critical point where the story turns, either in an absurd joke or a complete breakdown (or both) that fractures the concept in a truly conclusive way. Very little is left ambiguous here, and the grotesque elements are framed or developed by the extreme situations, rather than them being the source.

It's a unique perspective that pairs well with Kago's crisp, precise illustration style; but the content really pushes at societal norms and conventional taste. This is definitely a book that the reader needs to be aware will push their buttons and may contain triggers around graphic violence, family abuse, dementia, canibalism, and just general gallows humor.

This manga has a lot of short horror stories that are all interesting & different from each other. Each story is unique and goes to a different places that the reader wouldn't expect to go. Overall it is a good manga that I recommend to anyone who is a horror fan!

Brain Damage by Shintaro Kago will definitely be compared to Junji Ito’s works–the cover alone is reminiscent of many of Ito’s. Nonetheless, the two authors definitely stand apart in artistry and storytelling style. Brain Damage by Kago is shocking, witty, and quick. Each short showed a versatility to the depths of darkness humankind can stoop to. Of the four stories, “Labyrinth Quartet” ranked first for me; it was a pity the story wasn’t as long as “Blood Harvest”. I really wanted to stay with these girls who looked similar, yet were different people. There were definitely ways it could’ve been stretched to fuel my PLL heart. “Family Portrait” was absolutely stomach-turning/sickening, which I guess is the point of horror, but I was not a fan of the last (5?) panels. It was definitely unforgettable, pun intended. “Curse Room” was an interesting twist on zombies, as Kago stated in the notes of the work. I am curious how this type of story will fit in with the symbolism of zombies as a whole and what they represent in literature. No, not everything needs to be analyzed, but my passion (and my degree) beg to differ. As aforementioned, “Blood Harvest” was the longest narrative of the four. Or maybe it felt the longest? If King’s Christine and It Follows had a baby, it would be “Blood Harvest”. Overall, I found this work to really stand for itself in the broadening genre of horror manga. I was intrigued enough to ILL Dementia 21. Thanks to Fantgraphics and NetGalley for the chance to read this eARC.

If you like Junji Ito you are going to LOVE this manga! It is weird, gross, bloody and gory but sill also somehow silly and fun. The art is grotesque, the stories are bizarre and disturbing. Chef's kiss.

This collection of short stories by Shintaro Kago is sure to be a hit with his pre-existing fans, or people interested in the grotesque side of comedy horror. Each story dives into a bit of forbidden territory when it comes to subject matter, with his signature love of gore and playing with subverting expectations. These stories are designed to make you feel uncomfortable, and he really succeeded!

Shintaro Kago is, in my opinion, an incredibly underrated mangaka. At least as far as American readership goes. His visuals are creepy, mind-bending, and fantastically weird. Never try to make sense of Kago; you will be hopelessly lost. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.