Junji Ito Collection

Episode 12

Junji Ito "Collection" may have been an anthology series, but it still knew how to construct a final episode that felt like an ending. The final story of this series in the episode's second half carries on many of the flaws that have defined the show, but it's built around ideas that could be viewed as an actual conclusion. There's no question that you're watching the culmination of this collection of stories, even as the plot remains an un-scary jumble presented with weak artistry. Junji Ito "Collection" gets an A for effort by the end, though not execution.

That feeling of cohesion is all that's keeping the show afloat by now, but even in the somewhat lackluster opening story, ‘Smashed’, the series' palpable moxie does it a favor. This one is rooted in another classic horror cliché: someone's brought something mysterious back from a trip to the jungle. Beyond that typical setup, it doesn't take long for the audience to get the concept at the heart of this story. We open on a conspicuous shot of a mosquito getting smashed for sucking a guy's blood, only for that guy to end up flattened himself after drinking some mysterious liquid; where do you think this is going?

This concept rides on the clear novelty of the scaled-up pest allegory as well as it does on the repeated visual gimmick of its cast of victims getting squashed like bugs. The first time is lackluster, with some really bad CG art showing our decoy protagonist's paper-thin remains peeling off a wall. But then seeing the actual smashing take place is totally worth it as a jump-scare moment with impeccable timing. It satisfies the bare minimum of a scary story getting your attention.

There is some real thought put into this concept, as the mysterious jungle-nectar's addictive properties provide a semi-believable reason for why the characters would keep drinking it, even knowing they'd be pulverized for doing so. However, that itself lends the issue of a potential theme to this story that it doesn't lean into hard enough. This could potentially have been an interesting take on such a ‘curse’ that explored the idea of addiction and the subsequent consequences, but it hardly glosses over that angle before just blatantly highlighting the mosquito allegory repeatedly. Our pile of picked-off protagonists are incredibly stupid even by horror-story standards, so we mostly feel humorous schadenfreude from how they keep getting themselves pulverized, rather than sympathizing with their situation. The core idea is clever, but the execution is maybe too simple for its own good.

And then, just as Junji Ito "Collection" began with Souichi, thus shall it end with Souichi. It does take a second to fake you out with our focal character Midori wondering about the fate of her boyfriend, but then that convenient cursing kid is there for a third ride down to the same well. Souichi's curses are only barely a component of this plot, with him using some nebulously-defined rumor-spreading power to make himself look good. Seeing the lengths to which he's lauded is actually kind of funny at first, before you check the episode time and realize you're still in for over ten minutes of this gag. At least Midori herself seems as disinterested in Souichi's antics as I am by now.

However, this story's status as the finale spices up its climax more than usual. Just as we've almost become interested in Midori's simple relationship troubles, we're greeted by the returning visage of Fuchi, the monstrous fashion model from the second episode! Rumors of her appearing in town suddenly propel the episode into what feels like a wholly new segment, with Midori still in the central role out of simple momentum. Instead of being the focal monster this time, Fuchi is simply used as a menacing backdrop to drive Midori into an otherwise typical Junji Ito yarn about taking odd actions after being driven too far by specific insecurities. The whole thing is a quick-moving jumble of plots cycling around each other, using that final episode status as an excuse to cram as many different elements together as possible. By the time Midori heads down to the alleged magical swamp, you can predict that wherever this is going, it's gonna end badly.

So it's not much of a surprise when the answer at the center of everything was simply ‘Souichi was still being a creep’. It's the type of acceptable punch-line I've come to expect from this kid, and even though I was hoping to see how this scheme was going to blow up in his face, the giant Fuchi rising up to eat him was less of a suspenseful surprise and more another necessary envelope-push from this ending's rushed crossover. It doesn't help that the animation's final throes of trademark weakness takes the impact out of what should be a big finish. The Junji Ito "Collection" finale is notable mostly because it's even recognizable as a finale, but that's about it. Hopefully some spare time and effort spent on those forthcoming Tomie OVAs will give us some above-average content from this otherwise lukewarm disappointment.

Rating: C

Junji Ito "Collection" is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.