When it comes to Horror, Junji Ito exudes confidence. It is his area of expertise; he owns it all, and we mean everything. Today’s topic is Junji Ito’s 10 Best Horror Manga You Should Read. We’ll also talk about why these are considered the best. Junji Ito has it all: gruesome, bloody, spine-chilling, graveyard-y. If you mention the devil, this man will create him. So get ready to add Junji Ito’s top ten horror manga to your reading list. Horror mangaka from Japan Tomie, a series about an invincible girl who drives her befuddled admirers insane, and Uzumaki, a three-volume saga about a town obsessed with spirals, are two of Junji Ito’s most well-known works.
Hanging Blimp:
Its uncanny and chilling storytelling skills are at their pinnacle in Hanging Blimp (found in Shiver). While his art is most often praised for its body horror quality, Hanging Blimp is what most skillfully demonstrates his plotting and psychological forge. In this short story, ominous and massive balloons in the shape and façade of real people’s faces appear floating across the country. Their gaunt and fearful but unchanging expressions, combined with the mystery of what they are and where they came from, make for a terrifying premise that’s only exacerbated when it’s revealed that the balloons are hunting people and a noose hangs from each balloon.
The Enigma of Amigara Fault:
This is another short story that lacks Junji Ito’s signature body horror. Instead, it’s a terror masterpiece that draws the reader in with mystery, intrigue, and a slow-burning plot. The latest earthquake shifted the earth, elevating a long strip of rock at the mountain’s base. A series of holes disappear into the hill along this newly discovered rock. But these holes are human-shaped, carved by unknown people, and hidden in the earth for thousands of years. Nonetheless, people are drawn to this phenomenon once they believe they have found their hole – a hole that fits them and only forms a bond.
Greased:
Greased (discovered in Tremble) is Junji Ito’s most revolting story. It was inspired by the discomfort he experienced while attending dental school. He had to sleep that had become stained brown from previous students’ sweat. The sweat produced oil, and oil produced zits. As a result, this story was born! It houses a young girl and her brother above their father’s yakiniku restaurant, gradually covering the house’s interior with grease and filling it with oily fumes. It’s a greasy story about sibling rivalry: one of the most unpleasant—Ito’s art benefits from his attention to detail.
Fashion Model:
One of Junji Ito’s famous single panels is a tall, thin, middle-aged woman with a long head and a monstrous mouth. She is the story’s titular fashion model, a woman hired by a film crew. The story’s protagonist is terrified of her appearance and perplexed about why the band hired her to be a model. While we read, we wonder if there is anything to be afraid of – if she is, in fact, just a scary-looking woman. This distinguishes Fashion Model as an Ito story: it’s not just an unexplained natural mystery, a terrifying body horror, or a supernatural occurrence. It’s a story that makes you question yourself and feel regret.
Slug Girl:
While not a revelation of psychological horror like Hanging Blimp or The Long Dream, this story is an excellent example of Junji Ito’s unsettling horror. It’s one of his most beloved stories because of its absurdity and the empathy it demands from the reader. Slug Girl is about a young girl whose family’s backyard has been infested with slugs for most of her life. As the story begins, she notices that her tongue is swollen and that she is sick. She is bedridden after returning home from school and soon discovers that her tongue has transmogrified into the head and torso of a slug.
Undoubtedly, American author Stephen King is regarded as the master of horror. There are numerous Junji Ito books. Nobody does mess like Junji Ito, and no manga is like a Junji Ito. While stories have been told for as long as there have been stories, and mythologies worldwide are filled with creatures and terror, horror has only recently emerged as a genre. Finally, there is a wide range of short stories. In his ideas, writing, and art skills, Junji Ito’s short stories best showcase the diversity of horror.
