Four desperate people meet on a site called Black Paradox and arrange their group suicide. But their attempt takes an unexpected turn as they discover a gateway to the afterlife and a precious - but dangerous - resource called Paradonite that’s going to change the world…
Junji Ito’s 2009 manga Black Paradox, translated in English for the first time this year, starts off really well, in a incredibly barmy very Junji Ito-way, and then unfortunately becomes quite dull for the rest of the book.
The opening chapter is like a demented fever dream as the four main characters meet and, en route to their death site, they share their reasons for dying. I won’t give anything away here but it’s one bonkers horror twist after another. It’s not so much terrifying as it is hilariously mental and also undeniably enthralling.
The second chapter starts comedically too as the group convene to attempt suicide once more via pills this time before even that descends into weird farce. If the whole book had been this incompetent group trying, and failing, to off themselves, I would’ve been fine with it. Sadly, this is where the meat of the story begins as one of the group starts vomiting up glowing balls and we get into the whole spirit world/Paradonite nonsense for the rest of the narrative. (The one continuation of this opening act’s storyline is the robot repeatedly trying to kill itself for no reason throughout the book - it’s so funny!)
Without getting into spoilers, it’s just very repetitive as they set about trying to harvest these balls in a variety of different ways even though it’s not especially clear why they’re immediately identified as so valuable given how dangerous and strange their properties are. Things become even more convoluted when a mad doctor gets involved and the group - now bizarrely calling themselves Black Paradox like they’re a rock band/superhero team - “know” where it’s all headed, even though those revelations only throw up more questions.
So Junji Ito’s still not a great writer, but then he never really has been or seems likely to develop into one at this point, nor does it seem to matter to his ever-growing fanbase anyway. His narrative idiosyncrasies though are what make his comics so unique - I can’t say I’ve ever read a story like Black Paradox before.
Ito’s artwork is Ito’s artwork - it’s the same as it appears in most of his books, no better or worse, though it remains very high quality. Also included in this edition is a short, full colour story called Strange Pavilion that’s completely pointless. Set in 2105, cormorants are apparently extinct so future people bioengineer a way to bring them back - with kerazy results!
Junji Ito can write semi-interesting longform stories like Uzumaki and Gyo that are more successful than Black Paradox. I just found this book to be mostly uninteresting in the repetitive actions of mining this precious mineral. It’s got a cracking opening chapter though that might be worth checking the book out purely for that, and I’m sure Ito fans will pick this up regardless. Overall, Black Paradox didn’t do much for me and I found it mostly boring.
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