Junji Ito is like the Stephen King of the manga world...well, I'm not really in a position to say that, but he just might as well be. Anyone familiar with the horror manga genre is undoubtedly familiar with his works, which are by turns creepy. horrifying, disturbing, and sometimes all three. Most of the time, he focuses on paranormal horror and somewhat less realistic situations (though this is not at all comforting when one is trying to fall asleep).
Today I'll be listing "the best" mangas by Junji Ito. Rest assured that these are the cream of the crop- some of these put me thoroughly off my lunch. Most are oneshots, some are longer works. Enjoy, and be sure to check them out. I'll try not to spoil these too much.
(Note: For safety reasons there will be significantly fewer pictures in this post.)
Tomie
I'll be honest here: Tomie isn't really my favorite. But its three volumes strong and has a few movies going for it, and its a definitely a classic (as well as one of Junji Ito's more well known works). There is some pretty grotesque imagery, but I find the storyline is somewhat repetitive once you get the idea.
Black Paradox
Although this manga is somewhat less realistic than, say Tomie, it holds up well. Despite a few uncertainties in the construction of the story, it retains the plausibility that is crucial to good horror fiction. It begins with an (attempted) group suicide, then gets more and more bizarre.
Although this manga is somewhat less realistic than, say Tomie, it holds up well. Despite a few uncertainties in the construction of the story, it retains the plausibility that is crucial to good horror fiction. It begins with an (attempted) group suicide, then gets more and more bizarre.
Library of Illusions (New Voices in the Dark)
I love stories that bring in books as a theme or feature them in any way. See also: Libraries. Naturally, I enjoyed this oneshot, which is one of his less graphic works.
Uzumaki
One of his longer works, which gets off to a slow start but soon spirals into heaps of needless gore. This is one of his more gory/gore-centric works, and there are a number of choice (Read: graphic) tidbits that will show up on Google Images if you type in "Uzumaki Movie" (despite Google Safe Search being fully active).
Falling
Not at all meant to be realistic, but a bit graphic and horror-inspiring. This may also have inspired my new fear of falling.
Hanging Balloons
Not really believable, but horrific in the sense that one can easily imagine the same happening in one's town. Well, thats the thing with most horror manga anyway.
I love stories that bring in books as a theme or feature them in any way. See also: Libraries. Naturally, I enjoyed this oneshot, which is one of his less graphic works.
Uzumaki
One of his longer works, which gets off to a slow start but soon spirals into heaps of needless gore. This is one of his more gory/gore-centric works, and there are a number of choice (Read: graphic) tidbits that will show up on Google Images if you type in "Uzumaki Movie" (despite Google Safe Search being fully active).
Falling
Not at all meant to be realistic, but a bit graphic and horror-inspiring. This may also have inspired my new fear of falling.
Hanging Balloons
Not really believable, but horrific in the sense that one can easily imagine the same happening in one's town. Well, thats the thing with most horror manga anyway.
The Human Chair
Some of Junji Ito's works remind me of creepypasta, due to their storytelling style and how realistic some of them are. This one feels like a lot like a good creepypasta, which, if you've read any of my creepypasta posts, means that its very realistic and convincing.
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Perhaps my next Creepy Wednesday will list my favorite Kago Shintaro mangas. And if you thought that your Google Image search this week yielded some pretty interesting results, just wait.
Oh, you just wait.
Some of Junji Ito's works remind me of creepypasta, due to their storytelling style and how realistic some of them are. This one feels like a lot like a good creepypasta, which, if you've read any of my creepypasta posts, means that its very realistic and convincing.
_________________
Perhaps my next Creepy Wednesday will list my favorite Kago Shintaro mangas. And if you thought that your Google Image search this week yielded some pretty interesting results, just wait.
Oh, you just wait.
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