I love horror, especially those story that lingers after you read. Junji Ito is a legendary horror mangaka as well as a legendary horror artist of our day. His art has a unique quality to it that I like. His work is unique not just because of his style and meticulous line work, but also because of his storytelling manner.
Many of his stories contain cosmic terror, body and mind aberrations, phobias, dread, and a variety of other bizarre phenomena. It is easy to state that Ito’s works are absolutely unique, and no other mangaka in both style and plot compares to him. So, today I’ll be listing some of my personal favourite short horror stories by Junji Ito.
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Hellstar Remina
Starting off with my favourite, Hellstar Remina is a cosmic-horror which was heavily inspired by H.P Lovecraft, an American writer of weird, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. Dr. Oguro, the discoverer of an undiscovered planet that emerges from a wormhole, names the celestial body “Remina” after his own daughter. His discovery is widely publicized, and Remina rose to prominence.
However, as it goes along in its strange orbit, the planet accelerates, annihilating planets and stars one by one until Earth itself is obliterated. Honestly, after reading for the first time I was terrified by the idea of a celestial body eating other different planets and stars. Some people might not like it as much as me, I still think it is completely unique compared to other different horror out there. Check out Hellstar Remina on amazon, available on Kindle or Hardcover.
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Human Chair
Have you ever sat down a on chair, and it felt amazing? Good lumbar support, perfect armrest & sufficient padding. What if it turns out to be someone you’re seating on? Turns out someone is living inside the chair, becoming both a stalker, and a voyeur to anyone who uses it. It’s neither has occult nor paranormal stuff, just creative thinking and storytelling. Although the story is short, it definitely sends a chill down my spine. Sadly, the Human Chair hasn’t been officially translated to English, but fan translation is available on the internet that you can check out.
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Gyo
For those who don’t know, “Gyo” in Japanese means fish, and knowing that may make you think you’re prepared for what’s to come. You don’t know what you’re missing if you haven’t heard about this story. Gyo is unquestionably one of Junji Ito’s most famous and well-known compositions.
It is also nonetheless, one of his strangest and most ridiculous stories. The principle is straightforward. Sea animals rise from the depths and conquer the surface, but not in the way we expect.
While it starts off as a little fish, bigger fish emerge from the depths, including a monster shark. There is even a film adaption of Gyo but it’s not that great in my opinion. You can watch the movie trailer here or better yet, check out the original Gyo on Amazon.
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The Enigma of Amigara Fault
An earthquake happens and split a mountain in half. The earthquake has created a huge fault in the mountain, and human-shaped holes are scattered across the face of the fault line. Soon, it becomes clear that the “holes” aren’t natural, and the “call of the void” lures you in. What happens when you go into the hole? Is there an exit? These are my exact thoughts when I was reading through. The nightmare fuel for this particular short is something you shouldn’t miss out. The short story can be found at the end of Gyo and can be found online as well.
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Long Dream
Humans are avid dreamers. But what if the “dream” goes on for too long? In a mental institution, Dr. Kuroda, a neurosurgeon, is told by a man called Mukoda that his dreams and nightmares are getting longer and longer with each night’s sleep. From dreams that last for days to years to decades, the story is terrifying as the dream begins to affect him physically and mentally. Although its hard to find a physical copy, there’s multiple unofficial versions online.
If you’re interested in Ito’s work, several of his short tales have been collected in the collections Shiver, Fragments of Horror, and Smashed for audiences. Many of his lengthier works, such as Uzumaki, Tomie, and Gyo, are also accessible on the internet if you are intrigued and willing to look.
This article was brought to you by Han. I pretend to be broke in order to stay wealthy, yet I’m not wealthy.
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