26 Scariest Junji Ito Manga Stories

Junji Ito has crafted some of the most terrifying horror manga ever, and these are his scariest stories.

Highlights

• Junji Ito’s horror manga utilize stunning artwork to send chills down readers’ spines without relying on jump scares or loud sounds.
• Fans of Junji Ito can experience his distinct art style and explore his scariest works that blur the line between true horror and paralyzing beauty.

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The world of manga is often a beautiful place, filled with fantasy, escapism, and endless possibilities. However, every once in a while it’s nice to take a break and delve into horror to get a fill of spooks and scares. Unlike the medium of film or television, manga can’t rely on loud sounds or jump scares to get the best of their audience. Horror manga artist Junji Ito is a master of utilizing his beautiful artwork in unique ways that send chills through readers’ spines after every flip of a page.

Related 10 Great Horror Mangaka Who Are Not Junji Ito Fans of Junji Ito who want to experience other horror mangaka should take a look at these artists.

Ito’s works are well-known among many manga fans. His distinct art style and aesthetic are easily recognizable at a glance. For any new horror fans who may not know where to start, here are a few of Junji Ito’s scariest manga to witness first-hand how Ito ingeniously blurs the line between true horror and paralyzing beauty.

Updated January 21, 2024 by Christine Mendoza: With every passing year, the genius Junji Ito adds new terrifying tales to his arsenal, further securing his standing as one of the most prolific horror mangakas of all time. Ito’s style is iconic and easy to recognize yet still holds a certain chilling charm in the horror he creates.

Newcomers and long-time fans alike may not be familiar with every entry on the very long list of Ito’s notable works, as he began his career quite a while back in the 80s. For any Junji Ito fans, new or old, who are in search of a great list of his most spine-chilling works, a few new hair-raising entries have been added.

Disclaimer: Some of the imagery used in Ito’s works tends to focus on body horror and may not be suitable for those who are sensitive to gore.

1 My Dear Ancestors

Carrying The Horrific Burden Of Family

• Publication Year
  : 1987

• Collection
  :
  Horror World Of Junji Ito

After being found wandering on the streets with no recollection of her memories, Risa is brought back to her home, thanks to her friend, Shuichi. While recovering in her bed, she sees a giant caterpillar-like monster coming closer to attack her, but it flees before her parents arrive.

Risa then realizes that during her fugue state, she had agreed to marry Shuichi and is now summoned by his strange father. As Risa slowly understands what Shuichi’s intentions are, she finds out the terrifying secret Shuichi’s family had been hiding from her all along.

2 Long Dream

The Never-Ending R.E.M. Cycle

• Publication Year
  :
  Horror World Of Junji Ito
  ,
  The Junji Ito Horror Comic Collection

• Collection
  : 1987

The Long Dream centers around the fear of sleep and tells the story of a patient in Dr. Kuroda’s hospital, named Tetsuro Mukoda. Tetsuro begins to have haunting nightmares that, although they last a single day in real-time, last for an entire year in his dream world. Each night, his nightmares become longer and longer, and eventually begin to affect his real-life body, aging him into an old man in a matter of a few days.

Dr. Kuroda then begins to make a connection between Tetsuro and another patient named Mami and tries his best to understand the curse (or blessing?) of the esoteric “endless dream.”

3 Dead Man Calling

Haunted By The Ghost Of Guilt

• Publication Year
  : 2002

• Collection
  :
  Voices In The Dark

Dead Man Calling follows the story of Noriko and the mysterious man, Furuhashi. One day when out with her family, Noriko was brutally attacked by a biker gang with Furuhashi in the lead, leaving her older brother severely injured, her mother in a coma, and her father and younger brother dead.

Noriko’s story explores the concept of being haunted by guilt, as the image of Furuhashi begins to appear to her every night, begging for forgiveness, even after Furuhashi’s death sentence.

4 House Of Puppets (House Of Marionettes)

Control Or Be Controlled

• Publication Year
  : 1987

• Collection
  :
  Horror World Of Junji Ito

House Of Puppets tells the story of Haruhiko’s family and their traveling puppet show. Due to their often cramped schedule and constantly moving, Haruhiko has trouble making friends at school. However, he manages to befriend a young girl named Kinuko and, after moving various times, they are reunited years later and begin to date.

Related Best Cosmic Horror Manga, Ranked For those who dare to check them out, these are the best cosmic horror manga that show off what the genre’s about.

After finally running away from home and the death of their father, Haruhiko begins to suspect that perhaps his parents weren’t pulling the strings all along and soon discovers a terrifying secret behind his family’s puppet show.

5 Weeping Lady Hill (Weeping Woman Way)

The Power Of Melancholy

• Publication Year
  : 2022

• Collection
  :
  The Liminal Zone

The story of Weeping Lady Hill (also titled Weeping Woman Way) centers on a newly engaged couple Yuzuru and Mako as they visit a mysterious rural village and come across a crying woman who appears to be a “professional mourner” who is hired for funerals.

After their encounter with the eerie woman, Mako finds herself unable to stop crying; overcome with a powerful melancholy that the couple must return to the village to seek out a solution. However, upon their return, the villagers don’t recall ever seeing a weeping woman as the tradition in their village hasn’t been practiced for years. The answers the couple then discover bring them more misfortune than good.

6 Slumber

Dare To Sleep

• Publication Year
  : 2022

• Collection
  :
  The Liminal Zone

This Ito story plays with the horrors behind something as seemingly innocuous as sleep. Slumber centers around Takuya as he moves into a new apartment to find a more peaceful place to study for his exams. As he settles into his new apartment, Takuya begins to wake up each morning with horrific memories of committing heinous murders.

The details of the murders begin to surface on the news and Takuya is now unsure of himself. It is up to him and his girlfriend, Kanami, to get to the bottom of the murders and why Takuya is haunted by vivid visions of bloodshed.

7 Lovesick Dead (Undying Love/ Intersection Fortune Telling)

Misfortune Telling Game

• Publication Year
  : 1997

• Collection
  :
  Horror World Of Junji Ito, Lovesickness, Namuki

The story of Lovesick Dead is a five-chapter story about the young Ryuusuke Fukata and his journey back to the hometown he had left behind when he was a child. The young girls of his hometown, Nanchou-shi, have made a habit of playing a game they call “Intersection Fortune Telling” in which they approach a stranger while covering their face as they inquire about their fortune or ask for advice.

It is clear that this game isn’t as innocent as the school girls make it out to be as a mysterious handsome boy (nicknamed the “Intersection Bishounen”) begins appearing when playing the game, and it seems as if the young girls that meet him end up taking their own lives. The Intersection Fortune Telling game begins to take and ruin lives all around Ryuusuke, forcing him to take matters into his own hands to stop the dangerous Intersection Bishounen and his harmful influence once and for all.

8 The Face Thief/Burglar

The Seemingly Innocent Impostor

• Publication Year
  : 1998

• Collection
  :
  Horror World Of Junji Ito

The Face Thief (also titled The Face Burglar) tells the chilling (yet somber) story of Kamei, a young girl who has the eerie power to “steal” people’s faces. As the main character, Machida meets Kamei as she settles into her new school.

Related 8 Games For Fans Of Junji Ito’s Media Fans of Junji Ito’s media will absolutely love these games.

As Kamei decides to stick around Machida (to her dismay), complimenting her appearance and how pretty she is, Machida finds that Kamei’s face has already begun to morph and transform, stealing Machida’s appearance. Kamei is first painted as a malicious monster, but by the end of the story, it is unclear who the true villain is.

9 Layers Of Fear

The Literal Shell Of A Human Being

• Publication Year
  : 2017

• Collection
  : One-Shot

Layers Of Fear (not to be confused with the horror game of the same title) is a fantastic Junji Ito piece for any readers who love a good body horror tale. Layers Of Fear is a one-shot piece made in celebration of Ito’s 30-year career as a horror manga artist.

The story focuses on two sisters, Reimi, and Narumi, and their mother, Mrs. Soya. After discovering that the two sisters were cursed from birth by their late father’s excavation of a ritual burial ground, misfortune begins to cloud their lives. Instead of aging and growing like normal human beings Reimi and Narumi both age in layers, simply having a new layer of skin grow on top of the previous layer. Aside from the body horror of the two sisters, their mother eventually suffers a breakdown one day, leading to the family’s bloody demise.

10 Bio House

Disingenuous Dinner Date

• Publication Year
  : 1987

• Collection
  :
  Halloween Night 2,
  Slug Girl, Museum Of Terror (Vol. 3)

For any fans of Resident Evil (RE7 in particular), Bio House is the perfect short story to relive the true Biohazard (RE‘s title in Japan) experience. Bio House tells the story of Kubota, a young girl who decides to visit the lavish vacation house of her unnamed boss.

They are first greeted by beautiful architecture and lovely live music played by Kubota’s boss’ maids/servants. However, it is at dinner time that Kubota’s visit begins to take a grim turn. She notices that the dinner table is filled with dead insects, lizards, and blood, all carefully plated. Kubota realizes that her boss has something sinister planned for her visit and that if she wants to escape with her life, she must confront him.

11 The Den Of The Sleep Demon (Where The Sandman Lives)

They Only Come Out At Night

• Publication Year
  : 1997

• Collection
  :
  House Of The Marionettes, Horror World Of Junji Ito, Museum Of Terror (Vol. 3)

The story of The Den Of The Sleep Demon follows Yuji, an author, plagued by a monster inside of him, trying to make its way out into the real world. Yuji calls on his old friend Mari for help and explains to her that the creature inside of him is only kept in concealment because he is conscious. The moment Yuji falls asleep, the demon will have the opportunity to climb out of Yuji’s body to escape.

Although Mari is hesitant and skeptical about Yuji’s story, assuming it to be the ramblings of a sleep-deprived and unsuccessful writer, she soon finds out that Yuji’s terrifying story was true all along.

12 Headless Sculptures

Fear Frozen In Place

• Publication Year
  : 1995

• Collection
  :
  Flesh-Colored Horror

Headless Sculptures brings the fear many have of ersatz human statues to life. The eerie sight of a seemingly real human being, standing perfectly upright without a head on their shoulders is enough to keep certain readers shivering, but protagonist Rumi’s story gets even darker.

Related Hideo Kojima & Junji Ito Collaboration: 5 Ito Stories Worthy Of A Horror Game Adaptation (& 5 To Stay Away From) If Hideo Kojima and Junji Ito were to combine their horror pedigree, which stories by the mangaka should be adapted into video game form?

After Rumi hears the horrible news about her art teacher, Mr. Okabe, getting killed and decapitated (just like his statues), she keeps quiet about her friend Shimada supposedly being with Mr. Okabe in the art room after class, in hopes of protecting him. However, after meeting with Shimada at school the next day, she realizes he is not himself and discovers the terrifying truth behind all of Mr. Okabe’s headless sculptures.

13 The Hanging Balloons

Disembodied Heads Running Rampant

• Publication Year
  : 1998

• Collection
  :
  Horror World Of Junji Ito

The story and deeper meaning of The Hanging Balloons is very dark and isn’t for the faint of heart. The Hanging Balloons focuses on Kazuko, a young girl whose best friend is Terumi Fujino, a popular celebrity. After Terumi takes her own life by hanging herself one day, people notice a wave of suicides done in a similar fashion as Terumi’s.

Fans seemingly hallucinate Terumi’s ghost in the form of a giant floating head in the sky. While skeptical at first, Kazuko witnesses Terumi’s giant floating head above her house one day. It becomes clear that Terumi’s “ghost” had been luring citizens all over town to hang themselves. As if things couldn’t get worse for poor Kazuko, more giant floating heads appear over town; but this time, with the faces of the living.

14 The Long Hair In The Attic

Luscious Killer Locks

• Publication Year
  : 1988

• Collection
  :
  Monthly Halloween, Flesh-Colored Horror, Museum Of Terror (Vol. 3)

The Long Hair In The Attic begins with a distraught Chiemi, being broken up with by her boyfriend. Her ex-boyfriend breaks it off with poor Chiemi by telling her that despite her efforts to look good enough for him, he was never truly satisfied and decided they weren’t meant to be together.

Heartbroken, Chiemi returns home and is greeted by her sister, Eri, telling her about the mouse infestation in the attic. Chiemi goes to sleep, crying, remembering how she grew out her hair just for her ex and decided she should cut it.

The next day, she awakens to find a dead mouse, tangled in her long hair. As Eri runs off to find a pair of scissors for Chiemi to finally say goodbye to her long locks of hair, Eri returns to find Chiemi’s decapitated body on the ground, lifeless, with her head nowhere to be found.

15 Gyo

Gorey Monsters Of The Sea

• Publication Year
  : 2001-2002

• Collection
  :
  Big Comic Spirits

Fully titled “Gyo Ugomeku Bukimi” and roughly translated into “Fish: Ghastly Squirming,” Gyo is one of the most prolific pieces in Ito’s arsenal, and for very good reason. A simple, yet terrifying premise of sea creatures all around the city, slowly transforming, mutating, and evolving into horrific monsters that are clearly powerful and violent drives this story to incredible and surprising places.

It begins with a few strange sightings that protagonists Tadashi and Kaori notice on their scuba-diving vacation. Even the sight of a simple fish growing legs is enough to send chills down some readers’ spines but Gyo takes things much further and, just like the fish, the plot also evolves into something more intricate and sinister.

Gyo involves a plethora of fears, from monstrous gore to abandonment, and even the end of mankind.

16 Remina

When Dangerous Worlds Collide

• Publication Year
  : 2004-2005

• Collection
  :
  Big Comics Spirits

Remina, sometimes translated into “Hellstar Remina”, is a fantastical science-fiction journey that follows the young protagonist of the same name, the daughter of a reputable scientist, and her slow descent into madness after discovering a new rogue planet in the solar system.

Upon the joyous discovery, her father proudly names the unknown planet after his daughter, Remina, in honor of her tremendous contribution. However, it is revealed that the mysterious planet Remina is on course for a horrific collision with planet Earth. While Remina was once praised by citizens for her relation to the newfound planet, the terrifying news of the collision begins to turn the public against her.

Remina is not only a story about the terrors of the unknown, but also the horrific effects pure/baseless superstition can have on the masses and how dangerous the fear of “the end” can be on vulnerable human minds.

17 Fixed Face

Fear, From Ear To Ear

• Publication Year
  : 2000

• Collection
  :
  Frankenstein, Horror World Of Junji Ito

This story may be rather short, but it taps into a very real fear many have had at least once in their lives when sitting in a doctor’s office. The mixture of body horror and the terrible sense of claustrophobia; one that comes from not being physically trapped in a small space but being confined to a small space instead.

Everyone’s had that moment of nervousness while waiting for the doctor while stuck in an unfamiliar apparatus. Junji Ito’s Fixed Face plays with that deep, intimate fear, and tells the story of a clear “worst-case scenario.”

This story is short and sweet yet still delivers the chilling scares in half the time and just a few pages.

18 Sensor

Weaving The Threads Of History

• Publication Year
  : 2018-2019

• Collection
  :
  Nemuki+

Sensor, also known by the name “Travelogue Of The Succubus” recently got its long-deserved stand-alone release in North America in 2021 with beautiful yet chilling cover art to greet its readers. While many of Ito’s stories are plot-driven, focusing on the happenings rather than the people involved, Sensor was Ito’s successful attempt at writing a more character-driven story instead.

Related Netflix’s Junji Ito Maniac: 8 Short Stories That Deserve An Adaptation Junji Ito has several other terrifying short stories under his belt that would be perfect for an adaptation.

Initially follows the young and beautiful Miss Kyoko Byakuya and her curious trip to Sengoku Mountain where she meets a mysterious man who seems to know a little too much about her. Kyoko, uncertain of the purpose of her trip to the mountain herself, finds herself drawn to the mountain and the little town that resides there. Upon her arrival, she is greeted with the magical “angel hair” which the villagers refer to as “Amagami” and begins to uncover the secrets that lie within both the isolated village and the significance of her arrival.

This work from Ito has been praised for its captivating art and intriguing story and is often compared to the nightmarish works of fellow horror author, H.P. Lovecraft.

19 Tomie

Beautiful Terror Of The Succubus

• Publication Year
  : 1987-2000

• Collection
  :
  Monthly Halloween Manga Magazine, The Junji Ito Horror Comic Collection, Junji Ito Masterpiece Collection

One of Ito’s most popular works both within Japan and overseas, Tomie is a horrific tale that features all kinds of monsters. Tomie is a tragic yet terrifying story of a young girl who preys on men, luring them and taking advantage of their lust to lead them to their inevitable death to feed her cannibalistic tendencies.

While very similar to a succubus, Tomie herself is far from the only monster in the story. The horrific deeds others around her are willing to commit to having Tomie to themselves or in reaction to her rejection are equally as disturbing. Tomie is a chilling tale focusing on possessive lust, violent desperation, and the manipulation both humans and monsters are capable of.

20 Uzumaki

The Spiral Of Obsession

• Publication Year
  : 1998-1999

• Collection
  :
  Big Comic Spirits Manga Magazine

Junji Ito’s Uzumaki is often regarded as Ito’s magnum opus. It tells the tale of a girl in a small town called Kurouzu-cho which roughly translates into “Black Vortex Town”. Protagonist Kirie and her boyfriend Shuichi notice bizarre happenings around their town and reluctantly attempt to unfold the secrets hidden within it.

Uzumaki, meaning “spiral”, follows the story of the supernatural and gruesome deaths of ordinary citizens of Kurouzu-cho, all involving the small population slowly developing obsessions/paranoia about spirals and spiral-like shapes or figures. Uzumaki is well known for its unique, horrifying yet oddly beautiful body horror involving intricate art and atmospheres.

Fuente: successacademy.edu.vn
Categorías: Anime