Among the vast sea of his graphic short stories, one of Junji Ito's best is also extremely underappreciated and one that must be read by horror comic fans. Junji Ito is undoubtedly a well-known name in the horror community. His art style has become iconic for its uniquely disturbing imagery. However, lying beneath some of his most recognizable stories like Uzumaki and The Enigma of Amigara Fault, there's one that seems to go under the radar by most readers and needs more attention because it highlights what makes Junji Ito a fantastic horror storyteller: Marionette Mansion.
Marionette Mansion is a story that follows a chilling family reunion. It begins when Haruhiko and his young sister Natsumi receive an invitation from their estranged older brother, Yukihiko. Separated for seven years after their traveling puppeteer father died, they arrive at a home he built and discover something peculiar. Yukihiko, his wife, and their child are all dangling by piano wire, being controlled by servants in the rafters like puppets. The story continues as Haruhiko tries to unfold the mystery of the house, leading to a disturbing and haunting finale. Aside from the grotesque image at the very end, this is arguably one of Ito's tamer stories visually. It's not as disturbing and gory as some of his other works. That being said, this is a story that uses the uncanny to create fear and tension.
Midway through the story, Haruhiko and Natsumi return to Yukihiko's house. Natsumi then asks if she can be controlled like them. When she returns, she's eerily dressed and made-up like one of the ballerina puppets showcased earlier in the story. Dangling from the piano wires, her character design changes to make her look more doll-like. The freckles on her face that Ito clearly wanted to highlight before aren't there. Also, her figure has been altered to mirror the look of the ballerinas shown earlier that she admired. She doesn't look like Haruhiko's sister anymore: she's now a ballerina puppet. This is Junji Ito at his absolute best. He can take a scene as simple as this and use the concept of the uncanny to make something that shouldn't be too creepy just eat at the reader realizing that something is wrong. There's just something to it that is clearly off and seeing Natsumi give away her humanity is chilling.
What's even creepier though is what Yukihiko tells her before she begins "her" dance. "Let your whole body relax," he tells her. "That's right. Just let yourself go limp. Turn yourself over to the puppeteers." This just emphasizes what Ito is trying to sell with Natsumi becoming a puppet. Her urge to control is the last remnant of what the reader recognizes from her since she now looks nothing like she did in previous panels. Instead, she's now a fabricated version of who she was, and Yukihiko instructing her to go limp and let herself go is an unsettling moment since it lets the reader know that Natsumi is gone.
This is more chilling than anything else in the story, even with the bloody image and the reveal of the house's mystery that appears later down the line. Junji Ito is known for his creative designs and monstrous images to invoke fear in the reader, but it's incredible to see that a moment that's not nearly as graphic can be just as disturbing. Just for this moment alone, this is a story that horror fans should not miss. The story can currently be found in the Shiver story collection, and it's an absolute highlight. Marionette Mansion is so underappreciated and should be read by both horror and Junji Ito fans because it is sure to sneak its way into the dark recesses of the mind with its subtle and uncanny take on horror.