is a Japanese

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

television adapted from the works of

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

artist

Junji Ito 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 cursed by spirals; and ''Gy ...

. Animated by

Studio Deen is a Japanese animation studio founded in 1975 by former Sunrise producer Hiroshi Hasegawa, along with a team of ex-Sunrise animators. The studio owns three subsidiaries: Danny Donghua (), a Chinese sub-contracting studio; Megumi (め組), a di ...

, the anime adapts stories from several of Ito's collections. The series premiered on January 5, 2018, and ran for 12 episodes, accompanied by the release of two

OVA , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and special episodes of a series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the ...

s. The series was co-produced and streamed worldwide by

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation. The service primarily distributes fi ...

outside of Asia in eight languages on the same day. A follow-up anthology series adapating more of Ito's works, '' Junji Ito Maniac'', was released in 2023.

Voice cast

Production

The

was first announced June 30, 2017, via

's page on the

Asahi Shimbun is a Japanese daily newspaper founded in 1879. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. The ''Asahi Shimbun'' is one of the five largest newspapers in Japan along with the ''Yom ...

website. In August, the adaptation was confirmed to be a television series with animation by

. Shinobu Tagashira, known for his directorial work on ''

Diabolik Lovers is a Japanese otome game franchise by Rejet. Its first entry was released in October 2012 for the PlayStation Portable system. The franchise has released seven games with the first two having been remastered for the PlayStation Vita ...

'', directed and created the character design for the anime. The announcement also revealed that the series would adapt from two of Ito's manga collections, the 11 volume ''Junji Ito Masterpiece Collection'' and the single volume '' Fragments of Horror'', but did not specify which stories would be adapted, as the staff wanted viewers to be surprised when the show aired. The series revealed its official title on October 12, 2017, and also announced that Kaoru Sawada was scripting the series, Hozumi Gōda was serving as sound director, and that Yuki Hayashi would compose the music for the series. The series will also include two

s, which adapt from Ito's ''

Tomie is a Japanese horror manga series written and illustrated by Junji Ito. It centers on a mysterious, beautiful woman named Tomie Kawakami. The manga was Ito's first published work that he originally submitted to ''Monthly Halloween'', a Sh ...

'' manga. The opening theme song, , is performed by The Pinballs, while the ending theme song, , is performed by Jyocho.

Release

The series was initially scheduled to premiere on

Tokyo MX JOMX-DTV (channel 9), branded as Tokyo MX (officially stylized as TOKYO MX), is an independent station, independent television station in Tokyo, Japan, owned by the . It is the only television station that exclusively serves the city and parts ...

on January 7, 2018, but was later announced for a January 5 premiere on WOWOW's Anime Premium programming block. Additionally, the series received an advance showing on December 23, 2017, which was attended by Ito and voice actor Yūji Mitsuya. The series is being

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

worldwide outside of Asia, and

Funimation Funimation was an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service. Launched in 2016, the service was one of the leading distributors of anime ...

began streaming an English dub on January 20, 2018. The series ran for 12 episodes and was released as three separate sets on DVD, on March 30, 2018, April 27, 2018, and May 25, 2018. The second and third sets each include an OVA episode.

Episodes

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Tomie Adaptations of works by Junji Ito Anime series based on manga Animation anthology series Comics about monsters Crunchyroll anime Funimation Horror anime and manga Japanese anthology television series Studio Deen Tomie Wowow original programming