My journey into the work of Junji Ito continued with the collection Soichi – primarily because the last story, Rumors (which I will cover as a story in its own right), features an appearance by Miss Fuchi from Fashion Model. The collection all feature titular character Soichi, described in the collection’s blurb as “the unhinged second son of the Tsujii family”.
Sochi is a loner, egoist with dark shadows around the eyes, who curses those he does not like (who demonstrates actual magical abilities at times), and who chews on nails – a couple of times rationalised by adults as him doing so due to iron deficiency. He also adopts a vampire persona from time to time. In the story A Happy Summer Vacation, he threatens his cousin Michina by putting the nails in his mouth in a fang position and wearing a cape and saying “…I suck warm blood from girl’s necks. After I suck your blood, you won’t be able to ignore me ever again.” He lunges at him but she hits back, causing the nails to pierce through his cheeks.
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The next story in the collection, A Happy Winter Vacation, sees him menace a stranger, Yumiko, the family rescue from the snows. It appears that he does bite her neck (there are marks) and claims the sauce he has for flaked ice is her blood – it’s actually strawberry syrup. In Soichi’s happy diary he returns to menacing Michina by cursing her (so that tentacles grow from the same parts of her face that his face is scarred – from the nails incident). She is bitten by a mosquito in the three spots and, at the end of the story, admits that the mosquito had Soichi’s face – whether it was implied that he became the mosquito or it had his face as it was part of his curse is down to reader interpretation. I mention this story just because of the mosquito’s normal association with blood sucking.
The story Coffin has Soichi’s grandfather making his own coffin just before he dies. After he makes it Soichi demands he make a western style coffin for Soichi as he wants to sleep in one explaining, “you know there’s always that scene in foreign movies where the vampire’s sleeping in a coffin? That’s the dream.” He wants one “Like the one Dracula uses.” Unfortunately, Grandpa’s efforts fall short and then he dies and so Soichi uses magic to bring Granpa’s corpse back, restless until it makes a coffin to Soichi’s liking. Finally Rumors has a brief appearance, at the end, by Miss Fuchi, as I mentioned. Although Soichi seems possessed of powers, he more acts like a vampire in these stories and the moments are fleeting enough for this to be an honourable mention.
In Hardback @ Amazon US
In Hardback @ Amazon UK
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