Junji Ito: Japan’s Master of Horror Manga 日本當代恐怖漫畫大師 ── 伊藤潤二 This well-known comic artist goes beyond cheap scares to deliver deeply disturbing works of art. 這位知名漫畫家以超越低俗驚恐的方式來傳達其令人深深不安的創作故事。
Junji Ito is one of Japan’s top manga artists. Reading his stories often feels like having a nightmare that keeps getting worse and worse. Unlike other horror writers, Ito’s comics do not feature lots of blood or famed monsters. Most of the time, his stories are scary because they are about facing the fear of the unknown. The ideas behind Ito’s works are always interesting and special. Uzumaki is about a town where people can’t stop looking at spiral shapes. Over time, the spirals make them either kill themselves or go crazy. Gyo shows strange fish with legs that attack people because they are controlled by an evil smell. Tomie tells the tale of a pretty woman whose beauty drives men crazy, making them do terrible things. People say that Ito is a master at building tension. Most of his works begin with a simple idea. Then, readers learn a little bit more about the story with each turn of the page. By the end, Ito reveals to them the full picture and the terrible evils that his characters are facing.
1. horror n. 令人驚恐的事；震驚 Doing a presentation in front of so many people fills me with horror. 在這麼多人面前做報告讓我恐懼萬分。 * fill sb with sth 使某人心中充滿某物
2. disturbing a. 令人不安／使人震驚的 Matt found the news reports of the recent murders extremely disturbing. 麥特覺得最近發生的謀殺案新聞報導極為令人不安。
3. nightmare n. 惡夢；可怕的經歷 The few who survived the air crash said it was a nightmare they would never forget. 這起空難中倖存的少數人表示那將是他們一輩子也忘不了的夢魘。
4. scary a. 嚇人／可怕／駭人的 Emilia firmly grabbed my hand when the scary music came on during the movie. 電影開始響起嚇人的配樂時，愛蜜莉雅緊緊地抓住我的手。
5. unknown n. 未知事物 & a. 未知的；不出名的 People tend to be frightened when facing the unknown. 人們面對未知事物時，常常會感到恐懼。 After being cast away on an unknown island for seven years, the man was finally rescued. 流落不知名的荒島七年後，那名男子終於獲救了。 * be cast away （通常指遭遇海難）流落至（荒島）
6. spiral a. 螺旋（狀）的 & n. 螺旋（形） The lighthouse has spiral stairs leading to the top. 這座燈塔裡有一座通向塔頂的螺旋狀樓梯。
7. evil a. 令人不舒服的；邪惡的 & n. 邪惡之事；禍害 What an evil sound! Hurry! Let’s get out of here! 這聲音真令人好不舒服！快！咱們快離開這裡！ Money is thought to be the root of all evil. 錢被認為是萬惡的源頭。
8. tension n. 緊張（感），焦慮（感） The tension increased as we waited for the exam to begin. 我們在等待考試開始時，氣氛越來越緊張。
真的讓我超抓狂！ 本文中的 drive sb crazy 這個片語指「讓某人抓狂／生氣，把某人逼瘋」之意，同樣意思的片語我們還可以用 drive sb nuts 或 drive sb up the wall 來表示，甚至用 sth kill(s) sb 也可以來表示這種使人抓狂的情境喔。讓我們來看看生活上的實例：
People who ride their motorcycles on the sidewalk drive me nuts. （在人行道上騎機車的騎士讓我抓狂。） The constant noise from my upstairs neighbors drives me up the wall. = The constant noise from my upstairs neighbors is killing me. （樓上鄰居不斷發出的噪音讓我很抓狂。）
