Thanks NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for this arc

3/5 stars

This was a really intriguing manga that had me hooked - until the last chapter. I wasn't expecting it and that could've been quite triggering for some people especially with how out of the blue it was. I also didn't realize that this was essentially going to be such a cliffhanger for a one shot. Sure it's the prologue for a movie but I didn't expect it to be so open ended with what was happening with each character at the end. This was a miss for me

short and scary beyond gore shock factor, which is really refreshing and unexpected to see! i really enjoyed flowers of evil and blood on the tracks - the slightly more realistic manga style always makes for a much creepier horror experience - so i knew i would like this art, and i wasn't wrong!

it perfectly evokes empathy even with such a short story, and wonderfully illustrates the sense of loneliness and displacement following these characters around.

Two kids try to befriend a strange neglected girl that barley shows up to school. She's a bit creepy and has violent tendencies yet they persist until it goes too far. The story was unsettling because chi-chan was unpredictable and you did not know what she was about to do next. It was an alright horror one shot until the end were it all went down hill. For some reason there's a poorly handled child on child rape scene. Wouldn't recommend

Toxic Daughter: Chi-chan is about a girl who loves to collect dead bugs. Her estranged childhood friend Yua and her classmate Kodai try to connect with her to encourage her to attend classes, but just because someone is nice doesn’t mean their intentions are pure.

Toxic Daughter: Chi-Chan was a really nice read especially for those who enjoy horror mangas. I enjoyed every bit of it. It felt a bit too short but that was because I flew through it haha! But the writing was really intriguing and eye-catching. It was really fast- paced as well! We love a good fast-paced book!

This is also my first time reading a book by this author so, I was very happy with this book, and will definitely be picking up other books by this author.

Overall, great book! Very enjoyable and a great book to read, if you are feeling a short read, or just don’t know what to read, then this is the book for you!

As a long-time fan of Shuzo Oshimi, I was especially excited to check out their latest work "Toxic Daughter: Chi-chan" and, once again, I was blown away by both their story-telling and their artstyle. Definitely check out content warnings just in case (as this is a fairly dark story), but the less you know about the plot before starting it, the better. Quite literally my only complaint was that it was fairly short and I wanted to know more, so I will definitely check out the movie follow-up that has also come out recently.

Toxic Daughter: Chi-chan" is a dark manga about a peculiar girl, Chi-chan, who likes to collect insects. She has virtually no friends except for Yua years ago — until one of her classmates, Koudai, wants to befriend her with Yua's help. For a quick story, the first half of the story actually feels a bit slow and repetitive. This makes sense as this is a spin-off to the horror film "Doku Musume" (2024) — the manga feels somewhat incomplete and almost serves as filler.

However, I overall enjoyed it and the pacing does pick up, turning this creepy narrative completely twisted. It's a brutal tale about the danger of friends' intentions, and what happens when you treat righteousness as a virtue to enhance your status. People should definitely look up the trigger warnings because some scenes are abruptly disturbing.

This story really had me in my feelings. I felt many things for Chi and couldn’t help but feel sad and extremely sorry for her. Feeling like she was simply misunderstood throughout her childhood to her current age. I felt such anger towards the end and all I can say is what goes around comes around!

Dark. Disturbing. Unsettling.

This one-shot manga, a prequel to the film Toxic Daughter, is told from the perspective of Yua, a high schooler who’s convinced by her crush to try and get Chi—her former friend and an isolated outcast—to return to school.

From the opening pages, the tone is oppressive and the atmosphere thick with dread. Though short, the manga is packed with disquieting imagery and deeply uncomfortable themes.

I picked this up because I’m familiar with some of Shuzo Oshimi’s previous work, and I was intrigued by the cryptic blurb and eerie cover. Unfortunately, this one didn’t work for me.

The reading experience was intentionally unpleasant—something the mangaka executes with precision. The tension never lets up, and the unease lingers long after the final page. The illustrations heighten the discomfort through clever visual cues and symbolism that I did appreciate (though I won’t spoil them here).

At its core, I think the manga critiques the societal obsession with being perceived as good, selfless, and likable—how that desire for approval can twist into something darker when left unchecked. It’s a compelling concept, but in execution, the manga felt more focused on shocking the reader than exploring that theme in depth. Certain scenes came across as gratuitous rather than purposeful, and ultimately, that left me feeling more alienated than engaged.

This isn’t a bad manga—it’s a deliberately uncomfortable one. It’s certainly not for everyone, and it wasn’t for me. But I do believe the right readers—especially fans of psychological horror with social commentary—will find value in it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a DARC in exchange for an honest review.

***Content Warnings (Potential spoilers below):
Parental neglect, sexual assault (SA), bullying, dead animal dismemberment, mental health issues, blood, physical abuse, possible murder

This was such a strange book from the art style to the characters and I got a little confused with what this book was trying to have an underlying message of I get all the characters have there bad sides but this was a little more graphic then I thought it was going to be and it also should include warnings about the content.

This was tragically devastating to read. Its dark and disturbing when we see abuse being perpetrated towards a child and how that shaped the childs development. Chi was obviously being abused & neglected since she was small and grew up to become more isolated from her classmates and she was odd and bizarre. Probably its her survival instinct or nature to become violent so she can protect her friend. It become very disturbing when the boy classmate trying to gain recognition from his parents and teacher in order to feel superior(?) or its a way of making him feels like he is way above than others by helping the weak ones. I get nauseated when he took advantage of one of his girl classmate which is Chi-chan childhood friend by taking away her innocence & dignity. The sexual assault was really triggering & disturbing. The ending was crazy and violent, the start to the movie to be released and it get me excited to know whats gonna happen next. This was a solid prequel for Shuzo Oshimi's manga and one that I think had potential for continuation if we get to explore more of Chi-chan's life

I missed it, I think. I didn't particularly like or understand the story. The drawing is to my taste, but not knowing the mangaka, I feel like I was missing something to get hooked on the story.

I had this manga to read for so long, I really enjoyed the book it has great drawings, but I cant recommend it to young readers because it has very strong themes, like, rape, aggression with scissors, parental neglect, hoarders house etc…

its a very solid story, with good drawings, very attentive to details, just take notice of what I said before, it is still worth reading, just don’t buy it for a minor

Thank you Netgalley and Kodansha Comics | Vertical Comics, for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion.

It is always a pleasure to read Oshimi-sensei. In Toxic Daughter: Chi-chan makes use of his characteristic style and narrative, although I feel that the purpose of promoting the movie is too evident.
Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for this advanced reader's copy.

I received an ARC through NetGalley for my honest review. This was really interesting and I loved the art style. A little dark but nothing too intense. It really has me wanting to watch the movie now but unfortunately I have no way of getting one

The story begins with Chi the outcasted absenttee appears out of the blue at class just to give her ex childhood friend, Yua some bugs she collected. This opening shows us our protagonist Chi's dynamic of relationship with others. Chi is considered different from others because of her bizarre lifestyle. Is this all to describe her? Kodai a classmates of both the girls wants to find out more about her. So do we I.
The story is eerily edgy yet I am drawn to it. There's a movie adaptation of it and I must say it is an innovative way of promoting the content to the consumers.

It was my first time reading a manga and it creeped me out a lot at first. It all make sense at the end why Chi reacted in a weird manner but still the author left some loose ends for the reason to tie.
The drawing are beautiful yet eerie and mysterious. I can not wait to watch the movie!!

TW: parental neglect, bullying and SA

I've read very little by Shuzo Oshimi but I was nonetheless intrigued. Prior to reading this manga, I was not aware that this was a prequel to a horror movie and perhaps this is why I didn't quite understand the story. I found it quite odd but the emotions conveyed by it were deeply felt. It was okay overall but the story needed to be expanded in order for me to understand Chi's actions/motivations.

I was a little confused by this story. I did see on Goodreads that this is a prequel to a film so maybe this would have been more enjoyable knowing the context of the film. Based on the title and the beginning of the story mentioning her parents I kinda of expected them to be a bigger part of the story.

I dont know how to feel about this one, it has a lot of heavy themes and I am not a huge fan of horror manga but the cover of this drew me in.

The story is very eerie and creepy, Yua used to be friends with this girl named Chi when they were children but Chi is now a drop out who has an odd facination with specifically dead bugs. Through a series of events Chi and Yua reunite in highschool and there seems to be alot of mixed feelings and baggage carried by Yua.

Yua ends up suffering quite a bit through out the first volume because of some of Chi's actions but we arent sure of what caused Chi to become such an outcast.

If you enjoy horror and creepy things with very morrally grey characters this one might be for you. Unfortunatly it was not for me.

Thank you Netgally and Kodansha Comics for the eArc.