Where to Start with Junji Ito | Horror Manga

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Note... I am still waiting on a copy of Junji Ito's newest translated manga Liminal Zone which is why it's not included in my ranked list
Timestamps
0:41 Overview of Junji Ito's Books
3:02 Ranking Junji Ito's Books
15:17 Summary - Where to Start
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[@johnrowe9132]

I believe one his best stories, "The Enigma of Amigara Fault" is at the end of Gyo. Honestly, I think it's better than the novel itself.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Such an amazing short story!!

[@turtleanton6539]

Oh it is.

[@sempre8135]

Its a good story, but quite overracted in my opinion. I enjoyed the mainstory Gyo a lot more. The smell...

[@cake94309]

I recommend if you have Gyo, check out Venus in the blind spot, the story is in there and has lovely colour panels. Worth having if you are collecting his work

[@indu1133]

Yes .. i regret buying GYO 😢

[@trent.vs.robots]

Uzumaki is a masterpiece. Great video, I haven't been able to read all of these yet.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Agreed! And thank you

[@lesleyspear7933]

Thank you for this video. Since reading Uzumaki, I am absolutely obsessed and this really helps. X

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Such a good one!

[@ralei26]

Great review of Junji Ito’s work! Shiver was the first book I read from him and it got me hooked! Currently reading Uzumaki and it is terrifying!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Oh what a good place to start!

[@sarahbevc2434]

Just the video I needed! Thank you!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Woo hoo!

[@SacrificeTheVeggies]

Omg this is just what I needed this is so great.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Glas to hear it!

[@hunk1231RE]

the long hair in the attic is also one of my personal favorite short stories by him! The art is so beautiful and is a really creepy story.

[@nilulal545]

I love the art work for Junji Ito's book some books pulls you in because of those artworks. ❤️

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Agreed!

[@lux8784]

My first book from Junji Ito was Black paradox and I loved it so much, then I found the whole collection at my local bookstore and got so immersed in his collection 🤩 Now I’m half way through the collection enjoying each and every story 🤭

[@beveon]

Such a great video. Thank you for making it :D Junji Ito is also amongst my favourite horror writers (artists). I have all of his books and have pre-ordered his new projects coming out this year too (Stitches and Alley) :D The endings to some of his stories have been disappointing at times though, but I understand that creating new content non-stop over all these years must be incredibly hard to do. Bless him :D

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yeah I think it's hard to make every work stunning with his output

[@beveon]

Very true yeah, i cant even imagine making that many unique stories lol @@TheShadesofOrange

[@Justin_WithThreeDots]

Thanks for the overview! I see that my library has two volumes, so I'll have to check them out and see how it goes (I've not had much luck with Graphic Novels/Manga/Comics, even though it seems like something I should be into)

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I hope these work for you!

[@christianlaforet6093]

While I agree that Uzumaki is his best, Gyo is my personal fav. Came across it about 20 yrs ago in a book store and was blown away. After that, I was a fan for life!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Gyo is definitely another good one

[@marcelprado6528]

I just read Sensor and I absolutely agree with your points. In the brazillian edition that is a text at the end of Junji Ito explaining that some characters have a life of their own and their own plans for the story and the main female character would be one of those. That is what he says, but I felt that he didn't really know what to do with this story, especially what to do after the first chapter which is just amazing. Also agree that Venus is a masterpiece. I hope I can find something that at least gets near Venus, Fragments of Horror and Uzumaki in terms of quality.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I should try to track down the explanations for sensor

[@joinbookland]

I love his work! There are a few I haven't read but Gyo and Uzumaki are a amongst my favourites. He has a hell of an imagination!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Agreed!

[@tgiacin435]

Uzumaki was the first manga I read. I found part one at my library one day, and I was hooked. I would eventually find the complete manga, my collection is starting to grow. I have uzumaki, gyo, Frankenstein, fragments of horror short story collection, and had just recently acquired Tomie. And I plan on getting more of his work soon

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I also started by reading the first vol of Uzumaki. It actually took a few years before I learned there was more to the story

[@tgiacin435]

@@TheShadesofOrange same, but one day I saw the complete manga at a book store, and that was the start to my collection

[@kaizerkhan2293]

Yes, you inspired me to read this guy books.

[@BruceWayne-et8kh]

Great list!

[@books-on-a-wire]

I've read Uzumaki, Venus in the Blind Spot, Dissolving Classroom, and Lovesickness. This helps me prioritize where to spend my money. Would love to see more horror recommendations for graphic novels and manga.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

So glad this was helpful... cause yes they are expensive

[@scytherpunk6]

great video! it's awesome that you love junji ito. i've only read a handful of his work but i'm hoping to read more. my favourite stories are "the enigma of amigara fault", "hanging balloons", "secret of the haunted mansion" and "scarecrows" :) do you read any other horror manga? you might like one called 'Museum', it involves a serial killer who wears a frog mask. i've only read the first volume but it's quite gruesome and reminds me of 'Se7en' and 'Saw' :)

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I'd like to read more horror manga but availability tends to be a challenge

[@scytherpunk6]

@@TheShadesofOrange yeah i understand it's hard!

[@asianhorror]

In theory, I agree with you on your review - I have all Ito's books, more up to date because of the video being a few months old so I have the Soichi manga. The only difference for me is my love of Tomie but I have a past with her and of course, like movies and music, we connect with memories/nostalgia when it comes to art and with Tomie, it was the first manga I had ever read; I then went on to watch about seven Tomie movies! (In the early naughties, I had graduated from J-Horror to Manga as a thirty-something) so in keeping with this and bearing in mind that the only access I had to Ito was an over priced copy of Museum of Terror (which I still have and keep in a case, dust free) so now I'm living in what I consider to be a renaissance of Manga in the Western World, which pleases me no end because I'm now in a position to purchase all Ito's Mangas with relative ease! I agree with you about Venus and Uzumaki but I'll always hold Tomie in the highest regard brcause it served as my gateway to Junji Ito and Manga! (Sorry for the extended rant!)

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Love hearing a different opinion. I know Tomie is beloved so I knew my ranking would be controversial

[@gamerpedia3772]

Thank you it was helpful

[@katiecho2505]

Thanks so much for this video! I am actually teaching a Gothic literature course in high school (CP and Honors), and one of my students last year turned me onto Ito's work. I've read Venus and Remina, and I'm really interested in including his work somehow in my class. However, I'm worried about the content being too much for high school students. Does anyone have a suggestion of one of the short stories that is very Ito, but perhaps a little more tame?

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Hmm I'd have to think on that

[@katiecho2505]

@@TheShadesofOrange Any thoughts? If not, it's okay!

[@kevinneal6356]

Enigma of Amigara Fault should be ok and is one of his most famous stories. You can find a video of the story on youtube or online to judge for yourself. It's a great story.

[@Gotblade]

The one you don't recommend sounds interesting as an experiment separating the graphics from the writing as, I suppose, a way to examine the art with less preconceived impressions? Not a genre I'm into specifically but horror as an element of a story sure! I'm never going to keep up with your recommendations but that's better than not having enough of them ☺

[@Ya_Mosura]

I've only read Tomie so far and really enjoyed it, hopefully that means it gets even better from here.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Oh yes I think it's one of his weaker books I hope you love the rest

[@Ya_Mosura]

@@TheShadesofOrange I've ordered the Drifting Classroom manga too, to see what that's like. Have you read any of Kazuo Umezu's work?

[@marcelprado6528]

I was disappointed by Gyo and Dissolving Classroom but I liked Tomie and absolutely loved Uzumaki and some short stories collected in Venus in the Blind Spot. The brazilian editions of Shiver and Venus has just been released and I already got my Venus edition on pre-order. Next comes Sensor and Smashed as well. I think I'll probably give Sensor a chance. Love your videos :)

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Thanks... so glad you share my love for Uzumaki

[@lisacole6037]

I have Uzumaki on my shelf but have yet to read it. Guess I'm starting with number one. 😉 Do you read other horror manga? I heard someone talking about an ongoing series called Blood on the Tracks that sounds good. It's psychological horror. Also, Monster is worth looking into if you haven't read it or watched the anime.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I'd like to read more horror manga. Accessibility tends to be a challenge

[@jamiea4791]

I can agree with most of this list, though I have a new appreciation for Tomie after watching a video recently by Sage's Rain called "The True Monsters in Junji Ito's Tomie." He talks a lot about rape culture and the way that vitims are villainized, I highly recommend checking out the video as a fellow Ito fan! Ragnar Rox is another youtuber that deep dives a few Ito stories and his Uzumaki video is what prompted me to give Ito a try years ago and I've been a fan every since. Gyo is pronounced similar to how you'd pronounce gyoza. The top result on google has a good video with how to pronounce it.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Thank you. I will have to look up that video because sometimes I wonder if Junji Ito is leaning into tropes or trying to parody them

[@TheMike28212]

I agree. Junji Ito is the king and a master of graphic horror. 👻🐌🌀

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yesss!

[@ericsilva2595]

I am starting right now and i just finished uzumaki what a crazy ride wow. Smashed looks great too I think I'll read it next

[@TheShadesofOrange]

So glad you loved Uzumaki

[@fish9409]

Loved your review, agree with a lot of the stuff you said, but personally I was engrossed in Ito’s adaptation of No longer human. I get that, yeah, it’s pretty different from what he normally draws/writes, but it still has the underlying tone that “something is wrong”, something which he has in most of his mangas. If you haven’t already, then I recommend you read the original book by Osamu Dazai and compare it to the manga. (That could make a pretty neat video too, if you haven’t already done it?) Personally I have only read 8 of Junji Ito’s works, but then again it’s pretty difficult to come across the mangas in Norway aside from your stereotypical comic stores (which we only have one of where I live.) Unsure if you have read this manga before as I am new to your channel, but I really recommend PTSD radio by Masaaki Nakayama…which has less body horror and more of tension horror, the last thing you want to do when you read it is look behind you. I personally love body horror too, but this manga gave me a bit of the creeps (guess that’s just normal human instinct when it comes to eerie stuff though.) Ps: sorry for any typos, English isn’t my first language. :)

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I actually just read PTSD this fall and LOVED it. Perfect recommendation for a fan of Junji Ito. And I so wish I had loved Human

[@millymollymrst3537]

As usual a great video, I've never read horror manga but hearing your reviews I really want to try this. As I've never read manga Is it true that you read it back to front? Sorry if this is a stupid question.😊

[@TheShadesofOrange]

No stupid questions here. And yes they read backgrounds which feels weird at first

[@cindywingetbooks]

I have read Uzumaki and enjoyed it but I hesitate to pick up more because they are so expensive. Maybe I will see if my library has any.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yes very expensive. Most of my collection were from gifts

[@cindywingetbooks]

@@TheShadesofOrange that's really nice 😃

[@ananya_bose_]

His recent book are Mimi's tale of horror & Tombs , I haven't read those yet , but I'm looking forward to them... My fav are Uzumaki , Lovesickness and Gyo.... Ur video's great❤

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Oh yes those weren't published in English when I made this list. I'm waiting on a library copy of Mimi

[@ananya_bose_]

@@TheShadesofOrange that's great,when u read those,can u please make a video about those,I really like ur reviews and suggestions of horror mangas and books👉👈🤍🤍

[@MadailinBurnhope]

I read Remina last night, it's wonderful

[@user-of1iq8lc3i]

I started with Uzumaki and I fell in love with the manga!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yayyyy!

[@StellaLunaShine]

I am currently reading tomie so far really enjoying of that story after I finished that I might check out Usumaki and Gyo seems like a good story.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I hope you enjoy them

[@StellaLunaShine]

@@TheShadesofOrange I enjoyed Tomie so far, I hope I really like the usumaki and gyo story one, but I know Junji Itto better not disappoint me

[@taesu8]

If you want unique fantasy/D&D theme story, I recommend Dungeon Meshi manga. Author is superb storyteller and worldbuilder. It is now on volume 12 and there is hint that story, or at least current arc, ending soon. Or dystopian story, I recommend Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind by Hayao Miyazaki.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Oh those sound cool!

[@nerlmarchetto]

My favorite book by JunjI Ito is Uzumaki - just like you said I think it's such a good read!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

So glad you loved it

[@khomo12]

Are you going to put together a general sff/horror/thriller manga list for manga newbies?

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I'd like to but I need to read more none-Junji Ito first

[@khomo12]

@@TheShadesofOrange No worries! You have given me plenty to add to my tbr from similar lists😊

[@ChaptersWeLove]

I've only read Tomei and thought it was good but really weird. I want to check out Lovesickness and Venus.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I hope you enjoy them!

[@SHKEVE]

I really wanted to like Sensor more. The art is some of Ito’s best but the story wandered off somewhere. I’d recommend Drifting Classroom which was written by Kazuo Umezz which is Ito’s biggest influence. Also, doesn’t have any effect on your enjoyment of the story, but Tomie is pronounced Toe-mee-eh. Japanese letters are all vowels or consonants paired with vowels so you can split it up. like Kyrie from Uzumaki is Key-ree-eh.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Really appreciate the help on the pronounciations

[@bishnupriyachatterjee1783]

Which is better shiver or smashed

[@macnx3637]

Superb

[@unotakuacasosultubo7813]

mmmm how come that for the first five you've only put the immage and didn't have the book, and also said basically the plot and sounded like you haven't even read them? because if you've read tomie you would know that even if it's the same concept it gets done in a very different way every time ( tomie is just an example for my previous point )

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I didn't like the books... so yes I didn't buy copies of those books. And I think more people have more to say about books they like. I read those books years ago

[@amandaluceroserenity4804]

My first one too was Uzumaki

[@SHAHD_PODCASTS_1]

what is the best, black paradox or hellstar remina?

[@MadailinBurnhope]

as a start, Remina; it's short and brilliant

[@derekdavis5310]

Junji Ito is a god. He can frighten me anyday 😂

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Preach!

[@SylvainDementi]

Uzumaki really is a master piece. Then I read Tomie and it fell flat. I should look up for his short stories collections...

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yeah I love Junji Ito... but not Tomie

[@nevskislake]

True story: But my husband and I were at Books a Million yesterday, and he encouraged me to pick up something by Junji Ito, since I have been curious about his work. I was tempted to do that, but I did not know where to start, so this is a timely video. Now I have an idea what his stronger worker are, so I can buy something of his next week. Thank you, Rachel.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Oh how perfect!

[@CircletolunA]

Tomie is my personally favorite

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I need to reread it. So many people adore it

[@chrisconnors7418]

I checked how to pronounce Gyo, out of curiosity. Looks like it’ll take a bit if practice to pronounce it properly. Not hard but requires a little something extra to get the right accent and emphasis. Maybe sort of like how an English speaker says Bonjour vs a French speaker.

[@chrisconnors7418]

And yes, I’ll have to check his work. Never read it before.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yeah I should have looked it up before filming 😅

[@chrisconnors7418]

@@TheShadesofOrange nah, life's too short for that. I just don't have a life so I had time. :)

[@racheltheshadesoforange8700]

@@chrisconnors7418 😄💜

[@raoulest9941]

The Liminal zone is a new collection. Have anybody read Jujnji It's Car diary??

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I'm impatiently waiting for a copy of Liminal Zone

[@jiungknows]

yes, i’ve read cat diary! it was definitely his funniest (and cutest) manga!

[@raxorrrs]

I'm pretty sure Gyo is pronounced with one syllable like "yo" with a G in the beggining

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Thanks

[@turtleanton6539]

Great stuff 😊🙂🙂☺️

[@unknownjvkx]

dude i need uzumaki i have smashed,tomie, and shiver, But i don't believe everyone saying they are seeing spirals everywhere after reading it. it cannot be that serious!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yeah it sounds far fetched but it's true

[@indu1133]

But I loved Frankenstein and the artwork

[@krisprepolec5616]

👻

[@katharynbaker5592]

👻📚🐌

[@nightwingbs1255]

fortunatly you didn't make a video on tezuka's manga

[@hanna_berries]

I am planning on buying my first junji ito book, hopefully, I can complete the collection. Thank you for this video! Really helpful! I'll use this as a guide~ ☺️🩷

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Glad this was helpful!

[@jessicamou]

As for Japanese horror stories's typical frame, I think the movie The Grudge can be considered as a good example: horror or curse or bad luck can happen randomly to anybody, just like diseases or natural disasters, justifications are not required for the purpose of storytelling. All you need is to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was actually surprised by how popular Junji Ito is among English readers lol. It didn't occur to me that his way of story telling will be so welly accepted in western culture. And about Tomie, the whole point of the story is that the same incident just continuously happens over and over and over, and nothing shall be changed no matter what they did. The description of siren-ish women or female creatures can be found among many asian folklores (I am not a cultural anthropologist but an asian who is obsessed with folklores), men will just lost their minds and bewitched by the beautiful evil woman, they will do horrible things and that's all her fault. It's just a projection of how the main culture views women for thousands of years imho. Tomie was so popular when I was a teen, my friends even forced me to dress up and do makeups like her then taking pictures (because I had super long thick straight black hair and that iconic beauty mark on the same spot).

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Really appreciate you weighing in! And so funny that you dressed up as Tomie!

[@zubaerchaudhari8267]

Hey

[@ashmackay8505]

👻😵‍💫

[@jameschristian192]

☠️☠️☠️

[@WhyMebecause]

I Love the Tomie Collection for being able to make me curious and uncomfortable at the same time. Tomie makes me traumatize women with personalities that are easy to open up or at least have a personality like Tomie, that's in my opinion but I know people have different opinions 😁

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yeah I think I just found Tomie exhaustive because it was such a long repetitive collection. I liked the first few stories

[@Rorschachqp]

Junji Ito isn't the best at horror in Japanese manga. In fact a lot of the scariest stuff can't make it to the US past the censors. Kazuo Umezo (Umezz) is arguably better and Shintaro Kago is scarier. Ito's kind of like the McDonalds of horror...you get a mild experience, you get a lot of it but it's consistent no matter what McDonalds you go to. I've been collecting his English translated stuff since the beginning of 2000 and his stuff is consistent.

[@Insanexzx]

Segggggs

[@sharaththallapally5208]

👻