Horror onipresente: um estudo sobre atmosferas na obra de Junji Ito

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes how Junji Ito, a Japanese horror manga author, employs visual and narrative strategies to craft atmospheres that evoke fear, unease, and estrangement. Drawing from Gumbrecht’s (2014) concept of Stimmung, understood as a sensorial ambience that connects affective and aesthetic experiences, the study explores Ito’s works as communicational devices capable of triggering intense sensory experiences and, through this affective pathway, allow us to feel, access and think about the anxieties of the contemporary world. The research is divided into three parts: the first consists of a general contextualization, with emphasis on weird fiction (Joshi, 2017), Noel Carroll’s (1999) notion of art horror, the foundations of comics language based on Eisner (2010), McCloud (1995), and Groensteen (2015), while also contextualizing Ito’s aesthetic universe and certain particularities and distinctions related to Eastern art and culture. The second part applies the concept of Stimmung to the analysis of three works—The Enigma of Amigara Fault, Tomie, and Smashed—highlighting themes such as uncontrollable nature, the monstrous feminine, and fear of the Other, also incorporating the concept of hyperobjects (Morton, 2013). The third part examines the intermedial dialogue of Ito’s work, addressing adaptations and comparisons with authors like H.P. Lovecraft, E.T.A. Hoffmann, and Thomas Ligotti. The findings reveal that atmosphere is a core element in Ito’s narratives, serving as a nexus between storytelling, visuality, and affective reception. Through an interdisciplinary approach that blends communication theory, literary studies, aesthetics and other areas, this dissertation contributes to the understanding of how contemporary horror operates as a cultural and sensitive language, engaging with collective fears, existential dilemmas, and disturbing aesthetic experiences.