Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - Hellstar Remina

[UPDATE 08-23-2021] Hello. It has become clear to me that my ratings system is flawed beyond repair. Due to a lack of standardization, I have rated many books more highly than they deserve, resulting in an inability to rate newly read books accurately without creating an incorrect impression of quality compared to books previously read. As a result, I am re-rating all of the books I have read in 2020 and 2021. For each book, I will append this little explanation, my new rating for this book using Storygraph’s scale (which allows for quarter-star ratings), my reasoning for the change (if necessary), and finally a guide to my new rating scale. Thank you.

Old Rating: 3
New Storygraph Rating: 2.25

My Reasoning: Some merit but overall quite flawed. See original review.

Guide to my New Rating Scale:

* 5 Stars: This book was more or less flawless. One of the best things I’ve ever read.
* 4.75 through 4.25 Stars: This book had slight flaws, but I REALLY loved it. Marked as 4 stars on Goodreads.
* 4 Stars: This book had slight flaws, but I loved it.
* 3.75 through 3.25 Stars: This book had significant flaws, but I REALLY liked it. Marked as 3 stars on Goodreads.
* 3 Stars: This book had significant flaws, but I liked it just fine.
* 2.75 through 2.25 Stars: This book was extremely flawed, but I thought it had some merit. Marked as 2 stars on Goodreads.
* 2 Stars: This book was extremely flawed, but I didn’t actively dislike it. It was a waste of my time but not odious.
* 1.75 through 1.25 Stars: This book was irreparably flawed, and I actively disliked it. Marked as 1 star on Goodreads.
* 1 Star: This book was irreparably flawed. I actively hated this book and am worse off for having read it.

————————————————————————-

So, to preface: I do not have the Artworld (to borrow Danto) to really contextualize and therefore understand manga. The only manga I have read prior to this is Uzumaki (also by Junji Ito). So as a result, my review is based almost entirely upon my phenomenological impressions as imposed to any semiological reading of the text. Simply put: I didn't understand this book on any level beyond the surface "what happens in this plot?"

Will all faculties beyond basic reading comprehension faulty, I thought this was a decent story. Nothing compared to the horror masterpiece that was Uzumaki, but this was also shorter than that. Less to work with. Too fast-paced, I'd say.

In some ways I preferred this work to Uzumaki. I wasn't nearly so unsettled by this one. However, being unsettled is kind of the point.

I liked the vaguely Lovecraftian vibes, and I think this story is strongest when showing us horror on the planetary scale. However, I believe (and again, I have no context, so take this with a grain of salt) that the text was more heavily intended to focus on

the inhumanity human beings are capable of showing to others in times of crisis. However, because the pacing was so rushed, all we are left with is characters who are mere archetypes with perhaps no inner life whatsoever. It was almost a story devoid of characters

.

That said, I did enjoy the ride some. Not terrible, but not great. Not overlong, though, so it doesn't feel like a waste of time, really.

Content Warnings

More...