Dissolving Classroom

Back at it again with another creepy and disturbing work from Junji Ito, this one is such to make your brain melt....literally.

Beware of young men who aggressively apologize upon meeting you, he just might be a disciple of the devil and your brains will most definitely be melting out of your eyes and mouth in mere moments. OH, and he has a terrifying little sister with a crazy smile who will eat the brains that seep out of you. So yeah, definitely avoid this family if you can.

Dissolving Classroom was a very quick read that had a nice balance of beautiful horrific art and a very simple story line to follow. I would say it's not one of my favourites to date, but it's a quick read with some...interesting imagery. The characters of Yuuma show more and Chizumi were in my opinion sorta lackluster and by end I more annoyed by them both rather than interested in them.

It was okay! Not one of Junji Ito's best works, but worth a read given how short the collection is. show less

* spoilers*

High school student Yuuma Azawa and his little sister Chizuma move to a new city. He is remarkable by all because of his habit of apologizing profusely for seemingly nothing, even going so far as bowing down on the floor. His classmates take it as a joke and waste no time making him the target of harassment and bullying. Chizuma also becomes infamous in the neighborhood for following people around and scaring them with her intense stare. Both have conflicting stories of each other. Yuuma claims Chizuma is disturbed and Chizuma claims Yuuma worships the devil and melts people by apologizing so much.

Much like Tomie, this manga follows Yuuma and Chizuma Azawa as they move around Tokyo, affecting people and oftentimes murdering show more them as they go. Yuuma appears to be a nice young man that helps his community and has an odd habit. In reality, he worships the devi through his extensive apologies and the effect of the power has some debilitating effects on people that causes them or their brains to melt. Chizuma is his annoying little sister taken to the extreme. She is completely honest with anyone she comes across, much to Yuuma's chagrin, and relishes eating the melted brains. The duality between the two is interesting. He lies constantly but appears normal, attractive, and nice while Chizuma tells the truth and appears as monstrous, but doesn't have any supernatural powers at all.

As with most of Ito's stories, body horror is at the forefront with the power melting and disfiguring people. Each story is a little different and Yuuma's power has greater effects as time goes on. He can melt entire buildings of people eventually and the press catches on to the mysterious "disease" going around Japan wherever they go. His powers venture into other territories like constantly resurrecting his parents to abuse him. Chizuma has some stories only about her, like when she falls in love with another boy. It goes about as well as you might expect from a monstrous girl who eats liquified people and parts. The story where Yuuma compliments young women so much that their faces melt and become disfigured is one of my favorites. It's symbolic for how people can be trapped by abusive relationships when the abuser seems so nice and charming.

Dissolving Classroom is unlike a lot of other of Ito's stories. He has tropes he likes to follow and some of his stories can be a bit predictable as I read more and more of his work. I felt completely surprised by the stories and delighted to uncover whatever depravity he has in store. The ending is spectacular, unexpected, and a little tragic. Some argue that Yuuma is unaware of his power, but I thought there was enough implication that he relishes in the effect of his power. The only tiny problem I had was defining electromagnetism as the cause for melting people. If it was left undefined and magical, I think it would have been better. It was an odd detail since Ito rarely tries to explain the supernatural elements. Other than that, Dissolving Classroom is a fantastically twisted horror manga that's a quick read. show less

A bit of a mess not dissimilar to the goo oozing out of the eyes and noses of many characters in the book. Occasionally compelling illustrations are undercut by goofy over-the-top storytelling.

The first five of the seven stories included in this are connected by a brother and sister duo. The brother, the older one of the two, spends all his time apologizing. His sister is a psychotic little monster with wide eyes and a creepy smile.

"Dissolving Classroom" - The introduction of Yuuma Azawa and his sister Chizumi. Melting brains and devil worship. Meh.

"Dissolving Beauty" - Yuuma is living in yet another town, dating girls and melting their faces with his profuse insistence that they're beautiful. Again, meh.

"Dissolving Apartment" - Residents of an apartment worry that the newest residents are abusing their children, creepy Chizumi and polite Yuuma. People dissolve. Meh.

"Chizumi in Love" - Chizumi falls in love with a little boy show more and wants to lick him, so she and Yuuma kidnap him. This one is gross. I mean, they're all pretty gross, but for some reason this one was particularly "ick" for me.

"Interview with the Devil" - The siblings are hunted down by a reporter, based on a tip from the sole survivor of Story #1. For some reason, Yuuma seems to be genuinely afraid, despite his ability to literally melt people with his apologies. Chizumi and Yuuma never really did much for me, and I was glad to be done with them.

"The Return" - Some guy's dead love comes back to "life" via an asteroid that smashes to Earth and then kills her again. Or something. Not scary, just weird.

"Children of Earth" - A bunch of kindergarteners are changed and swallowed up by the Earth. Creepy, but too brief.

All in all, this was probably my least favorite Junji Ito volume I've read so far.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less

If you like devils and demons, this is the Junji Ito work for you! He never fails on originality and uniqueness that just have you addictingly turn pages to see how it all resolves. You can easily finish this book in an hour or two- it has one of the more simplistic plots but is still a treat for horror enthusiasts. Moral of the story and a lesson we can all take notes from: Don't apologize too much.

Interesting manga by one of the greatest horror writers I’ve come across. This just fell a little flat and was more gross than scary. I still plan on reading more work by him.

ONE OF HIS MORE GOREY BOOKS, THE DRAWINGS ARE THE MOST DISTURBING PART, MOSTLY BECAUSE THEY ARE GOOEY LOOKING.