Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre
Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this TV show.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Junji Ito Maniac is an animated horror anthology. Ito is a manga artist known for horror stories that feature Lovecraftian monsters and body horror. The series adapts 20 of his works across 12 episodes, many of which feature lots of disturbing physical violence and body horror. Some episodes may also contain sexual content, and animated female nudity is shown in the opening credits. Language includes "s--t" and "damn."
What's the Story?
Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre adapts 20 stories from Ito's manga into anime shorts. The series brings to life Ito's unique takes on haunted houses, strange families, mystical creatures, and cursed immortality.
Is It Any Good?
The opening credits seem to promise an overwhelming pageantry of psychedelic horror, but this series doesn't fully deliver. Junji Ito Maniac takes the work of a uniquely talented manga artist and turns it into something pretty unremarkable. Anthology series, especially horror anthologies, are by nature inconsistent, and often only a few individual stories stand out. But Junji Ito's major flaw is that it's unable to translate Ito's printed work to the screen in a way that allows new viewers to experience precisely what makes it special.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about horror. Why do you think horror stories are so popular? What do they provide audiences that other genres cannot?
What is unique about the way Junji Ito Maniac approaches horror? How effective are these stories? Are they scary, or do they try to achieve effects other than scariness?
What themes to the stories contain? Do these stories have morals? Do you get a sense of Ito's point of view from these stories?
Our Editors Recommend
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Channel Zero
Internet-inspired fantasy horror has cursing, violence.
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The Seven Deadly Sins
Smart manga-inspired series has edgy sexual content, too.
For kids who love horror
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