Itou Junji: Collection

Within the horror manga community Junji Ito is a King. The unique and atmosphere way in which he tells stories, paired with his surrealistic, almost confrontational art, has made him a household name regarding both the short story format, and the horror manga genre, some even going as far as saying he is the most influential, and subsequently the best. Admittedly, I am a huge fan and must agree, but the real question lies in whether the transition from panel to animation is as smooth as we all wish. So far, I can at least state that this collection is worthy of being titled after ... the man himself.

Story – 8
As we get into some of Ito’s more famous works, I imagine they will span the length of entire episodes, but so far, they are half to three quarter episode length stories. I was surprisingly unfamiliar with a lot of the stories, and I’ve concluded it actually works to its benefit, rather than its detriment. The decision to choose some of Ito’s lesser known work is an interesting one - likely in order to save his more famous stories until the end, which I’d rather that then the other way around. By presenting the collection in this manner, it also gives viewers time to appreciate the oddness of each individual story and adds an interesting texture in the process.
I like that some of these stories just boil down to “daughter turns into a doll” or “I met a creepy looking model”. While these straight-forward stories don’t work as well as they do in panel form within the manga, they work to a comparable effect, and have proven to be able to draw out tension in a similar way. I can see why some may find issues with this simpler, no-twist method of story telling, but I still think there is a lot of enjoyment to be had here, and more to come! As stated earlier, the fact that most of these works aren’t even well known, make them that much more fun to watch unfold. The more elaborate and well known Ito stories are what I came for and am most looking forward to. Thus far, they've done a great job sprinkling them in here and there.

Art/Animation – 8
I've heard discussions on Studio Deen’s attempt to imitate Ito’s highly detailed and refined line work, and it’s clear they’re still experimenting with how to make it look more natural and fluid in animation - sometimes it can add to the composition, sometimes it takes away from it. Evidently, if it works, it works really well, effectively intensifying certain scenes and making imagery more unsettling in the process. I admire the decision, and the stylistic liberties taken, as they feel like the classic early 2000s Junji Ito art style from the manga, and I think fans and new viewers alike will find a nostalgic quality to the show in that sense. The animators/designers seemingly have trouble retaining this ‘older look’ throughout, and again, there are some awkward frames and angles, but the art direction and animation are continually serviceable and appealing. Some may even argue that this could enhance the ominous aspects of the experience (Fashion model chasing scene comes to mind) and I kind of would agree as Ito’s work is known not to shy away from the unpleasant.

Sound - 10
Sound direction is probably the most important thing within the horror medium as it drives atmosphere and tone. A lot of the darkest, scariest moments of the episodes so far were multiplied by the excellent sound direction and I recall thinking to myself that they did a great job with it.
OP and EN aren't what you'd expect from a dark horror anime, but the subversion of expectations is what makes it interesting and the are serviceable as well. Perhaps a little forgettable, but only time will tell.

Characters – 8
This section has been included out of necessity as short horror stories don’t tend to be as heavily character driven as other stories (not to say they can’t be, but the nature of a short story is that they don’t have be reliant on the same characters throughout). With that being said, there is a good amount of attention and time that has gone into each character, their thoughts, developments, etc. Attention to detail is important and it is things of this nature that can sometimes make or break whether you actually care about what’s going on. In that sense, Junji Ito’s Collection is doing a lot of things right as I found myself caring, and fully interested in events to transpire.

Enjoyment – 9
Overall – 8 {Mastapeece}
Mysterious, atmospheric, and unpredictable.

Junji Ito continues to set a great example for the horror community within, and outside of manga/anime, that keeps viewers on their toes, and in the moment. Shows currently following a similar format (Black Mirror comes to mind) could learn a thing or two from the execution of these stories (In comparison, I’ve enjoyed these 3 episodes more than 4 season of BM).

When an anime makes such a drastic turn in quality, enjoyment and fear factor to the point where you're compelled to write a review about it is proof that you should give it at least a shot.

As you can guess from the name, The Ito Junji collection is many of his short stories turned into anime. If you're completely unfamiliar with any of Ito Junjis work, I highly recommend you read "uzumaki". It's not very long however gives you a great starting place for understanding Junjis world.

When placed into anime form, it honestly looks like his imagery and art have come to life, ... the sound direction blends so well and overall it's a perfect mix.

As for episodes there is currently only three. I'll be honest, the first episode was one massive let down for me personally. I was expecting a gruesome horror filled experience but alas it felt more like I was watching a comedy or parody. Regardless, the animation style, voice acting and soundtrack convinced me to give it another go and I was absolutely amazed at both episode 2 and episode 3. Both episodes did his work justice, creating incredibly creepy scenarios as well as even supply some deep philosophical ideas (especially in episode 2)

It has boosted my love for this show, you're getting two short horror stories in one episode which will, at the very least, unnerve you to a certain degree. Even if you're one stone cold B*stard, there's still tons of enjoyment from watching this and hopefully provides you with inspiration to read Ito Junjis other work

9/10, I can't wait for episode 5

LA always has been fine with the supernatural "cosmic horror" at times like ghosts and curses, however LA has a morbid fear of zombies because they are human yet not, LA KNOWS they can't exist but there is that future logical extreme where humanity kills itself off...with humanity itself and this is where there is a lingering sense of horror from both the mundanity taken to the logical extremes and the unknown...Junji Ito KNOWS this and absolutely runs with it.

Junji Ito: Collection right off the bat for LA is by the title itself a collection of Junji Ito's horror works in 22 minute episodes and ... because of this format LA really can't talk about the plot as there are multiple plots that really doesn't connect (one does but semantics), so the best way to talk about Junji Ito is by his signature horror genre he's famous for...but tied to lackluster animation and the problem itself of making an adaptation of majority of his works into a 12 episode anime.

Like LA said above, Junji Ito dives into the horror aspect of the mundanity of the normal or the unknown fates of many of his protagonists fate up to chance if they even survive from the "monsters" or the "horror phenomenon".

The mundanity of everyday normal things causing the horror strikes a chord with LA like LA's analogy with zombies but take that and make it even to the simplest things like...blood, oil, beauty, curiosity, unrequited love, dreams and even the moderation of privacy. Jump scares and gore are instant scares that are one timer moments that easily get boring or predictable but the mundanity of the normal brings in the our usual day lives and makes the horror stick from something we do in our repetitive usual day lives and by far Junji Ito knows how the mundanity works to the horror's advantage. Yeah through LA even saying this, Glyceride has shown LA to never see something as simple as GREASE as disgustingly vomit inducing or how Tomie's beauty goes into intense obsession.

On the other side, the unknown is really a simple as many of the protagonists fate are left up in the air, be it if the horror of the story is killed or not, their fates are left in the air and because of this unknown the majority of the time, they get consumed by the horror or it's the worst result at times. The unknown is scary as we DON'T KNOW IT ITSELF, thus facing the fear of the unknown can be scary as hell as there will be no way of knowing the end result and Junji Ito eats the carrot he's been dangling at you for the last 10 minutes or so giving us a cosmic horror of the unknown.

So about the lackluster animation, well the animation done by Studio DEEN for LA was ok enough but the animation tries to get Junji Ito's horror down into a verbatim animation with somewhat intentionally dull, dreary atmosphere with some interesting sketchbook-like character designs and backgrounding. The cosmic horror is pretty good but LA attributes that to Junji Ito's vision just now taken into animation format. LA "gets" Studio DEEN's animation though LA just felt some of the animation became lackluster as Studio DEEN just went verbatim of Junji Ito's collection of stories without much change when the atmosphere and more detailed animation was needed to inflict the horror of the animation more strikely, though at times LA kinda was ok with that as the horror seen in 1080p in greater detail isn't something LA DO NOT WANNA SEE...if you know where LA is getting at, as much as LA has gripes with the lackluster animation and though it definitely felt like it, the animation was "ok", but that's not much as praise.

Well the biggest problem LA sees with Junji Ito: Collection is of how the anime adapted his works to animation and by this is that because of ALOT of his works crammed into 12 episode 22 minutes has the implication of being short, there are some benefits like LA said about the unknown fates of many of the protagonists giving us no ending in the process and the effectiveness of it but LA will just say the pacing of many of the episodes are either too quick or too slow and it's fluctuates depending on the story working with you or not and LA felt it many times while watching Junji Ito: Collection, giving a very confused "THAT'S IT?" or "well that happened". LA won't say that the pacing is a huge problem as LA will defend it depending on the episode but it still detriments the horror at times as "meh" and the prime suspect of the pacing problems for LA at least is the weirdest choice of adapting some of his work is of Souichi and his stories as that is primarily seen as a COMEDY with some supernatural horror but it's nothing but a prankster who has actual voodoo powers and him failing time and again...like what?, the obvious implication for this is the anime has brought in even LESS screentime for his more intense horror stories for a straight up slapstick comedy. Though the only defense LA gets here is the fact of Souichi giving us a breather to more of Junji Ito's more intense horror stories but LA just found Souichi's inclusion and his placement of stories in terms of episodes baffling.

LA's taste in horror might be weird to some people let alone LA's fear and as much as LA harped on the faults and benefits of adapting Junji Ito's work, you know what, LA got Junji Ito's brand of cosmic mundane horror with many of his stories sticking for the better or worse and even though there is lackluster animation and let alone Studio DEEN even trying to adapt a plethora of Junji Ito's work and squishing it in a 12 episode format has some huge detriments to it but oddly enough Junji Ito: Collection has been a mundane yet horrifying, crazy as hell, cosmic horror fest. Junji Ito: Collection anime adaptation just might be LA's weirdest case of "disappointing yet satisfying" in terms of horror.

As a first time contact with junji ito this is magnificent! I'm now reading the mangas since I became utterly obsessed with souichi thanks to this anime, so I hope this helps:)
Now I can see why some reviews of old readers are low. Meanwhile the anime can give you chills, or moments that you think "wow gross, that's scary" etc. you are not really scared but more interested. When you read Junji Ito's original art it gives you more creeps, a purest feeling of terror, in my opinion a kind of art that can't be animated to be as scary.

Don't worry!! you don't get as ... much as terror, but double of fun. The job they did animating Souichi's curses was really amazing, his character essence was at his highest version. The laughs, voice, animation... everything fitted perfectly, making shine the funny side of him that you can read on the manga but can't really feel... the same emotions I tried to explain before with the terror speech but viceversa.

You can see 2 different stories every chapter, so it's easier to watch and enjoy, the best overshadowing the less interesting ones. If you like creepy things you will absolutely love it!!

Junji ito deserves more recognition, he's undoubtedly one of the best horror anime writers !
The first episode was funny but later in the anime it gets dark to the point where i couldn't even sleep but he did a good job because that's one of the main objectives of a horror anime.
Would definitely recommend !
But should read the manga first cuz it has more details and looks scarier than the anime .
It contains traumatizing tales of different stories like a snail growing out of a girl's mouth , an attractive women making men fawn over her , making them crazy over her then awaits ... something horrifying or an attractive spirit at the misty crossroads that grants cursed advice !

Horor anime for most people have almost always been labled as not very good on genuinely lacking the atmosphere or scare tactics of most other media the genre provides. There's something about a creature being animated, or a body getting ripped apart that just doesnt have the same affect as the real thing. Most horror anime almost always have to resort to be labled as: "action suspence" to get any fans attention. Shows like Helsing, Tokyo Goul, Parasyte, ect all rely on action and ultra gore to get any viewers. Then comes the work of manga artist Junji Ito. The man responsible for so many ... creepy pop up images that make people just go "The 7#(% am I looking at?" His art has a purpose to make anyone who views it genuinely uncomfortable, whether through gore, gross out, or basic confusing endings. So with such a huge cult following it was only a matter of time that they give it an anime adaptation. But is it any good?

Lets see what the series does right, first and most important is they follow Ito's stories exactly as he presents them. No cutting anything too graphic, no adding pointless scenes, its all as he intended it. Unlike another adaptation of his work Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack this refrains from making any changes from his story so he's only person that could be blamed for poor writing is Ito himself.

But you can blame the show for adapting some of Ito's more boring/poorly written stories. Some of the stories especially in later episodes can be extremly confusing if not entirly anticlimactic. Stories like a circus that murders its performers to feed the ringleader. Or an elderly woman is being haunted because her town doesnt know how to properly hold a funeral. Some can be extremly boring if not leaving you wanting there to be more explination to the story.

Another thing the show does well is its building of atmosphere. The shows segments are always shown at night or in cloudy whether building atmoshphere mixed with the shows slow and creepy soundtrack setting up the mood briliantly. Its tone is also very quiet and sneaky ofen taking you by surprise when the scary stuff goes down. No build up in the music, no panning for a jumpscare. Just WHAM scary!

Now when it gets down to it the show I feel the best way to watch it is at night, or when its cloudy. Preferably with friends because your more likely to react if others do. And there are some episodes that I feel are much better then others and are a must:

1. Anything with Souichi: 1A 5B 12B His charecter is creepy enough and the stories show Ito's world perfectly
2. Fashion Model: 2A The most intense, and the payoff is really effective.
3. Window next Door, Gentle Goodbye: 6 Both stories show how diverse Ito's stories are. One being on campground urban legend level of creepy, and the secpnd being the most emotional episode and a facinating twist on a ghost story.
4. Painter: 9A Sets up the upcomming Tomie OVA and has the most disturbing final image.

Some of the weaker episodes are:
1. The Circus comes to Town: 8B Ends on a clifhanger but didnt really deserve it.
2. Greased and Bridge: 10 The first part is disgusting as in a girl gets pimple juice poured all over her face nasty(and that's not even the scary part), and the second part is built up for no payoff whatsoever.

So is this the perfect horror show we've been waiting for....not really, but it's creative, has good atmosphere, and if you like genuine creepy horror give it a watch!

No spoilers but an IMPORTANT PIECE OF ADVICE! If you suffer from trypophobia either skip the FIRST HALF of the 4th episode (after the 10 minute mark), or just skip the 4th episode entirely if you don't want to try and find where the second story begins and possibly see some of the first story. The second half doesn't have any trypophobia in it but the first short story is entirely set around it!!! I know it's a horror show but if you have this phobia (like me) I'd hate for anyone to possibly go into panic mode ((like I did)). Please use caution! I ... love this show because I am a huge fan of horror and I've read some of Junji Ito's works and immediately fell in love. After seeing the (imo) mess that was Gyo and the Uzumaki movie I'm glad his works are being made into anime even though I know most of his concepts and complex art don't translate well into animation.

"Spirals....this town is contaminated with spirals."
-Uzumaki



As a big fan of horror genre in movies, television, etc; I kinda stumbled upon a manga named 'Human Chair' by Junji Ito. After reading that, I kinda got obsessed over his works. Within a month or so, I almost finished the whole Ito Junji manga collection. His style of writing and art were so bizzare, weird and complex, that they sometimes seemed relevantly scary, albeit with their own symbolism hidden inside them, some in plain sight. As the newfound fan inside me got hyped up on hearing that his works were going to be adapted into anime, I ... was pretty excited. But after finishing the anime, my reactions are pretty mixed.


For starters, I expected more from the studio which developed some of my favourite anime, like Sakamoto desu ga? and Tonkatsu DJ Agetarou. The starting episodes were pretty messed up, but the later episodes containing stories from 'Long Dreams', and my personal favourite, the story of the seductress succubus, 'Tomie', were made really well. The opening and ending songs(Shichiten Battou no Blues by The Pinballs and Otagai no Uchuu by JYOCHO) really complement the anime, with a mix of peppiness and eeriness, which haunt you for a while.


The art style seems a bit out of place, compared to the pen work of Junji Ito himself. His art is the best feature of his works, which show a gamut of emotions using facial expressions. Droppy eyes, exaggerated mouth, pointy teeth, etc are his trademark strokes.


Overall, compared to the manga, Studio Deen has done a decent job on adapting the manga onscreen. Nevertheless, it was good to watch his creations come alive on screen, much like my dream of seeing the characters from Goosebumps onscreen, a distant dream.

I'll of course start this by saying I am a huge fan of Junji Ito's horror work, so there is a slight bias in my review because I both really wanted to enjoy this and genuinely did.

However, I can't help but wish some aspects had been taken full advantage of. The Anime Man describes some of the problems with manga to animated translations in general. A large portion of the shock and horror factor in Junji's horror manga is that you can go at our own pace, absorb all details, and should the next page turn be suddenly disturbing, it's a small jump scare without ... being as cheesy and overused as an actual jump scare. Without this pacing, it is entirely on the anime's shoulders to effectively shock and scare, because now rather than imagining how this page would look in detail or color, or how it would move, it's all able to be taken at face value based on the animation.
This being said, the attempt at slightly mocking Junji Ito's art style was beneficial to keeping in tone with the mangas. Something that desperately should've been taken advantage of but was neglected almost entirely, however, was visual atmospheric effects. Lighting, color palettes, etc. Everything was so dull and dreadfully boring and plain looking, and while in some stories this could work to it's advantage, in many I couldn't help but feel that it would've greatly benefited from doing so. This was especially disappointing, as upon seeing the OP I was incredibly hype. The style of it, the coloration, patterns, everything - but this all was left for only the OP.
The story selection weren't some of my favorites (I was hoping for more Tomie ;w;) but they definitely weren't bad and even introduced some to me I had not yet read. Souichi's stories are far from bad, but I feel they were a poor choice in this collection where it's overall tone seemed to be entirely horror based, whereas Souichi's story is moreso pitying the villain. I wouldn't mind his inclusion as much had he not been the very first story for the very first episode, but that was unfortunately the case and I'm sure that 1st episode alone steered away many disappointed Junji fans.

Overall: It's... okay! You will enjoy it if you enjoy Junji Ito's work, but likely not as much if you're a die hard. It's a step in the right direction for possible future additions, as it did not try to stray away from the stories or make sense of the unknown and nonsensical. I hope this adaptation does not steer away from more, as I'd love to see it nailed near perfectly.

Why should you watch Junji Ito: Collection?

Stories are Outstanding (10). The title says the story out loud. This is a collection of horror stories based on the horror collection of the father of modern Japanese horror, Junji Ito. If you are not familiar with him then think of him as the Stephen King of Japan but more bizarre. The stories of this series are the strongest part of this anime. They are broken down into 2 stories per episode with varying run times, so it is always fresh and you can watch the episodes in any order as they stand out on their own individually. ... Each of the stories evokes a sense of helplessness, dread, and eeriness that sends chills and uneasiness down your spine. They are meant to be that way so If you are looking forward to jumping scares, there isn't much here.

Art is Mediocre (5). Yeah... why did the story get a perfect 10 and the art got a 5? It is simply due to one reason: The manga series that it was taken from is way superior to the animation that you can't 100% transfer the experience you have when reading the manga in animation or live-action format. This has been the ongoing problem of adapting stories from Junji Ito's works. So If you want the full experience read the manga and you will understand what I mean.

Sound is Fair (6). Sound in Junji Ito: Collection is fair enough to justify the emotion it tries to evoke from the audience but it is not master quality. I watch each episode usually alone in a dark room and it fails to make me feel uneasy which totally breaks the experience for me. The opening and ending songs are just fair as well. They don't stand out as much.

Characters are Great (9). As with the story, I love how the characters are made and imagined in the story. When I say characters here, they are not the people, but the supernatural entities who cross the world of the living. Characters like Tomie, Soichi, the professional model Fuch, and more, are the stars of the series hands down. They are all unique enough to have a mini-series or movie of their own which is saying a lot about how the character design and personality were presented.

In general, I came in to watch Junji Ito: Collection with a grain of salt. And my assessment was still spot on. The animation failed to capture the manga. Future adaptation of the manga should learn from this, and the previous feature films that came before it. If they are going to adapt any story from Junji Ito's Archives, they should not try to make it 1:1. They should make it for what would work for animation and just get inspiration from the manga.

7 blood bubbles out of 10.

I wanted to write a small review explaining why I gave this anime a 7/10. There are very few decent horror anime, and while it is definitely true that all these stories work much better as manga, it was still enjoyable and scary to watch compared to other horror anime. It is all credited to the creativeness of Junji Ito's mind. If this anime used this same format with less compelling stories, I would have rated it MUCH lower. Fortunately for the producers, they were using Ito's stories and character designs. Ito's genius is the only thing keeping this anime from being trash.

I just wanna say, the first episode was funny af and I get if people don't like the anime, in my opinion it's alright, not the best but the first episode with Souichi was so funny, I myself enjoyed it.

Haven't watched the full collection yet so I can't fully review the anime but I do get if people are not liking this.

I hope Uzumaki will do better since the manga was very good (honestly all Junji Ito's creations are good) but hopefully they don't f*ck up the animation.

I did get jumpscared a few times on the puppet episode, I think it was well ... done, still have to finish the manga but I did like that episode.

I do again get why people don't like it and say that Junji Ito deserved better which I totally get, still I think people are going a bit too harsh on it

Hey guys this is my first review so forgive me for any mistake

Let's talk about this anime

First story I hate the incomplete story almost in every episode had incomplete ending. When I plan to watch junji Ito collection that time I had high hopes for it. But my all hopes was gone to see how they ruined the whole story. If u finding some horror anime or you are horror fan then this will be a big disappointment for you.
They adapted two stories in one episode and they all end up with cliff hanger (mostly times).
So it's all studio Deen fault how they ... ruined all the junji ito's work and make a cheap anime adaption.
I suggest read manga

Second artwork & Enviourment
Ooo man I loves it's artwork a best art for an horror anime and also who they create such a dark Enviourment.
I hope you all like it's art style and creepy environment best setting for a horror anime we ask for.

Third Character Design
Its good I guess but there are done face which was repeated in anime (mostly side Character)
But I loves the Character design of main cast especially Souchi and Fuchi's Character design
All credit goes to Sir Junji Ito not to studio Deen

Fourth Music & Soundtrack
I loves it's Opening song (that's was hyped dope).
And background music was so goooood make the anime more and more horror.
I don't wanna talk abut it's ending song (cuz personally I didn't like that song).

Thanks you to read my review (I don't think is anyone gonna read my review )

Here is my review of this anime in 2023!

Story (10)
The story is a collection of horror stories and is unique in every episode. Most of them are myths but they can make the story become interesting in this anime. Not only horror, but several episodes is quite sad too...

Art (9)
The art of this anime is very good. I like how they use color, shadow, and concept art in this anime. I really appreciated where they make every ending is different and adjusting to the story of that episode.

Sound (10)
All the sounds they used are very good and adjusted to the animation.
...
Character (8)
The main character is memorable, especially in the first episode where the MC is shown in several next episodes.

Enjoyment (9)
It's enjoyable to watch this movie in 2023. There are a lot of horrors and sad scenes in this anime.

Overall (9)
Recommended for those who love horror, sad, rich story, and gore anime!

*You must be 18+ to watch this anime since there is gore scenes where there is a lot of blood.

This is one of my favourite horror series, it's so good i'm craving for another season. Few weeks ago Netflix announced Junji ito Maniac & from the trailer it seems that it's going to be a Tomie focused anime, the opening just gives of them vibes. I mean she's the whole trailer. I was hoping that it was going to be like the first season where nearly every ep is a new story. But unfortunately it doesn't seem to be that way. I'm still excited for it even tho it's most likely going to be evolved around Tomie.

Here's some horror series recommendations: Theatre of ... darkness: Yamishiba & Kowabon. If not watched then you should get to it.

Ito Junji: Collection
Original air date: Jan 5, 2018 to Mar 23, 2018 (Winter 2018)


If I had to compare the Ito Junji: Collection (IJC) to anything else, I'd be old horror flicks from the fifties – remember those cheesy black and white films that hurt our stomachs due to excessive laughter? – it's kind of like them. But then again, I wouldn't compare IJC at all because it is actually coloured (!), and one of a kind.

Every episode features two stories, making it an episodic anime. This reminded me of American classic cartoons, stuff that aired in the 90s and which I absolutely love. ...
They are proof of Ito's wild, unbound and vivid imagination. Shocking, ridiculous events and a strange kind of comedy kept me glued to the screen while I tried to make sense of the weird events … or brought me on the edge of falling asleep. Unfortunately, IJC has its bunch of bad episodes which lowered my rating.
The perhaps biggest issue for every horror anime is the question of whether it can scare its viewers or not. That's where most of them fail. Another question, however, is if it is even possible to lure out that feeling of unease. Most don't, but there are great examples – Shinreigari and Lain are good ones – that have managed it.
So, is the IJC scary? Without spoiling too much I can confirm that it has its moments.

Fans of flashy animation and music better look for something else to watch. IJC is minimalist, spartan if you want, but the simple truth is that it doesn't need more.
Animation is used rarely, which can either be seen as the directors means to tell the stories or the producers greed. We all know which it is, but it works surprisingly good; most of the time it's the character's thoughts and their interactions that are in focus, but even hot pursuits are told just fine this way and made me realize that most shounen anime simply are a waste of money.
As I mentioned, music is rare, too, but there are a couple of nice sounding tunes that repeat itself during the cour and build a creepy atmosphere, all to my liking.

The characters are IJC's strongest point. It's them with their sleep deprived, dark underlined eyes that give the stories their faces (pun intended). Due to the episodic structure there is of course no development, but that isn't needed. In my opinion, IJC features some of the most unique and unforgettable persona you will find in anime, like Souichi, a serious nut job of an primary-school pupil, the ugliest supermodel ever and a scary French doll called Jean-Pierre. These three also appear in the best episodes and make it a must watch.

Ito, creator of the infamous Uzumaki (Spiral), and his works are true originals, combining horror, dementia and his weird sense of humour, better than Ed Wood, weirder than a David Lynch from the Twilight Zone. To put it shortly, something unique.
IJC oozes charisma, something that is rare to find in an industry that bombards us with fifty new series every three months. I highly recommend to watch it if you are sick to stick to conformity and would like to revolutionize your anime list. But don't give it a try just so you can show off with >>that weird anime<<.

I am not familiar with the work of Junji Itou and this may render my opinion irrelevant for most. However, the series was suggested to me by someone who knows Itou's incredible manga as "an introduction to his works" - something that will give me a good overall idea of what it is all about story and idea-wise. As such, I can say, the series did their job. I am absolutely hooked and willing to know the actual stories behind all those wonderful "teasers" called episodes. I am eager to see the detailed and graphic art behind those stylised and simplified characters. Of course, it ... is beyond my comprehension why that many wonderful and deep stories were cut and condensed to a teaser-trailer length of 10 mins each and stuffed together in a random mixture. I have no idea why some characters are reoccurring and how this helps the series. Having said this, I perfectly understand the low scores and the disappointment of almost everyone writing a review here. I am also not a fan of the sound and music, they were just okay - nothing to remember. In the end, I recommend the series to everyone who is not too familiar with Junji Itou's works as it will be an eye-opening experience, just as it was for me. However, if you are a fan, you will most likely be left disappointed.

If you are not used to Japanese-style horror you will find something very wrong, as not all stories are chilling. I, who love Japanese terror, already expected what I would see and without the Japanese knowing how to be very strange with their horror stories.


In the first episode I was really disappointed, because I laughed a lot, instead of being horrified. This happened because the character Souichi is very peculiar, he is one of the few characters that you will see in more than one story.

The thing about this anime is that the stories in each episode are very strange and absurd, so the suspense ... works throughout the plot, but I wasn’t scared to death with the stories.


The animation is a separate show, the characters' strokes are marked with thick black strokes, everything is always quite dark with always very dark colors, visually the anime works for the proposed terror.


I recommend anime and don't worry if you are scared, anime is not all that. By telling two stories per episode you will watch the anime at once without realizing it. Ito Junji: Collection is highly recommended.

translated by google translator.

English version:
My opinion as a person who has never read the manga (just a few random tales). I say it was just an interesting experience to read the manga. My first impression of Junji ito's works is that they were the works of ghosts and demons that possessed or haunted people, but he proved to be more than that. Junji Ito messes with people's psyche rescuing phobias you didn't even know you had and transforms them into a real fear.
Among the episodes, there were some stories that I liked more, others less, some caused me horrendous discomfort and others made me laugh.
The design doesn't look ... anything scary compared to the manga designs. At first, I thought it was pretty unique, but then it seems like the quality was dropping and done in a hurry.

Portuguese version:
Dando minha opinião como uma pessoa que nunca leu os mangás (apenas li alguns contos aleatórios), eu digo que foi apenas uma experiência de interesse para ler os mangás. Minha primeira impressão das obras de Junji ito é de que seriam obras de fantasmas e demônios que possuíam ou assombrava as pessoas, mas ele se mostrou mais que isso. Junji Ito mexe com o psicológico das pessoas resgatando fobias que você nem sabia que tinha e transforma em um medo real.
Dentre os episódios, teve uns contos que eu gostei mais, outros menos, uns me causaram um desconforto horrendo e outros me fizeram achar graça.
O design não se parece nada assustador comparado aos desenhos do mangá. No começo, eu achei bem único, mas depois, parece que a qualidade foi caindo e feito às pressas.