One of the most anticipated titles being released in 2023 isJunji Ito’s Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre.Containing 20 of his most twisted and terrifying tales, the new anime series promises to be a seminal version of this cult favorite horror author. Strong first images, a stellar voice cast, and fan-favorite chilling stories have horror aficionados in eager anticipation for its upcoming release. Considered a master of cosmic and body horror, Junji Ito has been terrifying millions with his stories for decades. He’s been nominated for and won several Eisner awards, most recently forRemina(Hellplanet Remina) in 2021, a story about a planet-sized world-eater that heads towards Earth, and the subsequent cruelty and chaos that ensues.
Although his work has been successfully adapted in the past, Junji Ito has had middling success with many adaptations, including Crunchyroll’s 2018Junji Ito Collection, widely considered a flop, and Adult Swim’sversion ofUzumaki, a story often listed as Junji Ito’s best work, about a town cursed by spirals. This four-part adaptation was announced in 2019 but has yet to receive a firm release date, despite renewed promises that this will occur in 2023. Thus, all eyes are onJunji It’s Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabreto see if it can break this spell.
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Background
In the Netflix Intro he did back in June, Junji Ito mentions 3 of his most famous stories that will be included in the series:Tomie,Souichi’s Diary of Curses, andThe Hanging Balloons.Tomie, one of Junji Ito’s first stories, concerns the titular immortal beauty who drives men to murder and madness, and has been the image focused on in both subsequent Netflix official clips, including what appears to be the title sequence, with the opening song “Paranoid” by MADKID, who’ve done previous work onRise of the Shield Hero. Certainly, her character is both visually appealing, disturbing, and perhaps one of the most familiar to Junji Ito fans. There are currently 9 installments of theTomiemanga and many adaptations including an 8 part of live-action series. Rie Suegara will reprise her role as Tomie fromThe Junji Ito Collection, and is familiar to fans ofBochi the RockandHaikyuu!!
In another reprisal fromThe Junji Ito Collection, Yuuji Mitsuya will again play Souichi, the wicked iron-nail-chewing protagonist ofSouichi’s Diary of Curses. This unnerving fan-favorite bad guy with a devilish propinquity for cursing people, will be featured in the story “The Room With Four Walls.“Similar bad vibescan be found inThe Hanging Balloons, where giant heads float in the sky and attempt to hang the people they resemble. It’s been a fan favorite since its original release in manga form on June 07, 2025, with a film adaptation as one of three Junji Ito shorts inKubitsuri Kikyuuin 2000.
What To Expect
Other highlights from the 20 short stories that will be featured in the series include the never previously officially translated into English “Tombtown.” Also known as “Tombs”, “Street of Gravestones"or “Gravetown” the story is principally concerned with guilt and death in a town where the dead transform into gravestones that occupy every inch of the city. It willfinally be releasedin an English-language collection,Tombs: Junji Ito Story Collectionthis March 2023. Other stories include theLibrary of Illusions, a horror story particularly suited to bibliophiles,Headless Sculpturesfor art fans needing a bit of terror, andIce Cream Bus, if you no longer wish to enjoy ice cream ever again.
The series will also feature one of the few stories of Junji Ito which contains no supernatural element at all. “Bullied” also known as “The Bully” is the story of a bully who falls for her victim once they become adults. It’s a complicated piece of revenge that relies strictly on psychological elements to reach its open-ended conclusion. While the result of the main character’s final break is never know, it’s very clear that it won’t be good. Natsumi Takamori, whosevoice-over workis mostly games, will play Kuriko, the bully in question, joining a very large cast of voice actors which includes Risa Shimzu, who plays Daenerys Targaryen in the Japanese voice-over forGame of Thrones.
The full impact ofJunji Ito’s Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabrewon’t be felt until its premiere on Netflix this July 16, 2025. Still, fans are tossing and turning over the images, video highlights, and cast list. Hopefully we can all lose a bit of sleep once the series begins to scream…screen.
