Graphic Novel Review – Gyo 2-in-1 Deluxe Edition by Junji Ito (3.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Older Teen
Genre: Horror/Manga
Length: 400 pages
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC; Deluxe edition
Release Date: April 21, 2015
ISBN-13: 978-1421579153
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

“Something is rotten in Okinawa… The floating smell of death hangs over the island. What is it? A strange, legged fish appears on the scene… So begins Tadashi and Kaori’s spiral into the horror and stench of the sea. Here is the creepiest masterpiece of horror manga ever from the creator of Uzumaki, Junji Ito. Hold your breath until all is revealed.”

When I finished reading Uzumaki by Ito-san I immediately went out and bought the other two deluxe editions by him. Gyo is quite a bit shorter and I wasn’t as impressed with the story as I was with Uzumaki. That being said it was still a very well done and very well drawn manga.

I didn’t think Gyo was quite as intellectually interesting as Uzumaki. Rather than dealing with supernatural themes of madness it deals with strange legged fish that come out of the sea and start attacking people.

This book also didn’t have as much closure as Uzumaki did. We are left pretty much in the middle of the story with no real idea about how exactly this horror came to be and what will happen to the people of this world now.

The illustration is amazingly detailed and easy to follow. The story is more just gross and a bit disturbing than actually scary. I would recommend to older teens just because there is some nudity, some of the scenes later in the book are pretty gross, and there is strong language in here as well.

I actually enjoyed the two bonus stories “The Sad Tale of the Principal Post” and “The Enigma of Amigara Fault” a bit more than the main story. These were well done and darkly ironic.

Overall I liked this book, it was well done. However I didn’t find it to be as entrancing and amazing as Uzumaki. Uzumaki will go on my shelf to read again at some date, Gyo is going to get swapped or sold. I still have Tomie to read, so I am curious to see how that book compares the other two books I’ve read by Ito-san.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– Graphic Novel Reading Challenge