It’s noteworthy that the ‘mollusk people’ seem relatively content with their new state of being Tsumura previously bullied Katayama, but as snails they actually mate and end up laying eggs. Having humans metamorphose into slow creatures that live a simple life represents a return back to the basics of nature. It’s unclear why particular people turn into snails, but the spiral affects everyone differently, after all. Another classmate (Tsumura) and the teacher (Mr Yokota) both turn into snails shortly afterwards, and Kirie’s own brother (Mitsuo) does as well towards the end of the story. The spiral becomes a snail shell, and Katayama gradually morphs into a snail. Katayama, a classmate of the protagonist Kirie, starts acting strangely and is found to have a giant spiral on his back. One way in which the spiral affects people is first seen in Chapter 8: ‘The Snail’. Everyone in the town eventually becomes obsessed with or possessed by the curse of the spiral, causing many bizarre deaths and transformations to occur. One of Ito’s most popular mangas, Uzumaki, is about a town called Kurouzu-cho that becomes plagued by spirals. Beware: spoilers ahead for Uzumaki, Gyo, The Enigma of Amigara Fault, and Smashed ! Uzumaki Here I’ll be discussing how some of Junji Ito’s manga involves aspects of ecohorror via the theme of nature taking over or reclaiming itself.

Ecocritical analysis has been applied to a few forms of Japanese media, including Studio Ghibli films and Kaiju films. nature, natural disasters, and pollution or nuclear power. This can involve depictions of natural landscapes, the idea of man vs. Ecocriticism is concerned with environmental issues and the way in which nature is represented in literature. Disturbing visuals, mental illness, absurd events, and destructive jealousy are all themes in Ito’s works.Īlthough he might not have stated it directly, I feel that there is a common theme of ecocriticism across a few of Ito’s stories. A lot of Ito’s inspiration is either from his personal fears, dreams, or other horror writers such as Kazuo Umezu and H. The mangaka (manga author and artist) is perhaps most famous for his focus on body horror and cosmic horror, with extremely detailed and visceral illustrations to be found throughout his works. Junji Ito is one of the most successful horror writers/illustrators in Japan (and the world).

Manga gyo