Junji Ito's Books Ranked WORST To BEST

RANKED #9 This book is at the end of our list and not because it's bad but because it's different. I fell in love with Junji Ito's original mind bending stories and imaginative visuals however "No Longer Human" is not an original story. It's more grounded in reality and far less supernatural than he's other stories which doesn't mean it's a bad story…it's just a bad junji ito story.

RANKED #6 Story about a woman named Kyoko Byakuya who visits a village that is located near a volcano. Volcanic ash occasionally travels from the volcano into the nearby village in the shape of these volcanic hairs. When the hairs land on the heads of the townsfolk they feel enlightened. Kyoko becomes the most enlightened as her hair takes a new golden form and she gains understanding of all things. This creates a zealous religious cult who worships her as the voice of god. I believe this is a social commentary on the dangers of misguided religion and as someone who has attended church most of my life, I found it quite relatable.

RANKED #3 An interesting social commentary about the effects rising stardom and damaging effects of declining fame. Very relevant today with volatile nature of cancel culture and how people can worship you one day and want to destroy you the next.

RANKED #8 This story is a light hearted a comedy about junji ito's pet cats. There's some great horror imagery but it's mostly a comedy and that's why it's ranked lower on my horror tier list. Just didn't enjoying it's as much honestly.

RANKED #5 Black Paradox has so many great ideas that don't necessarily work well together. From doppelgangers to shadow people, androids, and mirror people, etc. it's overwhelming and confusing at first. However the second half of the story is more focused and straight forward. I ended really enjoying the later half because of doctor Suga who seemed like an obvious setup for a villain at first. However the story ended on a morale gray note without a clear villain and I like that. It also spends quite a lot of time explaining the truth behind the mysterious circular gems which I don't usually like when the mystery is overly explained but I enjoyed it here.

RANKED #2 The first two chapters of Uzumaki are some of the most captivating manga you will ever read about something as harmless as a single shape and it will leave a lasting impression on you for years to come. The later half of the book divulge into imaginatively beautiful supernatural phenomenon plaguing a small town. The curse of the spiral effecting not only the town but also creating horrifying body modifications among the citizens.

RANKED #7 A social commentary on the damaging effects of apologizing too often. In Japan I believe it's common for people to apologize even when they've done nothing wrong. It's a defense mechanism that people often use to avoid confrontation but sometimes running from a beast only encourages it to chase you. Pretty good read but the characters are kind of annoying and the story just feels too simple and predicable.

RANKED #4 Junji Ito interpterion of a zombie apocolypse involving undead fish and deadlier fish farts. Straight forward story with uniquely interesting imagery. Not the most complex story on our list but sometimes less is more and this work to Gyo's benefit. It's easily one of Junji Ito's more adaptable stories due to the simplistic imagery and would be a perfect pick for a live action movie.

RANKED #1 Breaking bones and breaking hearts is all in a days work for Tomie. She's a heartless manipulator who toys with the hearts of men that can't resist her irresistible beauty. Her unmatched attractiveness is only secondary to her talent for not dying. Tomie is beauty and the beast wrapped into one and her evil reflects the hearts of men…it's perfection.