For this year's Geeked Week, Netflix dipped into the well of animated horror with one of the legends of the genre from overseas. Junji Ito, the legendary mangaka behind Uzumaki and "The Enigma of Amigara Fault" among many other terrifying tales, has partnered with the streamer for a brand-new horror anime anthology titled Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre. Much like the Junji Ito Collection before it, the new series will adapt some of Ito's best stories with 20 individual tales coming to the small screen. It's slated to release sometime next year.
Ito announced in a video for the event that Tomie, Souichi, and The Hanging Balloons will be among the stories animated in the series. For the former two, Ito noted that it was too early to say which stories from them will be picked to appear and that more will be unveiled in the future. He did, however, take some time to give some background on the stories and show off some character design art from the series.
Tomie was Ito's debut work and centers on an alluring woman who is the living embodiment of death — she cannot die, and everywhere she goes, people die around her, whether by madness, suicide, or at the hands of those she controls and infects. Souichi refers to a series of Ito's stories centering on the titular mischievous boy who is one of the author's most recurring antagonists throughout his work. With strange powers at his disposal and a generally creepy demeanor amplified by his menacing facial expressions, he goes out of his way to horrify and harm people through the use of Katashiro dolls. Finally, The Hanging Balloons is one of Ito's more infamous short stories that he conceived of while thinking of the idea of a dead body hanging from a balloon. It's a remarkably bleak tale revolving around suicide and mass hallucination that quickly turns into a nightmare.
Ito's prominence in the horror genre makes him a prime target to adapt into animation, but previous attempts haven't quite met the standards of his work. The aforementioned Junji Ito Collection, while receiving solid reviews, also earned significant criticism for simplifying Ito's stories and generally failing to capture his unique style on-screen. With Ito deeply involved in Junji Ito Maniac, Netflix is hoping to avoid those same pitfalls while delivering the scares.
Junji Ito Maniac is just one of the projects based around Ito's work that is currently underway. An adaptation of the author's landmark Uzumaki series is currently in the works at Toonami. Although it has suffered multiple delays since its announcement back in 2019, it's currently on pace to premiere in October.
Junji Ito Maniac is expected to reach Netflix in 2023. Check out the video below of Ito showing off character art for the series and giving some background on the three stories announced for the anthology.