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 throughout the illustrious career of one of the masters of modern-day ero-guro. In addition to 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 works 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 storytelling style. 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 focus more on their 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.
Super-Dimensional Love Gun is available to purchase here.
More Manga Reviews
Jungle Juice Vol. 1 is a sci-fi fantasy manhwa, written by Hyeong Eun and illustrated by Juder. Hyeong Eun has worked as a writer on the webcomic 100 (2020-23), whereas… While waiting for the release and review of the volume 5 and 6 of the manga Siren Rebirth, I thought it would be nice to focus on some previous manga… Fancy a retro anime review about a kawaii magical girl with an absence of clothes but an excess of psychic killing powers!? Of course y’do! Can you guess what show… The vampire sub-genre in the West is one that is marked dull media with the odd standout title slipping through – the creatures seldom seeing reinvention or popularity of their… Horror manga has seen a steady surge in popularity with the likes of Junji Ito, making it to international recognition and closing the gap of mainstream versus the underground. To… Horror manga has certainly gotten a boost in popularity thanks to the likes of one man in particular, Junji Ito. However, if you ask those who have gone further down…
Jungle Juice Volume 1 Manhwa Review – A Bugs Life
Forbidden Siren Manga Reviews (One-Shots): Demon’s Voice & Memory of the Mermaids
Anime Retrospective: Elfen Lied
Shiga Hime Manga Review – Gore Soaked Vampiric Horror
Obscure Horror Manga – The Disturbed Visions of Noroi Michiru
Town Of Pigs Manga Review – The Return of Hino Horror
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.