A sense of dread is present, and you know something isn’t right. As described in many videos, the scares in Ito’s novels are similar to the jump scares you see in many modern horror movies, but at the same time, much more earned. So what went wrong with previous adaptations? Many people believe this to specifically be due to what makes Ito’s work, well… work. This adaptational trend isn’t going anywhere either, as both an Uzumaki anime and a live-action version of Bloodsucking Darkness are in development. Despite his massive reputation however, all of these adaptations have been met with lukewarm response in general, with many fans expressing disappointment, especially with the perceived laziness of Junji Ito Collection during the adaptational process. It's very worth it.Ito is no stranger to adaptations, with a 2000 live-action retelling of his seminal work Uzumaki, and more recently, two anthological anime adaptations on streaming services. Even though you should skip the short story 'Shiver' if you have trypophobia, this whole book is a very good read. Just him getting scary things from the mundane or from his dreams. It added to the book because you got to understand where he got his ideas from. I also want to say that I liked the inclusion of the author's notes and the storyboards/ideas at the end of each story. But that's what makes this book so good! When a horror story can make you feel something viscerally, then you can't help but applaud it. Just know that 'Greasy' is disgusting, when you get to the part that I'm talking about, you'll know. 'Greasy' really messed me up, it made me want to throw up because it was so gross, my reaction to one specific page was almost visceral. I would NOT read this book if you have trypophobia because of the story 'Shiver' and the story 'Greasy' (though this one is disgusting for entirely different reasons). There are some big trigger warnings for this book though, mostly just for those who are trypophobic. But on the whole, this collection was just wild. 'Honored Ancestors' was probably the one that I liked the least. I don't think there was a short story in this collection that I really didn't like. It just barely edged out Fragments of Horror but I must say that I really enjoyed it. Now that I've read it I can say that this is my favorite Junji Ito short story collection so far. Part of the reason I read this book was so that I could understand the new Funko Pops coming out that are related specifically to this book (you know that I preordered Tomie).

Shiver junji