Ah nice, lucky find!
Yeah it’s just a single volume rather than the others which have all been 2 volume omnibus. Personally I wish Kodansha had done singles for all of them since this now looks weird on the shelf.
)
Very curious to hear your thoughts on Blood on the Tracks since you got so many volumes! I got volume 1 and the initial animal-related scenes put me off the entire thing (I just found it an unpleasant/cheap way to create discomfort and didn't want to see more of it throughout the series)... I actually never picked the volume up again to finish it and it's one of the few in my collection I've contemplated getting rid of a few times. BUT I actually really liked the concept + I love psychological reads and feel torn about not giving it more of a chance.
Sorry that I haven't actually got my own opinion on it to offer yet, not having actually read it myself at this stage XP
Thank you, I appreciate it! I don't doubt his work is good which is why I would like to give it a try, Flowers of Evil is definitely one I intend to pick up and I think it also suits my tastes in psychological manga better too. But I wanted to try this one since it sounded pretty different from anything I've seen or read before. I haven't given up on it yet, but would love to hear your thoughts when you've gotten to it!I haven't actually read any of it yet as I bought it on the strength of loving Shuzo Oshimi's series The Flowers of Evil and Happiness (both of which I really recommend and don't remember them having disturbing scenes with animals but please someone correct me if they recall different!), so I don't know if we're talking about eating bugs or a puppy getting hurt or what, but FWIW I do think Oshimi puts a lot of thought into his work and I always enjoy his series when I do read them. It's ok if you were put off by that though - like even if I could demonstrate conclusively that his intent was not how you interpreted it you're still allowed to be particularly sensitive to certain things, but I will share my thoughts here for you and anyone else who cares to read them when I have read all the volumes I have (I also just got Volume 10 and have pre-ordered Volume 11 which is coming out in early September). I would also note that the series has been nominated for a very prestigious American comics award for best manga (I think it's a Harvey), if that would sway your opinion on whether it's worth giving it another shot, but ultimately while I am an Oshimi fan I'd emphasise that if it upsets you as much as it sounds like it did you really have no obligation to read or like the series and I hope you make the choice that is best for you rather than thinking you have to continue with it just cuz I like Oshimi's works or it's generally a well regarded critically acclaimed series
