There isn’t a storyteller on Earth like Junji Ito. Since his skilled manga debut in 1987, he is been terrifying readers along with his macabre tales and chillingly iconic creations. The brilliantly proficient mangaka has rightfully turn out to be one of the vital well-known horror storytellers of his technology, and for good purpose. Junji Ito’s superbly illustrated comics conceal deep, devastating secrets and techniques, and every story he weaves haunts and horrifies in essentially the most distinctive means.
Junji Ito Collections Obtainable Now
To slender down Junji Ito’s huge oeuvre to only 13 of his most bone-chilling choices was no straightforward feat. Whereas many of the scariest Junji Ito’s quick tales may be discovered as scans on-line, his quick tales are additionally compiled into bodily collections. Some collections, like Tomie and Uzumaki, comprise tales that comply with a selected narrative, whereas others, like Shiver and Smashed, embrace standalone tales collected by theme.
The Scariest Junji Ito Tales
From ominous ghost tales, heart-twisting gothic horror, and grotesquely weird fashionable fables, listed below are the 13 most terrifying tales from one of many masters of horror manga, Junji Ito.
13. The Stunning Boy on the Crossroads
Ito typically writes of affection and the way it can curse us. The primary—and throughline—story from his Lovesickness assortment is a good instance of simply that. We meet Ryusuke on a practice. The teenager boy is transferring again to his hometown after years away, however the easy notion of it haunts him.
The devastating purpose for that may quickly be revealed, however within the meantime, his arrival coincides with a development of younger ladies in search of out “crossroads fortunes.” Quickly the our bodies of college women who ask strangers for his or her fortunes start to show up brutally murdered; however who’s guilty? How does it join with Ryusuke’s go? This splendidly chilly thriller is without doubt one of the most memorable of Ito’s tales and introduces one in all his scariest creations.
12. Village of the Siren
Turning his hand to folks horror, Ito crafts one other bleak homecoming in Village of the Siren. Within the wake of an odd cellphone name from his mother and father and an ominous apparition at his window, Kyochi decides it is time for a household reunion. Alas, when he returns he finds that the as soon as energetic—although rural—village has changed into a ghost city.
Life now revolves round an odd manufacturing facility of unknown origin, and even weirder are the all-consuming sirens that emanate from it every night time. In the event you love a narrative about unusual rituals, uncommon cults, and the occult then that is the type of story you may gobble proper up. In the event you take pleasure in horror that breaks taboos, then you definately’ll actually be glad because the loss of life rely right here is large and incorporates a hardly ever seen demographic of victims.
11. I Do not Wish to Be a Ghost
When Shigeru kindly picks up a phenomenal wandering girl from the aspect of a highway, his life is modified. Though Shigeru worries at first about her bloodied and disoriented state, she explains it away. Days later, the 2 start a secretive affair even supposing Shigeru is married and anticipating a child. Blinded by his new acquaintance’s magnificence, he is prepared to miss how typically his lover seems lined in blood and the truth that she claims to “love his ghosts.” Her actual wishes are darker than anybody may have foreseen and Shigeru after all would not understand till too late.
10. The Unusual Hikizuri Siblings
One of many funniest of Ito’s creations, this bleakly humorous slice of life story follows an unhinged set of siblings who take nice pleasure in tormenting and terrorizing one another and unsuspecting victims. Over two tales collected in Lovesickness, we meet a number of the unfortunate individuals who come into their path together with an old style buddy of their most stunning member and a photographer. Whereas their schemes can have lethal penalties, the Hikizuri siblings are usually relatively hapless, although you would not wish to be invited to their desk for dinner.
9. The Thriller of the Haunted Home
The arrival of a haunted home turns a city the other way up when derision turns to terror as every new customer enters its doorways. Two younger boys turn out to be entangled within the proprietor’s twisted video games after they attempt to sneak in totally free. Upon exploring the ghoulish halls they uncover a real home of horrors, one crammed with victims who declare to be the proprietor’s household.
There is a darkish comedy to this one, which comes from one other of Ito’s recurring characters, the scheming creeper Souichi Tsujii. However there’s nothing humorous about his heinous crimes. The Thriller of the Haunted Home is a wild experience that may delight followers of hang-out tradition.
8. Honored Ancestors
Household typically comes up in Ito’s story, and Honored Ancestors may characteristic his most psychedelically deranged but. On a seemingly regular night Risa is introduced dwelling by her shut buddy Makata who claims that the younger woman is affected by amnesia and could not bear in mind the place she lived. In keeping with docs, her amnesia has been attributable to immense emotional stress.
Risa turns into increasingly more distressed as she turns into haunted by visions of an enormous caterpillar… however what does all of it imply? The reality revolves round Makata and his household’s unusual traditions that are revealed in Ito’s dementedly terrible trend as the story involves a detailed. It is one household reunion that you’re going to always remember, although you may want you would.
7. Uzumaki
Seemingly essentially the most well-known of Ito’s many works, Uzumaki has been deemed a basic for a purpose. Weaving a supernatural curse right into a ghost story that facilities round a small city, Kurouzu-cho, which is haunted not by spirits however as an alternative by spirals, this can be a uniquely spooky story. It additionally helps that Ito’s distinctive linework does an epic job of creating the normally unassuming shapes into one thing totally terrifying.
Uzumaki options a lot of Ito’s favourite themes like obsession, paranoia, and the mundane turning into totally weird. The impression of Uzumaki can’t be overstated, with a number of online game and movie variations and a highly-anticipated anime adaptation in improvement. Sadly, the latest Uzumaki TV adaptation fell flat, scoring very low marks in IGN’s personal evaluate.
6. Trend Mannequin
Whereas a lot of Ito’s tales are gradual burn haunters, this can be a extra in your face horror story that reveals its monster from the earliest pages. Like our subsequent entry, Tomie, Trend Mannequin has turn out to be one in all Ito’s hottest long-running tales. When a younger man sees a weird mannequin in {a magazine} whose mouth is crammed with dagger-like enamel, he turns into consumed by her picture. He cannot cease fascinated about her, about why she was employed, and why she fills him with an all-consuming existential terror.
Life strikes on, and he and a few pals start casting for a pupil movie. It is right here that the mannequin reemerges again to the forefront of his life in brutal and all too actual trend. It is a nice entry into each the Ito and monster horror canon.
5. Tomie
In all probability Ito’s most well-known creation, the stunningly stunning Tomie was murdered by her classmates solely to reappear the following day. Since then she’s been terrorizing readers and lovestruck males for years. There is a collected version of Tomie tales the place you’ll be able to learn her story from her earliest to most up-to-date appearances, and each is extra delightfully darkish than the final. Her ever shifting true face is the factor of nightmares, however Ito’s placing illustration model has additionally made her a perennial popular culture determine.
Even if you happen to’ve by no means learn an Ito story, you have possible already seen Tomie as a sticker, tattoo, or t-shirt. Mockingly, in her tales it is close to unattainable to catch her magnificence in a picture until you wish to see her true face too.
4. Home of the Marionettes
Puppets have all the time held a very creepy place in horror and Ito makes use of that to his benefit right here on this ghastly story a couple of unusual household obsessive about marionettes. All of it begins when a younger woman named Kinuko befriends the son of a household of puppeteers. Changing into shut with one of many two sons, Haruhiko, she visits the house instantly turning into cautious of a giant marionette named Jean-Pierre.
Years later Haruhiko and Kinuko reconnect and get married. However after they’re referred to as again to the previous’s household dwelling, they make an terrible discovery. This is without doubt one of the most classical of Ito’s tales, however it would nonetheless shock and shock at each flip.
3. Used Document
Eerie and atmospheric, Used Document tells the story of an odd file which hypnotizes and entices the listener. When Ogawa buys the vinyl, she shortly turns into obsessed as does her buddy Nakayama when she hears it. Quickly, all of the pair can do is hearken to the track many times. However there’s just one copy, which signifies that the women are on a tragic path.
The factor that makes this story so terrifying is the relatable proven fact that we have all had that one track that we won’t cease listening to. Ito simply takes it to the following, supernaturally nightmarish stage. And for that purpose, this splendidly drawn story finally ends up being simply as addictive because the track at its heart.
2. Greased
Rising up above her household’s barbeque restaurant by Mount Fuji, Yui is sick of the grease that has slowly however certainly collected, coating their dwelling. Whereas she worries abouts its results, her violent and abusive brother Goro embraces the cooking oil that creates it, ingesting it from the bottle till his face turns into lined in giant, grotesque pustules.
Goro’s obsession with the grease and his sister’s hopes of surviving it are deeply entangled on this, one in all Ito’s most stomach-churning tales which can threaten each your lunch and your sleep cycle. Actually, that is the sort of story you need to mentally put together to learn, so do not take checking this one out evenly.
1. The Hanging Balloons
What makes The Hanging Balloons Ito’s scariest story? Nicely, it is one in all his most weird—which is the place the mangaka excels—and it additionally manages to really feel totally claustrophobic and inescapable in one of the best ways. After the sudden suicide of a star college woman conjures up a spate of copycat deaths, folks start to report seeing imposing balloons within the sky.
However these are not any strange balloons. Actually, reviews declare it is the large inflated head of the lady who died. Many extra of the balloons quickly seem, chasing these whose faces they put on. As a substitute of strings, metallic nooses swing beneath them. What’s their function? In the event that they meet up with those that they resemble, they catch and hold them… It is a psychedelic night time terror come to life.
What’s Subsequent for Junji Ito?
As of proper now, there no upcoming Junji Ito tales within the works, in response to the official web page at Viz.com. The latest new launch is the Moan: Junji Ito Story Assortment that simply got here out in early October. It options six new tales from the legendary writer. Here is a fast synopsis of what to anticipate from the product web page:
“A darkish evil lurks within the unreachable depths of a pipe, groaning out moans that echo by means of the home of a germophobe mom and her daughters. In one other story, flowers blooming within the form of eyeballs are solely the start of the unusual phenomena surrounding a mysterious switch pupil. Might he have supernatural talents? Additionally, a person in a village deep within the mountains shares recollections of his spouse. What occurred to her after she stated she would give freely of her blood?”
Outdoors of the manga, a Junji Ito Crimson TV anime was introduced throughout Japan Expo 2025. There aren’t but any particulars about forged or an official launch date, although.
Rosie Knight is an Eisner-winning journalist, writer and comics author. She co-hosts Crooked Media’s X-Ray Imaginative and prescient podcast, discussing popular culture from superhero films to status tv to the perfect fantasy novels and, after all, comics.
