I fully acknowledge I may be missing the intentions, cultural ques, or sub context, but the recurring theme of this collection is I don’t know what is going on. Maybe I’m not “deep’ enough or something’s lost in translation.

Reading the essay at the end is required to understand the stories fully. If I could do it over, I recommend reading the essay first.

Nonsense (1 star)
I guess. Pretty dull. Over-eager vigilante dude is cursed into a time loop. he’s compelled to kill all evildoers until his murders end him up in prison then hell. In hell, a demon/satan sentences him to collect souls for him, thus perpetuating a never-ending loop.

Woman (1.2 stars)
I didn’t understand what was going on? First, it seemed like a woman scorned by a lover choosing another lady over her, then she gave birth as a single mom. She raised a child that all the women worshipped or something??? Basically, seemed like women's worth. Like, society expects women to be lovers and mothers, and when they aren't, where does that leave them?

Anti (2 stars)
When making an indie film goes too far. Funny in a dark humor way.

Mr. Jin Roku (3 stars)
I kind of liked this until the ending. Jin Roku seems carefree and has a decent life. His friend is struggling with suicidal ideation and depression. But plot twist Jin’s not happy all the time either. here’s Truck-kun’s friend, random Car-chan.

The Tragedy of Princess Rokunomiya (2 stars)
Beautiful girl seems above it all. Everyone thinks she’s enlightened or otherworldly. But she’s not. She’s insecure about her eyes.

Sounds (1 star)
Okay.

Occupants (-1 star)
What was going on??? Killing spiders and eatin sugar? A lesbian couple where one of the ladies keeps cheating with other women? I just didn’t get this. These stories need to come with explanations.

6512320262719 (1 star)
???

Calamity (1 star)
What was the point?

My Wife is an Acrobat (2 stars)
Beauty of the female body. Not sure what the ending was about.

Money (1 star)
Yuko’s Days (1 star)

The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud (1 star)
Nonsensical.

Max (2.5 stars)
Musings of a 20-something, realizing the monotony of her life.

Artic Cold (2 stars)
Kind of sad. Guy’s hiding his dead wife(?) so the authorities don’t find out and put him into an internment camp.

The Sea Snake and the Big Dipper (1 star)
Depressing or bittersweet in a way. another one that ends in death, but she accomplished her task to get close to the stars.

R (-1 star)
???

Flight (2 stars)
Welp, don’t expect any happy endings with this author, but this one comes close. ( )

Literary manga short stories by one of the few women regularly published in the groundbreaking alternative comix magazine Garo in Japan in the 1960s and 1970s. And by "literary" I mean opaque, incomprehensible, and/or dumb. Not for me. ( )

This is a collection of works by Kuniko Tsurita, one of the earliest female manga authors. She published in the 1970s and died at 37. Her work is meditative, existential and contains androgynous characters. I didn't always find it easy to follow. One enjoyable one was 'The Tragedy of Princess Rokunomiya' about a real ice queen who wanders around the suburbs. ( )