Netflix revealed a special clip for the upcoming Junji Ito Maniac: Tales of the Macabre anime, which is set to premiere on January 19 of next year. Studio DEEN is animating the series, with Shinobu Tagashira as the director and character designer. Yuki Hayashi is composing the music.
The anime will cover 20 stories by Junji Ito and some of them are Ice Cream Truck, Tomb Town, Library Vision, Headless Statue, Tomie, Souichi, and The Hanging Balloons. Netflix describes the plot as:
The genius Junji Ito has long been at the forefront of the Japanese horror manga world. Featuring a selection of 20 macabre masterpieces brimming with his original worldview and fascinating characters drawn in his stunning style, including popular titles such as “Hanging Balloon” and fan-favorite characters Tomie and Soichi, this animated series will totally immerse viewers in the maniacal charm of Junji Ito.
The anime, which will be episodic, recently revealed the opening. Cast includes:
- Ryotaro Okiayu as Sonohara
- Sara Matsumoto as TOMOKI
- Takatsugu Chikamatsu as Ice Cream Man
- Ryohei Kimura as Tsuyoshi Yoshikawa
- M・A・O as Kaoru Yoshikawa
- Aya Uchida as Izumi Murakami
- Yuki Kaji as Goro Shirasaki
- Tomoe Hanba as Koko
- Fumiko Orikasa as Rumi
- Takashi Kondo as Shimada
- Yoko Hikasa as Ciemi
Junji Ito Maniac: Tales of the Macabre was first announced during the Netflix Geeked Week 2022 event in June this year. The anime is the newest addition to the growing collection of Junji Ito’s works that have been animated. In 2018, Junji Ito “Collection” aired during the Winter anime season and was also animated by Studio DEEN. Uzumaki is also being adapted into an anime, but the release date is still unknown.
Junji Ito is known for his horror manga titles such as Uzumaki: Spiral Into Horror, Gyo, Tomie, The Enigma of Amigara Fault, and Remina.
Source: Netflix Anime YouTube Channel
© Junji Ito
