I knew right away when I saw that Shuzo Oshimi was the author I would enjoy the story and the art would be fantastic. While I was right on both accounts, the story itself was very fast, and I wonder if - since it is a prologue - it is necessary to watch the movie that this manga is tied to in order to fully understand and appreciate the story.

Shuzo Oshimi is my favorite mangaka, and I have therefore been looking forward to this release. I liked this, but it was not my favorite from Oshimi.

Here is my full review in norwegian:
𝘛𝘰𝘹𝘪𝘤 𝘋𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 er en one-shot manga, og en prequel til den japanske skrekkfilmen 𝘋𝘰𝘬𝘶 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦. I 𝘛𝘰𝘹𝘪𝘤 𝘋𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 får vi høre om karakteren Chi-chans skrekkelige origin story, fantastisk illustrert (som alltid) av min favoritt-mangaka, Shuzo Oshimi. Denne utforsker utenforskap og annerledeshet, i typisk Oshimi stil, med en klassisk japansk skrekkfilm-feeling!

Jeg har ikke sett filmen mangaen er tilknyttet, men Shuzo Oshimi er min absolutt favoritt mangaskaper, og jeg vil lese alt med hans navn på, i hvert fall om det er snakk om en skrekkhistorie! Og jeg har derfor sett veldig frem til denne utgivelsen. Så når jeg så at denne var tilgjengelig på NetGalley, var det ingen tvil om at denne skulle leses!

Og jeg får veldig lyst til å se filmen nå etter å ha lest denne mangaen! Karakteren Chi-chan er godt skrevet, og både skummel og skremmende, men også tragisk og trist. Oshimi har skrevet en enkel, men god, bakgrunnshistorie til Chi-chan. Derimot blir handlingen i seg selv litt enkel.

Men jeg vil på mitt sterkeste anbefale de av dere som ikke har lest noe fra Oshimi tidligere, å gjøre det! 𝘛𝘰𝘹𝘪𝘤 𝘋𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 er nok ikke riktig manga å starte med, men Oshimi har heldigvis flere utgitte serier på engelsk!

𝘛𝘰𝘹𝘪𝘤 𝘋𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 får av meg TERNINGKAST 4!

Shuzo Oshimi (known for Blood on the Tracks) and director Eisuke Naito deliver a chilling one-shot manga that combines psychological horror with emotional depth. The story’s atmosphere is thick with tension, and Oshimi’s art perfectly captures the unease that builds throughout.

What stands out is Oshimi’s ability to explore the complexities of trauma, guilt, and the darkness within, all while maintaining a slow-burn suspense. The tension between the characters, combined with eerie visuals, makes Toxic Daughter a gripping read that lingers long after you’ve finished.

In principle, I like the concept of mixing two types of media, in this case manga and film, to tell a story, but if we take this volume on its own, we're left wanting more.
We find Shuuzo Oshimi's style and themes, with psychology and a very human and realistic horror for many women.
Graphically, it's very good, thank you Oshimi, even if I find it a little lighter than what he's used to.
I didn't have a good feeling about the boy from the start (always beware of goodguys).
Unfortunately, we don't get any answers about why the crosses are there, or about these adults who look half-amorphic half-scared of Chi in her home.
It's good publicity for the film Poison Girl (Doku Musume), but as a book in its own right, I wasn't totally convinced.

This was really great! I loved the unsettlingly and tense atmosphere. The story was fast paced and gripped me from the very beginning. One scene made me actually gasp out loud. And I wasn’t expecting this manga to get as dark as it did near the end. I would have loved a little more backstory on Chi-chan as a character, but I still really enjoyed this one shot. Since this is a prequel to a movie, I absolutely need to watch it now!

The art style was super cool, and definitely fit the horror vibes of this book. Overall this story was horrifying, but mesmerizing.

Thank you NetGalley for this amazing arc, from my favorite manga author !

This story touches on many dark areas of humanity & adds a scary horror element. Reading this had me like wait… what the hell is going on !!! How could he ?? Im impatiently waiting on more volumes of the toxic daughter. It’s a twisted yet beautiful tale of childhood friends who grew apart but become closer even with traumatic experiences & life happening.

Can we also talk about how amazing shuzo’s art style is ! Each panel & page has its own unique story to tell.

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Kodansha Comics, and Shuzo Oshimi for providing me with an ARC of Toxic Daughter: Chi-Chan in exchange for my honest review.

Toxic Daughter: Chi-Chan serves as a prequel to the film Toxic Daughter, diving into the backstory of Chi, a troubled outcast with a reputation for delinquent behavior. The story follows Yua and Koudai as they attempt to reach out to Chi and save her from her downward spiral.

This manga is an intense, dark, and unsettling read, masterfully brought to life through eerie and atmospheric artwork. The themes of parental neglect and the emotional toll it takes on a young person are explored with unsettling depth. Despite the heaviness of the subject matter, the narrative is gripping and thought-provoking, keeping you hooked from start to finish.

Although I haven’t yet seen the Toxic Daughter film, this one-shot manga has left me intrigued and eager to dive into the movie to uncover what happens next in Chi’s story. Oshimi’s storytelling and unique art style make this an experience worth exploring for fans of psychological and dark narratives.

While the premise intrigued me, I had trouble connecting with the characters. Yua’s passive nature made it difficult to relate to her, and Koudai’s actions were deeply unsettling—I assume he wasn’t meant to be likable, but it made engaging with the story more difficult. Chi herself, despite being central to the plot, remained too mysterious for me to feel invested.

Narratively, not much happened throughout most of the book. I understand this serves as a prequel, but the setting felt overly confined—spending the majority of the story in a classroom left me wishing for more variety or impactful events. Overall, the psychological elements had potential, but I struggled to stay engaged.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Toxic Daughter is obscure, disturbing, and captivating. The art is great and perfectly reflects the vibe of the story. I didn’t realize this was a prequel to a movie I haven’t seen, but it did make me want to watch it to learn more about the story.

Dark, mysterious and a little gross. This perfectly describe Chi, a withdrawn and violent young girl who has a thing for dead bugs. Yua and Kodai team up to try to help Chi socialize and continue to go to school, but things quickly take a dark turn for them. This quick read thriller kept me aching for more, but I couldn’t have asked for a better plot twist. The story was a little rushed, but overall it was a good a quick read.

going into it i didn't know this was a prequel for the film Toxic Daughter, so there is a chance that my opinion would be slightly different had i watched said film. the way the book was written with 99% dialogue made it hard to connect with the story. i was confused the entire time and there was never any clarifications on pretty much anything. I've read prequels before getting to the main product but I have never been this lost. It wasn't necessarily entertaining either to make it worthwhile. I was intrigued for a bit but as I kept reading and slowly lost interest... the rape scene was so sudden and quite unnecessary truly.

tw/ rape
thank you netgalley and kodansha comics for the arc!

This creepy but so good!
I loved the art style and I cant wait for book two because, I really want to see her get revenge or at least follow her story line more.

Ummmmm well thanks Netgalley and publisher for giving me this “horror” short manga for free!

Notice how I put the quotation marks there as I literally think it was sorta trying to be a “Junji Ito” type of story. I mean, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised that he got inspiration from him.

Anyways it was way too short like I did feel they could’ve fleshed the story out then rushing it. I really wanted them to deep dive on Chis backstory on how she got invested in making bug decorations as her kink. Also ngl, I think the Yua and her “crush but dirtbag really” were pretty weak and useless characters. I just think it would’ve been better if it was Chi on her own and forget about adding more in.

Not particularly the best horror manga out there I’m afraid…..

This manga is a prequel to the movie "Toxic Daughter" which has already been released in Japan last year.

I feel like this is important to mention as the manga is quite short and it lacks a lot of backstory or overall plot.

The story follows 3 classmates, but the main character is definitely Chi who seems to be a disturbed young girl with a love for dead bugs. She also stopped coming to school and hence the other two classmates embark on a mission to get her to attend school again.
Of course, as with most of Shuzo Oshimi's works, things take a turn and the manga turns quite dark. (Trigger warnings for SA, dead animals)

It has a very similar vibe to Flowers and Evil and Happiness.

While I liked the premise (and love the art style), I just found the story too short. It would have been better as a manga series with multiple volumes like "Flowers of Evil" where we could have connected with the characters more and found out more about their motivations.
As such, the story ended too quickly and doesn't feel as satisfying as multiple volumes would be.

It serves well as a prologue though! Can't wait for the movie to come out in English.

What initially seems a mystery surrounding a young girl moves into darker themes. While the cover suggests that the book targets an older audience, the early chapters led me to believe it was aimed at a younger readership. However, at 186 pages, the story takes a significant turn into more serious themes.

Chi intrigues me. From the first ‘play date’, it’s clear that she senses something is up with one of the characters.

The story looks at friendship between two girls, rather than focusing on the concept of a ‘toxic daughter.’ This deeper look of their relationship from when they were younger adds a layer to the storyline, inviting readers to reflect on the impact of friendships.

I thought it was good. It left me wanting to know more about Chi. Why the bugs? What was happening with her parents? I would definitely pick up a volume 2.

A very unsettling read. I really enjoyed the dark narrative and the unexpected shocks. I’ll definitely have to seek out the companion film.

What a haunting tale. Chi is an obviously neglected child who is taken under the wing of her former friend and a horrid boy. This story was not at all like I expected it to be. It was a quick read and very scary just based off of how realistic some aspects are. TW physical and sexual abuse

Thanks netgalley for the ARC❤️. This manga was about 3 classmates. Primarily a girl named Chi who rarely attends school and has been labeled a freak. The other two are her friend from kindergarten and a boy in their class. It follows the two new friends attempt to get Chi back into school and socializing again. This was really creepy and lowkey disturbing but in an entertaining way. Warning for like blood and violence ofc but also SA warning. I really enjoyed the art style, and the cliffhanger chapter endings had me hooked. Chichan also reminds me of Soichi a bit even though they're kind of different. The ending all happened so so fast I damn near had whiplash the way things kept happening. A 3.5 star for me.

While I really loved the art style, just as I have with every Shuzo Oshimi book I've read, this time I unfortunately struggled to connect with the story as much. The main issue for me was its length, as it felt too short, which in turn left so much to be desired by the end. I wanted a clearer resolution for the characters, as well as a deeper backstory to better understand their motivations. The ending was quite disturbing, and I definitely didn’t expect it to take that direction so be mindful and check tw. All in all, it's a solid manga and quick read, but not among my favorites from Oshimi. I haven’t seen the movie, so maybe that plays a part in providing additional context.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.