The Enigma of Amigara Fault
Nov. 1st, 2013 06:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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I meant to post this yesterday as my big Halloween post but my schedule got in the way so...here it is. It's been posted a couple of times here before but the images are dead.
For those not familiar with this, it's probably one of Ito's most famous stories.
Following an earthquake in an unnamed prefecture, a fault near to the epicentre of the quake is discovered on Amigara Mountain (the name Amigara meaning "empty shell").
Owaki, a hiker, is lost on the mountain.



Scientists examining the holes announce that there is no way to find out how deep into the mountain the holes go. The holes are not natural and must have been dug from the inside. They figure that the accumulation of soil over the centuries eventually sealed up the entrance, yet they have no way of knowing why the holes were made or who would have the technology to do it.
Owaki sees Yoshida looking for something, and asks what. She explains she came here because on TV, she had seen a hole in her own shape. She swears it is her exact silhouette and was meant for her. Owaki's sceptical, but another man called Nakagaki overhears and says that the same thing happened to him.

The scientists' equipment can find no trace of Nakagaki. A rescue squad is dispatched, but have to retreat after getting no more than five meters inside the hole.
Owaki camps out overnight and has a nightmare in which he is Nakagaki.

When Owaki awakes, Nakagaki hasn't been found. Yoshida tells Owaki that she has found her own hole at the foot of the mountain.
In front of a news crew reporting on Nakagaki's disappearance, a man climbs up to one of the holes. He shouts "This is my hole! It was made for me!" and disappears inside. All the people present at the site begin climbing into "their" holes.



They kiss.
That night, Owaki has another dream. In this one, he is a criminal in the past who has committed a horrific crime. His sentence is to enter inside a hole in the mountain that was dug out for him.

Owaki wakes to find that Yoshida has unblocked her hole and disappeared into it.

As he sits mournfully by the mountain, he hears a noise and to his horror sees his own hole beside him.



no subject
Date: 2013-11-01 11:24 pm (UTC)*runs off and hides*
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Date: 2013-11-01 11:44 pm (UTC)*hides*
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Date: 2013-11-01 11:57 pm (UTC)"Something horrible is very slowly coming this way!"
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Date: 2013-11-02 12:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-11-02 03:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-11-02 07:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-11-02 07:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-11-02 11:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-11-02 11:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-11-03 01:34 am (UTC)I'm afraid I don't know how to post this as an image.
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Date: 2013-11-03 07:48 pm (UTC)Oh and you post an image using
[img src="http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/556/824/6bf.png"]
but replacing the [ with < and the ] with >
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Date: 2013-11-03 07:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-11-02 03:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-11-02 01:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-11-02 01:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-11-02 01:52 pm (UTC)I never really found this one all that scary, personally. While I am totally claustrophobic, I just don't understand/relate to everybody going in the holes despite the fact that they don't want to. No need to cover it with rocks, if you don't want to go in the hole, then just turn around and go home.
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Date: 2013-11-02 04:38 pm (UTC)It's not like humans are strangers to having compulsions we know are bad for us but can't resist, after all. I mean, imagine if it was an alcoholic trembling at the idea that sooner or later she's going to pick up the bottle again, and probably do something horribly self-destructive. And a friend tosses the bottle in the trash can and thinks that's the end of it, only to wake up in the middle of the night and find she's fished it out...
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Date: 2013-11-02 06:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-11-02 08:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-11-02 03:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-11-02 09:55 pm (UTC)I think maybe the reason I always find Junji Ito stories just a little unsatisfying is that the characters simply don't act in a way that is relatable to me. They always operate on a very specific sort of horror story logic and it just doesn't feel natural or logical to me. I get that maybe that's supposed to add to the horror, that nothing makes sense and everything is just terrifying, but it prevents me from investing in the stories.
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Date: 2013-11-03 12:00 am (UTC)Oh, and if horror movie logic causes you problems, then I suspect you might enjoy THIS movie ;)
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Date: 2013-11-03 07:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-11-03 12:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-11-05 09:55 am (UTC)Thanks for sharing.