Anime Info | Simulcast | Official Pages
Japanese Title: Junji Ito Collection (伊藤潤二「コレクション」)
Horror manga author Junji Ito celebrates his 30-year anniversary with an anime adaptation of his works.
Thanasis
I knew Junji Ito only by reputation. I have often gotten very close to buying the hardcover version of Uzumaki in my local bookstore as there is always a copy there waiting and I felt like the story had something to offer. Also, it reminded me of the manga versions of Ring. I never did, however, because I am not a big fan of horror. I had to see this episode to finally be convinced to go through with the purchase, not because the episode was great (far from it) but because I thought that the two stories featured would look good in manga format.
The anime, however, was not the horror I expected. The protagonist of the first story, Shouichi, proclaims before the opening sequence that ‘Now, you’ll see some real horror.’ Despite his promise, Episode 1 was more comedy than horror. The first story focused on a teenager who uses his knowledge of curses to the test by pranking his classmates. Not exactly the horror I had in mind. The second story had just a few minutes to tell the story of a girl who turned into a doll… and then into something more sinister.
You have to give this anime a chance if you are a horror and/or a Junji Ito fan. Because of the episodic nature of the title, I will certainly return for a few more episodes, but the quality of the stories will determine whether the anime will have a permanent place in my Winter 2018 list.
The first season of the new year is just one month away from its finale. It was a great start with many amazing titles that made these past months worth the extra hours we put in front of our sets. Now, it is time for the cold wind to give way to the pink hues of the sakura tree and for the Winter 2018 season to give the anime baton to Spring 2018.
