Junji Ito Collection

Two stories per episode showing interesting and weird horror stories. Some are going to make you close your eyes, revolt your stomach and keep you watching for more.

Could be better, but remember that japanese culture have a diferent concept of horror.

As a Junji Ito fan, I eagerly devoured the "Junji Ito Collection" anime, hoping for a chilling translation of his iconic horror manga. While it didn't quite reach the fever pitch of terror the source material conjures, it offered a glimpse into the unsettling brilliance of Ito's mind, leaving me both wanting more and appreciating the challenges of adapting his work.

A Symphony of Shadows (But Maybe Needs a Bass Boost)

One of Ito's greatest strengths is his mastery of black and white. The stark contrasts, the play of light and shadow, all weave a symphony of dread that burrows into your subconscious. The anime, while not a slavish copy, attempts to capture this essence. While the vibrant palette occasionally clashes with the intended atmosphere, there are moments where the animation truly shines.

Imperfect Beauty: The Animation's Double-Edged Sword

The animation quality, while not on par with some top-tier productions, has its own unique charm. It's not the fluid, high-budget style you might expect, but rather a deliberate choice that reflects the scratchy, almost dreamlike quality of Ito's art. Some may find it clunky, but I appreciate the attempt to capture the raw, unsettling energy of the manga panels.

However, I can't ignore the moments where the animation falls short. Certain scenes lack the detail and depth that truly bring Ito's grotesque creations to life. The character movements can feel stiff, and the environments occasionally lose the oppressive texture that makes the manga so terrifying.

Whispers of Horror: Where's the Screaming Silence?

One of the things I love most about Ito's work is how it lets the silence and ambiguity do the talking. The anime, unfortunately, leans a bit too heavily on exposition. While some explanation is necessary, the clunky dialogue and overbearing narration sometimes disrupt the flow and dilute the suspense. I longed for more moments where the visuals could speak for themselves, as they do so masterfully in the manga.

A Seed of Hope for Uzumaki and Beyond

Despite its shortcomings, the "Junji Ito Collection" planted a seed of hope for future adaptations. It proved that translating Ito's unique vision to the screen isn't impossible, and with refinement, it could be truly terrifying. The upcoming "Uzumaki" adaptation, with its focus on capturing the intricate black and white style, has me cautiously optimistic.

Conclusion:

"Junji Ito Collection" may not be a perfect translation of the manga's chilling brilliance, but it's a commendable experiment that offers a glimpse into the grotesque genius of Junji Ito. While it left me yearning for the deeper dread and nuanced storytelling of the source material, it also sparked excitement for the potential of future adaptations to do justice to his unsettling masterpieces. If you're a fan of Ito's work, it's worth checking out, but keep an open mind and remember, the true nightmares still reside within the pages of the manga.____

If you're looking for a comedic, bad art style collection of things not to do in any horror situations then congratulations, you've got a 10/10 anime right here, go ahead.

If you're looking for an anime creation of some of Junji Itou's sickest works then you'd probably have better luck creating it yourself.

Now, a lot of fellow Junji Itou fans warned me off watching this. Being a relatively new fan, I took their warnings into consideration but I still chose to watch this with a friend as something for us to do in the evenings. Part of me really wishes I'd listened to other fans of Itou, but part of me is also now glad - at least I know now that when I read the mangas I have yet to read, I'm going to enjoy them ten times more.

Although the storylines in this are spectacular and follow Itou's work perfectly, the art style in this let it down. The only word I can use to describe it is just. Lazy. Terrible pan shots, notable repeated uses of the same frames, and just some generically bad drawing where some characters didn't even have their full noses drawn on. Each episode seemed to drag on longer and longer and the only reason I continued watching this was to avoid dropping an anime and having my first red mark on my MyAnimeList statistics. It was simply shocking. Although the sound work and seiyuu's brought this to life, the artwork fully ruined it. As many other's have said - this is somewhat of an insult to the beautifully constructed art frames that Itou spends so much time and energy to create. Maybe they were rushed and that's why it just seemed limp and pale, but there was no excuse for this to be rushed. They should have tried to hire Itou on board as the art creator and director, frankly. This was just an abomination and I wish Splatter would work on sections of the brain so I could forget I ever forced myself to sit through this.

I think truly the thing that most disappointed me in this was just that I ended up laughing through a lot of the scenes. I ended up sitting and laughing through scenes that were meant to be sad or disturbing because the artwork was so bad and - if I'm honest - that actually hurt a little bit. I shouldn't be laughing through the work of one of my favourite authors for his disturbing and intriguing work. It's just not right.

Miss this, if you're an Itou fan, truly miss it. Learn from my mistake and run for the hills like every other Itou fan in this review section is warning you to do.

Unlike most anime series this one doesn't have a single story running through all twelve episodes or even the same group of characters. Instead each episode contains a couple of short horror stories which don't appear to have any connection to each other apart from the art style; at least until the final story when a couple of previously seen characters return. As one might guess from the title they are based on stories created by manga artist Junji Ito.

The stories are nicely varied; most have a good degree of creepiness although inevitably some work better than others. I liked the art style; it suits the genre far better than the more traditional look of anime characters. Comments I've read elsewhere suggest it isn't as good as the original manga but as I've not read any of that I can't compare it; as a standalone work it is effectively creepy if not really scary. Overall I'd recommend it to those who enjoyed shows like 'Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories'.

These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.

I am a big fan of Junji Ito and familiar with almost all of his works. The background music and the vibe of Junji Itô: Korekushon anime is not as much scary as the manga is. Just okay.