Junji Ito

Junji Ito
Native name 伊藤 潤二
Born (1963-07-31) July 31, 1963
Gifu Prefecture, Japan
Nationality Japanese
Occupation Writer, penciller, inker, manga artist
Notable work Tomie
Uzumaki
Gyo

Junji Ito (伊藤 潤二, Itō Junji, born July 31, 1963) is a Japanese horror manga artist. Some of his most notable works include Tomie, a series chronicling an immortal girl who drives her stricken admirers to madness; Uzumaki, a three-volume series about a town obsessed with spirals; and Gyo, a two-volume story where fish are controlled by a strain of sentient bacteria called "the death stench." His other works are Itou Junji Kyoufu Manga Collection, a collection of different short stories including a series of stories named Souichi's Journal of Delights, and Itou Junji No Neko Nikki: Yon and Mu, a self-parody about him and his wife living in a house with two cats. In 2006, Junji married Ishiguro Ayako (石黒亜矢子), a picture book artist. As till 2013 they have two children. [1]

Biography

Junji Ito was born in the Gifu prefecture of Japan in 1963. He was inspired from a young age by both his older sister's drawings[2] and the work of Kazuo Umezu. Ito first began writing and drawing manga as a hobby while working as a dental technician in the early 90's.[3] In 1987, he submitted a short story to Gekkan Halloween that won an honorable mention in the Kazuo Umezu Prize (with Umezu himself as one of the judges).[4] This story was later serialized as Tomie.[5]

In addition to Kazuo Umezu, Ito has cited Hideshi Hino, Shinichi Koga, Yasutaka Tsutsui, and H.P. Lovecraft as being major influences on his work.[6] The universe Ito depicts is cruel and capricious; his characters often find themselves victims of malevolent unnatural circumstances for no discernible reason or punished out of proportion for minor infractions against an unknown and incomprehensible natural order.[7] Some of the recurring themes of Ito's work include body horror, seemingly ordinary characters who begin to act out of irrational compulsion, the breakdown of society, deep sea organisms, and the inevitability of one's demise.

Film director Guillermo del Toro cited on his official Twitter account that Ito was originally a collaborator for the video game Silent Hills (of which both Del Toro and game designer Hideo Kojima were the main directors), however a year after its announcement the project was cancelled by Konami, the IP's owner.

Original cover for Uzumaki #1.

Works

Manga

  • The Junji Ito Horror Comic Collection (collects stories from Halloween, ComicsOne, English editions have flipped pages):
    • Volume 1 and 2: Tomie (富江) (does not include Tomie: Again, English: 2001, ISBN 978-1-58899-084-6 and ISBN 1-58899-085-0, respectively)
    • Volume 3: Flesh-Colored Horror (肉色の怪, Nikuiro no Kai) (English: 2001, ISBN 1-58899-086-9)
    • Volume 4: The Face Burglar (顔泥棒)
    • Volume 5: Souichi's Diary of Delights (双一の楽しい日記, Souichi no Tanoshi i Nikki)
    • Volume 6: Souichi's Diary of Curses (双一の呪い日記)
    • Volume 7: Slug Girl (なめくじの少女)
    • Volume 8: Blood-bubble Bushes (血玉樹)
    • Volume 9: Hallucinations (首幻想)
    • Volume 10: House of the Marionettes (あやつりの屋敷)
    • Volume 11: The Town Without Streets (道のない街)
    • Volume 12: The Bully (いじめっ娘)
    • Volume 13: The Circus is Here (サーカスが来た)
    • Volume 14: The Story of the Mysterious Tunnel (トンネルの奇譚)
    • Volume 15: Lovesick Dead (死びとの恋わずらい)
    • Volume 16: Frankenstein (フランケンシュタイン)
  • Museum of Terror (恐怖博物館, Kyōfu Hakubutsukan) (collects stories from Halloween in order of publication, Asahi Sonorama,[8] first 3 volumes translated into English by Dark Horse Comics[9])
    • Volume 1 and 2: Tomie (富江) (Volume 2 includes Tomie: Again, Asahi Sonorama, 2002, ISBN 978-4-257-72159-8 and ISBN 978-4-257-72160-4, Dark Horse, 2006, ISBN 978-1-59307-542-2 and ISBN 978-1-59307-612-2, respectively)
    • Volume 3: The Long Hair in the Attic (屋根裏の長い髪, Yaneura no nagai kami) (Asahi Sonorama, 2002, ISBN 978-4-257-72164-2, Dark Horse, 2006, ISBN 978-1-59307-639-9)
    • Volume 4: Kakashi (案山子) (Asahi Sonorama, 2002, ISBN 978-4-257-72169-7, 2007 ISBN 978-4-02-267008-3)
    • Volume 5: Rojiura (路地裏) (Asahi Sonorama, 2002, ISBN 978-4-257-72173-4)
    • Volume 6: Sōichi no katte na noroi (双一の勝手な呪い) (Asahi Sonorama, 2002, ISBN 978-4-257-72177-2)
    • Volume 7: Umeku haisuikan (うめく配水管) (Asahi Sonorama, 2002, ISBN 978-4-257-72179-6)
    • Volume 8: Shirosunamura chitan (白砂村血譚) (Asahi Sonorama, 2002, ISBN 978-4-257-72184-0)
    • Volume 9: Oshikiri idan (押切異談&フランケンシュタイン) (Asahi Sonorama, 2002, ISBN 978-4-257-72187-1)
    • Volume 10: Shibito no Koi Wazurai (死びとの恋わずらい) (Asahi Sonorama, 2003, ISBN 978-4-257-72191-8)
  • Uzumaki (うずまき)
  • Gyo (ギョ)
  • Cat Diary: Yon & Muu (猫日記 よん&むー, Neko Nikki Yon to Mū)
  • Black Paradox (ブラックパラドクス, Burakku Paradokusu)
  • Hellstar Remina (地獄星レミナ)
  • Voices in the Dark (闇の声, Yami no Koe)
  • New Voices in the Dark (新・闇の声 潰談, Shin Yami no Koe Kaidan)
  • Mimi's Ghost Stories (ミミの怪談, Mimi no Kaidan)
  • Rasputin the Patriot (憂国のラスプーチン, Yuukoku no Rasputin)
  • Dissolving Classroom (溶解教室, Yōkai Kyoushitsu)[10]
  • Fragments of Horror (魔の断片, Ma no Kakera)

Adaptations

Tomie was adapted into a series of films, beginning in 1999. Several other works of Ito's have subsequently been adapted for film and television:

Notes

  1. ↑ "ホラー漫画家・伊藤潤二先生インタビュー / 人気作品『富江』『うずまき』を生んだ奇才" [Horror cartoonist / Professor Junji Ito interview / popular work "Tomie" "Ezumaki"] (in Japanese). 9 January 2012.
  2. ↑ "Junji Ito (伊藤潤二) Information". junjiito.mutagene.net. http://junjiito.trilete.net. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  3. ↑ Ito 2007: 207
  4. ↑ "The Junji Ito Interview". Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  5. ↑ Urasawa Naoki no Manben: Itō Junji (S4E2, 2017), NHK Educational TV
  6. ↑ Ito 2007: 207
  7. ↑ "Black Illumination - the unhuman world of Junji Ito" by Eugene Thacker, Japan Times, 30 Jan. 2016
  8. ↑ Kyōfu Hakubutsukan at WorldCat
  9. ↑ Museum of Terror at Dark Horse Comics
  10. ↑ "Vertical Licenses Blame!, Dissolving Classroom, Immortal Hounds Manga". Anime News Network. February 13, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  11. ↑ "The Horrifyingly Beautiful Junji Itō : Collection Exhibit at ACG_Labo - Manga Planet". Manga Planet. 2018-02-22. Retrieved 2018-04-06.

References

  • Ito, Junji (October 2007) [1998]. Uzumaki, Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Viz Media. ISBN 1-4215-1389-7.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.