Junji Ito’s creative genius has always been beyond extraordinary. The way he manages to create the most menacing horror stories that are both visually spine-chilling and storywise frightening, it is always a treat to read his works. The eerie illustrations could easily haunt anyone’s dreams while also gripping them at the same time.
Now that Uzumaki is set to get its anime adaptation, it is only fair to acquaint oneself to his other works as well. Junji Ito is known best for how well he can manipulate fear in his works. There is no one who does horror manga like him.
Gyo
Gyo was a series that was in serialization for two years between 2001 and 2002. A Master of horror, Junji Ito introduces the story of half mech-half undead fish that plague the world after coming out of the water. The mangaka has always shown best with bringing out the most unusual stories in the most horrific manners. To support them even further, these fish shift from terrorizing the humans to seeking them as hosts.
Tadashi and Kaori together wish to escape the clutches of these fish. The series had two volumes with only ninteen chapters. However, the story it told was scary enough to make the strongest hearts shiver while also bringing in some comedy here and there.
No Longer Human
Junji Ito adapted Osamu Dazai’s renowned semi-autobiography, No Longer Human into a manga. The novel in itself tackled various dark themes seeing how the author’s main goal was to commit double suicide with his partner. The book deals with a man who is tired of his life, finding no meaning in it after tragedy after tragedy takes pieces of him away.
What Ito does with the story is even more interesting. For an already-established dark tale, the novel is psychologically and emotionally taxing on its own. The adaptation has one volume with twenty six chapters. In the most common fashion of the mangaka, there is an added touch of horror that would leave every reader squirming with how uncomfortable it would make one feel.
Hellstar Remina
What does the world do when doom becomes inevitable? Junji Ito tackles this very question through Remina. Serialized between 2004 and 2005, the manga tackles a planet-sized organism on its path to destroy humankind with it. Remina, the titular character is the one who discovered the organism and as the reality of the situation dawns on everyone, the fame she had received very quickly turns into hatred.
Humans become maniacal in nature, going on rampages after losing their sanity with the thought that the world is coming to an end. The series has only one volume with six chapters. Moreover, Remina turns into a punching bag with everyone out for her head. Even with a giant threat looming over them, it is humanity that serves as the biggest danger.
Black Paradox
Four individuals get together in a bizarre attempt to kill themselves which then leads to a series of unusual events. The was serialized between 2007 and 2008, spanning within one volume and six chapters. After one of them succeeds in their mission, they come to discover what looks to be a new element. Things take a turn for the worse once those elemental gemstones start causing problems.
It goes from finding the parallel worlds to becoming human test subjects so as to gather resources for the earth in a horrific instant. These were people who simply wanted to die but they ended up becoming gory experiments because of a mistake they simply cannot undo.
Tomie
Tomie was Junji Ito’s debut work that gave every horror fan a taste of just how grotesque his storytelling can be. The series ran from 1987 to 2000 with one volume and twenty chapters. The story would initially remind fans of the classic Japanese horror tales with how a beautiful and ominous woman works towards capturing the attention of men.
It is the story of a woman who cannot be killed no matter how many attempts are made. The nature of the tale becomes more and more twisted upon learning that Tomie may look to be a gorgeous woman but her only task is to lure men and put them through immense turmoil. Nothing can or will kill her no matter what and she would come back again and again to fulfill her purpose.
Uzumaki will be available to watch from 29th September on Max.
