The book releases on February 29
Japanese publishing company Iwasaki Shoten will launch author Sōshichi Tonari and Junji Ito’s horror manga Kocchi wo Miteru. (Look This Way.), included in the company’s “Ghost Story Picture Book” series, on February 29.
Image via Iwasaki Shoten’s website
© Sōshichi Tonari, Junji Ito, Masao Higashi, Iwasaki Shoten
Tonari was the grand prize winner of the 2018 Iwasaki Shoten “Ghost Story Book Contest,” where the winning work was published as part of Iwasaki Shoten’s “Ghost Story Book” series and the work was illustrated by a professional artist. Ito revealed on February 15 that he was illustrating Kocchi wo Miteru. Japanese literary critic and one of the competition’s judges Masao Higashi edited the book.
Kocchi wo Miteru. tells the story of faces that no one notices. Faces in the clouds, trees, windows… everywhere. Until finally, a face begins to look only at one person, and one person only. Whether at school, at home or at the park, the face only looks at that one person. Always.
Many of Ito’s works have been inspired by anime and live-action adaptations. Viz Media published Ito’s manga.
Junji Ito Maniac: Japan Tales of the Macabre, a new anime based on 20 different stories by Ito, debuted globally on Netflix on January 19. Ito’s Uzumaki manga is also inspiring an upcoming film debut. The four-episode anime mini-series will premiere on Toonami.
Junji Ito’s “Collection”, a television anime adaptation of Ito’s previous manga, also adapted stories from the Itō collection Junji Kessaku-shū, as well as the book Fragments of Horror. The anime premiered in January 2018 and has 12 episodes. Crunchyroll streamed the series with English subtitles when it aired in Japan, and Funimation streamed the English dub. This anime includes an adaptation of Ito’s Tomie story on the second and third DVD sets.
Ito’s Uzumaki and Tomie manga have inspired live-action adaptations, and his GYO manga has inspired an original video anime project.
Comic-Con International in San Diego recently awarded Ito the Inkpot Award in July.
Source: website