Junji Ito Collection Window Next Door Continuation

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It's Junji Ito Time!!!

THE WINDOW NEXT DOOR

The Window Next Door, a.k.a. The Neighbour's Window, is the third chapter of volume 13 of The Horror World of Junji Ito, that has the name – The Circus is Here, published in 1997. The other stories are amazing, but, from my perspective, The Window Next Door is the most famous, both in Japan and overseas.

STORY

Hiroshi Sakaguchi and his parents have just recently moved to a new house, it was a bit old, but nice and comfortable. Shortly after moving, Hiroshi notices another house in particular which has one window on the second floor.

Anyway, Hiroshi and his mother go and greet their neighbours. One of them tells them about the house next door. They claim that a middle-aged woman lives there, but she barely shows her face in public and apparently has an odd behaviour, living in that place for over ten years.

Hiroshi's mother keeps ringing the bell, but no one is answering the door.

That night, Hiroshi goes to bed, when he starts hearing an unsettling voice calling for him. When he sees the window, he finds a very disgusting, deformed creature, with a monstrous face, filled with warts and sharp claws. The woman asks Hiroshi to visit her.

At first, Hiroshi thinks that all was a dream, but the next night, he hears the same voice from the woman and goes check it out. He not only finds the woman, he notices she is trying to reach his window with a pole. Frightened, Hiroshi throws the pole, closes the window and rushes toward his parents' room, calling for help.

To no one's surprise, Hiroshi's mom and dad didn't find anything at the window next door. However, after so much consideration, they agree to switch rooms on the night. However, the woman never appears and Hiroshi is convinced that everything was a dream, so he goes back to his room.

Unfortunately, the woman calls his again that night, and this time, she is trying to reach Hiroshi's room with her bare hands.

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This time, Hiroshi is determined to confront the woman, ready to push her toward the window to her death, not sleeping that night. However, the woman never appears.

The next morning, Hiroshi reveals that he has now proof that the woman is still trying to reach him. And then it is revealed that the window has magically stretched into some bridge hallway-like monstrosity.

Hiroshi's parents are planning to move, but he is already prepared to be reached by the entity… tonight.

Whether the woman got him or not is up to our interpretation.

SYMBOLISM

Honestly, I am surprised of how short this story is. In fact, of all the stories I have read from master Junji Ito so far, this is the shortest. But luckily, that doesn't make it less entertaining, a little bit less scary, but not short in quality.

And the ending, as well of whether it was all a dream or not adds to the value and the horror factor.

In other words, this is an excellent stories for those who are new to the work of Junji Ito. Then, after some «ice-breaking» with the Window Next Door, I will recommend try and continue with either The Enigma of the Amigara Fault or The Woman Next Door.

Furthermore, I agree with many YouTubers, who state that the only purpose of Junji Ito was to tell a normal horror story, with no particular social commentary. Thanks to Luis DeWitt, whose video was useful for me to do this blog.

Here is the link (Warning – the video is in Spanish.)

One element that concerns me is that this story destroys my hopes about the Junji Ito Collection. You know, the anime. Why? Because by looking to the grotesque woman, and comparing her with the original manga…

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…It makes me think The Junji Ito Collection is of an inferior quality.

Now! I repeat myself! I am not saying the anime is bad, I am saying that the its animation is inferior. Nothing more and nothing less, despite being done by Studio Deen.

Well. When the time comes, I will find out.

CONCLUSION

The Window Next Door is another fantastic horror story from Junji Ito. Basic, but impressive as the previously reviewed on Junji Ito Time. No wonder why is consider one of his best.

Thanks my friends, for stepping by, and I hope you have enjoyedIt's Junji Ito Time.

The best is about to come.

References:

<https://junjiitomanga.fandom.com/wiki/The_Neighbor%27s_Window&gt;

I graduated from Literature, at University of the Andes (Colombia), then I moved to Melbourne, Australia, to enrol in a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Drama), at Deakin University. After graduation, I took two Master's Degree, Business Administration and Professional Accounting, and with 9 years in Bagel-Making. My main interests include Japanese culture, including anime, literature, movies and film history And for those accountants in Australia, try to do the Professional Year Program. It is really handy. Ver todas las entradas de Jaime Perez

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Source: https://jainituos.wordpress.com/2021/10/14/its-junji-ito-the-windows-next-door-the-neighbours-window/

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