Weapons is The Closest Thing to an American Junji Ito Story

As both an anime and horror enthusiast, I am always crossing my fingers that these two genres will meet. While this summer gave viewers a prime example of how a creepy anime can permeate our nightmares thanks to The Summer Hikaru Died on Netflix, a wild card in the live-action world has smacked horror fans in the face. Weapons has presented a mysterious story that has already become a hit with its first night at the box office, and for good reason. When examining the story of Weapons, there are more than a few elements that have a lot in common with the works of Junji Ito.

Major warning. If you have yet to be spoiled on Weapons and want to avoid learning about the movie’s story elements, we’ll be exploring serious spoiler territory. Junji Ito has, as a master of horror, routinely blended the worlds of the mundane and the supernatural, which Weapons does during its runtime in spades. The recent film by writer/director Zach Cregger focuses on a classroom full of children who disappear one night, with all of them running away at the exact same time at 2:17 AM. Weapons also has similarities to works like Gyo and Uzumaki, in that it focuses on a cast of characters who are struggling with a supernatural threat that is engulfing their way of life. Of course, we need to dig deeper to get a better idea of what makes Weapons so close to a Junji Ito campfire story.

Said supernatural threat to the children is a familiar one, as Weapons reveals that the children haven’t been kidnapped by a secret government agency or been turned into vampires, but rather, have been stolen in the night by a familiar force of folklore. “Gladys” is revealed to be the main antagonist of the picture, wishing to steal the children as a way to extend her long life and take their energy for herself. Using witchcraft to take control of the minds of those around her, often in gruesome and unexpectedly terrifying ways, Cregger instills some elements that have become a go-to for many of Ito’s stories.

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Gladys, The Window Next Door

Gladys, played by actress Amy Madigan, is easily one of the most terrifying horror movie villains of 2025, relishing in her supernatural powers and having big similarities to some of Ito’s creepiest characters. It’s hard, right off the break, not to see the similarities between the Weapons villain and the woman who made her debut in Ito’s “The Window Next Door.” In this horror manga, a young boy is routinely stalked by a woman next door who is trying everything to make her way to his room. While not employing witchcraft herself, the similarities in the aesthetic of the two characters cannot be ignored.

Of course, Ito has created several stories that focus on witchcraft, each implementing the dark art as a way to throw some creepy elements at readers. In the story, “The Red Turtleneck” for example, a teenager finds himself on the receiving end of a horrific spell that causes his head to become detached from his body. Thanks to the bizarre nature of the spell, the teen still lives but needs to hold his own head on his shoulders in fear of losing it. While none of the children of Weapons lose their heads, the damage that Gladys does to many of the members of the cast using her spells might be far more terrifying.

The End of Weapons

Weapons has one of the most cathartic endings of any movie in recent years, as many audiences have been known to applaud the fate of Gladys. While the witch might get torn apart by her own victims, it’s far from a happy ending for many of the parties involved. The young boy Alex effectively loses his parents, numerous supporting characters have been killed, and even the rescued children don’t fully recover from the witch’s spell, as the narrator mentions that only a few of them gain the ability to speak within one year. This kind of wheelhouse is a horror trope that Ito has mined in the past as well.

Stories like Gyo, Uzumaki, and many of Tomie’s fare end on dour notes, even when the protagonists potentially score wins before the curtain call. While this trope isn’t only exclusive to Ito’s works, it’s another element that Weapons shares with many of Junji Ito’s stories. Junji Ito has become one of the biggest names in anime horror, weaving stories that share more than a few aspects with Weapons, so it makes sense that if you’re a fan of either, you might want to dip your toes into the works of Ito and Cregger alike.

Weapons is now playing in theaters and IMAX.