An experienced editor representing Canada through Screen Rant’s Team Anime, JR has been reading manga since the first printing of Shonen Jump in North America. This passion has driven him to write about anime, manga, and manhwa since 2022, having most recently served as the Anime Editor for ComicBook.com.
His favorite moments in media coverage include reviewing the first series of Size 100 And Bleach: TYBW Part 2 consecutive and brief meeting with Junji Ito at a VIZ gallery event in 2023.
Few artists are as disarming and accessible while wielding the power to put dread and nastiness on the page as It’s Junji. This is the case of his most famous works, such as Uzumaki Or Tom, but true fans will eagerly collect each of his releases. With Statuettes On the horizon, fans will be able to make some of Ito’s darkest stories their own.
Statuettes is the last collection of Ito’s short stories published by VIZ after other successes like AlleyMoan, Soichi, And Mimi’s Tales of Terror among others. It features equally open-ended horror manga, ranging from circus disasters to killer hornet colonies, with some stories having darker endings than others. Now, Screen Rant is proud to present the latest trailer from VIZ Media before Statues release.
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Junji Ito Statues Reach Special Levels of Eerie Horror and Dread in Exclusive First Look
While there have certainly been equally dark short story collections in the past collecting the iconic works of Junji Ito, Statuettes definitely brings fear in all its force. Featured in the trailer exclusively provided by VIZ, we find Scarecrow, the chilling story of a community dealing with the devastating loss of Yuki Numada, with his father placing a scarecrow on his grave to ward off the ‘weasels’.
But anyone who reads the Junji Ito manga knows that a dark turn awaits us. In the case of Scarecrow, Ito transforms the innocent image of henohenomoheji, a neutral “human” face drawn on scarecrowsinto a mask hiding an increasingly strange human face that grows as they take the souls of those buried nearby.
It’s a particularly frightening story that’s easily worth the detour, just like the other tales, especially the one of the same name. Statuettes which practically weaponizes autotonophobia, or the fear of human-like figures. This turns an art class into a slaughterhouse, along with most of the other stories in Statuettes in the same way, transform rational fears into real nightmares, unlike other more idiotic versions like Soichi.
Each Statue Tale Features Familiar Terrors in Junji Ito’s New Collection
But the successes continue to go beyond headless plaster statues and scarecrows with human faces whose eerie gaze follows humans in all directions. The stories of Statuettes are multifaceted in their horror, often with a death toll that, while perhaps not consistent the scope of Hanging balloons, certainly remains as impactful and gruesome. Statuettes presents the following news:
- Red thread
- The donor
- The bridge
- The circus has come to town
- Hornet’s nest
- City of Cards
- Statuettes
- Die young
- Scarecrow
- Suicide note
In this collection, Junji Ito makes every story count with truly impactful events that often end in calamity with no further answers to the questions the reader may have. It includes quite disturbing stories like suicide note, in which he exhibits a burning hatred so strong that his conflicting core forces curse each other even in the afterlife.
As a result, Ito’s latest collection tackles a fascinating array of horror tropes and topics, including the familiar pain of a high school breakup and the human fear of letting post-breakup depression and denial burn out. This even borders Final destination territory with the calamitous incident of a story, ultimately forcing the reader to see the pattern of unhindered death to come.
Statuettes is a compelling read simply because there is a flavor of horror for every reader. This is one of Ito’s most underrated works, sporting truly gruesome shadows, character designs emphasizing the uncanny potential of even ordinary human characteristics, and presenting some truly haunting fates for its doomed stars. Beautifully bound in a hardback format, Junji Ito fans can’t miss this one.
First impressions of Junji Ito Statuettes were made possible by an advance review copy, as well as high quality panel scans courtesy of VIZ Media. Statuettes will be available from participating local booksellers and online marketplaces, in print and digital, on March 24, 2026.
