She’s beautiful, charismatic, and magnetic. There’s something so deceivingly beautiful about her aura. Her origin isn’t precisely clear; even her endearing name, Tomie, was just a name given to her. Tomie has been brought to life in Manga and live-action horror under “ The Girl From Nowhere.” Tomie is also the first horror manga that Junji Ito wrote and illustrated. His creation is so iconic; even the story behind how it was written was also the turning point of his life. He wrote this Manga when he was still a dental technician.
𝘙𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘏𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘊𝘭𝘶𝘣 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘪𝘴 " What was the first manga or comics you ever read, and how did it shape your love for the medium??". 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 : Hive Book Club Highlight #328
Tomie by Junji Ito presents several locations with different characters and their darkness. It all started when her high school best friend mentioned that Tomie had passed away and her body was dismembered. Yet suddenly, Tomie reappeared and shocked everyone inside the classroom. The grueling story started when Tomie reappeared. The characters in that school did the unthinkable, but Tomie was still alive. The manga showcaseMangae arcs where Tomie could regenerate and sprout through different mediums and even inside someone’s body. Her evil sees no bounds, and she doesn’t seem to have any Achilles’ heel. Can people get rid of her, or is she just a manifestation of something evil that fights evil in the world?
While Tomie isn’t necessarily my first Manga, it is the most serious one I enjoy reading. I was drawn into this iconic character of Tomie and her world. She is such a captivating character and the others characters in the story are all intriguing on its on way. They were all seemingly regular but have something to hide. Tomie comes into their life,drawing out their deepest and darkest human nature of theirs.
Honestly, after reading the story for the first time, I didn’t truly understand its meaning. Yet, as I continued flipping through the pages, I slowly saw some themes, messaging, and the characters and their characterization. In my opinion, Tomie was just a medium to express and bring out these people’s darkest and deepest desires.
This is also the first Manga that I own a copy of. I used to collect comics, but most weren’t very serious. Somehow, I was drawn to this after discovering that I couldn’t find Solo leveling at the store. There was only the third one, but I needed to read the first before jumping into the third. I enjoyed flipping through the pages, and for the first work of Junji Ito, no wonder he’s winning the award even though he was rushing while writing and illustrating this Manga.
After unboxing the book, I went into serious reading mode. I got so engrossed that I didn’t care much about anything else. It was weird, and the way Tomie operated bothered my mind. I wanted to know how it ended and why she did what she did. It took me about a couple of hours to finish this manga. I even made a couple of snacks to sit down and enjoy reading without going downstairs.
I look forward to completing this series. I found Part 2 of this Manga but it wasn't available at the store, so I will hunt that down to discover the next adventure for this femme fatale character, Tomie.
 | 𝘔𝘢𝘤 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘢 & 𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘳 . 𝘈 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴, 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨, 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴, 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴, 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯! 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘱𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘈 𝘳𝘦-𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘰. |
What you read in the first part gives a really scary feeling. Because I feel very scared watching and listening to horror movies. Although I haven't read the manga. But you are really brave and patient. But if you find part 2 read it and have a nice time reading it. But share it with us. Because it's more scary to watch but I'm interested to hear. But I know about the story. being interested Hope you share part 2 with us. Respect to you
hahahaha I am not that patient actually, it's why I rushed through the whole story. It's definitely something scary even to me and I wouldn't dare to even watch the anime but reading and seeing the illustration are something doable to me. Thanks for checking out 😊
Manga? I do not consume this sort of stuff at all. The first manga book that fell into my hands in 2001 (pretty accidentally!) - I can't show photos or give its title - I found in apartment that our publishing house have rented. Before we moved in, it was rented by a Japanese woman, who - at moving out - left a pile of her things, including several Japanese books (we were truly amused to see how different they were to the European ones), and one thick volume of manga printed on very rough thick yellow paper. Of course, this was not an adapted manga, Russian or English translation was simply out of the question - it contained only pics and Japanese hieroglyphs, nothing was understandable even at 3%. That time I got acquainted 1st time with 'manga' (and for the most part I did not like it... but it interested me). Only much later I found out that there are a great variety of styles in Manga-land...
Today I might be interested in the original Manga that served as the source for the film adaptations (which I just got acquainted with, and liked a lot) - for example, 'Ghost in the shell' or 'Nausika from Valley of Wind'.
I was like you who think that manga has quite limited style and artwork. But that was because I was only reading certain types of manga. After some explorations, honestly, there are certain style that I like for example that one and Solo Leveling. I also wanted to re-read One Piece again. Growing up, I read them in quite disorderly manner that I couldn't grasp the story.
Mac, just wanted to wish you the happiest New Year ever. Have a wonderful evening.
My best regards to your family. Take care always :-)
Happy New Year Nathen! I wish 2025 will bring you more prosperity and stay healthy! Have a great celebration 😊
I've watched its anime, but I haven't read its manga yet... Junji Ito's art style was indeed hauntingly beautiful—I mean, the way he utilized it to convey a scary yet gripping story was admirable. Even his cute cat manga (which wasn't horror at all, lol) gives off a scary vibe, so I guess it's really on how he draws his characters and their expressions that made it more convincing and hooking to read. Anyway, I'm hoping you'll find its part 2 soon.
Right? at first I didn't quite get the whole story but after a while, I got an AHA moment that it all finally makes sense. The story is haunting yet it was so beautifully written and gripping. But I also wasn't scared despite the illustration, I am sure though that if I watch the movie film I'd be scared.
Same... It was quite confusing at first—like, how can she do that? Killed then appear again like it never happened...but later on it makes sense. I think the animation and sound effects somehow added to the scare factor of the story, but nevertheless, Tomie is hauntingly beautiful in any medium.
Tomie is exactly as you said, she is a means to bring out the worst in people.
But I believe she is her own character once you tracked her growth from her initial introduction up to the later editions to the series, things changed. She starts as a victim seeking revenge and later on develops a character that becomes a symbolic evil with each edition of the story.
I think this was a crafty move by Junji when he serialized the series. It's good if you read only one work on Tomie but if you piece them all together, Tomie's personality with each death and it's a subtle build up. The Tomie from the early works had reasonable grudges while the Tomie from the later works seemed like evil as a phenomenon rather than human with a grudge.
As I finished the first part, I honestly think it was dangling, like something isn't quite adding up. I was hoping I could find the part 2 at the store but they haven't restocked. From the first part, I saw plenty of Tomie and that is actually terrifying 😂 I mean, she wielded such power that makes people want to dismember a body.
Another part that I want to re-read is the hospital one. They didn't seem that terrified rather wanted to use Tomie's body as an experiment? at least that's what I caught from their dialogues. They even kept her body in the hospital basement.
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Manga....
I'm still looking for where to easily and affordably get one in my city/country.
It's a bother. Though I love this prompt ✨
oh, is Manga or comic not available in your country? I can safely say though even to me, not all manga/comics are equals. Some are printed poorly that it's quite aesthetic as a collection. I was happy enough to find that one looks like a proper print and is great for a book collection.
It's not available. Have to be shipped in as an order and the stores that do have them sell them extremely high.
Best and easier to read them online...
oh, is Manga or comic not available in your country? I can safely say though even to me, not all manga/comics are equals. Some are printed poorly that it's quite aesthetic as a collection. I was happy enough to find that one looks like a proper print and is great for a book collection.
I love how you managed to connect with her story and how it drew you in from the first moment. Sometimes, those mangas that seem a bit confusing at first end up revealing deep themes, and it seems like Tomie is a great example of that.
Right? sometimes it just does that. The manga starts slow then you have to re-read to understand the whole thing.
@macchiata, you're rewarding 8 replies from this discussion thread.