This was tragically devastating to read. Its dark and disturbing when we see abuse being perpetrated towards a child and how that shaped the childs development. Chi was obviously being abused & neglected since she was small and grew up to become more isolated from her classmates and she was odd and bizarre. Probably its her survival instinct or nature to become violent so she can protect her friend. It become very disturbing when the boy classmate trying to gain recognition from his parents and teacher in order to feel superior(?) or its a way of making him feels like he is way above than others by helping the weak ones. I get nauseated when he took advantage of one of his girl classmate which is Chi-chan childhood friend by taking away her innocence & dignity. The sexual assault was really triggering & disturbing. The ending was crazy and violent, the start to the movie to be released and it get me excited to know whats gonna happen next. This was a solid prequel for Shuzo Oshimi's manga and one that I think had potential for continuation if we get to explore more of Chi-chan's life

I missed it, I think. I didn't particularly like or understand the story. The drawing is to my taste, but not knowing the mangaka, I feel like I was missing something to get hooked on the story.

I had this manga to read for so long, I really enjoyed the book it has great drawings, but I cant recommend it to young readers because it has very strong themes, like, rape, aggression with scissors, parental neglect, hoarders house etc…

its a very solid story, with good drawings, very attentive to details, just take notice of what I said before, it is still worth reading, just don’t buy it for a minor

Thank you Netgalley and Kodansha Comics | Vertical Comics, for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion.

It is always a pleasure to read Oshimi-sensei. In Toxic Daughter: Chi-chan makes use of his characteristic style and narrative, although I feel that the purpose of promoting the movie is too evident.
Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for this advanced reader's copy.

I received an ARC through NetGalley for my honest review. This was really interesting and I loved the art style. A little dark but nothing too intense. It really has me wanting to watch the movie now but unfortunately I have no way of getting one

The story begins with Chi the outcasted absenttee appears out of the blue at class just to give her ex childhood friend, Yua some bugs she collected. This opening shows us our protagonist Chi's dynamic of relationship with others. Chi is considered different from others because of her bizarre lifestyle. Is this all to describe her? Kodai a classmates of both the girls wants to find out more about her. So do we I.
The story is eerily edgy yet I am drawn to it. There's a movie adaptation of it and I must say it is an innovative way of promoting the content to the consumers.

It was my first time reading a manga and it creeped me out a lot at first. It all make sense at the end why Chi reacted in a weird manner but still the author left some loose ends for the reason to tie.
The drawing are beautiful yet eerie and mysterious. I can not wait to watch the movie!!

TW: parental neglect, bullying and SA

I've read very little by Shuzo Oshimi but I was nonetheless intrigued. Prior to reading this manga, I was not aware that this was a prequel to a horror movie and perhaps this is why I didn't quite understand the story. I found it quite odd but the emotions conveyed by it were deeply felt. It was okay overall but the story needed to be expanded in order for me to understand Chi's actions/motivations.

I was a little confused by this story. I did see on Goodreads that this is a prequel to a film so maybe this would have been more enjoyable knowing the context of the film. Based on the title and the beginning of the story mentioning her parents I kinda of expected them to be a bigger part of the story.

I dont know how to feel about this one, it has a lot of heavy themes and I am not a huge fan of horror manga but the cover of this drew me in.

The story is very eerie and creepy, Yua used to be friends with this girl named Chi when they were children but Chi is now a drop out who has an odd facination with specifically dead bugs. Through a series of events Chi and Yua reunite in highschool and there seems to be alot of mixed feelings and baggage carried by Yua.

Yua ends up suffering quite a bit through out the first volume because of some of Chi's actions but we arent sure of what caused Chi to become such an outcast.

If you enjoy horror and creepy things with very morrally grey characters this one might be for you. Unfortunatly it was not for me.

Thank you Netgally and Kodansha Comics for the eArc.

3.5
Well, that was quite unexpected... I mean, it was dark (every page was more and more disturbing but it made sense cus the plot and that). The characters were pretty interesting but I wanted to know more about Chi and her background (I mean- we barely saw something about her fam and that's all- but why was she... like that?) Anyway, I want to watch the movie now (because I didnt even know it had one).

So, yeah- it's a must read.

Toxic Daughter: Chi-chan is a manga prequel to Doku Musume (Toxic Daughter/Poison Girl), the 2024 Japanese horror film that brings Chi-chan to life.

I wasn't familiar with the film and did some research before starting to read it.

I'm not much of a fan of this style of manga, but it caught my attention, so I delved into this dark story. It wasn't a "light" read, and I stopped several times, but I think the mangaka's intention is clear. And he succeeded.

This is the first work I've read by Shizo Oshimi, and I'll be keeping an eye out for other works. It's always good to step out of your comfort zone.

Thank you so much, Kodansha Comics, for the ARC I read on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Easily a creepy and tense manga that is a great prequel to a movie (that I now want to see!). The tension is really good, the blood and guts are quite gory and intense although there should be some trigger warnings in regard to sexual acts without consent and underage sexual acts. Otherwise a very good manga.

Honestly, it took turns that were unexpected, and the feelings of conflict are very apparent within the MC. I'm not too sure how I feel about it, but for a manga leading up to a movie it definitely makes me want to watch it so that I can understand more of the story.

this was crazy! the art was so wonderful. this was a good start to this story. chi seems like a really complex character and I’d love to see how she continues to develop.

Toxic Daughter: Chi-chan is a one-shot prequel manga to the 2024 film "Toxic Daughter". In it we follow school children Yua and Kodai as they attempt to befriend Chi, an outcast girl suffering from neglect and abuse and convince her to come back to school.

What I liked about this manga is the tone and the imagery/art-style. It creates an unsettling and eerie atmosphere that fits the story well. An experience that will have the hairs on the back of your neck standing up.

Unfortunately, the negatives out way any positives for me by a long shot. Whilst this is a prequel one shot manga, the plot and characters feel very underdeveloped. I would have liked a bit more insight from Chi's POV about the neglect and emotional abuse from her parent's and peers to give the reader an understanding about why she does what she does.

My biggest issue with this manga is that around 3/4 of the way through there is a graphic rape scene between the two main characters. Whilst we do not get a definitive age for the characters they appear to be around 11-14 years old. Though it would not make this any better if they were both adults. This scene comes completely out of nowhere and is utterly unnecessary, it does nothing for the plot and was frankly more disturbing than the actual horror the author was trying to convey. It makes me very hesitant to ever pick up another volume from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for providing an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own

Shuzo Oshimi delivers a haunting psychological horror that subverts expectations. What begins as a mission to save troubled outcast Chi transforms into something darker. The plot twist revealing Chi as the hero is brilliantly executed, while Kodai's disturbing transformation into a predator after being scolded is genuinely revolting. Oshimi masterfully explores society's quick judgments and the dangers of savior complexes. His trademark art style perfectly captures psychological deterioration. A compelling manga that challenges readers to reconsider who the real monsters truly are.

I highly recommend checking trigger warnings before reading.

To be honest, I haven't seen the movie but I've read and loved Shuzo Oshimi's Blood on the Tracks series. The art is, as I expected really well done. I thought the plot was good but as this manga was created from Yua's POV and was mainly focused on her and Kodai's efforts towards Chi, it felt like we didn't get to learn much about Chi herself. I would've liked to learn more about her childhood, her friendship with Yua or how did she end up in the position we find her at the beginning. Reading this made me interested in the movie as well, I'm planning to watch it soon.

4 ⭐️

‼️ Thank you NetGalley for sending this my way in exchange for an honest review. ‼️

Friends Yua and Kodai decide to try to save their delinquent classmate and Yua’s old childhood friend Chi, only to find themselves sinking deeper into a darkness that surrounds her. But Kodai is determined to bring Chi back into society and he needs Yua’s help to do it. But good intentions can lead to bad places.

I am diving yet again back into the world of Shuzo Oshimi after reading his previous work Happiness and having Blood on the Tracks on my TBR. This is a one shot prologue to a horror film by the same name Toxic Daughter. I have not seen the film, so please keep in mind that this review is without any knowledge of it! I enjoyed the art style, as I have with Shuzo Oshimis work prior in Happiness. I will say this story took a DRASTIC turn that I was not expecting whatsoever, it completely caught me off guard and I was just like wow okay so that happened. Unfortunately with this being such a short story it’s hard to really get a feel for it. I wanted more by the end, which is a good thing and I guess that’s where watching the film would come into play.

This manga has some heavy subject matter so please tread carefully if you decide to read this!

Thank you to NetGalley and Publishers for this ARC. I will endeavour to keep this as spoiler free as possible.

Toxic daughter: Chi Chan is a psychological one shot (although the story continues in a film adaption). This is an atmospheric manga, that is highly reminiscent of Junji Ito’s work and is perfect for any horror of thriller fans.

This manga follows Chi, Yua who once had a childhood friendship that broke down due to societal pressures.
We are then introduced to Kodai (Yua crush) who enlits Yua; to convince Chi to return to school.

This manga is not for the faint of heart! The ending takes quite the dark turn, (which is saying something. It touched on so many topics, I wish there was more.

I will be buying this Manga once it is released, and watching the film adaption.