Junji Ito Collection is about as bad as an adaptation can get. I would probably rate it worse if it was insulting to watch but it sticks so close to the included source material that it was if nothing else an interesting watch from a fans perspective. Besides some moments end up laughably bad in animated form that I cant say I didnt enjoy this show sometimes. To boot I was impressed with the selection of stories the choice to include straight comedies such as Souichis Selfish Curse and straight tragedies such as Gentle Goodbye is a good tribute to Junji Itos range on top of not neglecting some of his earlier and clunkier works such as The Circus is Here originally featuring a scratchy if refined from the first Tomie outings and Biohouses ballpoint pen style. Such a shame that no matter what is represented here it isnt represented well. At a base level Junji Itos blackandwhite comics are adapted into such a bleak color palette that the colorless originals somehow feel more vibrant. Itos own color artworks are bright and moody but everything in this show feels like its been put through a sepia filter even when its daytime outside. Thats not even considering how character designs look nothing like his art streamlining it into something generic and prettier. And thats not even considering how these character designs often go offmodel and not in an appealing way. In fact characters lack much in the way of personality flourishes at all. Never do these characters feel like theyre acting. After all at the end of the day cartoon characters are actors and there are no bigger cartoon characters than Junji Itos oftencrazy ones. Something like Painter or Greased needs better facial expressions poses camera angles and timing than what this anime gives it. Were talking about situations as giant tree treats humans like mosquitoes or wild goose chase over a recording of a dead girl situations that can be compared to the likes of Tex Avery and Chuck Jones. Itos work has a great sense of character acting and impeccable timing between panels yet this work doesnt even show chunks of action onscreen. Such a mix of absurdity and horror doesnt deserve direction this boring or animation this stilted and sometimes nonexistent Used Record and Window Next Door dont even have lipsync sometimes. There is solace to be found in the sound department. Banging opening and ending accompanied by a solidly composed score coupled with some truly impressive voice acting. New meaning could be given to radio show with pictures if this werent based off of starkly visual works. It should be restated that these adaptations stay close to whatever portion of the script made it in so why not just read the comic? Special emphasis on whatever made it in as much of the alterations made to the stories are for time meaning you get lots of cuts in order to fit two stories into 22 minutes. Town of No Roads gets the worst of it rushing through its first half to get to the titular town within record time lessening the emotional impact of why there is a need to escape there in the first place. Cloth Teacher doesnt even bother with its first half or anything within it that has any bearing on the second half and Bloodbubble Bushes doesnt even have a climax anymore. Such flaws all pile up for a dreadful anime. It wasnt painful to watch but it feels so distinctly amateurish that its quite impressive. For another Looney Tunes comparison this is exactly the type of content a dedicated fan watches when theyre intensely familiar with the most famous of the tales Whats Opera Doc/Enigma of Amigara Fault have gone through some of the lessertalkedabout ones most shorts starring Foghorn Leghorn/anything starring the Hikizuri siblings and are so kneedeep into it that they begin to indulge in and laugh at all the mediocre obscure side oddities. So Junji Ito Collection in all its stilted and muted glory is a horror anime equivalent to your choice of: Daffy Duck and Porky Pig Meet the Groovie Goolies The hastily redrawn color versions of blackandwhite shorts that have frames missing damn this might be the best one Daffy Ducks Fantastic Island. I apologize if this makes no sense but Im not actually sorry.