Super-Dimensional Love Gun is a 2017 ero-guro horror manga, written and illustrated by world-renowned mangaka Shintaro Kago. The manga collection of 15 short tales based around the mangaka’s distinct style of “Fashionable Paranoia” penned over the course of the illustrious career of one of the masters of modern-day ero-guro. Despite being well-versed in the creation of short stories that have been bundled together in large collections such as Super-Dimensional Love Gun and Dementia 21, Shintaro Kago is also known for his provocative, full-length work such as Paranoia Street, Harem End, and Anamorphosis: Hell Beast.
Weaving a razor-thin line between arousal and repulsion, this collection of short ero-guro stories is an amazing representation of Kago’s unique style of storytelling. The blend of uninhibited adult material with more mind-bending scenarios of nauseating acts can allude to a difficult read at points. Even hardened veterans of all things disturbing, like myself, still feel an uneasy feeling of discomfort when reading some of his works (especially stories such as Miss Tomezuka’s Refined Hobby or Collecting Loss). However, the difficult subject matters and challenging unease are the driving force behind Kago’s masterful style, successfully instilling a sense of queasiness rarely felt by traditional media.
Additionally, a sick and twisted sense of dark humour permeates each story in its own, unique way. Varying from crude toilet humour to pitch-black social commentary, each story contains its own level of comedic input, some more so than others, that complement these short tales perfectly. Maintaining a masterful balancing act of laughter and disgust between each panel.
Furthermore, Kago’s striking artwork delivers purposeful weight to each story, featuring intricately detailed linework that brings to life the bizarre and vulgar scenarios that fill each page.
As Super-Dimensional Love Gun is an anthology manga, many of the stories featured drastically vary in content and tone. Stories such as Local Tourist Information, The Lament of the Headless, and the titular Super-Dimentional Love Gun lean heavily on the previously mentioned dark humour, as opposed to White Strings and Collecting Touch which has a heavier focus on its grisly tone. The addition of story notes provides information on where each story is originally submitted, shedding light on the reasoning for the diverse subject matter explored in each story and atmosphere.
An assorted blend of Shintaro Kago’s style, Super-Dimensional Love Gun is a perfect starting point for the mangaka’s work. With an eclectic tone, rapid pace, and stunning artwork, each story is certain to resonate in some way with fans of the dark and depraved, yet still simultaneously coerce some laughs at the absurdity displayed on each page.
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Hey there, I’m Jim and I’m located in London, UK. I am a Writer and Managing Director here at Grimoire of Horror. A lifelong love of horror and writing has led me down this rabbit hole, allowing me to meet many amazing people and experience some truly original artwork. I specialise in world cinema, manga/graphic novels, and video games but will sometime traverse into the unknown in search of adventure.