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Netflix is Releases Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre Very Soon!

Junji Ito fans rejoice! Not only is one of his most famous books, Uzumaki, being made into a TV show that stays true to the book, but Netflix has also decided to add its own twist to his scary books. The new animated series Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre will include twenty of his short stories, some of which have never been put on screen before. Collider says that the first time the news was shared was during Netflix’s Geeked Week in June 2022. But in just a few months, more information has come out about the series.

Fans of Junji Ito’s work will remember that this isn’t the first attempt at an anthology. The Junji Ito Collection came out in 2018, and the upcoming Netflix series will follow a similar format, with each episode being a pair of short stories. But the short-lived series got a lot of bad reviews because it didn’t do a good job of showing how scary Ito’s original inked pages were. Uzumaki is shaping up to be a very accurate adaptation, so let’s hope Netflix can do something similar.

Here is everything known about Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre by Junji Ito.

The Plot of Junji Ito Maniac 

As indicated earlier, this new series will be an animated anthology of Junji Ito’s numerous horror stories. Twenty stories will be adapted, and some of them will be given formal titles, including “The Hanging Balloons,” “Souichi,” “The Long Hair in the Attic,” and a few others. It remains to be seen whether these tales will be connected thematically or narratively.

If you’re unfamiliar with Junji Ito’s work, you should know that a few characters appear in numerous stories. Tomie, a gorgeous woman who carries a dark secret, is unquestionably the most well-known of these. Her beauty is so strong that it drives people insane, lulling them into doing violent crimes or doing anything she requests. If you attempt to kill her, she will return in fragments, multiplying and mutating into hideous monstrosities like a deformed worm. Given the character’s fame and repeated appearances in multiple animated and live-action versions, we can anticipate at the very least a cameo from her.

JUNJI ITO MANIAC: JAPANESE TALES OF THE MACABRE Release Date

Souichi appears to have received his own shorts. Souichi, a spooky boy with an iron shortage, is notorious for his deliberately infantile activities involving the occult and self-taught black magic. Due to his shortage, he is frequently observed biting and sucking on iron nails, giving him the appearance of a violent piranha. His plotting frequently backfires on him in a grim manner, which lends his novels a tendency toward black comedy.

Release Date of Junji Ito Maniac

The premiere date for the series is presently set for January 19, 2023. Uzumaki, Junji Ito’s other big animated production, was initially scheduled for publication in October 2022, but it was delayed to ensure the highest quality. With the recent publication of key art, it appears that Maniac will hopefully be delivered on time.

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The Cast & Crew Junji Ito Maniac

Since this is a collection of stories, we can expect a big group of voice actors to bring Junji Ito’s characters to life. Some of the voice actors will probably be familiar to anime fans. Yuki Kaji, who played Shoto on My Hero Academia, Yoko Hikasa, who voiced Mio on K-On, and Fumiko Orikasa, who played Rukia Kuchiki on Bleach, are just a few examples. So far, less than half of the stories have been announced, so there is a lot of room for more talent.

JUNJI ITO MANIAC: JAPANESE TALES OF THE MACABRE Release Date

Since Junji Ito was involved in making the Uzumaki adaptation, he will also be involved in making Maniac. When Netflix first told people about the show, Ito himself was in a short teaser talking about some of his stories. During this, he showed off some model sheets of characters who will be in the show. If he is directly involved with the animation, we can be sure that he is also asked about any story changes that might be made.

Final Words

Junji Ito’s Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre will be an animated anthology. Twenty stories will be adapted, some of which have never been seen before. The series will follow a similar format to the original Uzumaki short-lived series. The premiere date for the series is presently set for January 19, 2023. We can expect a big group of voice actors to bring Junji Ito’s characters to life. Some of them will be familiar to anime fans from My Hero Academia and Bleach.

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