Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre is an anthology series based on manga by Junji Ito. Each episode is a separate story or two dealing with some sort of supernatural horror. Though original, some of the tales are not that interesting. Others, especially those at the end of the series, are a bit more captivating.

I pick out three particular stories. The Bully is a disturbing tale of abuse ending with a small child in peril at the hands of his disturbed mother. Headless Statues come to life seeking. . . . Well, you can guess. Tomb Town has a pair of teenage siblings accidentally killing a young girl, only to find getting rid of the body is hard to do when she starts transforming into. . . . No, that’s a spoiler.

The artwork and animation appears to be by different teams for some episodes. Checking imdb.com, apparently it isn’t so. Some of the episodes are poorly animated with just the minimal movement. Others are quite good. I have no reason for this inconsistency.

So do I recommend Junji Ito Maniac? How do I rate it? Give it an average rating. The good does cancel out the bad, and some of the stories are worth watching.