This comic has a pretty impressive start, and then…the second half of the book happens.

This is a collection of 4 horror stories, with a emphasis on gore. Now, I don’t care that it’s got gore; it’s black and white, and not terribly gratuitous. It’s a gore that makes sense for the stories.

Stories 1 and 2 are fun. One about four girls stuck in a labyrinth with a murderer, the other about a therapist for the dead. The labyrinth story has a great punchline, and the therapy one is a really great take on the zombie genre.

Story 3 starts out…off. Now, the premise is interesting: people in a neighborhood begin to go missing, and it seems to be related to an old man’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Except the mangaka decided to go for humor by making the old man an incestuous pervert. The “resolution” of the story is more morally revolting than stomach-turning. Do check Storygraph trigger warnings on that.

Story 4 is actually really good! Until the last page, when an interesting premise tries to end in a joke, and falls way flat.

While Kago does have potential as a horror mangaka, they’re gonna really have to work on those resolutions. Each of these stories could have been great, if not for the flubbed endings of the last 2. Hell, even the “perverted old man” trope would have been fine, without its associated ending.

I’d say pass on this.

Advanced ready copy provided by the publisher.

Brain Damage is a horror manga that is similar to Junji Ito.
The art in this book is really cool but I don’t love the taboo content (SA/incest) without warning.
Thank you to Net Galley & Fantagraphics for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
2.5/5

Brain Damage is a weird, intense and completely surreal manga by Shintaro Kago. It’s full of bizarre and often grotesque imagery and mixes body horror with really sharp and dark social commentary. I found it a bit hard to follow at times. The story jumps around and the visuals are so out there, but that kind of adds to the experience. It’s disturbing, clever and definitely not for the faint-hearted. Totally unlike anything else I’ve read.

I’m not sure if it’s my thing! But I’m sure this is right up other peoples street

I’m a huge Horror fan and not a stranger to gross and weird stories, but these were disgusting just for the sake of it. No substance, no character depth, no deeper meaning, nothing. Huge NO from me.

Horror isn’t something I frequent, but I do admit I hold series like Uzumaki and The Drifting Classroom in high regard. I was able to check out Shintaro Kago’s Brain Damage, which is four of his collected one-shot stories in one package. While his style is interesting and intriguing, it’s decidedly not for everyone… myself included.

Brain Damage is an anthology of four different tales featuring copious amounts of body horror and high school girls trying to survive. “Labyrinth Quartet” includes four girls, with not-so-identical faces trying to escape a mysterious masked killer. “Curse Room” features a different take on the zombie epidemic, while “Family Portrait” includes an eldritch abomination with an elder god (in a sense…) Finally, “Blood Harvest” mixes Final Destination with cult film Rubber, which is a slightly inaccurate description but makes sense in context.

What’s interesting with these one-shots is how complete they feel. While “Labyrinth Quartet” is probably the most ambiguous story, they all have a good concept without feeling too stale. “Curse Room” is probably the best story in the bunch, with a sardonic take on the “I can fix them!” trend as well as the commodification of unique services. The collection has a macabre sense of humor, and rather than outright scaring you, each story attempts to make you chuckle by the end. (Again, when I compare “Blood Harvest” with the prior comparisons, I mean it lovingly.) It’s a unique take on scary tales that had me intrigued.

However, whether the actual joke lands is something else entirely. The humor is uneven, and this is highlighted especially in “Family Portrait”, which works well in its scary narrative but absolutely botches its punchline. In fact, its sequence of abuse and partial nudity outright ruined the goodwill of the buildup.

I understand that this work is supposed to transcend and challenge, but the only justifiable time nudity would be depicted was possibly in “Curse Room” due to the mechanics of the titular location. Every other instance felt gratuitous and lessened the impact of the tale itself. “Blood Harvest” also suffered immensely from this, with a final page that takes the wind out of its sails with a really lame final line mixed with something that is detestable.

I wasn’t as disgusted with this as I was with something like Drip Drip, but I was close. However, I do have to commend Brain Damage for creating a unique set of stories that have the potential to be silly and scary. It’s just a shame that a lot of it is wasted.

When I started ready this I thought 'oh, this is interesting, I think I will like this one'. Labyrinth Quartet and Cursed Room were my top two out of the 4 short stories. Then the 3rd story happened, I had a problem with it due to it's inappropriate nature. The last, Blood Harvest, was unfocused and the middle was rather confusing, however I liked the ending.

I really enjoy this still of artwork in a manga.
The stories each had a weird twist at the end which were unexpected.

I would try reading another manga by the author/artist.

Labyrinth Quartet = 3 stars
Curse room = 3.5 stars
Family portrait = 2 stars
Blood Harvest = 4 stars


Most Interesting was Blood Harvest. Haunted cars? Personally, I don't like being inside cars with windows closed, so this story about blood-thirsty cars hit a scaredycat nerve. Curse Room came in next, with its sci-fi elements of trying to help zombies peacefully accept their deaths. Labyrinth quartet reminds me of Saw; the ending was the best part. Last is Family Portrait, an interesting view of Alzheimer's, but the incestuous elements ruined it for me

Fun in its frankness, up-to-expectations disturbing. Every story here had its own unique inducive spin of shuddering, crawling thrill! Also, who doesn't mind a bit of gore?

Brain Damage by Kago

5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Disgusting” is not disrespectful but rather a compliment—Kago.

The vertical black outlines preserved the grotesque offerings within—the individual boxes filled with captions of horrific grandeur. There is true depth behind what is being portrayed, a deeper meaning.

I would not consider myself a connoisseur of manga. I have consumed some on occasion just to see what the fuss was about, but the genre never truly resonated with me. However, I do love the horror genre, and here was an opportunity to see Kago blend the two masterfully.

Turning the first page, the lack of color helped create a sinister atmosphere. The lines are sharp and taut, depicting haunting scenery. There is a certain magic here. The reader is witnessing a master at work. I envision Kago’s pencil, shading in areas, bringing depth and flavor to the characters. The startling contrast of moments of pensiveness wrought by flayed bodies lying lifeless amongst the grey areas of doubt begs the reader to ask, What in the world is happening? I have always admired artists with an uncanny ability to create amazing beauty in subject matter that, in itself, is awful and brutal.

Kago’s stories are varied in their telling. Just to touch on a couple I found interesting, “Curse Room” is about a woman tasked with keeping zombies at bay. Finding a way to placate their insatiable hunger for human flesh. “Blood Harvest,” the last of the tales, is about used cars taking revenge upon humans. Yes, you read that correctly!

After the initial shock, I found myself gliding through the novel. It became clear that Kago is always in control, and while one could say the artwork is obscene, I always felt the conclusion garnered a laugh. The wit is undeniable. The dark sense of humor brings it all together in a nice scrumptious smorgasbord of Japanese “ero-guro” style manga.

It was an experience for the senses. As the credits rolled, I chided myself for not being familiar with this artist before. While the artistry is of the highest quality, there is something more underneath it all. Letting his audience know that it’s ok to be lighthearted. In the world today, in all its complexity, we are bogged down in turmoil. Kago asks us to remember to have fun. Yes, death is final, but while we are alive, can we not laugh at ourselves?

Highly Recommended!

Many thanks to the publisher, Fantagraphics Books, for the ARC through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks Netgalley for the arc copy

🧠🩸 Brain Damage by Shintaro Kago
⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3/5)

Brilliantly grotesque, obsessively detailed… and then it trips over its own shock value. The oversexualization (including teens) and sudden incest felt less “provocative” and more pointless.

Left me more numb than damaged. Not sure I’ll be back for more.

This was my first foray into horror comics/manga, and it turned out to be an interesting read. Except for one story (Family Portrait), there was a fair bit of creativity, and the shock elements went along with the story well. It’s written in a way that makes you want to keep on reading. Family Portrait was uncomfortable to read due to some forced elements. It felt tropey and shoehorned in. But the others weren’t this bad.

So overall, it was a decent read. If you aren’t put off by shock elements when they fit the narrative, it’s a book worth checking out.

thanks to netgalley for the arc!

none of this felt remotely believable or even scary really, but it had a few moments

first two stories were kinda just eye-roll corny, maybe 2 or 3 stars. i did laugh at the final shot of story 1

second story was off because at every turn the character actions didn't feel like something a real person would do. this could have worked maybe if there was a clear established code of behavior differing from that of our world but it came off more as a series of "wouldn't this be crazyyy" character choices

a lot of gratuitous nudity of school girls (read: under age), the panty shot in story 3 really made me grimace

just a lot of weird horniness and bad sexual behavior that seems pretty implicitly supported by the narrative? a boy pins his sister down and starts pulling her shirt off, which obviously looks like (and is) sexual assault, but then, plot twist: the boy is just forcefully checking her for The Curse, stop being a perv!! note that his only established character traits are Horny and blaming his sister's sexual assault at the hands of their grandfather on the way she dresses

ok actually scrap this whole review im just going to live react because i hit the halfway point and this whole thing is just incest shock factor 😭 sorry man i'm not with it, 1 star

quote: "You may have forgotten you* grandchild but you won't forget this ass!"

*typo straight from the text

after this we are treated to several pages of the grandfather groping her nude breasts and another panty shot (now with 100% more incest!) and now he's fingering her, oh wow. what else can i even say


ok fourth story. art of the mangled corpses is cool. visual of the taste of blood making a car burst into flames is also cool, can't say i've ever seen vampire cars before. truly the lengths society will go to to avoid investing in public transport! 3 stars. wait never mind the last page has tits for no reason, 2 stars (i get it's probably trying to show her dehumanization but it just looks like a pattern in context w the other stories)



overall: did not think after reading story 1 that it was going to be my favorite lol. main thing that's sticking w me is the gratuitous and tasteless sexual content and not in a cool way 👎

avg rating 2 stars? could be 1 star for me tbh, the treatment of sexual assault left a pretty bad taste in my mouth

I’ve wanted to check out some of Shintaro Kago’s work for a while now having encountered some of his color art, they are a marvel of pure body horror. I knew that he was an ero guro artist going in and was prepared for horror that is a little more unconventional, but I ended up feeling really lukewarm after reading.

There was only one story that I ended up liking, which was Labyrinth Quartet, the rest were mediocre at best. Maybe I wasn’t fully in the right head space to appreciate some of the satirical aspects of these stories, but this collection as a whole was just not for me. Kago’s artwork is still incredible though, and I can appreciate the collection for the art alone. I’m kind of impressed to see a collection like this get an English release.

Individual Story Notes:
♥ Labyrinth Quartet: A group of girls wake up in a labyrinth, all dressed up to look nearly identical. How did they end up there, and why? I actually really liked this story, it was gruesome and there is enough mystery to keep me engaged. The ending was bizarre but fascinating.

♥ Curse Room: This story started off interesting, until the halfway point when it all became very silly. The twist on zombies was interesting but I didn’t feel any kind of narrative payoff.

♥ Family Portrait: I actually hated this story, I’m no prude but it was incredibly perverted and gross. Again, an interesting idea but the sexual abuse of a minor was just disgusting.

♥ Blood Harvest: I felt more mixed on this last story. It was strange and even a bit intriguing, but becomes a bit cheesy. The ending was outstanding though, and the final panel was terrifying.

Horror is all about making you feel something. In the case of Shintaro Kago, that feeling is repulsion. He's a creator of extremes that push the boundaries, going into other territories that others won't and forcing a reaction from the reader - whether you want it or not.

"Brain Damage" is a collection of four unconnected stories that highlight the different facets of Kago's work. The first is "Labyrinth Quartet", a fast-paced slasher that shocks readers with its high-impact violence. "Curse Room" begins as an ordinary haunted house story before pivoting hard into a gorey zombie direction with a unique take. "Family Portrait" delves into the taboo in very uncomfortable ways. And "Blood Harvest" is a weird mystery featuring dark humour. As intended by the artist, these stories are likely to elicit a reaction of repulsion or discomfort from the reader.

As a result, Brain Damage is not for everyone. However, horror fans who don't mind flirting with something more extreme will find interest in this collection.

This is a gory, creepy collection of four horror stories with a few twists and turns. My favorites are "Curse Room" and "Blood Harvest," the former being an interesting concept on the living dead and the latter playing with the idea of tech becoming sentient. They feel quite bleak overall and I think the art style is well-executed as well. I enjoyed the first story, "Labyrinth Quarter," too.

The third one, however, feels unnecessarily disturbing (even taking into account the taboo themes and genre). There were quite a bit of SA & incestuous scenes that came across as fetishizing, and just the general oversexualization of girls and women was overboard - not really serving a specific "purpose" or conveying a message effectively either. If it weren't for that story, I would bump this anthology up to a 3.5 stars out of 5.

Thank you Fantagraphics and NetGalley for the eARC! All opinions are my own.

Highly recommend. Absolutely disturbing, creepy and humorous in turn, this kept me on the edge of my seat. Full of twists and turns, this will keep you up at night!

Kago slices right into the psyche with four stories that are equal parts grotesque, surreal, and bizarrely hilarious. It is the kind of ride that leaves you wondering what just happened and why you're kind of into it.

This collection of manga stories was wild! I thought each one was super interesting and didn't really know where they'd end up. I think my favorites were the 2nd and 3rd one but the first and last one were still super interesting. The style was interesting for these and the dark parts were upsetting in the best way. Great work.

Big yikes from me.

The concept of the stories were SO interesting and I read this very quickly, but I simply detest the sexualisation not only of minors, but of violence towards women. The third story especially had unnecessary sexualisation and incest. Can we stop making it so easy for predators to indulge in their fantasies?

1/5

This story collection is something that I read in one sitting. It’s short and kept me entertained from cover to cover. The stories were scary and engaging, keeping me guessing and a bit scared to flip the page, only to be taken by a twist.
The art style worked great with the atmosphere that each story was trying to build. Shadows, facial expressions, etc. helped the storyline.
The only gripe that I have is the way that women are drawn; they are portrayed in a manner that makes them seem more like sexual
props and not characters.