Junji Ito's Weirdest Story

Get your first 30 days for free and lifetime 20% off Brilliant Premium!

—
Junji Ito's catalogue can be terrifyingly bizarre. So is it possible that his weirdest work is about something as common as a... cat?

▬▬▬▬ Tale Foundry Community▬▬▬▬

▬▬▬▬ Tale Foundry Team ▬▬▬▬
• Talebot — The Talent
• The Taleoids — The Talent's Helpers
• Benjamin Cook — Writer, Director, & Voice Actor
• Becca Ghusn — Researcher & Writer

[TheTaleFoundry]

Get your first 30 days for free and lifetime 20% off Brilliant Premium!

[Proygon]

did you make this video just to tell us there's a cat living in your house and you don't know what to do

[barrybend]

I had 6 cats. You don't adopt one. They adopt you. You are free to name them.

[ckay]

Cats can totally learn the names you give them.

On the other hand, you'd also be surprised to find out that if you get close enough to them, they can also learn your name, and try their best to meow it, essentially "naming" you in their own speak.

[alejandroacevedo]

12:05 telling someone "you're not even art" is a really abstract insult that I'll have to start using from now on

[anythingyoucando]

We had a cat that understood the family dynamic of our family. Of who is the adult and who are children. Even included teenager in this cat's understanding of older kitten. Myself and my sibling tried to walk to school one morning. The cat followed meowing along urgently. I felt obligated to let the cat lead us, "lost kittens" back home. She kept double checking to make sure we were still following. Never had any other pet do that. Not to say that it doesn't exist with other animals. Just one story of a 'memberable moment in my life. I was about 16/17 at the time.

[ringlhach]

You didn't acquire a cat, the cat acquired you. You are expected to feel honored.

[BradsPitts.]

Imagine being married to Junji Ito and the only issue you have with his illustrations is that he draws you without pupils 💀

[cristaltophat]

“Why name a cat?”
Because after a period of time they learn that the sound you make is just for them and cats are known to only meow at humans to get their attention as well, It’s not just a name It’s way to communicate and display affection between two different creatures.

[guyclykos]

I see the cat distribution service had paid you a visit.

[allynmcdowell]

Good to know the cat distribution system affects sentient robots as well

[lyn]

this is probably my favorite story of his, just because when you really think about them... cats kinda are unexplainable little goblin creatures. his style fits their shenanigans perfectly

[meliasnahtony]

You never adopt a Cat. A Cat just goes "I live here now" and you have to deal with it.

[jerryworshiper]

i love how Tale Foundry never breaks character. even with this sort of personal event, he still manages to incorporate it fairly effectively into the character's lore.

[Stopitfox]

As a cat owner I can honestly say cats adopt you, you don’t adopt them. They’ll just show up and claim u. 1:32

[arielbishop]

Me and my family have a saying, "you don't choose the cat, the cat chooses you."

[alexismyers]

So like... you didn't aquire the cat. The cat adopted you. Give your new overlord a cute and embarrassing name and make sure overlord gets fixed.

[OlympianWarrior]

Throughout this whole thing, I'm expecting a dramatic twist, a revelation that these fuzzy creatures aren't actually all they seem, but I'm surprised to find... just cats.

(And congratulations on 1 million!)

[rogue]

I lost my cat of 19 years to cancer recently, and this story affected me deeply. I still see her in every shadow and piece of cloth. She was a blessing and I will love her forever. No matter how long they stay, it is never long enough.

[themangacomic]

Keep the cat away from Lilies. Every part of the flower is highly toxic to them.