While there are many courses and tutorials online, learning from a book is still one of the best ways to greatly improve your skills. Below I have selected top Junji Ito books.
- 1. Dissolving Classroom (2017)
- 2. Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu (2015)
- 3. Ayako (2013)
- 4. H.P. Lovecraft’s The Hound and Other Stories (Manga) (2017)
- 5. The Beauty of Horror 1: A GOREgeous Coloring Book (2016)
- 6. Uzumaki, Volume 3 (Vol 3) (2002)
- 7. GYO, Vol. 2 (2nd Edition) (2) (2008)
- 8. Perfect Blue: Complete Metamorphosis (2018)
- 9. Slasher (2018)
- 10. Museum of Terror, Vol. 1 (2006)
- 11. I am a Hero Omnibus Volume 1 (2016)
- 12. Solanin (2008)
- 13. Happiness 1 (2016)
- 14. Shibuya Goldfish, Vol. 1 (2018)
- Related YouTube Video
1. Dissolving Classroom (2017)
A pair of twisted siblings-Yuuma, a young man obsessed with the devil, and Chizumi, the worst little sister in recorded history-cause all sorts of tragic and terrifying things to happen wherever they go. These scary short stories will shock you with a literal interpretation of the ills that plague modern society….
2. Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu (2015)
-O-KITTYMaster of Japanese horror manga Junji Ito presents a series of hissterical tales chronicling his real-life trials and tribulations of becoming a cat owner. Junji Ito, as J-kun, has recently built a new house and has invited his financée, A-ko, to live with him. Little did he know…his blushing bride-to-be has some unexpected company in tow—Yon, a ghastly-looking family cat, and Mu, an adorable Norwegian forest cat. Despite being a dog person, J-kun finds himself purrsuaded by their odd cuteness and thus begins his comedic struggle to gain the affection of his new feline…
3. Ayako (2013)
Long considered as one of Osamu Tezuka’s most political narratives, Ayako is also considered to be one of his most challenging as it defies the conventions of his manga by utilizing a completely original cast and relying solely on historical drama to drive the plot. Ayako, pulls no punches, and does not allow for gimmicks as science-fiction or fantasy may. Instead Tezuka weaves together a tale which its core simply focuses on a single family, a family that could be considered a metaphor for a rapidly developing superpower.Overflowing with imagery of the cold war seen through…
4. H.P. Lovecraft’s The Hound and Other Stories (Manga) (2017)
A pair of decadent young men pursue the abhorrent thrill of grave robbing…a German submarine’s crew is driven mad by the call of an underwater temple…an explorer in the Arabian desert discovers a hideous city older than mankind. This moody and evocative manga gets back to the dark foundations of the Cthulhu Mythos, adapting three of H.P. Lovecraft’s original stories that first shaped the outlines of cosmic horror!…
5. The Beauty of Horror 1: A GOREgeous Coloring Book (2016)
Get that red crayon ready! With this coloring book for adults channeling The Walking Dead meets The Secret Garden, comics creator/rock star Alan Robert (Crawl to Me, Killogy, Wire Hangers) invites fans of horror to discover their inner-colorist. Through intricate pen and ink illustrations to complete, color, and embellish, readers will meet an onslaught of severed heads, monsters, deadly weapons, and skeletal remains. Visit burial grounds, the zombie apocalypse, serial killer lairs, and gruesome torture chambers. Horror fans and newcomers alike will welcome this GOREgeous and creative journey into a blood-soaked new world….
6. Uzumaki, Volume 3 (Vol 3) (2002)
Kurozu-cho, a fogbound town on the coast of Japan, is haunted by a recurring pattern: a spiral manifesting itself in increasingly terrifying ways. In this third and final volume, the town is cut off from the outside by devastating hurricanes. Kirie, her boyfriend Shuichi, and the other desperate survivors must face the impending horror. The movie version of Uzumaki will soon be released in the U.S….
7. GYO, Vol. 2 (2nd Edition) (2) (2008)
Trapped on an island filled with the stench of mutating bodies, can teenager Tadashi save his girlfriend from a fate worse than death? Or will the cure prove worse than the disease? Hold your breath until all is revealed–along with the final stinking secrets of the “walking fish of Okinawa”!…
8. Perfect Blue: Complete Metamorphosis (2018)
Kirigoe Mima is in the third year of her career as a pure and innocent pop idol. Feeling like something big needs to change, she plans to give her image a major update. When the new Mima is revealed–complete with a sexy outfit and a risqué photo book–one of her most obsessive fans refuses to accept her transformation. To restore Mima to the innocent girl of her debut, he puts a terrifying plan to action that throws her life into chaos and mortal peril….
9. Slasher (2018)
From the Ignatz Award-winning creator of The End of the F*cking World and Revenger comes a new psychosexual thriller. Meet Christine, a data entry specialist discovering her sexuality and her penchant for blood. Seemingly timid and plain to her coworkers, she harbors dangerous urges. A lion of sexual violence bubbles just below the surface. What is this monster brewing inside her?Charles Forsman is a 2008 graduate of the Center for Cartoon Studies. He is a three-time Ignatz Award winner. His comic book TEOTFW (Fantagraphics) will be turned into a television series for Channel 4 and…
10. Museum of Terror, Vol. 1 (2006)
Dark Horse Comics is very proud to present Museum of Terror, a series of horror stories by Japan’s foremost creator of horror manga. Full of compelling and charming characters and relationships, and featuring some of the finest comics art available, Junji Ito has seen his works translated into successful films in Japan. Ito’s Uzumaki, the thrilling and grotesque manga and film, has already found success in America, and now we present “Tomie,” the first story in this fantastic series. “Tomie” is the story of an eternally youthful and beautiful high school girl, whose admirers are obsessed to the point of…
11. I am a Hero Omnibus Volume 1 (2016)
The zombie apocalypse has never been more surreal! A mentally unhinged manga artist witnesses the beginning of a zombie outbreak in Tokyo, and he’s certain of only two things: he’s destined to be the city’s hero, and he possesses something very rare in Japan–an actual firearm! Kengo Hanazawa’s award-winning series comes to Dark Horse, and this realistically-drawn international bestseller takes us from initial small battles for survival to a huge, body-horror epidemic that threatens all of humanity! These special omnibus volumes will collect two of the original Japanese books into each Dark Horse edition and include all of…
12. Solanin (2008)
College graduates struggle to cope with the real world. Music offers refuge in this modern manga with an American attitude.Meiko Inoue is a recent college grad working as an office lady in a job she hates. Her boyfriend Shigeo is permanently crashing at her apartment because his job as a freelance illustrator doesn’t pay enough for rent. And her parents in the country keep sending her boxes of veggies that just rot in her fridge. Straddling the line between her years as a student and the rest of her life, Meiko struggles with the feeling that she’s just not cut out to be a part of the…
13. Happiness 1 (2016)
THE THIRSTNothing interesting in happening in Makoto Ozaki’s first year of high school. HIs life is a series of quiet humiliations: low-grade bullies, unreliable friends, and the constant frustration of his adolescent lust. But one night, a pale, thin girl knocks him to the ground in an alley and offers him a choice. Now everything is different. Daylight is searingly bright. Food tastes awful. And worse than anything is the terrible, consuming thirst. The tiny shames of his old life have been replaced by two towering horrors: the truth of what will slake his awful craving, and high school itself….
14. Shibuya Goldfish, Vol. 1 (2018)
Meek Hajime Tsukiyoda visits Shibuya, and he’s in way over his head. But it’s not because Hajime’s in one of the trendiest places in Tokyo-Shibuya is actually under attack by man-eating goldfish! Is anywhere safe from this aquatic invasion!?…
Best Junji Ito Books Reviewed & Ranked
We highly recommend you to buy all paper or e-books in a legal way, for example, on Amazon. But sometimes it might be a need to dig deeper beyond the shiny book cover. Before making a purchase, you can visit resources like Genesis and download some junji ito books mentioned below at your own risk. Once again, we do not host any illegal or copyrighted files, but simply give our visitors a choice and hope they will make a wise decision.
Flesh-colored horror: the Junji Ito horror comic collection
Author(s): Itō, Junji
ID: 2838614, Publisher: ComicsOne Corp, Year: 2002,2001, Size: 9 Mb, Format: pdf
The Enigma of Amigara Fault
Author(s): Junji Ito
ID: 2347998, Publisher: , Year: 0, Size: 8 Mb, Format: pdf
Please note that this booklist is not absolute. Some books are truly hot items according to The New York Times, others are written by unknown writers. On top of that, you can always find additional tutorials and courses on Coursera, Udemy or edX, for example. Are there any other relevant resources you could recommend? Leave a comment if you have any feedback on the list.