Streaming giant Netflix’s Geeked Week announced on Wednesday, June 8, 2022, that a new Junji Ito anime anthology project titled Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre is currently in development. The anime project is set to release exclusively on Netflix in 2023.

The anime will consist of a total of 20 horror short stories from Ito’s works “for the first time” including stories from Tomie, Sōichi, and The Hanging Balloons manga.

In a three-minute video interview, Ito himself shared a sneak peek at the design drawings that fans can expect in Maniac.

Production staff and information about the animation studio have yet to be announced. 

In a previous announcement, the author revealed that a new anime project is in the works for his Itō Junji Kesssaku-shū (Junji Ito Masterworks Collection) manga collection. The manga collection includes some of Ito’s most well-known works and consists of 11 volumes published between 2011 and 2013.

Junji Ito is a Japanese horror mangaka. Some of his most notable works include Tomie, Uzumaki, and Gyo. His other works include Itou Junji Kyoufu Manga Collection, a collection of different short stories holding a series of stories named Souichi’s Journal of Delights, and Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu, a self-parody about him and his wife living in a house with two cats.

Ito’s work has developed a substantial cult following, with some deeming him a significant figure in recent horror iconography.

Source:  Netflix Geeked, ANN