“I always loved what was scary”: the Japanese Stephen King tells us about his inspirations

From his bewitching spiral, to the double face of Tomie, passing through the mutant gyo fish, the imagination of Junji Ito never fails to mark his readers. Considered, rightly, as the master of the horror manga, this unparalleled designer with a single line, has become a real reference in his field.

Lulled by the horrific stories of HP Lovecraft and Kazuo Umezu, Junji Ito has written and designed more than thirty works since his beginnings in the 1990s and has now been among the most famous mangakas.

During an interview, this horror genius confided in our microphone on his career, on the occasion of the Japan Expo 2025.

Horror as the first love

Junji Ito is very young of the horrific genre thanks to the works of Kazuo Umezu: “I was reading her manga before even entering primary school “, he tells us. “”I interpreted them, mimic them. I always loved what was scary. These are his stories that made me want to write and draw mine. “

But if Kazuo Umezu gave birth to this passion for strange and discomfort, he is not the only great masters of literature who accompanies Junji Ito during his childhood and adolescence. “There are many influences. I will mention HP Lovecraft in particular, but also Yasutaka tsutsui. And it's not horror, but I very much admire the work of Katsuhiro Otomothe author of “Akira“”, he admits.

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However, it is as a dental surgeon that Junji Ito enters working life. “In parallel, and for almost ten years, I continued to draw for a monthly review specialized in horror. Stories mainly intended for a young and female audience.” Drags that fuel his passion and enjoined him to leave the medical community in the early 90s.

His own fears as inspirations

If these characters, monsters and other mysterious creatures are diverse and unique in their kind, all his works remain linked by one and the same anxiety: the unknown. “The human being is naturally terrified by What he doesn't understand. Fear arises from misunderstanding. This is why the supernatural is particularly working. ”

More specifically, Junji Ito admits having a morbid fascination for doppelgänger, recurring theme in his bibliography: “There is an urban legend that says that if you come across your double, you will soon die. My manga that deal with this subject are the most representative of what I am, because I myself have a kind of rejection, for fear of all these parts of me that I cannot judge objectively. Tomie is an example.”

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Tomie, who has become an iconic character in Japanese literature, also becomes the first manga of Junji Ito to be adapted as a feature film in 1999.

Paper on the screen

With several million readers around the world, fascinated, it takes barely a decade to see a first feature film transposed the universe of Junji Ito to the cinema. An adaptation exercise difficult to judge from its point of view: “Seeing my characters interpreted by real people makes them very different from what they are in my manga,” reveals the author. “But I know that we can't do anything about it, so I let the director manage and move away from the original material. If it is talented, the film will be good in any case.”

An apprehension that the master does not feel, however, when it comes to anime, better suited to his line and his way of showing horror. “In animation, it is not the same feeling.” Junji Ito: collection “,” maniac “, or even” crimson “which has just entered the production phase, are all adaptations that have captured the essence of my manga and I find the result formidable.”

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Invested in these various productions, Junji Ito reveals the name of the director to whom he would have readily entrusted his writings for cinema: “I would have loved that William Friedkin adapts my work. I'm a fan of the exorcistit was a film that influenced me a lot. I was saddened by his death. But, I can also quote Dario Argento (Suspiria) with whom I would dream of collaborating. “

While waiting to discover the cinematic adaptation of the new Bloodsucking Darkness soon, you can find Junji Ito's works in paper version with Mangetsu and Delcourt/Tonkam editions, as well as their animated versions on Crunchyroll and Netflix.

Interview by Manon Maroufi on the occasion of the Japan Expo 2025, Thursday, July 3 at the Villepinte exhibition center.