Junji Ito is a Japanese horror manga artist notorious for his creepy stories and even more memorable for his haunting visuals. A few of his most notable books include Gyo, Uzumaki, Tomie, Fragments of Horror, Shiver and many more. Ito’s works of art is very akin to the creepypasta genre on the internet, delivering impactful imagery paired with suspenseful writing. My first introduction to Ito’s work was through one of his more recent graphic novels that contains a collection of different creepy stories and chapters.
Gyo is the Japanese translation for “Fish” and rightfully named based on the plot. The story follows a couple called Tadashi and Kaori who become troubled after Kaori’s sense of smell becomes heightened and hyper-sensitive to bad smells and progressively becomes worse as the couple encounters what appears to be a fish with sharp metal legs. Tadashi becomes more concerned with Kaori as she becomes more harrowed by the “death stench” that continues to get worse as the days pass. The small fish-like creature turns out to be the least of their problems after a school of fish on sharp metallic legs take over the city, appearing at first as smaller fish but later also as sharks and even a whale. It is later discovered that the metallic legs require the carcass of a dead animal such as the fish strapped on top in order to move around.
Uzumaki is the Japanese translation for “Spiral” and follows the story of Kirie and her boyfriend Shuichi who live in the small town of Kurōzu-cho, a town cursed by supernatural events involving spirals. The couple become witness the spiral affecting the people around their town, causing townspeople to become unnerved or obsessed with spirals. From the clouds in the sky to the grooves in the people’s fingers, the town becomes a living nightmare, transforming the towns structures, turning some people in to snails and even creating an oversensitive climate over town. This is personally my favourite book out of what he has made
Tomie is one of the most popular series made by Ito and is named after the main character of the book; a mysterious, bewitching and mesmerising woman with sleek long black hair and a distinctive beauty mark below her left eye. Tomie has the same characteristics as a succubus and possesses the power to make any man fall in love with her, using psychological and emotional manipulation to send men in to jealous rages that most often lead to brutal acts of violence and send women in to insanity. Tomie is often inevitably killed but has regenerative abilities fuelled by cannibalism. Tomie also makes appearances in other graphic novel shorts made by Ito including Shiver.
Bibliography
- Ito, J. (n.d.) UZUMAKI | SPIRAL. [image] Available at: http://bit.ly/2WeHEl3 [Accessed 16 Apr. 2019].
- Ito, J. (n.d.) GYO. [image] Available at: http://bit.ly/2WtqLlG [Accessed 16 Apr. 2019].
- Ito, J. (n.d.). UZUMAKI. [image] Available at: http://bit.ly/2YUmkhr [Accessed 16 Apr. 2019]
- Ito, J. (n.d.). TOMIE. [image] Available at: https://bit.ly/2TQedVd [Accessed 16 Apr. 2019].
- Junjiitomanga.fandom.com. (n.d.). Junji Ito Wiki. [online] Available at: http://bit.ly/30PIyDc [Accessed 16 Apr. 2019].
Reading List
- Itō, J, (2002). Gyo. Tokyo, Japan. Shogakukan.
- Itō, J. (1998). Uzumaki. Tokyo, Japan. Shogakukan.
- Itō, J. (1987). Tomie. Tokyo, Japan. Shogakukan.
Nicole Nicholson 