Is Junji Itō Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre Kids Friendly? Age Rating Explained!
Junji Itō Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre is an upcoming anime series that is set to premiere on Netflix. It is going to be an anthology anime series that is set to adapt numerous stories written by famed horror mangaka Junji Itō. The series is going to have a total of 20 stories, taken from famed collections such as Fragments of Horror (a.k.a. The Shard of Evil), the Junji Itō Masterpiece Collection, and Junji Itō: A Study From the Abyss of Horror. Among the stories we know are going to be adapted are “The Story of the Mysterious Tunnel,” “Mold,” “Layers of Fear,” “The Thing That Drifted Ashore,” and “Back Alley”. The anime is going to premiere on January 19, 2023, and we have decided to tell you whether the series is appropriate for kids or not.
Although we don’t know the exact rating of the series, knowing his work, the Junji Itō Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre anime series is definitely not going to be appropriate for children. Junji Itō is a master of body horror and cosmic horror and if the adaptation sticks to the source material, it will definitely be too scary and too grotesque for children.
In the paragraphs that follow, we are going to elaborate on this answer and give you some additional information on the show’s content. You’re going to find out whether Junji Itō Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre is appropriate for children, how scary and gory it is, whether there is sex, nudity, and profanities, as well as what age it is appropriate for. This is going to be your ultimate parent’s guide for Junji Itō Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre.
What age is Junji Itō Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre appropriate for?
As per the official ratings, Junji Itō Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre is rated as “MA”, which means mature. That standard is defined as follows: This program is specifically designed to be viewed by adults and therefore may be unsuitable for children under 17. In most other countries, the series is rated as being appropriate for adults older than 18 or 21, depending on the jurisdiction, which means that this series is universally considered to be for mature audiences. But, what does all of this mean?
This means that Junji Itō Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre is a show that should be viewed exclusively by adults and not children. Children under the age of 18 (or 17) shouldn’t watch this show as the censors have deemed it inappropriate for their age. This is the official rating for the show and we are now going to observe how things stand in several different categories.
Junji Itō Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre: Sex & Nudity
Junji Itō Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre has not yet aired as of the time of writing. This basically means that we have no information on how much adult content there will be in the series. As for sexual content, we don’t expect much, as it is not the focus of the story, but there might be nudity, although expect it to be quite bizarre and grotesque, and not in a sexualized way. But, as said, we’ll have to wait a bit to confirm all of this, as the trailer doesn’t really reveal too much.
Junji Itō Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre: Violence & Gore
The violence and gore of Junji Itō Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre are definitely going to be severe. The trailer itself has revealed that the series will be very violent with a lot of body gore, and psychologically tormenting, as well as bizarre. This is definitely expected from a horror anime, but with Junji Itō, everything is taken to a different level.
If you’re acquainted with his manga works and illustrations, you will know what we are talking about and what you can expect. You can expect severe deformations, injuries, bodily harm, grotesque facial features and expressions, merged bodies, mutilations, and the likes, all of which are a trademark of the author’s work and while the anime might tone it down a little, it is still going to be featured heavily in the series.
Junji Itō Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre: Profanity
Profanities are probably going to be a part of Junji Itō Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre, but we don’t know how heavily they are going to be featured. Adults are going to be present in the series, and with the series having received an MA rating, it is probably going to be featured to a degree, but we don’t think it is going to be the focus of the series, especially with all that cosmic horror and whatnot being thrown around.
Should you allow your kids to watch Junji Itō Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre?
Yours truly likes to think of himself as a very liberal person and someone who is pro-arts and against censorship. But, knowing how these works usually evolve and end, we might just have to agree with the MA rating and state that the Junji Itō Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre anime series is not suited for children. We don’t think that they will see anything bad or inappropriate in it, it is not a series like that, but it might be traumatizing for children.
Japanese art tends to be gory in its most extreme aspects and Junji Itō Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre is an example of that. As an artist, Junji Itō embraces the grotesque and the macabre in the most beautiful and artistic way possible. It is meaningful, despite being quite disturbing. As someone who was inspired by his own fears and experiences, Junji Itō was able to produce a horror work that feels authentic and to the core exactly because of that, and he is scary because of that. And that is why children might not appreciate it properly and could end up being traumatized by the grotesque imagery.
The official ratings do suggest that you should not allow your kids to watch it, but, ultimately, it all comes down to your parental approach. We at Fiction Horizon do agree with the ratings this time, but not because it’s inappropriate; it’s simply very disturbing and children might get scared and you don’t want your children to have traumas because of it. We are aware that children don’t perceive it like adults and that is why we actually agree with the ratings this time.
On the other hand, older teenagers could potentially watch it if they have a tolerance for such images; they don’t have to wait until they’re 18, but Junji Itō Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre really isn’t appropriate for children due to the macabre content seen in it.
Children under the age of 16 might be scared and end up traumatized, but we don’t think that those older than 16 will have any problems with the show unless they get scared easily and have a low tolerance for such imagery. So, in our opinion, Junji Itō Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre is too grotesque for children under the age of 16 and they should definitely not watch it, but older teenagers and adults can definitely watch it without any major restrictions.