Junji Ito is one of Japan’s most renowned horror manga authors and isconsidered a master in his craft. If it exists, Junji Ito has probably found a way to make it scary. From hair, chairs, ice cream, mountains, and mazes, tothe mereconceptof spirals, there’s a terrifying story about anything to be found.
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WithJunji Ito Maniacjust around the corner, classic Junji Ito stories like “Hanging Balloons,” “Ice Cream Truck,” and “Where the Sandman Lives” are finally getting well-deserved attention. But with over a hundred short stories under his belt, there are still many incredible tales that deserve the spotlight. Perhaps for season two? Here are eight Junji Ito short stories worthy of animating!
8A Deserter In The House
Everything is not as it seems with “A Deserter in the House.” This Junji Ito story is set in 1953 and follows a family that is ‘generously’ harboring war deserter Saburo Furukawa, who desertedthe Japanese army during World War II. As an act of sick revenge for a horrible crime committed a decade ago, the Kikuyo family has convinced him that the war never ended.
Believing he is still wanted for desertion, Saburo hides in their store room and only comes down occasionally to eat. Soon, however, the Kikuyo family learns another sinister truth about Saburo Furukawa.
7Blood Bubble Bushes
“Blood Bubble Bushes” is one of the most unique, haunting horror stories out there. Full of self-loathing, a woman believes she is so horrid that when she cuts herself or gets a nosebleed, that means her blood is desperately trying to escape. Unfortunately for her, that might actually be true.
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When Ansai and Kana’s car crashes, they have no choice but to wander a blood-stained village in search of help. There, they discover a man who claims to be the only person living in the village, who enlightens them on the true mystery of the blood bubble bushes…
6Drifting Spores
“Drifting Spores” (sometimes known as “Floating Particles”) follows the strange phenomenon of floating spores that speak people’s innermost thoughts into the air. It starts small - with a boy named Masao who collects them in his home.
When a classmate visits and opens the window, thousands of these spores are released into the world, and the spores start to appear from other people. World chaos ensues. Depending on interpretation, this storycould veer into sci-fi horror, because the nature of the ‘spores’ is never truly explained.
5The Earthbound
“The Earthbound"is a chilling story following a bizarre supernatural phenomenon. People begin to mysteriously freeze in place becoming statue-like, unable to move - and when they’re physically moved, they reappear in the same space.
A volunteer for ‘Blue Sky,’ a group determined to help the Earthbound, begins to suspect that the phenomenon is caused by internal distress, rather than some sort of external force. She’s proven right when a boy becomes Earthbound at the spot where his beloved dog died. Soon, the Earthbound start to freeze and shatter like statues!
4Venus In The Blind Spot
Asone of Junji Ito’s mesmerizing heroines, Mariko Shono is a beautiful woman and the daughter of renowned UFO scholar Professor Shono. Together with her father, Mariko runs the Nanzan UFO Research Society, attended by three men who only wish to get close to her.
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Shortly after meeting Mariko, all of the men suffer a headache and wake up in a blinding white room, only to re-surface in a park hours later with no memory of what happened. After this, Mariko starts disappearing altogether! The men begin to truly believe in UFOs, but the true reason for Mariko’s disappearance is even more sinister.
3Army Of One
“Army of One"is another of Junji Ito’s most renowned works. It’s one of the very few Junji Ito stories to haveno overt supernatural elements, depending on the interpretation of the reader. Dead bodies sewn together begin to appear all over Japan - seemingly spurred on by a group known as the “Army of One.”
This group drops fliers via plane, and regularly makes radio appeals for new members, but never provides any details. These stitched bodies start appearing so frequently that people are encouraged to avoid socializing altogether - making this a somewhat relevant story in the pandemic era.
2The Enigma Of Amigara Fault
This short story from Junji Ito is one of his most famous, its popularity was spurred on by countless “This is my hole! It was made for me!” memes. It’s this sort of story that fansexpected to see in Crunchyroll’sJunji Ito Collection.
It follows, like most Junji Ito manga, a bizarre event with no discernable cause. People-shaped holes begin to appear on Amigara Fault, attracting media and tourist attention. These holes seem to be calling out to specific people, compelling them to find their perfect match. Somehow, it gets weirder from there.
1Conversation Room
“Conversation Room” is thetale of a disturbing… monster? Like many Junji Ito stories, the true cause is eerily unknown. Hashimoto, a victim of a car crash, awakes in a hospital bed with some disconcerting roommates - four women that refuse to be separated for any reason.
As the story evolves, the women become more and more inseparable, and more and more creepy. Hashimoto eventually deduces that some kind of creature is using multiple people as its host and that the terrifying tendrils that start attacking people must be its nervous system. This story is only heightened by Junji Ito’s iconic art style and the lack of pupils in the women.
