Eighteen tales of terror from the master of horror manga, “Junji Ito Maniac” offers a variety of stories from the iconic creator including recognizable characters such as Tomie and Soichi. This is the second collection of his works put into a series, with 2018 ‘The Junji Ito Collection” taking a similar structure of presenting a broad range of stories in the mangaka's repertoire.
The work of Junji Ito has made him one of the most recognizable names in manga, with his tales of metaphysical horror and cosmic absurdity striking a chord with readers across the world. Unsurprisingly, this has led to many efforts to adapt his work to other mediums, notably anime and live-action. While many of these endeavors have gained favor with the fandom, it is undeniable that these projects have to be removed from the source material. For example, despite the cult status of the live-action “Uzumaki” you would be hard-pressed to find anyone making the case that it is even remotely effective in conveying the cosmic horror on display in the manga. This sentiment is applicable to every adaptation, and while “Maniac” showed promise in early promotional material, it acts as one of the best examples of why Ito's work is best left on the pages.
“Maniac” has several issues, some of which are noted in the opening episode “The Strange Hikizuri Siblings,” as well as the two appearances from Soichi, which is that Ito's comedic stories have never been about presenting humorous material but rather enriching his eccentric character. The opening episode is nearly unwatchable in how it focuses on obnoxious characters over horror elements and it sets a tedious pace that the collection struggles to recapture. The selection of episodes is further hindered by peculiar choices in taking segments from larger stories and choosing the most uninspiring chapters within those stories. The major culprit here is “Intruder”, which only focuses on the intro to the stories of Oshikiri and his house of alternative dimensions, completely lacking the later sensational elements that make the original story so memorable.
The other major issue facing the series is the animation, an issue which was also a problem in the “Junji Ito Collection” wherein the overall visual direction comes up short when compared to the mastery Ito shows on the page. The use of CGI, in particular, takes noteworthy fan favorites like “Hanging Baloon” and “Ice Cream Truck” and cheapens the shock value with poorly integrated CGI. Consequently, there is little terror to actually be found, and combined with the varied tone with ‘comedic' choices, the series fails to produce anything worthy of the name of Ito.
While certainly disappointing, that is not to say that the series does not boast a few strong entries. Both “Library Vision” and “Layers of Terror” are wonderfully disturbing tales of madness that are brief yet effective. Furthermore, “Mold” and “Long Hair in The Attic” only fall slightly short of delivering nightmarish visuals close to the vibe of reading Ito. This, obviously, will also vary with the reader and depending on what aspects of his works viewers enjoy and past stories that resonated with them personally.
The production itself, while failing to totally capture the aesthetic of an Ito book, is not without its own value and there are some segments with a strong visual direction that manage to keep the work engaging, such as “Tomb Town”. Additionally, the voice acting across each of the segments is well executed. The original Japanese language is, obviously, superior to the English dub, yet the latter is still serviceable with a few odd choices for more eccentric characters. The opening and closing themes also suit the production well and help give the series a more defined identity, with the ‘in your face' rock opening setting the tone of the series offering a wide range of the creator's oeuvre.
“Japanese Tales of the Macabre” proves to be a subtle improvement on the attempted formula of “Junji Ito Collection” but that is not saying much given how that series was also rife with faults. On a personal note, however, the latter does feel superior in its story selection which is one of the major things really limiting “Maniac”. So, is there a solution to this lull in Ito content that fails to capture the visual style?
One would hope that the upcoming Uzumaki anime from Adult Swim will kick the trend, though I believe that there needs to be a different approach to adapting Ito's work for anime, and a lesser experienced/untraditional studio could bring some needed roughness to the visual and storytelling style that would better suit the chaotic world he crafts. Studio DEEN, a competent studio on its own, really doesn't seem to understand what makes Ito connect with so many horror fans. Comparatively, a studio like “ILCA” which has been working on “Yami Shibai: Japanese Ghost Stories” to notable cult success since 2013 could interject some much-needed unique style that would make the adaptations not feel so mundane and uninspiring.
It is difficult to say with certainty the best route to properly bring Ito's work to the screen but “Junji Ito Maniac” is not the answer. Ultimately, the series' greatest sin is that it fails to broaden or celebrate the work of the iconic mangaka in a meaningful manner that is not just surface-level mimicry of the source material.
