It may be the summer and the Olympics might be getting me all excited but last night while I was watching Japan vs Canada in the women’s doubles last night (thanks to the fantastic service of the BBC) I received some spine-chilling information that left me on edge… The recent anime adaptation of Junji Ito’s horror manga GYO which was acquired for UK distribution by the Terror-cotta label (the guys who gave us Revenge: A Love Story, and Death Bell) has been given a release date of the 03rd of September. Here are the details:
GYO: TOKYO FISH ATTACK
Giant, killer fish attack Tokyo!
Release Date: 03rd September 2012
Synopsis
The story centres around Kaori who is visiting Okinawa and its beautiful beaches with friends when she find herself caught in the middle of a land invasion by bizarre and aggressive fish which scuttle on land with sharp metal legs. Things are about to get much worse for Kaori as she finds that the deadly fish are spreading from the island.
Technical Specifications
Special features:
Interview with Manga master Junji Ito
Horror, 2012
Certificate 15
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese with English subtitles.
Running time: 71 min
Terror-cotta state that “Morbid manga master Junji Ito’s putrid and surreal story of mutant zombie fish that sprout legs and attack Japan is the most insane anime to come out of Japan since Urotsukidōji: Legend of the Overfiend.”
While I’m not sure I would class it as the most insane anime since Overfiend, from what I have seen of it the anime is truly chilling and features a lot of body-horror and gory animation and I can assure you that all works of Junji Ito are really creepy – ruin summer days and leave me reeling from the existential and metaphysical terror creepy. That said I really liked the live-action adaptation of Uzumaki.
Gyo is one of the most well-known stories from legendary manga-ka Junji Ito who regularly has his weird fiction adapted for the big screen as the numerous Tomie live -action film show.
The anime is directed by Takayuki Hirao who learned his craft as an anime director under the guidance of one of the best anime directors ever, Satashi Kon (Paprika, Perfect Blue. While in his early twenties, Hirao was entrusted to direct the first episode of Kon’s first and only series, the critically acclaimed Paranoia Agent (which is one of the best anime I have watched). Hirao has carved out a name for himself in the past decade as one of the young anime directors to watch out for, becoming known for his over the top action scenes and intense camerawork most notably in massively successful Death Note animated series. The OVA was animated by Ufotable (Garden of Sinners, Coyote Ragtime Show). Get ready for some gruesomeness!
Update (19th August): The official website has changed the release date of the DVD to the 03rd of September.
Genkinahito 
This sounds delightful…summer and killer fish just go together somehow!
The trailer for the anime gives away too much info but you can rest assured it’s highly gory. All of Junji Ito’s manga have an element of great body/psychological horror and I think you’d get a kick out of it.