{"id":4734,"date":"2026-07-03T04:34:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T20:34:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/strange-junji-ito-live-action-tv-tokyo-july-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T04:34:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T20:34:18","slug":"strange-junji-ito-live-action-tv-tokyo-july-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/strange-junji-ito-live-action-tv-tokyo-july-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Strange: Junji Ito’s Live-Action Horror Series Premieres Tonight With IVE’s ‘Jigsaw’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thirteen of Junji Ito’s most unsettling horror manga stories are getting the live-action treatment tonight, as Strange \u2014 Junji Ito’s Strange Stories for Sleepless Nights<\/em> premieres on TV Tokyo’s “Drama 24” block. Produced by Global Stage Hollywood and TV Tokyo, it is the first major anthology series built specifically around Ito’s short-horror catalogue \u2014 and it’s opening with a K-pop twist Singapore fans will recognise immediately.<\/p>\n

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Image courtesy of TV Tokyo \/ Junji Ito<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Thirteen Manga Stories, One Anthology<\/h2>\n

Strange<\/em> adapts thirteen of Ito’s short horror manga across its run. Confirmed titles include Lovesickness<\/em>, The Mansion of Phantom Pain<\/em>, The Rib Woman<\/em>, The Bully<\/em>, Face Thief<\/em>, A Father’s Love<\/em>, Memory<\/em>, In Old Records<\/em>, Penpal<\/em>, Further Tales of Oshikiri<\/em>, Earthbound<\/em>, and Tomio: Red Turtleneck<\/em> \u2014 each adapted as its own self-contained episode with a new cast. The format suits Ito’s output perfectly: short stories built for maximum dread per page, no need for continuity across episodes.<\/p>\n

Three directors share duties across the series \u2014 Atsuhiro Yamada, Y\u016bta Shimotsu, and Ry\u014dta Kond\u014d \u2014 with scripts by Daisuke Hosaka (Sadako 3D 2<\/em>) and Tatsur\u014d Inamoto (Trigun Stampede<\/em>, Pluto<\/em>). The cast includes Nijir\u014d Murakami in the premiere episode The Mansion of Phantom Pain<\/em>, Kanata Hosoda across the multi-part Lovesickness<\/em> (spanning episodes 2, 8 and 10), Y\u014dko Maki in The Bully<\/em>, and Wan Marui in Earthbound<\/em>. An episode-order reshuffle announced on 28 June<\/a> means the TV broadcast sequence now differs slightly from the original line-up.<\/p>\n

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Image courtesy of Junji Ito \/ Asahi Shimbun Publishing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

IVE’s ‘Jigsaw’ and 10cm’s Ending Theme<\/h2>\n

The opening theme is “Jigsaw”<\/strong> by IVE<\/strong> \u2014 the K-pop group behind “After LIKE”, “I AM” and “Baddie”, and one of the most-streamed acts across Singapore right now. Pairing a K-pop vocal act with J-horror body-dread imagery is an unexpected call, but it tracks with the series’ co-production ambitions: this is clearly aimed at audiences beyond Japan’s domestic drama viewers. The ending theme, “The Darkest Night”<\/strong>, is by 10cm<\/strong> (Kwon Jeong-yeol), the South Korean singer-songwriter, bringing a quieter, more melancholic close to each episode.<\/p>\n

World Premiere at Anime Expo 2026 \u2014 Tonight in LA<\/h2>\n

Before the TV broadcast airs in Japan, Strange<\/em> gets its world premiere at Anime Expo 2026 in Los Angeles<\/strong> \u2014 the international premiere of Episode 1 and the world premiere of Episode 2, screening tonight (3 July) at 6:45 PM PDT at the 411 Theatre. The AX panel brings together Douglas Montgomery (Executive Producer, Global Stage Hollywood), Mayu Nobe (Producer, TV Tokyo), Kwok-Wai Hanson (CEO, Anime Trending), and director Rei. The fact that the series world-premieres in LA before its Japan TV slot signals a deliberate push for international attention rather than the usual “Japan first, rest of world eventually” model.<\/p>\n

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