All 24 Junji Ito Books in Order

One of the most prominent writers in the horror genre is none other than Junji Ito. Over the years his work created a cult-like following for his short horror stories. Looking at his work, what appeals to the readers is his drawing style and the usage of subtle atmosphere changes. These are of course all the most important elements in the horror genre, to be able to create a creeping feeling that something is about to go wrong.

Ito delved into the horror world very early on because of his sisters who were reading the works of Kazuo Umezu. This eventually piqued his interest and he began to draw in his spare time. Later on in his life, he became a dental technician, but that became very hard to manage between writing and drawing in his free time. Eventually, he would go on to win awards at different competitions which would give him the confidence to continue down the path of writing and drawing.

Some of his most famous works include Uzumaki, which consisted of three volumes, then Tomie and Gyo. With that said let’s take a look at all  24 Junji Ito books in order. We are also going to see what is the best way to read them, so if you are interested so far, stick with us and keep reading.

How many Junji Ito books are there?

There are 24 books that Ito wrote over the years, all of them consisting of either standalone stories or have been gathered into a collection of stories. Some of them are collections of one-shots and so on, but in any case, this will be a long list but don’t let that overwhelm you. We will try and break it down the best we can so you can decide how you would like to read his work.

Junji Ito books in order (at a glance)

Now, let’s take a look at all the books by Junji Ito, this way we will have an outline of how to read his work.

1. Tomie (1987)
2. Flesh Colored Horror (1990)
3. Tombs (1994)
4. Museum of Terror (1997)
5. Uzumaki, Volume 1 (1998)
6. Frankenstein (1999)
7. Uzumaki, Volume 2 (1999)
8. Uzumaki, Volume 3 (1999)
9. Gyo, Volume 1 (2002)
10. Gyo, Volume 2 (2004)
11. Remina (2005)
12. Black Paradox (2009)
13. Junji Ito’s Cat Diary (2009)
14. Deserter (2011)
15. Love Sickness (2011)
16. Dissolving Classroom (2013)
17. Smashed (2013)
18. Fragments of Horror (2014)
19. Shiver (2015)
20. No Longer Human (2019)
21. Sensor (2019)
22. The Art of Junji Ito (2019)
23. Venus in the Blind Spot (2020)
24. The Liminal Zone (2022)

Ito’s list of works has grown over the years, but don’t let this initial list scare you off from reading his work. We are now going to answer some basic questions that you most likely have after discovering this amazing horror writer and manga artist.

Are Junji Ito’s books connected?

Junji Ito’s books are not connected. The characters have their standalone stories and they do not collide with each other. The only connection the stories have is when they are a part of a collection of volumes, but that’s obvious from the same title that the books share. For example Uzumaki, we can say that it belongs to the „Spiral series“ in which the story follows a town that is haunted by spirals, the same applies to Tomie.

Do you need to read Junji Ito’s books in a specific order?

Since the books are not connected, you do not have to read Junji Ito’s work in any particular order. You could go off of the short descriptions and see what you might like. We will go over each book later on in the article, so you can see if something stands out for you.

What is the best way to read Junji Ito’s books?

If you are reading this article and you’re still not sure where to start with Junji Ito’s books we would recommend you start with his most popular series. This way you can get to know the author, and if you take a liking to the stories, you can always back to this list and see what else he has to offer.

Junji Ito books in order (By release date)

This next list will also follow a release date order, we have just organized it further by either series or collection it belongs to. Hopefully, this will help you navigate Ito’s work a bit easier.

The Tomie series

Tomie: Complete Deluxe Edition (1987)

The story follows a beautiful young woman named Tomie, we later find out that she is actually a succubus, a demon who can possess any man and make them fall in love with her.

The Museum of Terror series

Museum of Terror, 10 Volumes (1997)

The first two volumes of the series include the Tomie story so if you started to read the complete Deluxe Edition you do not have to read it once more. It also contains many one-shot stories like Bio House, The Face Burglar, Where Sandman Lives, The Devil’s Logic, and so on.

The Uzumaki series

Uzumaki, 3 Volumes (1998-1999)

The Uzumaki series follows a young high school girl and her boyfriend that discover a curse that affects the body, mind, and soul – turning everything into a spiral.

The Gyo series

Gyo, 2 Volumes (2002-2004)

The Gyo series follows another young couple that is trying to survive against a horde of immortal fish with a deadly stench.

The Black Paradox series

Black Paradox (2009)

This series, called Black Paradox follows a group of people who decided to commit suicide together but then realize something that could change the world.

Standalone manga books

Remina (2005)

Remina is a sci-fi story that follows an unknown planet that emerged, when a scientist discovers it, he also realizes that the planet is not friendly at all.

Junji Ito’s Cat Diary (2009)

This is a story based on a real event in Ito’s life when he was moving in to live with his wife and the two new members of the family he met suddenly.

Dissolving Classroom (2013)

This short story follows a pair of siblings that have obsessions with the devil and there followed by all sorts of terrifying things.

Fragments of Horror (2014)

Fragments of Horror is a story that is set in an old wooden mansion, we follow its inhabitants and the very odd circumstances that happen.

Sensor (2019)

Sensor is a mystery horror story that follows a journalist who is trying to figure out what happened in a tragic event caused by an erupting volcano.

No Longer Human (2019)

This story follows a young boy who does not know who he is due to his difficulty with social interactions, and he’s constantly put on the spot to reveal who he truly is.

The Liminal Zone (2022)

The Liminal Zone follows a couple that encounters a weeping woman, which they later find out if a professional mourner.

Collections

Flesh Colored Horror (1990)

The Flesh Colored Horror collection contains stories that show people who might seem ordinary at first glance but something else entirely is revealed.

Tombs (1994)

This collection follows the story of an odd town that has countless tombstones, they stand in rows creating an odd visual.

Frankenstein (1999)

This collection is Junji Ito’s adaptation of the Frankenstein novel written by Mary Shelley.

Deserter (2011)

Deserter is a story about an army deserter that was hidden by a family, later on, he realizes that for eight years he has been hiding from something that ended a long time ago.

Love Sickness (2011)

Love Sickness follows a story of a young man returning to his hometown and finding out that the girls from his town have been killing themselves after meeting another very handsome young man.

Smashed (2013)

This collection called Smashed follows a story of a strange haunted house that unexpectedly appeared.

Shiver (2015)

Another collection of stories and of them follows an amateur film crew that decided to hire a very peculiar fashion model for the main role.

The Art of Junji Ito: Twisted Visions (2019)

This book is a collection of Junji Ito’s artworks, it contains over 130 images from his most famous works along with some rare works as well.

Venus in the Blind Spot (2020)

The main story in this collection called Venus in the Blind Spot, follows a young woman and a group of men that have all fallen in love with her, but what they didn’t know is that her father runs a UFO research club.

Where to read Junji Ito’s books?

Now that we’ve covered the extensive list of Junji Ito’s books, you are probably wondering where you can find them. If you prefer reading the physical copy we would recommend you check out Amazon where most of his work is available, there you can purchase a digital version as well through Kindle.

Will there be more Junji Ito books?

Great news, there is actually a new collection coming this year. It seems as though Ito has a whole new collection in store for us this year. It is going to be called The Kakugettsu Ito Junji and it will be released this February of 2023. There is no western release date as of yet but we are definitely excited about this new collection of short stories from Ito.