Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre

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Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre
Key visual
伊藤潤二『マニアック』
(Itō Junji Maniakku)
Created byJunji Ito
Original net animation
Directed byShinobu Tagashira
Written byKaoru Sawada
Music byYuki Hayashi
StudioStudio Deen
Licensed byNetflix
ReleasedJanuary 19, 2023
Runtime24-25 minutes
Episodes12

Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre (Japanese: 伊藤潤二『マニアック』, Hepburn: Itō Junji Maniakku) is a Japanese anthology horror original net animation (ONA) series produced by Studio Deen and directed by Shinobu Tagashira. It adapts various stories from Junji Ito, including The Hanging Balloons, Sōichi, and Tomie. It was released on Netflix in January 2023.

Characters[edit]

Kazuya Hikizuri (引摺一也, Hikizuri Kazuya)
Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai[1] (Japanese); Jonah Scott (English)
Kiko (黄子)
Voiced by: Romi Park[1] (Japanese); Karen Strassman (English)
Sayoko (小夜子)
Voiced by: Hisako Kanemoto[1] (Japanese); Kira Buckland (English)
Chiemi (チエミ)
Voiced by: Yoko Hikasa[1] (Japanese); Lauren Landa (English)
Kuriko (栗子)
Voiced by: Natsumi Takamori,[1] Akeno Watanabe (adult) (Japanese); Reba Buhr, Dawn M. Bennett (adult) (English)
Shigorō (四五郎)
Voiced by: Hajime Iijima[2] (Japanese); Brock Powell (English)
Narumi (成美)
Voiced by: Risa Shimizu[2] (Japanese); Kayli Mills (English)
Hitoshi (ヒトシ)
Voiced by: Ayaka Asai[2] (Japanese); Laura Stahl (English)
Misako (みさ子)
Voiced by: Tomoko Kaneda[2] (Japanese); Corina Boettger (English)
Kazuko Morinaka (森中和子, Morinaka Kazuko)
Voiced by: Riho Sugiyama[3] (Japanese); Courtney Lin (English)
Shinya Shiraishi (白石晋也, Shiraishi Shinya)
Voiced by: Daisuke Kishio[3] (Japanese); Lucien Dodge (English)
Kagumi Fujino (藤野輝美, Fujino Kagumi)
Voiced by: Iori Nomizu[3] (Japanese); Brianna Knickerbocker (English)
Tomie (富江)
Voiced by: Rie Suegara[3] (Japanese); Monica Rial (English)
Tsukiko Izumisawa (泉沢月子, Izumisawa Tsukiko)
Voiced by: Yumiri Hanamori[3] (Japanese); Abby Trott (English)
Yamazaki (山崎)
Voiced by: Taku Yashiro[3] (Japanese); Brandon McInnis (English)
Tachi (太地)
Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita[3] (Japanese); Austin Lee Matthews (English)
Kimata (木股)
Voiced by: Hiroyuki Yoshino[3] (Japanese); Tommy Arciniega (English)
Sōichi (双一)
Voiced by: Yūji Mitsuya[3] (Japanese); Austin Tindle (English)
Kōichi (公一)
Voiced by: Yoshimasa Hosoya[3] (Japanese); Ricco Fajardo (English)
Sayuri (さゆり)
Voiced by: Yuka Saitō[3] (Japanese); Amber Lee Connors (English)
Tagaisu (互須)
Voiced by: Yutaka Aoyama[3] (Japanese); Kirk Thornton (English)
Oshikiri (押切)
Voiced by: Hiro Shimono[3] (Japanese); Micah Solusod (English)
Sonohara (園原)
Voiced by: Ryōtarō Okiayu[4] (Japanese); Grant George (English)
Tomoki (友樹)
Voiced by: Sara Matsumoto[4] (Japanese); Anjali Kunapaneni (English)
Ice Cream Man (アイスクリームマン, Aisu Kurīmu Man)
Voiced by: Takatsugu Chikamatsu[4] (Japanese); Howard Wang (English)
Tsuyoshi Yoshikawa (吉川剛, Yoshikawa Tsuyoshi)
Voiced by: Ryōhei Kimura[4] (Japanese); Alejandro Saab (English)
Kaoru Yoshikawa (吉川かおる, Yoshikawa Kaoru)
Voiced by: M.A.O[4] (Japanese); Erica Mendez (English)
Izumi Murakami (村上泉, Murakami Izumi)
Voiced by: Aya Uchida[4] (Japanese); Jenny Yokobori (English)
Gorō Shinozaki (白崎五郎, Shinozaki Gorō)
Voiced by: Yuki Kaji[4] (Japanese); Sean Chiplock, Anjali Kunapaneni (young) (English)
Koko Shinozaki (白崎香子, Shinozaki Koko)
Voiced by: Tomoe Hanba[4] (Japanese); Brianna Knickerbocker (English)
Rumi (留美)
Voiced by: Fumiko Orikasa[4] (Japanese); Cristina Vee (English)
Shimada (島田)
Voiced by: Takashi Kondō[4] (Japanese); Henry Mason (English)
Mayumi Santō (山東まゆみ, Santō Mayumi)
Voiced by: Shōko Nakagawa[5] (Japanese); Emi Lo (English)
Mitsu Uchida (内田美津, Uchida Mitsu)
Voiced by: Mie Sonozaki[5] (Japanese); Mela Lee (English)
Colon (コロン, Koron)
Voiced by: Tomoko Kaneda[5]

Production and release[edit]

The series was originally announced on June 8, 2022; the series was announced to adapt stories from Junji Ito's The Hanging Balloons, Sōichi, and Tomie manga.[6] The series 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 adapting Ito's works, Junji Ito Collection.[7] The series premiered on Netflix on January 19, 2023.[3] The opening theme song is "Paranoid" by MADKID, while the ending theme song is "Iu Toori" (云う透り) by JYOCHO.[8]

Episodes[edit]

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"The Strange Hikizuri Siblings: The Seance"(The Strange Hikizuri Siblings: The Seance)
Transliteration: "Kaiki hikizuri kyōdai: Kōreikai" (Japanese: 怪奇ひきずり兄弟・降霊会)		Shinobu TagashiraJunji Ito & Kaoru SawadaJanuary 19, 2023 (2023-01-19)
A photographer with an interest in spirits and ghosts pays a visit to the very strange and creepy home where the six Hikizuri siblings live.
2"Story of the Mysterious Tunnel/Ice Cream Bus"(The Story of the Mysterious Tunnel/Ice Cream Truck)
Transliteration: "Tonneru kitan/Aisu kurīmu basu" (Japanese: トンネル奇譚/アイスクリームバス)		Shinobu TagashiraJunji Ito & Kaoru SawadaJanuary 19, 2023 (2023-01-19)
Goro returns to the tunnel he saw his mother once walk into. An ice cream truck arrives in the neighborhood, driven by a bewitching young man.
3"Hanging Balloon"(The Hanging Balloons)
Transliteration: "Kubitsuri kikyū" (Japanese: 首吊り気球)		Shinobu TagashiraJunji Ito & Kaoru SawadaJanuary 19, 2023 (2023-01-19)
After a popular idol dies by what appears to be suicide, there are multiple sightings of her giant, grotesque head floating in the sky.
4"Four x Four Walls/The Sandman’s Lair"(Four x Four Walls/The Sandman’s Lair)
Transliteration: "Yonjū kabe no heya/Suima no heya" (Japanese: 四重壁の部屋/睡魔の部屋)		Shinobu TagashiraJunji Ito & Kaoru SawadaJanuary 19, 2023 (2023-01-19)
Koichi can’t study because his younger brother Soichi is constantly making noise. Tormented by his dreams, Yuji asks his friend Mari to keep him awake.
5"Intruder/Long Hair in the Attic"(Intruder/The Long Hair in the Attic)
Transliteration: "Shinnyūsha/Yaneura no nagai kami" (Japanese: 侵入者/屋根裏の長い髪)		Shinobu TagashiraJunji Ito & Kaoru SawadaJanuary 19, 2023 (2023-01-19)
Oshikiri has been hearing strange footsteps in the house he lives in alone. Chiemi wakes up to find a rat stuck in her long, black hair.
6"Mold/Library Vision"(Mold/Library Vision)
Transliteration: "Kabi/Zōsho gen'ei" (Japanese: 黴/蔵書幻影)		Shinobu TagashiraJunji Ito & Kaoru SawadaJanuary 19, 2023 (2023-01-19)
A year after renting his house to Mr. Rogi, Akasaka finds mold growing everywhere. Koko's husband Goro is obsessed with maintaining his library.
7"Tomb Town"(Tomb Town)
Transliteration: "Bohyō no machi" (Japanese: 墓標の町)		Shinobu TagashiraJunji Ito & Kaoru SawadaJanuary 19, 2023 (2023-01-19)
After hitting a girl with his car, Tsuyoshi and his sister Kaoru find that the road they're driving on is blocked by countless tombstones.
8"Layers of Terror/The Thing that Drifted Ashore"(Layers of Fear/The Thing that Drifted Ashore)
Transliteration: "Kyōfu no jūsō/Hyōchaku-butsu" (Japanese: 恐怖の重層/漂着物)		Shinobu TagashiraJunji Ito & Kaoru SawadaJanuary 19, 2023 (2023-01-19)
When an accident causes her to lose half her face, Reimi discovers that her younger selves still exist inside her. An eerie sea creature drifts ashore.
9"Tomie's Photos"(Tomie: Photo)
Transliteration: "Tomie: Shashin" (Japanese: 富江・写真)		Shinobu TagashiraJunji Ito & Kaoru SawadaJanuary 19, 2023 (2023-01-19)
A menacing transfer student named Tomie isn't happy that a girl named Tsukiko has been taking and selling pictures of popular boys in their school.
10"Unendurable Labyrinth/The Bully"(Unendurable Labyrinth/The Bully)
Transliteration: "Taegatai meiro/Ijimekko" (Japanese: 耐えがたい迷路/いじめっ娘)		Shinobu TagashiraJunji Ito & Kaoru SawadaJanuary 19, 2023 (2023-01-19)
Two friends get lost in the mountains and come across a community of ascetic monks. Kuriko ends up bullying a younger boy she's been playing with.
11"Alley/Headless Statue"(The Back Alley/Headless Statue)
Transliteration: "Rojiura/Kubi no nai chōkoku" (Japanese: 路地裏/首のない彫刻)		Shinobu TagashiraJunji Ito & Kaoru SawadaJanuary 19, 2023 (2023-01-19)
A young man moves into a boarding house next to an enclosed alley. An art teacher known for his headless sculptures is found murdered — with no head.
12"Whispering Woman/Soichi's Beloved Pet"(Whispering Woman/Soichi's Beloved Pet)
Transliteration: "Mimikosuri suru onna/Sōichi no aigan dōbutsu" (Japanese: 耳擦りする女/双一の愛玩動物)		Shinobu TagashiraJunji Ito & Kaoru SawadaJanuary 19, 2023 (2023-01-19)
A mysterious woman calmly takes on the job of helping a hysterical girl unable to make any decisions on her own. Soichi’s family adopts a pet cat.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Pineda, Rafael (July 14, 2022). "Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre Anime Reveals Cast, Stories". Anime News Network. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d Pineda, Rafael (July 25, 2022). "Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre Anime Reveals More Cast". Anime News Network. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Hodgkins, Crystalyn (September 25, 2022). "Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre Anime Reveals January 19 Debut, More Cast". Anime News Network. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Pineda, Rafael (October 13, 2022). "Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre Anime Reveals More Stories, Cast". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Pineda, Rafael (December 8, 2022). "Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre Anime Unveils More Cast, All 20 Stories". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  6. ^ Pineda, Rafael (June 8, 2022). "Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre Anime Adapts 20 Stories in 2023". Anime News Network. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  7. ^ 「伊藤潤二『マニアック』」配信は来年1月、追加タイトルとキャストも解禁. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. September 25, 2022. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  8. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (January 12, 2023). "Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre Anime's 3rd Video Reveals, Previews Ending Song". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 20, 2023.

External links[edit]

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