Naver Webtoon launches Junji Ito's masterpieces in vertical format

Naver Webtoon launched the Junji Ito masterpiece collection in vertical webtoon format on October 30. It is the first time the Japanese author's manga has been adapted to this reading format, designed for mobile devices, and it arrives exactly 40 years after his debut.

The series is available exclusively on Naver Webtoon, in the "Daily+" section, and also on Naver Series. Chapters are published every Wednesday and Saturday, and the first title available to read is Tomie, the work with which Ito debuted in 1987 in a Japanese monthly magazine.

The Junji Ito masterpiece collection is published on Naver Webtoon in vertical format.venturesquare.net

Horror, panel by panel

What is interesting about this adaptation is not just the format change, but how it affects the way horror is read. In a printed manga you have several panels in view when you turn the page; in a vertical webtoon, each scene appears as you scroll. That control of pacing is key in the genre, and here it has been used to rebuild the scares and tension of the original stories.

The edition keeps the author's characteristic black and white, but rearranges the framing and the direction of the scenes so they work on screen. It is not a simple conversion: the spaces and the order of the panels have been adjusted so the experience is different from paper, without losing Ito's style.

After Tomie, other stories will arrive, such as Soichi's Diary of Curses, The Dead's Love Sickness and The House of Deserters, all part of this collection that explores the author's fantastic imagination and horror universe.

Ito talks about the format change

Junji Ito himself has commented on the adaptation in a video interview published today, October 31, on Naver Webtoon's official Instagram and on publisher Sigongsa's YouTube channel. In it he explains the differences between the two formats:

"Printed manga only lets you see five or six panels at a time, and that limits the composition: you have to save the surprises for the next page. I think webtoon offers much more creative freedom, because every time you scroll a new image appears."

Naver Webtoon has been adapting Japanese manga to vertical format for a while. It previously did so with Parasyte, Jigokuraku, Fullmetal Alchemist and Skip and Loafer, and this year it has added Bocchi the Rock!. The difference with Ito's collection is that those were published in color, while this one keeps the original black and white.

The adaptation of manga IPs to webtoon continues to grow, with agreements in North America with publishers like Dark Horse and IDW. At this month's New York Comic Con, for example, the adaptation of Power Rangers (2016) with BOOM! Studios was announced.

With the launch, Naver Series has also started a promotion with discounts on Junji Ito's printed volumes.