Junji Ito's Horror Manga Adapted into Live-Action TV Series, Now Arriving on HBO Max
HBO Max is bringing Strange: Junji Ito's Tales for Sleepless Nights, a 12-episode live-action anthology series originally aired on TV Tokyo, to US audiences with select episodes now available.
What happened
Strange: Junji Ito's Tales for Sleepless Nights, a live-action J-horror anthology adapting the manga artist's short works into 30-minute episodes, completed its first season on TV Tokyo this summer and is now available on HBO Max in the US. The first two episodes—"Lovesickness (Part 1 of 3)" and "The Bully"—are currently available, with "Face Thief" (based on Ito's "The Face Burglar") premiering at New York Comic Con. The original "The Face Burglar" was published in 1987 in Monthly Halloween. Director Yûta Shimotsu helmed multiple episodes and described the adaptation philosophy as prioritizing slow-burn horror over jump scares, using stillness in performances and camerawork to evoke the original comic book pages. Shimotsu expressed interest in adapting Uzumaki for a future season and noted he is developing a Hollywood project.
Context
Junji Ito's work is known for blurring protagonist and antagonist roles within surreal, disturbing scenarios. The "Face Thief" episode, which Shimotsu modified from the original story, functions as a critique of conformity and peer pressure in Japanese society—themes Ito embedded in his original work. Shimotsu aims to deepen fidelity to Ito's aesthetic in potential future seasons, including shooting at least one episode in black-and-white to match Ito's preferred illustration mode. The adaptation comes as other Ito works have recently been adapted for screen, including a 2024 anime series of Uzumaki on Adult Swim that faced production issues after its first episode.