Doraemon is far from what you would think of a scary character in Japanese pop culture. Appearing as an adorable feline who hails from the future, the character first premiered in the 1960s and has since been granted countless anime projects, movies, video games, and merchandise to follow along on his surreal adventures. To help celebrate the spooky season that is fast approaching, the blue-flying cat has recently crossed over with one of the greatest modern masters of horror, Junji Ito.
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Junji Ito has been quite the mover and shaker in both the worlds of anime and manga. Continuing to release spooky stories of terror in the manga medium, the artist also has received a number of anime adaptations in the past. Earlier this year, Netflix released an anthology series, Junji Ito’s Maniac: Japanese Tales of The Macabre, that brought many of his manga stories to the small screen for the first time. During this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, more footage was released for Adult Swim’s Uzumaki, the first anime project to adapt one of Ito’s biggest stories. While the anime series has been delayed a number of times thanks to COVID-19 and production issues, fans are continuing to look forward to the series’ arrival.
Junji Doraemon
While Junji Ito isn’t creating a new Doraemon story, he is lending his commentary to a new publication that recently hit Japanese newsstands in “Doraemon: Zokuzoku Bururu Horror-Hen”, aka “Shivering Horror Edition”. The anthology collects fifteen stories revolving around spooky tales that follow Doraemon and his family. You can check out the artwork, and poster, from the latest spooky offering.
While having quite a big anime project on the horizon, Ito is also looking to take Hollywood by storm. In the past, we’ve seen live-action adaptations of Tomie, one of Ito’s biggest characters that netted some scary movies for the titular character. Teaming up with Fangoria Studios, Bloodsucking Darkness is slated to receive a live-action adaptation that puts a new terrifying spin on the creatures of the night.
Which anime do you think should cross over with the master of horror next? Would you like to see Ito draw a Doraemon story in the future? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of Junji Ito.
