Highlights
- Junji Ito is hyping Bloody Smart, a 10-episode Taiwanese live-action Netflix series debuting in 2026.
- The story blends Tomie, Soichi, and Hanging Balloons into a single narrative set in a cursed school town.
- The high-budget production aims to restore the creator's legacy after the recent Uzumaki anime controversy.
Horror legend Junji Ito is officially rallying behind a brand-new adaptation of his work, signaling a potential fresh start for fans still recovering from the recent Uzumaki controversy. The renowned mangaka recently took to X (formerly Twitter) to share promotional materials for Bloody Smart, a Taiwanese live-action series coming to Netflix. With the creator himself actively hyping the release, all eyes are on this project to deliver a faithful experience. While a specific day hasn't been locked in, the series is currently eyeing a 2026 debut.
Bloody Smart marks a significant expansion of the author's universe, serving as the first live-action collaboration produced in Taiwan. Directed by Chun-Yi Hsieh (Apolitical Romance), the project has undergone a rigorous three-year post-production cycle, a timeline that reportedly hindered earlier marketing efforts but promises high production values. Unlike traditional adaptations that focus on a single book, this 10-episode series will weave together narratives from several of Ito’s most iconic stories.
Fans can expect elements from Soichi, The Bloody Fruits, Hanging Balloons, Tomie, and The Amorous Dead to collide in a single narrative. Production details released alongside Ito’s endorsement reveal a chilling premise for the new show. The story is set in a strict school town dominated by a "Bloodfruit Tree," which unleashes the suppressed desires of the residents through its crimson fruit. The project promises to bring a high-budget approach to Ito's "cosmic horror" aesthetic, featuring a star-studded cast that includes Gigi Leung, Buffy Chen, Jerry Yu, Elly Hsu, Liu Hsiu-fu, and Devin Pan.
From ‘Uzumaki’ Failures to a Taiwanese Live-Action Reset
The excitement for Bloody Smart lands in the wake of the turbulent Uzumaki release, which aired on Adult Swim’s Toonami block in Fall 2024. Initially marketed as a prestige adaptation of the manga about a town warped by spiral patterns, the four-episode miniseries suffered a notorious collapse in quality.
While the premiere was praised for its faithful black-and-white animation, subsequent episodes saw a jarring visual downgrade. Industry insiders and executive producer Jason DeMarco admitted via social media that the team was "screwed over" by internal shifts and production constraints, leading fans to label the production cursed.
Despite the backlash, the property remained active throughout late 2025. VIZ Media released a Blu-ray edition in September 2025, and Toonami even re-aired the miniseries for Halloween 2025 in a celebratory gesture. However, the reception remained mixed, with many feeling the final product failed to capture the terror of the 1998 manga.
Bloody Smart offers a chance to reset expectations, moving away from the animation struggles seen in Uzumaki and the lukewarm reception of Netflix’s previous anthology, Junji Ito Maniac. As of January 2026, Studio DEEN has produced two anime anthologies, and English-language translations of works like Mimi's Tales of Terror continue to sell well via VIZ Media.
However, Bloody Smart represents a unique pivot to live-action serial storytelling. As post-production finally wraps up on this three-year journey, fans are hopeful that this fresh medium and the stamp of approval from Junji Ito himself will finally do justice to the creator's visceral brand of body horror.
