{"id":49825,"date":"2022-11-18T13:47:13","date_gmt":"2022-11-18T13:47:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/?p=49825"},"modified":"2022-12-17T12:54:11","modified_gmt":"2022-12-17T12:54:11","slug":"feast-of-spooky-stories-2023-will-be-the-junji-ito-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/feast-of-spooky-stories-2023-will-be-the-junji-ito-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Feast of spooky stories: 2023 will be Junji Ito time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>NB<\/strong> This post may contain images and videos that are inappropriate for some audience. Please make sure you understand it before proceeding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Three different adaptations of Junji Ito&#8217;s manga will debut in 2023: <em>Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre<\/em> from Netflix, <em>Uzumaki<\/em> from Adult Swim and <em>Bloody Smart<\/em> from Taiwan, China.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You may not be a horror fan, but odds are you&#8217;ve seen his art on the internet. Japanese horror manga artist <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Junji_Ito\">Junji Ito<\/a>, who has an incredible imagination, brings <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lovecraftian_horror\">Lovecraftian horror<\/a> to a much wider audience. His early education, in anatomy in medical school, has given him the skill to portray his creativity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-3 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/12\/l-intro-1654041906-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"51910\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/12\/l-intro-1654041906.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/feast-of-spooky-stories-2023-will-be-the-junji-ito-time\/l-intro-1654041906\/\" class=\"wp-image-51910\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/12\/l-intro-1654041906-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/12\/l-intro-1654041906-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/12\/l-intro-1654041906-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/12\/l-intro-1654041906-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/12\/l-intro-1654041906-777x437.jpg 777w, https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/12\/l-intro-1654041906-260x146.jpg 260w, https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/12\/l-intro-1654041906-120x67.jpg 120w, https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/12\/l-intro-1654041906.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"637\" height=\"367\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2019-06-17-at-4.18.28-PM.png\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"51911\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2019-06-17-at-4.18.28-PM.png\" data-link=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/feast-of-spooky-stories-2023-will-be-the-junji-ito-time\/screen-shot-2019-06-17-at-4-18-28-pm\/\" class=\"wp-image-51911\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2019-06-17-at-4.18.28-PM.png 637w, https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2019-06-17-at-4.18.28-PM-300x173.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 637px) 100vw, 637px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"922\" height=\"536\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/12\/tomie-alexandre-aja.png\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"51913\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/12\/tomie-alexandre-aja.png\" data-link=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/feast-of-spooky-stories-2023-will-be-the-junji-ito-time\/tomie-alexandre-aja\/\" class=\"wp-image-51913\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/12\/tomie-alexandre-aja.png 922w, https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/12\/tomie-alexandre-aja-300x174.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/12\/tomie-alexandre-aja-768x446.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 922px) 100vw, 922px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"869\" height=\"553\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2019-06-25-at-8.25.24-AM.png\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"51912\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2019-06-25-at-8.25.24-AM.png\" data-link=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/feast-of-spooky-stories-2023-will-be-the-junji-ito-time\/screen-shot-2019-06-25-at-8-25-24-am-2\/\" class=\"wp-image-51912\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2019-06-25-at-8.25.24-AM.png 869w, https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2019-06-25-at-8.25.24-AM-300x191.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2019-06-25-at-8.25.24-AM-768x489.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 869px) 100vw, 869px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption\">Junji Ito Manga from junji-ito.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Since <em>Junji Ito Collection (2018)<\/em>, there has been a silent period regarding adaptations of Ito&#8217;s manga works. Although, the three new episodes, coming in 2023, are due to make up for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether you&#8217;re already an avid fan of Ito or an onlooker curious about the world of this talented manga artist, it\u2019s a time not to be missed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Kick off the new year with a creepy Netflix series<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The <em>Netflix<\/em> series <em>Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre<\/em> will be streaming on Netflix exclusively from 19 January 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Netflix, the anime series features a selection of 20 horror masterpieces filled with Ito\u2019s original worldview and fascinating characters drawn in his stunning style, including highly popular characters <em>Tomie<\/em> and <em>Souichi<\/em>. This will immerse viewers in Ito&#8217;s maniacal charm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre | Opening &amp; Official Clip | Netflix\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/b30xHuqp85I?start=50&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Just today, Netflix dropped another brand-new clip revealing more about Tomie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre | Official Clip | Netflix\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kPNo4QttuWI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHis short stories are mostly narratives with a suspenseful structure, depicting anomalies in everyday events.\u201d Yu Taniguchi, 24, has been a loyal reader of Ito since she was a child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHe treats the human body as mechanical parts, combining them with something messy and yet in the process conforming to a certain human logic. Thus he creates a kind of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Uncanny_valley\">uncanny valley<\/a> effect that makes you recoil and fear while at the same time you can&#8217;t help but look forward to it.\u201d Taniguchi said. \u201cI wonder if the series will bring back the excitement of my childhood nightmares.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What adaptation style is appropriate?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>While Ito&#8217;s fame has generated much anticipation for Netflix, the trailer has caused some fans to question the quality of the series, due to the pop colours and music &#8211; that don&#8217;t quite fit with the manga&#8217;s creepy atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"649\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/11\/20221118123840-649x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-49872\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/11\/20221118123840-649x1024.jpg 649w, https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/11\/20221118123840-190x300.jpg 190w, https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/11\/20221118123840-768x1211.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/11\/20221118123840-974x1536.jpg 974w, https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/11\/20221118123840.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 649px) 100vw, 649px\" \/><figcaption>Comments for <em>Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre<\/em> Clips<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In contrast to it, <em>Uzumaki<\/em>, adapted by Adult Swim, continues the meticulous black-and-white manga style of Ito.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"TEASER: Uzumaki | Toonami\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VDEQyK5ZH-E?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Uzumaki<\/em> story takes place in a cursed town. There is a bizarre giant spiral there and all the weird incidents are caused by it. Faced with a series of supernatural events, the town&#8217;s order is about to spiral out of control. You can enjoy Ito&#8217;s imagination at the highest level in the series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Adult Swim website says <em>Uzumaki<\/em> will be involved in the October 2023 slot. They started producing the anime in 2020, but postponed it several times due to the pandemic. Let&#8217;s hope that it will be ready to go live as promised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>If you would like to watch it in a form other than anime&#8230;<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The live-action series <em>Bloody Smart<\/em>, produced by Taiwan director Junyi Xie, is based on a number of Ito\u2019s short manga. The episodes have been wrapped and are in post-production, with a release planned for 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The<em> Bloody Smart<\/em> team has uploaded some stills. Their high demand for character recreations and refinement of the script is noteworthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wang Jiahui, styling director of Bloody Smart, said in an official clip:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOne of the more unusual parts of Ito&#8217;s painting style is that there are a lot of geometric lines and shapes. We made a gauge of these elements and tried to recreate these features as much as possible.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"650\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/11\/123-650x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-49862\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/11\/123-650x1024.jpg 650w, https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/11\/123-190x300.jpg 190w, https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/11\/123-768x1210.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2022\/11\/123.jpg 819w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><figcaption><em>Bloody Smart<\/em> stills<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Pop style anime, fine black-and-white lines or elaborate live-action styling. Which one do you like best? Come and take part in the Twitter poll on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/VoiceOfLondonUK\/status\/1593603687317921793\">Voice Of London UK<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re interested, find out more about Junji Ito&#8217;s manga <a href=\"https:\/\/junji-ito.com\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Words: Rui Liang&nbsp;|Subbing: Shakira Bruce-Abubakar<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NB This post may contain images and videos that are inappropriate for some audience. Please make sure you understand it before proceeding. Three different adaptations of Junji Ito&#8217;s manga will debut in 2023: Junji Ito&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":476,"featured_media":49841,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7324,9,42,7325],"tags":[3012,7411,4416],"class_list":["post-49825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anime","category-art-culture","category-entertainment","category-manga","tag-horror","tag-manga","tag-netflix"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/476"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49825"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52107,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49825\/revisions\/52107"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}