All I got to say is that some of the stories I found fairly interesting, 4 of 7 if I’m being honest.

But the other stories, like his other short story collections, made no damn sense or were literally just hentai in disguise.

... Last updated on March 15th, 2020, 12:59am

All the one-shots are bizarrely funny to me, the mangaka has that Black Mirror dark humour lol

The stories are mature tho and kinda fucked but i loved them

Matsumoto sensei really needs to make a spin-off manga purely about the gas mask children and their daily shenanigans (since its really the story that outshines them all)

... Last updated on March 7th, 2018, 8:38pm

The first two stories; All I can say about them is that I've read them.
The 3rd one, the repeatedly murdering one, that one made me say "Okay, interesting." for the first time.
The 4th one, the masked children. Wow. That one is amazing.
I strongly assumed what the fireworks are. The children are completely free of spirit, and the author portrayed that well for my taste.
The one with the detective, I didn't understand that one nor did I care about retrying it.
The final one, again, amazing. It's like a conceptual story, telling of a possibility.
And the ending of the last story made me want more.
The story with the children was the most interesting by far, every page was enjoyable, whereas the 2nd one only piqued my interest in the end, and the last one was interesting because of the concept of the story, what happened in the story, and the last panel combined.

... Last updated on February 12th, 2018, 6:23pm

I really had this strange urge to go read something that was completely out of my zone today, and this definitely delivered. I honestly did not know what I was expecting, and because there aren't that many reviews, I read through all of them and heavily relied on it. Nothing really prepares you for reading this though, so you kind of just have to dive in with no expectations. Had I read this when I was younger, I would have probably been very disgusted or disoriented, but like the others have mentioned, if you can look beyond the sex and violence, the messages are thought-provoking and might I say deliberate. There's something about sketchy art combined with painful topics that drives home the point, you know? With that being said, I also do think that the art can drive some people away, and the storytelling is a bit poor - so I can see why people would pass it off as pointless ero guro. Anyway. Overall, after I read this, I actually had this strange feeling of serenity, especially the one with the kids wearing gas masks. I don't feel like I've wasted my time. If you're not easily phased, give this one a try.

... Last updated on July 26th, 2017, 12:13am

Of course, that depends on the age and experience but among tropes and instinctual writing, what can be observed is hard truth. Absolutely every story reflects on contemporary society, be it it was intended to do so or not. And in this way, it is special to me.

Even the author itself commented that its strange LoL. I only like where the Gas Mask Kids apppeared since it somehow gives some realizations or moral lesson of the story besides their innocence. The rest is somehow disturbing, gruesome and strange turn of events. There are some story confuses me.

The only thing I can say about this manga is that. Weird.

I wasn't sure about the 1st one... The 2nd was just as bizarre. But I somehow liked the 3rd (Gas Mask kids). And the last one was cool too.

Well that IS explicit.

I see people saying this isn't suited for young people. What are you talking about? Of course, it's not for kids, but teenagers are young people. Moreover, this is the kind of manga that is optimal for teenagers who seek profound meaning in their manga. Matsumoto-san doesn't make his stories so sophisticated and adult that young'uns can't understand them properly. It is deep, and sometimes hard to understand, I wholly agree with that, but don't underestimate teenagers' ability to see what Matsumoto-san wants to convey here. And if you're referring to the shameless amounts of uncensored sex, that makes it all the more appealing to teens.

Now then, Sanpol and Krezol.

I absolutely loved the stories about the gas mask kids, Sanpol and Krezol. Particularly the first one. It is extremely surreal, bizarre and mysterious, not to mention sexually explicit. Now most of Matsumoto-san's stories are that, but there's something excessively strange and wonderful about a brother and his younger sister observing the painful and dirty world from behind their gas masks. It's the most beautiful manga short story I've read in a long time.

There are a couple of stories that leave you feeling rather filthy, but If you're giving this collection a go, don't stop until you've at least reached Sanpol and Krezol.

it require you to be supremely bored and supremely bloated with the usual manga fare to read this meandering, nearly plotless manga. hey, i like it, but i understand if most people dont. i like the gas mask kids because they look so innocent compared to the adults. i also like the sniper story because it is a heartwarming feel-good kind of manga that you tend to crave for after reading stories after stories of uninhibited sex and ceaseless violence. the art is sketchy but beautiful, as expected of this mangaka.
try this, just throw your squeamishness outside for a bit.

I find this manga pretty disturbing to say the least. One of the stories reminded me of the fable "Appointment in Samarra", but the main thought that went through my mind when I was reading this was "this is just sick", I stopped reading somewhere in the middle because I found it too disturbing.

And as if that isn't enough it's also painfully inaccurate at times. I mean, seriously, if you're gonna draw bestiality with a pig, you should at least know what a pig's penis looks like.

I think the author was being rather optimistic when he drew that one, 'cause a pig's penis is more like that of a large-breed dog than a human's; the only thing that's large about a pig's genitals are the testes, I mean, they're huge (thank you discovery channel for ruining my innocence). And there's no way the veins would show; pigs, like pretty much all other mammals, have a penis bone that causes the erection (it's the humans that are weird).

And isn't this a hentai?! I sure as hell didn't see any censoring.

... Last updated on May 16th, 2011, 2:54am