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A year ago, Natsumi Kimiyoshi and her family left the mountain settlement of Okinomiya, which was haunted by the local folklore of Oyashiro's curse that befalls those who leave Okinomiya or the adjacent hamlet of Hinamizawa. To their surprise, their life remained calm and peaceful until gas erupted from the swamp beside Hinamizawa, causing numerous deaths. Unfortunately, Natsumi was unaware that the catastrophic "Great Hinamizawa Disaster" would soon lead to many terrifying misfortunes. After the incident, Natsumi's grandmother, who had previously lived in Hinamizawa, began exhibiting extremely suspicious behavior. She believed that Oyashiro's curse was imminent and tried to quell it by placing talismans all over their home and killing puppies. These terrifying and erratic actions caused Natsumi and her family to fear for their safety, leading her mother to commit an unspeakable act.
Presented in this book are nine of Junji Ito's top short stories, handpicked by the author himself and given insightful notes and comments. The featured stories are: 1. Secondhand Record (Chuuko Record, 中古レコード) 2. Chills (Samuke, 寒気) 3. Model Look (ファッションモデル) 4. Hung Balloons (Kubitsuri Kikyuu, 首吊り気球) 5. Puppet Mansion (Ayatsuri Yashiki, あやつり屋敷) 6. Artist (Gaka, 画家) 7. The Never-Ending Dream (Nagai Yume, 長い夢) 8. Venerated Ancestors (Gosenzo-sama, ご先祖様) 9. Slathered (グリセリド) 10. Model Look: Cursed Frame (Fashion Model: Norowareta Framing, ファッションモデル・呪われたフレーミング) [new]
Migiri, a vampire who once terrorized Japan three centuries ago, met his end when a hero named Naonosuke Kobayashi decapitated him, sending him to permanent rest. However, Migiri's slumber has now come to an end.
High school student Itsuki decides to give up on his dream of becoming a Koshien baseball player and return to his hometown, Sengetsu Island, for the sake of his injured sister. However, the sight of the island that should have been familiar to him is full of eerie strangeness... The scariest suspense horror drawn by a shocking team.
He was living a peaceful life as any normal high schooler would, until one day he and his classmates were suddenly brought to uninhabited island. “I’ll have you kill each other until there’s only one of you remaining.” Hearing these words from the man strangely dressed in a military uniform, his classmates panicked. Yes, he was setting up the stage for a death game. One where the strong devoured the weak. The weak would die without mercy and only the strong would taste victory. That was the plan. However, they were unaware that the hero who was hailed as the strongest had just recently returned from another world. The organizers behind the game were already out of luck by the time the game started as the expectations they had for death game that they had worked so desperately to set up would be unwittingly crushed before them.
Something happens to Katagiri Jinpachi late one night when he unwittingly wanders into the youkai market. The only one who knows what it was seems to be one Harada Oriza, a famed painter of youkai portraits. But he is not talking, and Jinpachi only grows more frustrated and confused as he tries to return to the market and find out what he lost... or gained there.
Ura baito, also known as a shady part-time job. A gray area job that pays very well. The price you pay is your life. Yume Kokuryo and Nagomi Shirahama are seeking a large sum of money for some reason. To that end, they casually dive into various shady part-time jobs.
An ordinary office worker, Akira Ichijo, was attacked by a Minotaur on his way home from work. In the next moment, he woke up in his office desk, Akira was resurrected from death, inherited his level and status, and possessed a unique skill called "Return from the Underworld" that allowed him to restart his life at a certain time. Now Akira makes full use of his skill and everything he had to search and survive with his childhood friend Nao Nanase to face this cruel world!!
A deformed female human goes out with a pumpkin on her head to kill all those who bullied her in the past after escaping from a mental hospital.
After waking from a strange dream, architect Darius Ravenscar makes plans to head to the city of Eborvik to show the princess the designs she had commissioned. However, at the masquerade ball, it becomes clear that something is terribly wrong.
Seven classmates reunite in their hometown for the first time in a while. They rent a recreational boat and experience a fleeting sense of freedom, but in the sea lurks a giant man-eating shark. One after another, the youths fall prey to the shark. And when the boat breaks down during the shark attack, it's a desperate situation in the open ocean!
