Stitches by Hirokatsu Kihara Review

Summary (No Spoilers):

Stitches is a horror light novel containing nine short stories and a bonus short story as well. The short stories are all written by Hirokatsu Kihara and illustrated by Junji Ito, aside from the bonus story at the end as this is a manga entry from Junji Ito.

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In-Depth Review (Spoilers Ahead!):

Face

This was a brief story about a man discovering the small face of a man on his wife's neck as he followed her to the shrine after he heard her speak with the voice of the man on her neck. There was also a connection to the story of Hoichi the Earless in reference to how the priest covered her head to toe in writing to contain the evil within her, all due to their choice of home. This story left a lot of unanswered questions.

The artwork provided by Junji Ito was stunning but the story would have been better if there was more to it, so I'll give this 3/5.

Library

This story focuses on a local school, where a teenage girl experiences a strange experience with a ghostly little girl running through the halls before vanishing. This inexplicably frightens the lot of them so much the library is shut down for a time, and the girl's father tells her how there was a purification ritual done by a priest. Creepily, the little girl's face later appeared as a stain on the ceiling after this and freaked everyone out, but by the time the library opened, it was gone and so was she.

This story worked better with its length, but its contents were a bit boring, though I liked the imagery, so this was a 3/5.

From the Sea

The narrative choice to use the voice of a teenage girl in this story was a solid one, as the description of boring life in a small coastal town worked better that way. Three teenage girls stumble upon some sort of temple ritual involving some intense sutras. They quickly have a strange experience as they're surrounded by glowing balls of light and see the face of a very sorrowful woman in one as she begs for it to stop. Then it all goes dark as her face is sucked away into the shrine.

The choice in narration and the simple but creepy imagery made this story connect much better, so this one is a 5/5.

Festival of the Dead

This story follows an elementary school age girl during Obon, when she spots the ghost of the neighbors' grandpa heading into the house. It confuses her how no one notices him until her mother explains he must be visiting for Obon. And then it happens again when she sees him once more, this time entering the house and exiting with the grandmother in tow; her death is announced days later. And finally it ends when the ghostly couple visits her one last time, offering their apologies as a hoard of ghostly figures make their exit in a huge cloud. Soon after, the house next door burns down.

This story was told in three segments, and each segment added up to make a relatively interesting spin on a fairly typical type of ghost story, so this one is a 3/5.

The Play

The story focuses on a high school theater group finding a script about a puppet named Pinocchio, who looks creepy as fuck, maybe because Pinocchio is already creepy to me. The doll is apparently haunted by a ghost who loves creepy marionette puppets.

This was an okay story with an interesting premise, but the writing is a little awkward, so I'd give it a 3/5.

Folk Dance

The story focuses on a university party, where a bonding folk dance is suggested. Only the men seem interested, as there is a beautiful woman attending the party, but she stays off on her own, barely engaging in conversations. The folk dance is an excuse to dance with her. The photographer takes photos of the dancing, especially the beautiful woman, for an excuse to talk to her. Except after the dance, she vanishes...

Later the photographer develops the photos, but she's missing in all of them. Not an unusual ghost story at all.

This story had a boring premise, the ghostly woman being the only interesting part, but there was no shock at all, so this is a 2/5.

The Kimono

The story is about a mother and her daughter experiencing a strange ghost. The night before a ceremony, the ghost wants the kimono intended for the daughter and borrows it by bring it to the family altar. Apparently this is the dead childhood sister of the mother. Photos are taken of the mother and daughter at the ceremony, but the ghost is there too.

This story had a fun premise, and the art for it was very creepy.  But it might have made for a better story if it was a little longer, so this is a 3/5.

Snow Day

The story has an awkward start by focusing on a clumsy high school girl during high school exams worrying over a very snowy day. But it picks up when she runs into a strange woman with bare feet and a dress walking past. The woman doesn't make a sound as she moves.

That night, the girl notices a strange sight in her open doorway: a woman hanging from a rope. The woman floats there creepily, identifiable as the same woman as before.

This story had great art and was pretty creepy when it picked up, but the storytelling was a bit awkward at first, so this is a 4/5.

Lips 

This is the story of a haunted armoire discovered by a young girl that keeps appearing with paper and a huge pair of lips. The girl investigates, going to touch them, and the lips open, showing total darkness, but the mother distracts her, so she never finds out what's going on with the lips. They never open again.

This was a weird story, but it had some potential. It felt like it fell flat on execution, leaving this as a 2/5.

Summer Graduation Trip

This story is a bonus manga provided by Junji Ito. It starts with two university women staying in a very traditional ryoken, complete with an onsen, but their trip there got... weird.

There was an endless stairway down, and a strange woman with a lamp directed them to the onsen. The onsen was full of people, but weirder still, all their backs were turned away and it was eerily quiet. The women got scared and left.

This was a pretty fun story about a haunted ryoken, especially with the creepy art, so this was a 5/5.  

Book Rating: 3/5