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Reviews
Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre (2023)
The best it's going to get
I really enjoyed this series honestly, I mean I never fully watched the Junji Ito collection series but the few episodes I did watch were a chore to finish. So admittedly the bar was quite low when it came to this series, but it is honestly way better. Even small things like how the introduction song was so much better and seemed like it was what the collection was going for, they definitely nailed a lot of the camera movement to ensure it added more to the feel and the soundtrack was incredible. It's nowhere near as good as the Mangas, but I don't think it's possible to be. I feel like this series would be a good introduction to people wanting to see if they can stomach Ito's books, just grotesque enough to get a feel for his stories but not too much that if you're not into that kind of thing it will effect you too much. My favorite story has got to be the Mold short, admittedly I haven't read the original, but I loved how it was in black and white and I fully believe that if Ito's work was to be adapted again it should be monochromatic as the absence of colour seems to make the gore more stomach churning. I believe that adding colour can sometimes make it less disturbing and impactful. And I absolutely loved the inclusion of the continuing story at the end of the credits, kept me wanting to hear where it would go. All in all I think it succeeded at what it was going for and although nothing will ever compare to the horror of reading Ito's Mangas it is definitely enjoyable and DEFINITELY better than the Junji Ito Collection.