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At its Best, How Good would a Full Tomie Anime be?
Dec 11, 2024 10:30 PM
#1

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Dec 2009
9712
What if Tomie got a full adaptation of this manga?
Possibly of her other spin-off and sequel installations as well.

Let's all assume... this new anime adaptation of Tomie would be "perfect".
Unfortunately, unlike all of Junji Itou's anime adaptations that are flawed and imperfect.
... At its Best, with little left from Itou to adapt into anime... how successful would a great adaptation of Tomie be?
As it is arguably his most popular work to the general public.
If not, second most after Uzumaki,
I think it could receive positive reception.

[Breakdown of Tomie:]


What is fascinating about Tomie, is not only the various methods of death she receives from men who are hypnotized perversely in insane love for her, but her character herself in how conscious and oddly uncaring she is about what she is, yet enjoys using others for her sick entertainment.

So... how good and popular would a proper Tomie anime be?
Dec 11, 2024 10:54 PM
#2
Offline
Oct 2022
82
waalex11 said:
What if Tomie got a full adaptation of this manga?
Possibly of her other spin-off and sequel installations as well.

Let's all assume... this new anime adaptation of Tomie would be "perfect".
Unfortunately, unlike all of Junji Itou's anime adaptations that are flawed and imperfect.
... At its Best, with little left from Itou to adapt into anime... how successful would a great adaptation of Tomie be?
As it is arguably his most popular work to the general public.
If not, second most after Uzumaki,
I think it could receive positive reception.

[Breakdown of Tomie:]


What is fascinating about Tomie, is not only the various methods of death she receives from men who are hypnotized perversely in insane love for her, but her character herself in how conscious and oddly uncaring she is about what she is, yet enjoys using others for her sick entertainment.

So... how good and popular would a proper Tomie anime be?

I'll tell u one thing tomoe manga is everybit creepy and unsettling but anime will not work like that anime is sometime creepy but it is not unsettling in horror genres like there is not anime which scared me and you know how uzumaki went
Dec 12, 2024 1:13 AM
#3

Offline
Apr 2018
387
waalex11 said:
What if Tomie got a full adaptation of this manga?
Possibly of her other spin-off and sequel installations as well.

Let's all assume... this new anime adaptation of Tomie would be "perfect".
Unfortunately, unlike all of Junji Itou's anime adaptations that are flawed and imperfect.
... At its Best, with little left from Itou to adapt into anime... how successful would a great adaptation of Tomie be?
As it is arguably his most popular work to the general public.
If not, second most after Uzumaki,
I think it could receive positive reception.

[Breakdown of Tomie:]


What is fascinating about Tomie, is not only the various methods of death she receives from men who are hypnotized perversely in insane love for her, but her character herself in how conscious and oddly uncaring she is about what she is, yet enjoys using others for her sick entertainment.

So... how good and popular would a proper Tomie anime be?

I lost all hope after Uzumaki.
“You are not alone, Ash. I am with you. My soul is with you.” - Eiji Okumura.
Dec 12, 2024 2:31 AM
#4

Offline
Dec 2009
9712
This seems depressing already like my Remina post asking the same question.
I get that we've been letdown for the most part with fucking 5 Junji Itou Anime Adaptations, and I have no personal idea about the live action movies, but, again...

Let's be optimistic and assume for imaginary sake! AT ITS BEST.

Which would clearly mean;
Fuck Anyone involved who messed once or more than enough Itou's anime.
The Producers, Studios & Directors! They're all at fault. Mainly the production which is the leader of it all, I think, but whatever. All to Blame, even if they did some good.

Let's imagine a superior trustworthy incredible true fan crew to handle Itou's (probably last) greatest most popular work that hasn't been adapted, fully, at least.
Since Uzumaki failed, even though it's grossly overrated, Maniac was subpar compared to Collection, Gyo was ruined, and Tomie was poorly introduced with only a quarter of the start of her story to start with.

... As a whole, this manga is a strong critical 6/10.
Except, in respect to the concept and fascinating horrific charm of it, it's arguably a Solid 7/10.
Maybe, I'll change my rating to that one day once I reread it, but because some events are a bit dull, and the manga feels unfulfilling, I think it deserves a 6/10.

Still. Tomie is fairly great in its own right as a franchise.
It's a "decent" yet very entertaining and intriguing horror trope series, to say the least, and not repeat my breakdown bit.
Dec 12, 2024 8:32 AM
#5
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Aug 2023
61
I lost the hope for a decent adaptation of junji ito's works
Dec 12, 2024 9:44 AM
#6

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Dec 2009
9712
I'm very curious why the votes are winning on "No".
No one's explaining why.

I think they're just never expecting a great Itou Anime, while completely ignoring my question of imagining if everything was "perfect" about it. Oh well.
waalex11Dec 13, 2024 2:17 AM
Dec 13, 2024 3:51 AM
#7
Offline
Mar 2022
37
waalex11 said:
I'm very curious why the votes are winning on "No".
No one's explaining why.

I think they're just never expecting a great Itou Anime, while completely ignoring my question of imagining if everything was "perfect" about it. Oh well.

cuz the studios barely give a fuck about properly animating em
Dec 13, 2024 7:13 AM
#8

Online
Mar 2013
3628
Reply to waalex11
I'm very curious why the votes are winning on "No".
No one's explaining why.

I think they're just never expecting a great Itou Anime, while completely ignoring my question of imagining if everything was "perfect" about it. Oh well.
@waalex11 Because it is Junji Itou. His work is hard to translate into a series for various reasons. For me, the main issue is that most of his stories are driven by the art rather than the characterization, and so you get these fantastic panels you can linger on and admire. In a visual medium like film or anime, it always moves at the same pace, whereas manga and books allow you to move at your own pace. This was always going to be a problem with Uzumaki, even if it had the budget and time.

It was a series of events, it was episodic, and the main characters were not particularly interesting. Kirie nor Shuichi had arcs, they are vehicles by which we can understand the story.

What even is a "perfect" adaptation of his work? In this context, a perfect adaptation is not going to be a "good" adaptation or better than its source material, and adapting it completely is either impossible or bad. His work is made to be a manga in the same way Ever17: The Out of the Infinity was meant to be a visual novel or The Giver was meant to be a book.

Ex. In The Giver, everyone being colour blind by choice is meant to be a twist that you discover halfway through the book, but obviously you cannot film a modern film in black and white without immediately spoiling that. Not all books were made to be films. This arguably is true for a book like House of Leaves. Likewise, Ito utilizes the strength of his art and the format to create amazing ventures into the unknown.

Similarly, Ever17 is a phenomenal visual novel whose immersive element plays into the later twists. You cannot adapt it into film without losing the interactive element that made its story work.

To be fair....Tomie is episodic, but also has a central character with whom people have been writing about and analyzing for a while. A good adaptation then might consider adapting Tomie as a character study, and a few of the later chapters do ask the question "Why Tomie". Or it could be shorter. Any straight adaptation is always going to be inferior.
Auroraloose's Aurorasimp
Dec 14, 2024 1:55 PM
#9

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Dec 2009
9712
@PeripheralVision

I somewhat understand, but kinda disagree.
Certainly, some works aren't meant to translate into animation or live-action.
I do understand that manga has the freedom of pace, and agree that Itou's work essentially revolves around the art as its main attraction.
His characters certainly are used for the narrative.
It's subtle, but some do have intriguing conflict or driving goals to their character with their plots, but, yeah... his stories are mainly about the horror, and less so the characters.

Still. They're fascinating experiences.
Manga is less likely to be imperfect due to our interpretation of perfect imagination of what it could look or feel like, or how it could all sound,
but good anime breaths a new life to manga.
Seeing everything move feels more real. Hearing the characters make it a bit more personal.
Good soundtrack sets an extra mood.

Maybe Tomie is "flawed" from the start of lacking more clarity to her story, because the events are so disjointed and nonlinear, even if there is a sense to it due to her having multiple clones everywhere.
Sure, she isn't the most complex character from the unknown of her past, ubringing, and goals or thoughts of all of it,
but, to me, she is intriguing in her own right, as subtle as it is.

I believe she knows she multiplies after death, but she doesn't care, and enjoys using people who are hypnotized by her beauty to love her unquestionably and do her bidding.

Tomie isn't actually a top favorite of mine at all. It's a critical 6/10, but I enjoy it. I respect it.
What intrigues me the most is Tomie herself as a character, but, of course, the creative ways she manipulates, revives, multiplies, and kills.

Arguably, I could easily agree and think that even if Tomie is Itou's second or most popular work, it's not his best, individually, compared to some of his o-shots,
but as his most iconic and most known, it'd be cool to see a good adaptation.

The few chapters of Tomie adaptations we got were awful.
Stiff, Incohesive by cutting it short, and obviously inferior to the original art.

Still... as it's basically Itou's current last biggest unadapted manga that wasn't fully adapted... I'd like to watch it, and for Junji Itou to finally have at least one highly respected anime adaptation.

Even though I personally loved the Collection for what it was, even if the art was subpar, and the animation was cheap.
The voice acting and sound was great.

... Otherwise, I believe Remina would translate well into anime from how grand, chaotic and destructive it is as a whole.
I guess that would probably be "easier" to manage into an anime than Tomie.
Dec 14, 2024 2:20 PM

Online
Mar 2013
3628
Reply to waalex11
@PeripheralVision

I somewhat understand, but kinda disagree.
Certainly, some works aren't meant to translate into animation or live-action.
I do understand that manga has the freedom of pace, and agree that Itou's work essentially revolves around the art as its main attraction.
His characters certainly are used for the narrative.
It's subtle, but some do have intriguing conflict or driving goals to their character with their plots, but, yeah... his stories are mainly about the horror, and less so the characters.

Still. They're fascinating experiences.
Manga is less likely to be imperfect due to our interpretation of perfect imagination of what it could look or feel like, or how it could all sound,
but good anime breaths a new life to manga.
Seeing everything move feels more real. Hearing the characters make it a bit more personal.
Good soundtrack sets an extra mood.

Maybe Tomie is "flawed" from the start of lacking more clarity to her story, because the events are so disjointed and nonlinear, even if there is a sense to it due to her having multiple clones everywhere.
Sure, she isn't the most complex character from the unknown of her past, ubringing, and goals or thoughts of all of it,
but, to me, she is intriguing in her own right, as subtle as it is.

I believe she knows she multiplies after death, but she doesn't care, and enjoys using people who are hypnotized by her beauty to love her unquestionably and do her bidding.

Tomie isn't actually a top favorite of mine at all. It's a critical 6/10, but I enjoy it. I respect it.
What intrigues me the most is Tomie herself as a character, but, of course, the creative ways she manipulates, revives, multiplies, and kills.

Arguably, I could easily agree and think that even if Tomie is Itou's second or most popular work, it's not his best, individually, compared to some of his o-shots,
but as his most iconic and most known, it'd be cool to see a good adaptation.

The few chapters of Tomie adaptations we got were awful.
Stiff, Incohesive by cutting it short, and obviously inferior to the original art.

Still... as it's basically Itou's current last biggest unadapted manga that wasn't fully adapted... I'd like to watch it, and for Junji Itou to finally have at least one highly respected anime adaptation.

Even though I personally loved the Collection for what it was, even if the art was subpar, and the animation was cheap.
The voice acting and sound was great.

... Otherwise, I believe Remina would translate well into anime from how grand, chaotic and destructive it is as a whole.
I guess that would probably be "easier" to manage into an anime than Tomie.
@waalex11 I would agree with Remina given that while Remina is not very dynamic, it does take place mostly from her perspective whereas Tomie straddles the line between episodic and character-based; this is not to say episodic anime does not exist, but that Ito's work naturally lends itself to that type of storytelling because it is episodic. The issue is that it works because his works are more akin to experiences defined primarily by their artwork, and it simply works better with manga than anime.

Ergo a "straight" adaptation is always going to be that lesser experience because you can never control the pacing.



You need to linger on these pages to get the full effect, and that is always going to be why anime cannot adapt his work faithfully, and his art is a HUGE appeal of his work, if not the overriding appeal. This is not to say his characters are bad, but they are not engaging character studies. Even Berserk, though placed in a similar camp to Itou's work due to itrs amazing art by Miura, is not completely written off in terms of adapting; Griffith, Guts, and Casca are all engaging characters. Even less than good animation could still be saved by the script.

Though it really depends on how "straight" it is. One issue is that can it vary in length? One of the issues I see with films is that some stories just are not meant to be 90 minutes long, but 45 minutes or a 50 minute, which is awkward because they are not feature film lengths but also presents issues with airing on television. Fitting a story into 20 minutes or 5 minutes may not work well with certain stories. His narratives as depicted cannot carry the entire series for this reason as well.

There just is not enough material for these lengths. You can tell The Enigma in Amigahara Fault in 15 minutes, but 23 minutes is probably too much for it, to be honest. Likewise, 4 minutes is too short. It is a round peg in a square hole. This is not quite the issue for more narrative and character focused works since they are easier to put out across episodes.

I think a work based on or builds onto what Itou has created would always be a better venture. There is a ton of promise to exploring Tomie as a phenomenon or character, but it is always going to be something to build off of, not copy verbatim. There really is no debate here. A good adaptation of his work would not be trying to retell his stories panel by panel. That in my mind is what a perfect adaptation would be for most of his stories.

Really though, just to clarify the other danger with a Tomie adaptation is also expanding too much on Tomie, who is also meant to be a force of nature. Stripping her down to a full-fledged character is a dangerous thing. Many stories by Itou work because of their additional ambiguity, be it of endings or the entities featured within.
PeripheralVisionDec 14, 2024 2:24 PM
Auroraloose's Aurorasimp
Dec 14, 2024 10:39 PM

Offline
Dec 2009
9712
@PeripheralVision
Fair enough. I get what you mean.
His less full characters and cliff hanger endings do help to the allure and more, of how great in mystery and awe his concepts are.

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