Junji Ito's Collection

After finishing the seventh episode I'm in love with this. It's so cheap it's almost endearing. I don't quite mind it's not quite the perfect adaptation of Ito's works we all wanted, but it has its own strange charm in its cheapness.

I don't think I can recommend this to many people since the production values are so low, it might even bother hardcore Ito fans, but dunno, there's something weirdly fun about it. And as far as I can tell the adaptation is mostly 1:1 (there are some I only read once or twice like the crossroad bishie that I'm not 100% sure, but seemed close enough), so at least props for that.

I'm kinda fond of the ED. The song is really nice and having the characters/monsters/cursed objects/etc showing up in weird or silly ways is oddly charming.

I do like the ending. The soft yet kinda "jerky" rhythm of the song fits the mood quite well.

Episode 10:

First half: Does This Remind You of Anything? meets Nausea Fuel. With a side dish of I'm a Humanitarian / The Secret of Long Pork Pies. Ugh.

Second half: Nyeeah! That initial reveal! Also, f**ked-up tradition is f**ked up...

The use of color actually helps making the first story a lot more "solid" in a way. The palette of "early PS 3 era" browns sure makes the whole store look filthier and generally more disgusting.

I don't know if my brain just adapted to the low budget and it's just filtering it out by now, or the quality improved over the episodes. Kinda hard to tell at the moment.

So I think the message is clear: don't drink fucking oil. But yeah, they somehow perfectly conveyed the "Ugh" factor.

And I really liked the music playing throughout the Bridge part. It was ominous and weirdly soothing at the same time.

Eh, I've seen worse. Not sure how good it is for the river to frequently have corpses sink in it though.

It depends. The Blood Fruit episode was pretty damn awful animation-wise, but these two were fine. It's probably less obvious in stories that don't "move" a lot.

edited 10th Mar '18 8:39:40 AM by Lyendith

I did chuckle at the ghosts calling for Osode ("Osode-chan!") in the end credits, though.

Episode 11: Where reality-warping powers are demonstrated in a more horrifying light courtesy of a mysterious transfer student (try summoning/imagining an Eldritch Abomination to life, see what happens), and Scary Scarecrows in a graveyard that develop human-like features of the deceased.

Actually, I just can't wait for the next Tomie story to be animated.

I wish this were better. Only seen the first two episodes so far, but I skipped ahead a bit.

If any story benefited from the medium, it would be "Used Record". Though I guess I wasn't imaging some operatic song.

"Long Dreams" is freaky as hell, probably the story that scares me the most. It doesn't help that I've been having sleep problems recently.

edited 23rd Mar '18 9:45:01 AM by Rotpar

Episode 12: the first part is… finger-licking good? And what better way to end this show than on a THIRD Souichi story.

…Well, as a horror-comedy episode, this worked a little better than episode 1 at least. Still nothing to write home about.

So what can we say about JIC except that it was… hit and miss to say the least. More miss than hit for me, alas. Even ignoring the animation quality, which jumped up and down between mediocre and awful, I feel like it totally lacked an artistic vision. There are a few stories that worked rather well (Long Dream and Sauron's Record especially), but more like a broken clock giving the right time twice a day. So it feels like a bit of a waste… but I'm not familiar with Ito's work, so I don't know whether or not it could have been much better.

Fun thing about that final Souichi story: There's a sequel set many, many years later. Souichi marries Ms. Fuchi (the model) and they have a monstrous cannibal son. Then he runs out on her, and she shows up to drag his ass home.

…Wait. How does it… you know… work? On a technical level?

& I'll probably need a drink of vodka and Brain Bleach should I encounter an H-doujin detailing that... Hell, I'm more interested to know what happens to a hapless horny male who tries to...erm..."do the deed" with Tomie.

Episode 12:

To that "monster nectar tree", humans are but mosquitoes attempting to drink its blood.

And did I mention how much of a creepy f*ck Souichi is? Say hello to an even creepier (and actually horrifying) being...a.k.a.: Fuchi.

Loved the first tale, but disappointed that the show ended on another Souichi story. On the bright side: Tomie OVAs coming right up!

Favorite tales (had to go on The Other Wiki and ANN's reviews for some titles I forgot, though):

• Painter (Episode 9, part 1. The one featuring Tomie.)
• Gentle Goodbye (Episode 6, part 2.)
• The Town Without Streets (Episode 7, part 2.)
• The Long Dream (Episode 2, part 2.)
• Boy at the Crossroads (Episode 3, part 1.)
• Used Record (Episode 7, part 1.)
• The Ongoing Tale of Oshikiri Collection (Episode 5, part 1.)
• Supernatural Transfer Student (Episode 11, part 1.)
• Scarecrow (Episode 11, part 2.)
• Shiver (Episode 4, part 1.)
• Honored Ancestors (Episode 8, part 1.)
• Fashion Model (Episode 2, part 1.)
• Window Next Door (Episode 6, part 1.)
• Blood-bubble Bushes (Episode 9, part 2)
• Smashed (Episode 12, part 1.)
• Hellish Doll Funeral (Episode 1, part 2. Too bad it's so freaking short!)
• Greased (Episode 10, part 1.)

edited 25th Mar '18 6:52:57 AM by IncognitoNinja

Hello, will there be a separate page or section for the anime?

…No one has made one, but I don't know if that's really necessary, considering the Junji Ito page is already pretty packed (though I've spotted some Zero Context Examples here and there).

edited 9th Apr '18 3:38:11 PM by Lyendith

They’re all 1:1 story adaptations. Not sure if they need it.

Temporarily resurrecting this thread since the Tomie OVAs are out...

They basically cut out the opening song, censored some gory parts, and both episodes are too damn short—not even reaching the 30-minute mark, mind you. Also, aren't there more stories of Tomie from the manga? (Besides the one from the main Junji Ito Collection TV run and the two OVAs.)

With all that said, I did like the return of JYOCHO's "A Parallel Universe" in the first episode's ending and the new(?) creepy ending music from the second episode (which had a bit of Tomie's Evil Laugh), as well as how the two mini-episodes portrayed Tomie's balance of being manipulative, seductive and creepy (sometimes all at the same time). Though again, I would have loved a bit more.

That and an anime adaptation of both Hellstar Remina and The Enigma of Amigara Fault. Oh well...

Wait... Both Hellstar Remina and Enigma of Amigara Fault will get an anime? Interesting.

Also, for the anime... I do quite enjoy it on what it is despite the low production values and lack of the artistic vision.

Uh, no. I was only wishing for more anime episodes of Tomie, as well as wishing for anime adaptations of both Hellstar Remina and The Enigma of Amigara Fault. (Though I'm not sure if those wishes will come true.)

Sorry for getting your hopes up.