Netflix's anime account unveiled a new key visual and announced the cast for Junji Ito's new upcoming horror anime Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre.Netflix captioned the newly released art: "it's a new spooky piece of key art for Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre! joining the tales are four more Junji Ito classics: 'Ice Cream Truck,' 'Tomb Town,' 'Library Vision,' and 'Headless Statue'". In addition to revealing episode names, Netflix created a Tweet thread showcasing images from each episode. It also revealed the voice-acting talents viewers can expect to hear when they tune in.
The Anthology Will Adapt 20 Stories
The episode "Ice Cream Truck" features vocal talent from RyÅtarÅ Okiayu (The Prince of Tennis), Sara Matsumoto (Boruto: Naruto Next Generations) and Takatsugu Chikamatsu (Scarlet Nexus). Ryohei Kimura (Bibliophile Princess), Aya Uchida (Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story) and M・A・O (Digimon Adventure)will lend their talents to "Tomb Town." "Library Vision" stars Yuki Kaji (Black Butler) and Tomoe Hanba (Sailor Moon Crystal). Finally, "Headless Statue" includes voiceover work by Fumiko Orikasa (Bleach) and Takashi Kondo (Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan's Island).
In addition to the episodes mentioned above, there are eight previously announced episodes for the anthology. "The Strange Hikizuri Siblings: The Seance" starring Takahiro Sakurai (Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba). The second story, "The Long Hair in The Attic" features voice work by Yoko Hikasa (Berserk). "The Bully" stars Natsumi Takamori (Bodacious Space Pirates). The last story is titled "The Den of The Sleep Demon." "Souichi" and "The Hanging Balloons" are also set for adaptation. Ito's first work, "Tomie," is perhaps one of his most famous comic, which tells the story of the titular femme fatale who can seduce any man and even drive them to murder. However, the victim is usually immortal Tomie herself. Each episode from Maniac will run for 24 minutes. Based on Ito's horror manga, the anthology will adapt 20 stories for the first time.
In addition to the horror anthology, Junji Ito's famous manga Uzumaki received an anime adaptation meant to premiere this month. However, the production team for the anime released a statement over the summer pushing back the release date. In their statement, they said, "Thanks to everyone for their interest and positive comments about our Uzumaki anime adaption. Unfortunately, the premiere date of the series must again be delayed. In order to replicate the quality of the intricate designs and detailed line work of Mr. Ito's classic manga, Director Nagahama and the production team have asked for additional time to recreate Ito's masterpiece properly. As much as we'd like to deliver this show to the public as soon as possible, we don't want to compromise its quality by delivering a mediocre final product. We remain fully committed to pursuing the completion of this work at the highest caliber. We'll be back with a firm premiere date once we are confident this adaptation is as good as we know it can be. Thank you for your continuing patience and support."
Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre premieres on Jan. 19, 2023.
Source: Twitter