Reviews for Black Paradox

Junji Ito's Black Paradox is an interesting story concept. A group of suicidal people grouping together to go to the other side and finding themselves wrapped up in a spiritual journey through another world definetly intrigued me when I was beginning to read it. Perhaps there is an important overarching theme or message to all of the supernatural events that occur in the story that require a little bit more digging. But I am not willing to do that digging because of how much it bored me to undeath. It's very obvious that Ito is a horror director at heart. He is the master of thepage turn scare and builds tension to such a degree that you want to read through his stories faster to see just how it turns out. There are elements of horror in this Manga, don't get me wrong. It wouldn't be Junji Ito without them. But if anything, this is much more of a weird mishmash of genres that don't really go together. There aren't enough action elements to call it a Shonen action Manga, there isn't enough focus on the relationships between characters to call this a romance, and, most disappointingly, the horror aspects of Black Paradox focus on freaky visuals rather than the horrifying implication that truly makes Ito's best works shine. It really feels like it doesn't know what it wants to accomplish as a Manga.

Not to mention that the pacing is very awkward. There's what's supposed to be the big reveal in the last chapter that is foreshadowed in the first chapter incredibly subtle and no where else. Not to mention that when the reveal drops, it's in multiple pages of lengthy exposition that could have much more interestingly been captured in the actions that we aren't shown. The whole Manga plays out incredibly slowly up until the later chapters, that have a much bigger focus on the moral aspect of what is happening rather than the more interesting dilemma being the actual action in it of itself. Especially since we aren't explicitly given a real reason to doubt the morality of what is happening until too late.

You really aren't presented with a reason to really care about the characters or what they are doing, and it makes for a very boring read once you get over the concept. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone other than those who appreciate Junji Ito's art in other work, as it is the best part of the whole Manga in my opinion. Even then, there are some wonky designs that being to look silly once you've been looking at them for a few chapters.

A one-volume horror story about a group suicide that goes wrong in the strangest way possible. Story: The story itself is very bizarre and grotesque, based around a group of suicidal adults who find portals to another world filled with a new kind of stone, beautiful and extremely valuable. How far will they go to exploit this new stone? The story questions the depths of human greed and selfishness using this bizarre premise. Art: Ito's people are easily distinguishable, with expressions that are cliche but understandable. Where the art really shines is in its depictions of the frequently-grotesque portals and the more horrific aspects of this manga.These are lovingly drawn with incredible amounts of detail and are the high points of this manga.

Character: The characters are for the most part selfish and unrelatable besides the protaganist, but they're also well developed. In the end, they become jaded and bitter, apathetic about virtually everything, and their downfall is well plotted.

Enjoyment: The bizarre plot and the wonderful art make this a very enjoyable read, despite being generally a superficial story with mostly flat characters.

Trigger warnings: suicide, suicide attempts, brief mentions of brain tumours Review may contain mild spoilers depending on how you view a spoiler Black Paradox is a one-volume manga by guro artist and author, Junji Ito. When a group of anonymous people meet through the Black Paradox website and join together to kill themselves, their lives take a sudden, unexpected turn. Following greed, fear, and loss of mental stability, Ito takes his writing to a whole new level with Black Paradox. Now, as someone with suicidal tendencies, I actually very much enjoy how Ito utilises it within this manga. Although it won't be for everyone - andplease do be careful as actual suicide attempts occur within the manga - there's something about it that speaks to humanity's greed, lust for money and fame, fortune and power. It's interesting how it can sway these people and their ideals and values change within just six chapters, especially how their moral compasses change as their true colours come through.

Thoroughly, pardon the French, fucked up, with people diving into brain tumours (yes, literally diving into), explosions, and kidnapping, Ito delves into the morality of humanity in a way that leaves you disgusted but intrigued at the same time.

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The Licking Woman is a short story included in Black Paradox as an extra chapter. Within this story a woman goes around on muggy, foggy nights, licking strangers with her tongue. Murders occur, horrific, graphic murders, and the story only gets stranger later on. This is more of the gore content I began reading Ito for. Although not quite gore and more just graphic, unsettling images, this still filled my enjoyment for the topic. This story itself is just another reason to be wary when walking alone at night, fictional or not, and definitely another reason I'll be looking over my shoulder.

There are 6 chapters telling the story of four people who met to commit group suicide. However, their attempt lead to a bizarre turn of events that opened the door to the spirit world and all the disturbing phenomena it carries with it. As with every Junji Itou's story, the signature uneasiness and creep factor are always present, especially in the later chapters. The charm of this story for me is how the spirit world is presented and how souls are depicted as beautiful gems (dubbed as "Paradoxical Night"). These sphere-like jewels brims with life that is also capable of immense destruction. Moreover, I find the interactions amongthe four main characters. Marusou, Taburo, Piitan, and Barachii are quite tense yet comical at certain points. They all have their moments and each of the characters is fleshed out and played out their roles perfectly.

There are also 2 bonus stand-alone chapters in the form of The Licking Woman and Mystery Pavilion which are great creep-out chapters as well. You can finish the bonus chapters in about 2-3 minutes so I won't discuss them thoroughly here as the titles speak for themselves.

Definitely, a must-read for Junji Itou's Fans, and a good starting point for beginners who want to read horror mangas like Gyo, Tomie, or Uzumaki. 8/10.

Junji Ito's writing style can best be summarized by "literally". Take a common saying, cliché or play on words and stick to the literal meaning dialed to 11/10. That's the normal plot for any Ito story. Black Paradox is no exception. A group of people intend to commit group suicide, leaving this world to the next. Well... guess what... You can say that the real plot however is the line "The price of progress has been humanity's soul". I'll leave it at that to avoid spoilers. Over all it's an interesting read with odd visuals. A bit meh compared to his other works though which is why I'm lowering thescore a little.

Book comes with two bonus stories. The licking woman, which is about a woman that licks... go figure. And Mystery Pavilion which was just two pages.

This is one of the weirdest things I've read, and I loved it. Black Paradox is like a car that drove of the road, you know it's not gonna end up somewhere good, but you don't know where. The story takes so many turns left and right and you never know where it could next. This works for its advantage and disadvantage as you really wonder what the hell is happening to these characters and you feel like you are discovering what is really happening every new chapter. But it also makes the story too confusing and almost to the point of inconsistency, it seems likeJunji Ito didn't know where take the story next everytime he wrote a new chapter. The art amazing like any other Junji Ito Manga. It's pretty grotesque and terrifying, especially with the weird and terrifying depiction of the concept of the manga. It was very fun to read Black Paradox and it's the main reason why I will rate it so high.

I rate Black Paradox a 9/10

This review doesn't contain specific spoilers, but I will talk about the plot in broad strokes. Black Paradox, published in 2009, is your standard Junji Ito fare. That is to say, this manga is delightfully eerie and uncomfortable. Unlike something like Uzumaki, Black Paradox isn't particularly nausea inducing, though there is quite a bit of body horror as you'd expect considering the author. The included one-shots, The Licking Woman and Mystery Pavillion, are also worth reading though I won't get into them as they're both a single chapter. Black Paradox concisely depicts the trials and tribulations of four young people who, while not being familiar with oneanother prior to the story, form a suicide pact and stumble upon an otherworldly mystery involving spirits, doppelgangers, cool rocks, and the Japanese energy industry. While these things might sound unrelated, they all interact with one another to varying degrees. Much like other Junji Ito stories, the specifics of the various phenomena and mysterious aren't really explored in depth and a lot is left up to the individual interpretation of the reader. This of course can be pretty hit or miss, but if you've already read anything by the author you'll know what to expect. Personally, I was left wondering how some aspects of the story related to the main plot. Part of the fun is trying to figure that out and coming to your own conclusions, for sure, but whilst reading some things did feel a bit superfluous. The art is pretty standard, it complemented the story and helped create a gloomy otherworldly atmosphere. Naturally, the body horror was disgustingly depicted. Additionally, I really enjoyed the character design and how they were depicted on the page.

The characters were, perhaps unsurprisingly, mostly bitter and apathetic people. Considering the situation the four main characters find themselves in at the beginning of the manga, this is understandable. Each have their own personality and motivations and they behave in ways that are pretty consistent. One particular aspect of characterization in Black Paradox that I want to call attention to is its depiction of the impacts that greed have on people. You're left wondering whether many of the characters are becoming worse people, or if their greed and selfishness is simply bringing out aspects of their personality that was already there. In that, the characterization really shines.

Overall, I enjoyed Black Paradox. It felt pretty average as far as Junji Ito stories go, and didn't stand out to me in the way that Uzumaki and Hellstar Remina did. That, I think, isn't a bad thing. After all, not everything can be great otherwise you wouldn't have a reference point. I wouldn't start someone on Black Paradox if I wanted to introduce them to the author, but I'd definitely recommend they read it. It's length is a strong point, as the story was small enough to be contained within six chapters.

If you've got some time to spare and you're in the mood for some spookiness, give Black Paradox a read. 7.5/10

Black Paradox is one of those manga one has to have a specific taste for to fully enjoy and understand what the author intends to deliver. Junji Ito is a pretty unique manga author, not quite giving me the ero-guro I massively have read but curiously maintaining the crocked art style as one would see out of ambitious authors like Kago Shintaro and Uziga Waita. Junji Ito gave himself a pretty solid name in horror style any kind of horror manga enthusiast should give a chance. The story starts pretty straight to the point; four different individuals find themselves together, each one having a reason tocommit suicide. It’s hard to fully give in to the reasons they reached the conclusion to take this terrible decision, since the character development is pretty unique and strongly attached to the plot and how the story will progress. Without giving too much, each one of these characters have an unique situation that brought them to want to quit life. What their own reasons have in common is self-image, being it physical or mentally, their self-image affects them as in making them highly insecure and even neurotic to the point of wanting to die.

Even thought they are pretty decided to commit group suicide, an other-world situation makes their plan go down the drain. It’s hard to explain without giving too much of the story, but the own selfishness of the act of quitting to live is altered as soon as an opportunity of being greedy and gaining a new life purpose who fills the void of being empty and self-aware. Greed is a well-hidden message on the manga itself, opposite to the dementic and irrational nature of the manga, the message appears to be well-thought. Of course, there are many unreal factors, even ironic that end up making the own cliché into a well-thought doubt of what is reality or not.

Besides touching thematic such as greed and selfishness, the object that depicts greed is highly associated with the meaning of life which the protagonists so highly wanted to reject, that object’s origin is from a play of words that ends up to be explored by the author in a literal sense on the progress of the story, that mindset might seem a bit psychotic, but also highly creative and well thought upon. The own insecurities of the characters, that made them consider suicide, become figurative doors, such doors being the true core of their will to live.

Of course, most of the stuff I’m saying makes no sense, but so are the works of Junji Ito and other authors who focus in horror and psychological works, they need to be deeply analyzed for one to understand their true value. It’s also important to have in mind that their might exist a play of words, unspoken superstitions and Japanese folklore integrated in most horror Japanese manga. In this one in particular, there is a play of word that depicts the objects that the main characters will greed upon, so pay attention to that.

The art isn’t the best, It’s ok, which coming from a short horror manga is not that important either way, I take more into consideration in this kind of horror/psychological piece that exists a really detailed, confusing and dimensional art style, which unfortunately the author doesn’t give us.

The entertainment value also depends on the person who reads. Some parts the dialogue seems a bit too overdone and boring, but since it’s a volume long piece it’s pretty easy to keep reading and finish without much boredom involved.

Overall, I would recommend this manga to everyone who wants something short and well-thought off. The art isn’t the most amazing trippy art syle I’ve seen, but the matters that the author makes about the real meaning of life, of human emotion, of the insecurities of self-image (mental and physical), greed and dementic behavior are subjects that will make the reader think a lot about the impact of their own actions.

Utilitarian society tries to fix depression and it only leads to soulless people. It is a bit complicated to interpret this manga, it is very vague in what it is trying to say so the interpretation might be very different for everyone else, which is not necessarily a bad thing but here it sometimes feel like Junji Ito himself has no clue at all. I love that it contains lovecraftian cosmic horror elements over the classic body horror of Junji Ito and how it leaves you without explaining every single thing, for example the paradise/the other side is just a white glowing space because itjust cannot be comprehended. Junji Ito is shifting the focus of the story quite often and it tends to get a bit incoherent.

There are topics of greed, nihilism, progress, different personalities, your view on yourself and humanity in general. What i get from the manga is that we are basically heading into money driven immoral soulless society where technological progress means everything. It gets a bit confusing when talking about the four main protagonist and their problems, they eventually confront and fix their reasons for suicide yet they become soulless anyway so I guess it is somwhat nihilistic or maybe they fixed them in a wrong way with the main motive being sake of humanity and that makes them soulless because deep down they still want to die.

As for the more technical stuff, the art is fine it is not that expressive compared to other works by Junji Ito but I like it, writing is okay, the pace is a bit weird and sometimes jumps too much but the main characters are written pretty good with great design and they are likable if that is important to you, the doctor that appears as the villain of the story is a bit one-dimensional and cliche.

Overall a pretty good read, I believe it is very thought provoking and also enjoyable, it is not a masterpiece and sometimes feels like it is going all over the place but it is far from bad. I like that it goes into interesting topics and not just visual horror for the shock value and that's it.

Black Paradox is one of those stories where Junji Ito pushes his imagination into territories so strange they verge on the metaphysical. It begins with a disturbing premise: a group of people who decide to meet and end their lives together. Yet, their repeated failed attempts and bizarre coincidences create a constant tension, as if some unknown force refuses to let them die. When one of them finally succeeds, the story takes a turn both unexpected and deeply unsettling — from their body emerge mysterious orbs, both grotesque and beautiful. From that moment on, Black Paradox dives into a world where science, the soul, and humanity’sobsession with transcendence intertwine in impossible ways.

The revelation of where those orbs come from — and what they truly are — is as shocking as it is fascinating. Ito transforms a tale about suicide and despair into a reflection on life, identity, and the search for meaning beyond the physical world.

The ending, true to his style, offers no comfort or clarity. Instead, it lingers — strange, brilliant, and haunting.

Black Paradox is a visual and emotional experience unlike any other: a philosophical nightmare only Junji Ito could make feel so terrifying… and yet, so beautiful.