Summary
Junji Ito’s disturbing drawings are as famous as the accompanying stories with countless images that are seared into readers’ minds as some of the scariest works of art ever drawn. Some of Ito’s most disturbing creations include a cursed family cat with terrifying insect-like features, a woman who steals other people’s ribs, and a connected father by the skull of his ancestors. Ito’s talent for body horror is demonstrated in his drawings, such as a teacher turning into a snail with grotesque features, a girl’s head flattening after being shot, and a character haunted by spirals that contort his body in unnatural ways.
This is Junji is one of the most famous horror mangakas as his most disturbing drawings have earned him international acclaim. Ito’s horrifying stories are remarkable feats, knowing how to mess with the reader and create tense moments, with his artwork making the Junji Ito story a pure nightmare drug.
Rendered entirely in black and white and with a focus on detail, Junji Ito’s drawings have become as famous as the accompanying stories. There have been countless images imprinted in the minds of fans as one of the scariest works of art ever drawn. This image abounds in hundreds of stories created by Junji Ito, and below are ten of the most disturbing drawings Ito made throughout his career.
Collon’s 10 Treasures – Cute to Hideous
Souichi’s beloved pet
The blend of Ito’s signature style with a touch of Lovecraftian horror kicks off this list in the best way. Coming from the story Souichi’s Beloved Pet, this image shows the family cat being cursed by Ito’s infamous villain Souichi as it brings about a horrifying scene. Souichi describes it as “one of the insects that live in Hell” and Ito’s description of this is too complex for the mind to process. The way the beetle’s legs stretch out with thousands of eyes is enough to make any reader fall in love. It may not be as gory as some of Ito’s other drawings, but The mystery behind this creature makes it one of his most disturbing creations.
9 The Rib Woman – One of Ito’s most disturbing creations
Love
This titular monster drawn by Ito is undeniably one of his most disturbing works. Throughout the story from Ito’s Lovesickness collection, a woman who has undergone rib surgery to correct her figure hears a strange sound throughout the night. It turns out this is the work of the Rib Woman, a seemingly friendly woman playing music on her ribs. However, what she revealed underneath her shirt was a pile of ribs she had stolen from others tied together with string.
Way The woman has painted ribs that give her a strangely haunted feeling when she comes to take Yuki’s ribs for herself. Additionally, the way the exposed ribs cause festering wounds all over the chest creates a grotesque scene that will never leave the reader’s mind.
8 Centipedes – A uniquely twisted body horror film
Honorable ancestors
Returning to something less grotesque but still disturbing, this image from Honored Ancestors depicts a father connected by the skull of his ancestor. There is something very strange yet intriguing about this creature’s design. The way the skulls are assembled to create a centipede-like appearance makes it hard to look away no matter how uncomfortable. It was just an endless moment of horror that lasted as long as it was hauntingly beautiful.
7 Mr. Yokota – The perfect ending to a disturbing story
Uzumaki
This next drawing comes from the pages of one of the most famous stories in Ito’s beloved Uzumaki epic. This short story, titled The Snail, focuses on a mysterious incident that occurs when several students gradually turn into snails.
This deep dive into body horror is something Ito excels at, but he shows off his talents best during his final transformation when the student’s teacher arrives to class in a semi-transformed state. image. He had both legs amputated and had a shell but was pulled into the classroom by his hand with his head still there. However, his eyes have been replaced by stubs and his mouth is slowly disappearing as it is covered by swelling along his skin. This is the perfect way to end the story of Uzumaki’s snail and shows why this is one of the scariest shorts in the entire graphic novel.
6 Chiharu’s deflated head – One of the scariest moments in the Ito Classic story
Hanging balloons
In a story dominated by floating heads trying to nab their human counterparts, the most disturbing moment in Junji Ito’s short story Hanging the Scariest Bubble actually happens on ground. The images in this short story are How Ito proves why strange balloons in the sky can’t be shot down, and he did a remarkable job in this case. When a balloon imitating a girl named Chiharu is shot and deflates, Ito quickly shows that whatever happens to the balloon also happens to humans. The way Chiharu’s head deflates is both shocking and upsetting because it is drawn in such detail that it makes this girl’s death all the more devastating.
5 Shuichi’s Father Becomes a Vortex – Uzumaki’s Monstrous Beginnings
Uzumaki
First impressions matter, and this debut story from Junji Ito Uzumaki is disturbing enough to hook the reader right away. Spiral Obsession follows Shuichi’s father as he becomes fascinated by spirals. As the story continues, his obsession becomes more and more disturbing as he can curl his tongue in unnatural ways and rotate his eyes in spirals with ease. His death became one of Ito’s most haunting images when he was found in a large bathtub, his body deformed into a spiral. The way he is portrayed makes him no longer seem human. It was a sign of things to come, and it is a great case for why spirals are so dangerous in Uzumaki.
4 full body tattoos – One of Ito’s strangest images
Love
This disturbing piece of art from Lovesickness: A Woman in Distress is perhaps the strangest image Ito ever created. The story is about a boy named Ryusuke who comes across a woman over many nights with increasingly worse problems. After mentioning that she wanted to get a tattoo one night, she appeared head-to-toe in it. The way Ito designed this look feels eerie and haunting. The figure is clearly human, but the tattoos make things uncomfortable. The shapes of animals and other images distort parts of her body and make her seem less human. This is definitely one of Ito’s creepiest creations that puts the mind into overdrive trying to decipher what it is seeing.
3 Pictures of Tomie – Tomie’s Most Terrifying Images
Painter
This image comes from what is certain the most famous story of Ito’s iconic character Tomie. Like Souichi, Tomie became the regular heroine of Junji Ito, who terrorized Japan with her beauty causing others to commit murder. The story Painter sees Tomie become the muse of an emerging artist who is keen to portray her beauty. After many failed attempts that made her laugh, his final masterpiece showed Tomie in all her glory with a terrible second head growing from her. This is such a disturbing image that it also became one of the most famous interpretations of the character. It’s a beautifully designed horror piece that shows that beneath her beauty in the real world, lies a monster that would drive others insane.
2 Yasumin gets smashed – Bloody moment with great staging
Smash
What’s great about this disturbing drawing is that it’s not the first time readers have encountered a moment like this in the story. Junji Ito’s Smashed really makes readers curious about what they’re getting into when Sugio brings his friends to Ogi’s house to try a delicious elixir. When they arrived, they found Ogi horribly smashed against the wall. However, It’s when Yasumin gets splashed that things become worrying.
The way he describes his violent death is extremely haunting. Readers can tell it’s him thanks to his features and recognizable glasses because of the blood splattered everywhere. This is the first time the characters really encounter what’s going on, and the first of their deaths sets up an impending horror.
1 Azami’s Scar – Junji Ito’s most disturbing (& iconic) drawing
Uzumaki
The most disturbing drawing in Junji Ito’s repertoire is one that most people can instantly recognize. This artwork from Junji Ito’s The Scar in Uzumaki depicts a girl named Azami as she reveals that she succumbed to the spiral curse. She has a large spiral on her head, taking up most of her face with a bulging eyeball remaining before spiraling into the shape and disappearing.
This is not only one of the most famous images of Uzumaki. In general, this is also one of Ito’s most famous products. The way it’s designed brilliantly represents his brand of shocking horror. It is so disturbing to look at and so terrifying that it sticks in the reader’s mind long after they have finished watching it for the first time. This is certain The most disturbing drawing of all time by Junji Ito because it stands out among his other scary works.
Much of Junji Ito’s work is available on Viz!
Buy on Viz