‘Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre’ Season 1 Ending Explained: Who Is Souichi Tsujii?
Welcome to the Ending Explained for Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre. This is a new Netflix anime series focused on adapting the work of the master of horror, Junji Ito. The master’s works have received some other adaptations in the past, but most of them have felt truncated or lacked a proper budget to bring these crazy stories to life. Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre doesn’t fix that, but it does a better job than past adaptations that have appeared on Netflix.
Animation quality is one of the first things you will notice. The characters’ designs and the atmosphere are all there, but you can definitely see that these animators are working on a tight budget. They still manage to select certain moments and put in the time and effort they deserve, but we would have liked to see a wider level of consistency throughout the entire show. The selection of tales is quite good, with some classic, renowned stories mixed with some very obscure ones. The anthology also includes a couple of stories with Souichi Tsujii to inject some humor into the affair.
The following paragraphs contain spoilers for Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre Season 1. Read at your own risk.
Why Is Mitsu Working For Mayumi?
Season 1 of Junji Ito Maniac finishes with an episode that includes two stories. The first one goes in line with Ito’s famous horror body of work, and the latter includes an element of comedy to balance things out. The first story is titled “The Whispering Woman” and just like every other story in Junji Ito’s catalog, the author takes a situation that feels extremely common and then turns it on its head. Ito delivers one of the best stories in the anthology. In this case, the mundane element is a job interview, but the job and the execution of it are anything but normal.
The story begins with the introduction of Mitsu, a young woman who knocks on the door of a big house. It is clear that whoever lives in this house must have money. On the other hand, Mitsu seems like a very strange person. She looks very tired, and the lower part of her eyelids is permanently red as if she is in a constant state of crying, but we don’t see it. She also speaks in a very low voice. Mitsu is introduced to her new job, which entails taking care of another young woman, named, Mayumi.
Mayumi from a strange mental disorder where she is apparently unable to make decisions for herself. The worst part is that she knows she cannot make decisions, and this fills her with dread and despair. She cannot function in a normal society when she cannot even decide if she needs to work, run, or even move. Mitsu takes the job and lasts longer in the position than anyone else. Mayumi’s father is happy that her daughter is able to have somewhat normal days now thanks to Mitsu, but he thinks Mitsu is creepy. She orders one of his workers to investigate her.
Mitsu has been working for Mayumi for two months now, and the investigation results have come. It appears that Mitsu is single but lives with a man named Aga, who abuses her and takes the money she makes working. The assistant proposes they must do something to help Mitsu out of that situation, but Mayumi’s father decides to do nothing for fear that if Mitsu is free, she would stop working for Mayumi. Meanwhile, Mitsu looks very sick, and she has basically transformed into a shadow of Mayumi, whispering orders in her ear at every step.
One day, Mayumi’s father receives the report that Mitsu has died and that the man she was living with, Aga has disappeared, and the police are looking for him. We see a flashback at that moment, where Mayumi asks Mitsu if she thinks she could be able to live on her own one day. Mitsu reassures the girl and says to her everything will be fine. Then we see Mayumi stabbing Aga, killing him. Mitsu is dead, but Mayumi is still receiving orders from her. In the end, Mayumi is able to live a life, and Mitsu got her revenge on the man who has abused her.
Who Is Souichi Tsujii?
The last story of the season sees us following the character of Souichi Tsujii. Who is this person? You might ask. The character has made previous apparitions later in the season, but the show decides to go back to him and tells us one more of his stories. Souichi is a character who appears in many of Ito’s short stories. It is very rare for Ito to go back and follow the characters of one of his stories, but he does it with Souichi because Souichi’s stories are more comedic than horrifying.
In this last story, we see Souichi’s sister, Sayuri, finding a stray cat, and she decides to take it home. She names him Colin, and the family agrees to take care of him. However, Souichi has other ideas. He hates animals, and he tries to kill them. Koichi, Souichi’s brother, stops him before anything happens, and he blames his mother for always being so easy on Souichi and his dangerous schemes. Souichi decides to put a curse on the cat. He starts giving it animals as toys, and little by little, Colin transforms from a cute cat into a feral one.
Sayuri and the rest of the family realize that Souichi is doing something to the cat. Colin even brings an insect from hell at some point. It also starts throwing a lot of fur in the air, and the house begins to smell like feces all over the place. Sayuri and Koichi find Colin in Souichi’s room, but then the animal releases all the energy from the curse in the form of electricity, electrifying Souichi. In the end, Colin goes back to normal, and Souichi’s plans to do evil are once again stopped by fate itself.