Whispering Woman by Junji Itou

Junji Itou takes the horror of realities and weaves them into his narratives so effortlessly that you are dived into the world with each panel bursting with beauty and detail.

His stories are emotional and objective with questionable conclusions. I mean where to even start with the weird plot that starts believable but goes a little bit insane. A character that needs constant help in doing what next, told in perfect detail. From what to eat, to when to eat, how to eat, to how to hold a spoon. Ferocious sense of dependency, that all caretakers leave the job in a few days on joining the house of the wealthy widower. The father of the child though is so tired. How to find help for her kid, and himself.

What a peculiar problem, but totally believable because that is possible. Co-dependency is a thing, and anxiety is accepted now more than ever before. And the master storyteller Manga artist way ahead of his time took these traits and stretched them to its limits. His young protagonist has a peculiar problem on wanting to know what to do, need directions all the time in this weird yet wonderful plotline that is dreadful with gut-wrenching finale.

The rich widower meets a woman who knows EXACTLY what to tell his little daughter. She is good at her job. A little too good. And that is where I will end saying more. This is a story of everyday life events that we are easily overlooking because it is so much easier. We have dehumanized them and made a cold hard statistic. News-portals are brimming with them every-day that we look and we as a collective society are absolutely okay with that.  And that’s why I respect Junji Itou because he brings it to the front. Whispering woman hence becomes so important it is classic. The story will never be old. Relevant more than ever. The uneasiness he brings in his manga makes us question and stay silent for a minute.

It is rare for any other piece of art to do that to me. True I like horror for its rawness, the thrill, the brazen plots that edge on darkness and wackiness, but there lies a core human element which we tend to leave. And Junji Itou brings them up spectacularly through most of his gruesome horror manga stories. Just like this one, he makes us uncomfortable usually and sometimes when he feels like gives them a delicious end like this one in Whispering Woman.

Read more about Junji Ito

Gentle Goodbye here .

Human Chair here.

Library of illusions here here.

Layers of Fear here.

Phantom Mansion here.

Long Dream here.

Love as Scripted here.

The Enigma of Amigara Fault here.

The Hanging Balloons

I’m working hard to ensure you – my delightful reader! – find the fan analysis as an informative and enjoyable read. If you have read till the end, then please comment on what was the favorite part of the comic, and I will respond asap, promise. Let’s have meaningful discussion on the master of horror and storyteller!

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