Most Haunting Junji Ito Movies & TV Adaptations, Ranked (2024)

Junji Ito is the most prolific horror Manga author in Japan, known for his extensive use of body horror through his various short stories. With the release of Netflix's Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese tale of the Macabre and a new Uzumaki adaption set to release later this year, fans of this powerhouse of horror have plenty to be excited about. To prepare for the newest Junji Ito adaptations, below is a ranking of the ten best movie and television adaptations we have seen so far.

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RELATED: How the Junji Ito Adaptations Struggle to Capture Ito's Brand of Terror

10. Tomie: Re-Birth (2001)

Most Haunting Junji Ito Movies & TV Adaptations, Ranked (1)

Tomie: Re-Birth is the first of many Tomie adaptations that will appear on this list. Junji Ito’s Tomie stories always follow a woman with a mole under her left eye named Tomie, who is killed at the hand of her lover. Tomie: Re-Birth follows Tomie (Miki Sakai) and her boyfriend Takumi (Satoshi Tsumabuki), who is studying to be an artist. Things go awry when Tomie mocks Takumi’s portrait of her, leading to him killing her. Tomie then haunts anyone who comes into possession of that painting.

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9. Kakashi (2001)

Kaoru (Maho Nonami) ends up in a small rural town in Japan as she searches for her missing brother. The residents detest her presence in the village but after her car breaks down she is forced to stay. As Kaoru spends more time in the village, she gets exposed to the many rituals they perform, all of which involve the burning of a scarecrow. Kakashi blends your typical monster story with a cult twist as it takes this lesser known Junji Ito story and makes it a terrifying feature experience.

8. Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese tale of the Macabre (2023)

Most Haunting Junji Ito Movies & TV Adaptations, Ranked (2)

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The newest adaptation on the list, Netflix's Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese tale of the Macabre animates twenty different Junji Ito short stories. Unlike the majority of titles on this list, this adaptation is focused on smaller twenty-minute-long horror stories. One of the most famous is “The Hanging Balloons,” where a popular idol dies seemingly by suicide when there are multiple sightings of her giant head floating in the sky, like a balloon. Hysteria breaks loose when more grotesque heads are seen in the sky.

7. Tomie: Another Face (1999)

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Starting as a three-episode TV spot, Tomie: Another Face was eventually cut into a feature film in 1999. The biggest strength for Tomie is how it takes the same base concept and applies it to various circumstances. Tomie: Another Face contains three episodic plot lines combined into one larger narrative, each of which highlights a different type of horror through the recurring character of Tomie.

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6. Uzumaki (2000)

Uzumaki blends Ito’s eye for body horror with physiological horror as paranoia takes over an entire town. It starts with one person who begins to obsess over spirals. This obsession eventually leads to his body mutilation and sparks a collective intrigue in the rest of the town as the horrors from spirals continue to build. Uzumaki is Junji Ito’s most well-known story and is set to have a new adaptation this year that will turn the story into a black-and-white animated series. Before that release, it would be worth it to see how the material translated to live action.

5. Junji Ito: Collection (2018)

Most Haunting Junji Ito Movies & TV Adaptations, Ranked (4)

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2018’s Junji Ito: Collection is the last TV series to make the list. In similar fashion to this year's Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese tale of the Macabre, this series adapts many Ito short stories with the two most famous being “Fashion Model” and “Window Next Door. “Fashion Model” brings to light the horrors of the modeling industry while “Window Next Door” focuses on the personal horror of a monster living next to you. The main criticism levied at this and Netflix’s collection is their inability to be as scary as Ito’s original works.

4. Tomie: Replay (2000)

Most Haunting Junji Ito Movies & TV Adaptations, Ranked (5)

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The second installment in the Tomie franchise, Tomie: Replay follows a young girl who searches through her father’s studies. She learns about the many experiments he made before his death, and the name Tomie (Mai Hōshō) starts to appear in his journal. The experiment results in Tomie’s organs being used to help this girl survive, and the real horror comes when Tomie starts to regrow inside her body.

3. Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack (2012)

Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack is based on one of Ito’s longer stories, fitting perfectly into a feature-length film. The best part of this adaptation comes from the understanding of the source material. Gyo tells the story of sharks that come out from the sea and attack the people on the land. Gyo is a mix between horror and comedy that is captured excellently by this adaptation.

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Unlike the purely unsettling Ito stories like Uzumaki or Tomie, Gyo is much lighter in tone. The absurdity of watching sea creatures chase people on land provides both humor and thrills in a similar way to modern movies like The Meg and The Shallows.

2. Long Dream (2000)

Most Haunting Junji Ito Movies & TV Adaptations, Ranked (6)

Mukoda Tetsuro (Ken Arai) has been having trouble with his dreams. Even with medical support, no one can understand why his dreams continue to lengthen and become more terrifying. Mukoda claims to have the same string of dreams lasting years. The horror of this movie comes from whether Mukoda will live out these dreams for the rest of his life. Long Dream stands in between a short and feature-length at a 55-minute run time but is the perfect length to explore the idea of dreams haunting a person forever. Long Dream feels like it could fit into a season of Black Mirror for its philosophical questions on how to separate dreams from reality.

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1. Tomie (1998)

The best Junji Ito adaptation comes from the original Tomie movie. The first installment has a more realistic tone than the sequels, focusing on a murder investigation centered around Tomie (Miho Kanno). The investigation takes a turn when the police discover the history behind the murder victim and how this isn't her first time coming back to life. This is the ideal place to start watching adaptations of Ito’s stories as it captures everything that we love about his brand of horror.

Most Haunting Junji Ito Movies & TV Adaptations, Ranked (2024)
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