With manga on the rise in the west, horror creator Junji Ito is more popular than ever. With work like Uzumaki and Gyo, Ito cemented his status as a master of grotesque artwork and twisted writing. In stark contrast to his dark body of work, though, is the warmth he portrays in interviews. Nowhere is this juxtaposition more evident than in his one autobiographical comic. When Ito's natural humanity crosses over with his instinct for horror, readers are gifted with something like Junji Ito's Cat Diary: Mu and Yon and the result might well be Ito's most human work.
Following Ito just after he moves in with his new wife, the book chronicles the horror master as he learns how to live with cats. Never thinking of himself as much of a cat person, Ito has trouble adjusting to the presence of his wife's cat Yon. He thinks of Yon as having a cursed face and is further horrified to discover that the cat has a skull pattern on its back. Further complicating matters is Mu, who Ito's wife A-Ko adopts so that Yon won't be lonely in their new house. Ito is entranced by his new pets, both horrified by their strange habits but also utterly determined to win their affection, usually to no avail.
Each chapter follows Junji Ito as he attempts to wrap his head around these strange new creatures. While these chapters mostly focus on short gags, there is undoubtedly an arc as Ito goes from being baffled by simple things like the litter box to feeling bad when he goes on vacation without his cats. Throughout the whole book, A-Ko is portrayed almost as an otherworldly being who is just naturally in tune with the cats. Her eyes are completely white and she seems to understand the cats in a way that Ito just doesn't get.
What makes the book so compelling is the contrast between Ito's disturbing artwork and the relatively mundane situations he's drawing. With Ito's art, a cat's back can look like a face writhing in agony and a man trying to hug his cat can become downright demonic. It's all hilarious, but in the end, readers will become as attached to Mu and Yon as Ito himself does. It's telling that the entire book was conceived of when one of Ito's editors noticed that he was now drawing cats as much more cute than scary and then correctly deduced that this was because Ito was now a cat owner.
In a sad ending, Ito's wife actually writes the book's afterward, describing the death of Yon after years of ownership. It ends up making the book a touching tribute that anyone who has ever lost a pet can relate to. Much like its subjects, Junji Ito's Cat Diary: Mu and Yon is a strange thing that never fails to surprise and entertain.