Horror manga author Junji Ito will celebrate his 30-year anniversary with an anime adaptation of his works. The title will be Junji Ito Masterpiece Collection (Ito Junji Kessaku-shu) and it will air during the Winter 2018 season. Directing the series will be Shinobu Tagashira, who will also be in charge of character design. The animation studio will be Studio Deen.
‘My dreams and goals have switched place, a miracle occurred. This is a manga I have been loving since I was a teenager, and now I can turn it into an anime with my own hands. I have been imagining and thinking about how to animate what for a long time before this chance came. I am really happy that it will become reality. Thank you to everyone who lent me their power. And let’s work together well with all the animation staff that is involved. And I hope the fans who like the manga and are looking forward to the anime will support us. Ito wants us to express the passion and feelings from his work in the anime, so I will devote myself to creating a great horror anime.
It is like a dream come true, that my horror manga are being turned into an anime. When I was a child, dreamed of Kazuo Umezu’s, Shin’ichi Koga’s or others manga to be turned into an anime. I even went so far as to make a flip book about the highlights in Hideshi Hino’s works. I think that director Tagashira is working on this series with similar feelings. I saw his concept images and they are wonderful and show how much he loves the original work. I am already impatient, waiting for the day when I can see the completed animation. Everyone, look forward to it, too! Lastly, I would like to thank the members of the production team who are helping make this dream of mine come true, I thank you from the bottom of my heart!’
Original Work: Junji Ito
Director, Character Design: Shinobu Tagashira
Animation Production: Studio Deen
Official Website: http://www.itojunji-anime.com/
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.
