some other works/collections of junji ito's manga feels juvenile to me but the recent ones i have read really make me understand why he is so lauded as a master of horror just beyond his art. his adaptation of frankenstein was stellar (coming from a person who hasn't read mary shelley). i think he really struck that good balance of depicting frankenstein's monster as horrific but sympathetic. and because i haven't read the original work, i was really surprised by its deeper themes.

the strange tales of oshikiri was also pretty good in my opinion. junji ito plays a lot with body horror and alternate dimensions and each story builds off the last, so what started as short story that depicted body horror, becomes embroiled into a bigger series of events that really fleshes out the world he created, it's rules, and characters.

i didn't really care for the doll funeral, or face firmly in place, but the collection ended nicely with two short stories about junji ito's dog.