The following contains spoilers for Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre Episode 10, "The Bully," now streaming on Netflix, as well as brief discussion of suicide.
As Netflix rolls out Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre, fans are soaking in an array of spine-tingling horror stories. They've waited on this for some time, eager to see how his manga stories are adapted. And make no mistake, while some don't translate well to the anime medium, others such as "The Story of the Mysterious Tunnel" are harrowing ghost stories.
In the case of "The Bully," the anime short does make tweaks to its source material, disguising its big reveal at the end. In the process, fans are treated to a cerebral story about abuse and a warped revenge story that focuses on a woman who ends up nodding to DC's Joker.
Maniac Paints Kuriko as a Demented Torturer
Episode 10 of Maniac, "The Bully" dissects a young girl named Kuriko at a park as she crushes on Yutaro. However, boys will be boys, so they spurn her, which leads to Kuriko constantly abusing a kid she's tasked with taking care of. She vents her frustrations on this shy boy, Nao, warning him not to tell. It gets very disturbing when she even goads him into getting attacked by a dog.
Notably, the anime omits how this story is a flashback; Ito's manga intersperses this journey with her and Yutaro in the present. It turns out, he and Kuriko are about to get married, but she wants to exorcise her psychological demons and let him know what she did to Nao. When the episode introduces them later on as a couple, Yutaro doesn't care -- he forgives her. Admittedly, she seems to be changed, although it's quite disturbing knowing what she did.
Junji Ito's Maniac Makes Kuriko a Vengeful Joker
However, the big twist in both the Maniac anime and manga is that the older Kuriko is leaving Yutaro for Nao. They reconnected when he moved back to town, using his charm to seduce her. Nao and Kuriko end up marrying, and having a kid named Hiroshi. Mind you, the anime omits any insight into their romance, but the essence is still there. Shockingly, Nao leaves Kuriko, who realizes this was his revenge -- sticking her with Hiroshi, who looks just like him.
It culminates with Kuriko abusing Hiroshi, who's timid and crying all the time like Nao. He can't help it, though, crafting a sympathetic figure tragically thrust into a nasty vendetta. All the romance and love are thrown out the window, compounded by the mother justifying her actions as Nao wanting and enjoying being punished. Thus, she thinks Hiroshi is a sadist who loves it too, putting on makeup and heading to the same park with a crazed smile.
The episode ends like the manga, with the mom looking like a mix of Martha Wayne-Joker from Flashpoint and Harley Quinn, taking the boy to dole out the same punishment she gave to Nao. Ultimately, it's emotional chaos, moving away from the supernatural aura of say, Tomie, as the psychopathic Kuriko repeats a vicious cycle of violence. It nods to how Jokers just can't cull their addictions, especially the Martha who lost her son and broke. In Maniac's case, Kuriko broke again once Nao left, blaming Hiroshi and opting to exact unnecessary revenge, painting her as one of Ito's nastiest monsters.