Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre

Lore & Background

The series was originally announced on June 8, 2022, and was announced to adapt stories from Junji Ito's The Hanging Balloons, Sōichi, and Tomie manga. It is directed by Shinobu Tagashira and produced by Studio Deen, with Kaoru Sawada writing the scripts and Yuki Hayashi composing the music, all of whom worked on the previous anthology series Junji Ito Collection. The series premiered on Netflix on January 19, 2023.

Reader's Guide

Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre continues the tradition of adapting Ito's horror manga into animated form, following the earlier Junji Ito Collection. The series brings together multiple iconic characters and stories from Ito's oeuvre, such as The Hanging Balloons, Sōichi, and Tomie, each with distinct voice actors in both Japanese and English. Its release on Netflix in January 2023 made it widely accessible to international audiences. The opening theme song is 'Paranoid' by MADKID, and the ending theme song is 'Iu Toori' by Jyocho. The series is notable for featuring a large cast of characters, each voiced by prominent Japanese and English voice actors, and for being produced by the same team behind the earlier anthology.

Did You Know?

• The series was announced on June 8, 2022.
• It adapts stories from Junji Ito's The Hanging Balloons, Sōichi, and Tomie manga.
• The opening theme song is 'Paranoid' by MADKID, and the ending theme song is 'Iu Toori' by Jyocho.
• The series was produced by Studio Deen and directed by Shinobu Tagashira.