# Junji Ito's horror manga finds new life on screen

> HBO Max brings a live-action anthology of the manga master's disturbing short stories to US audiences, with directors capturing the slow-burn dread of the originals.
- Title: Junji Ito's horror manga finds new life on screen · WIRED
- Summary: HBO Max brings a live-action anthology of the manga master's disturbing short stories to US audiences, with directors capturing the slow-burn dread of the…
- Keywords: junji ito, strange: junji ito's tales for sleepless, hbo max, live-action adaptation, yûta shimotsu, manga horror, new york comic con, Junji, Ito's, horror, manga, finds
- Source: WIRED — https://wired.com/story/new-york-comic-con-panel-2
- Author: Max Evry
- Published: 2026-10-15T13:30:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: junji ito, strange: junji ito's tales for sleepless, hbo max, live-action adaptation, yûta shimotsu, manga horror, new york comic con
## Ito's horror comes to HBO Max
Strange: Junji Ito's Tales for Sleepless Nights aired its twelve-episode first season on TV Tokyo this summer. HBO Max is now bringing the live-action anthology to US audiences.
## Face Thief premieres at Comic Con
New York Comic Con fans saw the US premiere of Face Thief, based on Ito's story The Face Burglar.
## Director finds social critique in horror
Director Yûta Shimotsu shaped Face Thief into a critique of conformity in Japanese society. He told the crowd after the premiere, We have social pressure that we are supposed to not to be too different…

> We have social pressure that we are supposed to not to be too different from others. Individuality is not very respected.
## Ito's original story from nineteen eighty-seven
The Face Burglar was published in Monthly Halloween in nineteen eighty-seven, the same year Ito's famous debut Tomie appeared.Junji Ito, now sixty-three, described it as an early tale inspired by chameleon camouflage, not a ghost.

> Not a ghost, just a unique condition inspired by chameleon camouflage.
## Shimotsu captures slow-burn dread
Shimotsu uses stillness in performances and camerawork that evokes comic book pages.He hopes to push fidelity further in season two by shooting at least one episode in black and white, Ito's preferred mode of illustration.
## Shimotsu eyes Uzumaki next
When asked which Ito work he would most like to adapt, Shimotsu answered Uzumaki, the groundbreaking horror manga.

> I would love to keep creating very bizarre, unique aesthetics like Mr. Ito's work. That's my goal.
## Key takeaway

HBO Max is releasing Strange: Junji Ito's Tales for Sleepless Nights, a live-action adaptation of horror manga by Junji Ito, with director Yûta Shimotsu capturing the original stories' unsettling atmosphere.