Part of what makes Junji Ito’s work so terrifying is how it sticks with you. The mind behind the iconic horror manga like Thomas Y uzumaki it takes an idea, whether it’s a schoolgirl who can’t die or a small town obsessed with spirals, and constantly pushes the concept as far as it can go, usually towards some kind of haunting body horror that forces you to look the other way. Before you know it, the idea has lodged in your brain, its carefully crafted black-and-white images flickering even after you close the book.
The new Netflix anthology Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabrewhich adapts various Ito stories into animated episodes, captures some of that terror. The ideas are still there, the hideous imagination that can turn even children who eat ice cream into something haunting and grotesque. But it also goes through the stories so fast that they don’t have a chance to get stuck. In that way, it’s a nice introduction to Ito’s work, but it doesn’t fully capture the dread.
tales of the macabre features adaptations of 20 different stories spread over 12 episodes; some episodes are dedicated to a single idea, while others are divided into two. There are some classics here, like “Hanging Airship” (also know as hanging balloons), about strange inflatable doppelgängers, and the photography chapter of Thomas, in which a camera is used to expose supernatural secrets leading to a grisly ending. The stories included are all (mostly) independent and different, but share many of the same traits. That is, they start out as simple, say a noisy attic or a lost book, and get more and more screwed up from there.
Despite the change in media, the core of Ito’s work remains. She still feels the visceral bodily horror of peeling off countless layers of skin or watching a child’s second head be lopped off. All kinds of things come out of people’s mouths that shouldn’t be there. And you will see many characters that only watch shading in a way that’s hard to describe (and they’re people you definitely don’t want to sublet an apartment to).
For the most part, Ito’s distinctive visual style, particularly his characters, remains intact here. tales of the macabre it’s less detailed than the manga it’s based on, but otherwise it looks like what it is: a motion comic. The animation is sparse but serviceable, and the anime team has made some interesting creative decisions that give the different stories their own vibes. All but one of the stories are in color (all of the original comics are in black and white), and while most episodes are shown in a modern widescreen format, others are more boxy, as if you were watching them on an old tube tv. (which makes sense, since many of the stories are set in the ’80s and ’90s). Unfortunately, like many modern anime, the visuals are also plagued with low-quality 3D elements, mostly used for large moving objects like cars or weird monsters, which feel terribly out of place. That being said, it is it does have an amazing and surreal title sequence.
However, the real problem with the show is that it is too short. Particularly for the split episodes, it feels like each episode is racing toward the big scary twist, giving little time for the steady, methodical buildup that makes those twists really hit you. It is not surprising, then, that the best episodes are those dedicated to a single story, such as “Hanging Blimp” or “Tomb Town”, which have enough time to delve into, for example, the logistics of a town full of a number impossible. of tombstones Most everyone else, however, feels rushed, and as soon as they get to the interesting reveal, say, what’s inside that ice cream truck, they’re done.
It’s a shame because Ito’s stories are some of the most haunting and fascinating in all of horror. But tales of the macabre treats them more like appetizers than a full meal, and as a result, they don’t have the same staying power as the source material. (Another forthcoming adaptation, uzumaki in adult swimmingyou can avoid this by focusing on a single book). The best I can hope for is that the show inspires some people to pick up on the originals, and then not be able to stop thinking about them for a long time.
Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre is streaming on Netflix now.
