Found in the Shivershort story collection, Hanging Balloons is my personal favourite Junji Ito story. This manga represents Ito at his peak in more than one way. Sensor makes strong use of the twisted images and body horror that Junji Ito is best known for, but it does so sparingly. The story isn´t deep but this anime doesn´t really need it to be. At first it´s a pretty episodic series but later on the plot becomes more coherent. In every episode they tell a funfact that is pretty well implemented into the story. It´s not supposed to be some deep, dramatic story (or at least I hope so because otherwise it completely fails). Both of these horror legends share an uncanny approach to the impossible, the unknowable, the otherworldly. If there is one Junji Ito manga that best encapsulates his Lovecraftian inspiration, it’s this one. Lovecraft understood just how vast and unknowable the spaces above and below us are.

This is another story found in Shiver. I should mention that one of the cool things about Shiver (as is common with many manga tankobon) is the inclusion of little notes and anecdotes from the author. They’re often about what inspired the story to begin with.

Nise Seijo!? Mira no Boukentan - Tsuihousaremashita ga, Jitsu wa Saikyou na no de Second Life wo Tanoshimimasu!

The central conceit behind this weird and wonderful Junji Ito manga is that our bedridden man lives for several years in a dream state every time he sleeps. He goes to bed and dreams of entire lives. There is no body horror here; no abstract terror. This is a story of slow, strange, creeping dread, demonstrating Junji Ito as a master of tension and dread. Honoured Ancestors This is a story that plays on our fear of — and addiction to — the unknown and the seemingly impossible.

Madonna, however, leans hard on the concept of catholic guilt, religious fervour, doctrine, and a the cult mentality of Western churches. It’s no secret that Junji Ito’s writing, art, and, design style have all been heavily influenced by the mind and works of H.P. Lovecraft.The characters also aren´t that complicated. They just have one trait that is usually pretty cool and unique (one guy is absolutely crazy about trying out all different kinds of food and local specialties) but that´s it. There´s no big development of them throughout the show but just like with the story they don´t need to be deep or anything. The second is his adaptations. In recent years, Ito has chosen to (or possible been asked to) adapt a handful of classic novels by Japanese and Western writers from prose into manga. Put simply, Junji Ito’s Cat Diary is a short book about Ito’s very real personal experience with becoming the sudden owner of two cats: Yon and Mu. This reminds me of Stephen King, whose lesser-talked-about short horror stories are far smarter and more frightening than any of his novels. While Japan has a strong history of crime and mystery writing, as well as horror writing, Junji Ito still stands head-and-shoulders above the rest.

Originally I read Junji's piece first, not even knowing that it was a version of a Japanese classic book. After finishing it, I decided to read the original and give Dazai his dues. I would also suggest reading into Osamu Dazai's biography as well to get a better picture of what exactly all these pieces mean. This graphic novel is a departure from Ito's trademark narratives, interpreting as it does a Dazai classic that stands as one of the best-ever selling books in Japan. While the original seems to have focused on the sadness and pathos that marked the existential crisis that our lead (who seems to have been patterned after Dazai himself) labored under, true to Ito's style this book lets the horrors and absurdities of his experiences take the limelight.Almost all of these Junji Ito manga short stories can be read in his magnum opus Shiver, a collection of Ito stories that is near perfect. This creature has simply washed up on the shore one day, and people wonder what it is; where it came from; how it came to even exist. It’s a story that truly sparks the imagination.