Strange Pictures

• Read: 21 Mar 2026 - 22 Mar 2026

• Author: Uketsu (Translated by Jim Rion)

• Year: 2022

• Pages: 244

• Remarks: Strange Series Book 2

• Synopsis:

  • The discovery of a blog featuring cryptic and unsettling illustrations. The frantic search for a missing boy who left behind a disturbing drawing. The chilling murder of a hiker with a puzzling sketch found at the scene. The tragic story of an abused and orphaned girl. Bound together, these four disparate tales intertwine to reveal terrifying and deeply sinister secrets.

[22 Mar 2026] ‘Strange Pictures’ (2022), by Uketsu.

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Reading Background:

• This was my second read of the book, following my first in Nov 2025! Like 'Strange Houses', I read it again to recap and to write this journal entry.

• I was motivated to finish these two books quickly so that I could finally move on to reading the recently published English translation of 'Strange Buildings' next! 

What I enjoyed about the book:

• The ease of reading.

  • The bite-sized length of the book made it a quick and easy read.

  • Uketsu also seamlessly incorporated mixed media to supplement the text. The drawings, diagrams, maps, blog posts, news articles, and other elements not only broke up any potential monotony, but also helped me follow the story better.

• The use of seemingly disparate short narratives to weave one cohesive story with a proper conclusion.

  • Initially, the chapters seemed like a collection of unrelated mini-stories. The subsequent realisation that these "standalone" stories and their characters were intricately connected was absolutely mind-blowing for me!

  • Furthermore, unlike its predecessor, this book had a definitive conclusion that was heart-warming and satisfying to read.

• The depth of the story and characters.

  • Given the relatively short length of the book, I felt it did a pretty decent job of exploring various themes, such as child psychology, parenting styles and their implications, and mental health issues. 

  • I also liked that Uketsu crafted a rather complex "antagonist" - not someone inherently evil, but a person moulded by a tragic past, whose despicable actions were driven by sympathetic intentions (most of the time). 

  • Compared to the previous book, the emotional resonance of the characters here was a refreshing change. I shared their sorrow, fear, hatred, love and more, and this made the story quite gripping.

What I found less enjoyable about the book:

• The absurdity of parts of the revelation. 

  • I will try not to spoil the story, but there were things like unexplained blog omissions, bizarre familial confessions, and questionable criminal motives. I just couldn't wrap my head around all these absurdities.

  • Also, I found the criminal methodology and thought process incredibly convoluted, complex and uncharacteristic of the "antagonist".

• The awkwardness in the English translation and interpretation.

  • I can't recall specifics, but many sentences in the book read very awkwardly. I understand it was translated from Japanese, but I felt the translation could have been more polished.

  • There were also cultural inaccuracies, like characters addressing their elders by first names. I don't know whether these were done so that the book was more palatable to Western readers, but to me it weirdly.

My overall thoughts:

• Even though I read a mixed of reviews from friends and netizens about which book they liked more, I personally felt that 'Strange Pictures' was a definite and huge step up from 'Strange Houses'. Its plot and characters had much more depth, and the weaving of seemingly unconnected stories into one complete whole was quite brilliant. It was funny how I was initially so confused during my first read because I thought the book was a compilation of short and unrelated stories! Despite the fact that the final revelation contained bits of absurdity, overall I still found this book a highly enjoyable read which I would recommend! 

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• Prologue

  • Psychologist Dr Tomiko Hagio analysed a drawing by an eleven-year-old girl who killed her mother, identifying symbols of trauma and a hidden nurturing nature.

• Chapter 1

  • College students Sasaki and Kurihara investigated a blog containing strange 'visions of the future' drawings made by an artist named Yuki.

  • By aligning the drawings as layers, they discovered a hidden image predicting Yuki's own surgical murder during a caesarean section.

  • They concluded that Yuki left these coded messages to reveal the truth of her impending death to her husband after her passing.

  • Sasaki found a final hidden image of a father and child, representing Yuki’s hope for her family's future despite her tragic fate.

• Chapter 2

  • Naomi Konno became increasingly paranoid as a mysterious man in a grey coat stalked her and her young boy, Yuta.

  • Yuta went missing and was found at a cemetery. It was revealed his 'smudged' apartment drawing was actually a sketch of his birth mother's gravestone.

  • A nursery teacher suspected Naomi of abuse, but later discovered the family's complex history involving Yuta's deceased father and birth mother, and that Naomi was Yuta's grandmother.

  • Seeking to protect Yuta, Naomi lured the stalker into her flat and stabbed him, only to find he was an elderly man.

• Chapter 3

  • Reporter Shunsuke Iwata investigated the 1992 murder of his mentor, Yoshiharu Miura, who was found brutally battered on Mt K.

  • Iwata deduced that Miura’s final mountain sketch was a 'dying message' drawn blind to prove he survived until morning, exposing a faked time of death.

  • The killer used force-feeding to manipulate the autopsy's findings, a trick Iwata uncovered by recreating Miura's final hike.

  • Iwata was confronted and killed by Naomi on the mountain, though he managed to leave his own coded drawing as a clue.

• Chapter 4

  • Naomi’s history of violence began in childhood when she killed her abusive mother to protect her pet bird, a secret she hid for decades.

  • Naomi later killed her husband Miura as she felt he was too harsh towards her son Haruto, whom she sought to protect.

  • After Haruto and Yuki got married and pregnant, Naomi murdered her daughter-in-law by inducing a fatal spike in blood pressure during childbirth, as she wanted to be the mother to the baby, Yuta.

  • She then murdered Iwata as his investigation was threatening to expose her secret. She also murdered Toyokawa, her husband's acquaintance who knew about her murders and was blackmailing and sexually assaulting her. 

  • The 'stalker' was revealed to be the reporter Kumai, who intentionally provoked Naomi's attack to secure her arrest and expose her hidden murders.

  • Kumai survived cancer surgery and adopted Yuta to break the cycle of tragedy in the boy’s life.