Introduction

The horror factor of this one-shot is based upon the psychological aspect of compulsion. As the inexplicable holes are "made for them", tourists and people of the town feel the irresistible need to enter, despite knowing the result being death. Famous psychologist Sigmund Freud describes this feeling as "death drive", unconscious instincts that seeks to destroy the individual; for instance, having the thought of jumping off a cliff when near one. This feeling is also known as "call of the void".

Analysis

The psychological aspect of this story thus drives its horror. Essentially, it is the story's characters killing themselves - something inherent within them causes a deep urge to destroy their own self. As there are no evil forces or enemies presented in this story, it emphasizes the internal psychological factor - that is, it is possible for people to actually have a desire to harm themselves (such in the case of mentally disturbed persons, and those unable to control their instincts and unconscious, similar to all those that enter the holes in the story). As such, the story comes to explores the innate human instincts of curiosity and destruction (which is also present in Ito's other works) which can, invariably, be the end of themselves.

Looking Deeper into Psychology

The Enigma of Amigara Fault thus circles around the following concepts: The "Death-Drive" and "Reader's perspective". In classical Freudian psychoanalytic theory, the death drive is the drive toward death and destruction, often expressed through behaviors such as aggression, repetition compulsion, and self-destructiveness. This concept has been translated as "opposition between the ego or death instincts and the sexual or life instincts". In Pleasure Principle, Freud used the plural "death drives" much more frequently than in the singular. The death drive opposes Eros, the tendency toward survival, propagation, sex, and other creative, life-producing drives. The death drive refers to knowing that one is about to die in the midst of doing something, but having the drive to do so.

Relation to Manga

This is expressed through how Nakagaki, upon seeing his own hole, decides to go into it as it claims that it was "made for him", even to the point of stripping to allow himself the easiest access to enter the hole itself, showing some sort of dedication or respect to the hole, maybe to prevent the inner layer of the hole from being damaged. Furthermore, even after Owaki covers up Yoshida's hole with rocks, Yoshida is driven by the "force" of the hole and removes the rocks before entering. What's most intriguing is that Owaki, who seems to be the most "rebellious" and denies the "force of the hole", spots his own hole after lamenting Yoshida entering her hole, but proceeds to enter. "Reader's perspective", however, is one of the major uncovered themes in Junji's work. In reader's perspective, one knows what is about to happen to a certain character, yet does not experience the character's emotions as they are separated, thus providing contradiction and leading the reader to so-called "feel", which in turn leads to a sense of horror. An example is when Junji states that Nakagaki is "several hundred metres into his hole" and trapped, unable to move. By stating that Nakagaki is not able to adjust his body (as the holes are corresponding to their body shape), and further showing the great length of the entire hole, it gives the reader a claustrophobic feel and thus evokes horror in one.