It has been announced that " Junji Ito Crimson" will be the third season of the anime series based on the manga by Junji Ito , a manga artist known for the "Tomie" series. Until now, the anime series " Junji Ito Collection" was broadcast in 2018, and "Junji Ito Maniac" was broadcast in 2024, and now "Junji Ito Crimson" will be the third season. The concept of the third season is "monsters," and masterpieces filled with unique madness will be carefully selected and animated. It was also announced that singer-songwriter Yumi Matsutoya will be performing the theme song for the series, "Karasu Ageha."
The announcement was made at the Japan EXPO 2025 event being held in Paris, France. Matsutoya posted on social media about his visit to the "Junji Ito Exhibition: Temptation" held at the Setagaya Literary Museum (Setagaya-ku, Tokyo) in 2024, and Ito, who has been a fan of Matsutoya for a long time, saw it, which led to the start of their relationship and the selection of the song as the theme song for this project. The song will be included in Matsutoya's 40th original album, which will be released this fall. A music video featuring original illustrations by Ito has been released on YouTube.
Ito commented, "Currently, an anime called "Crimson" by Junji Ito is being made, based on my original story. Just hearing the title gets me excited and builds anticipation. I have heard that they will be selecting from my old and new short stories to be made into an anime, one that will make the most of the deep, blood-like red color. I think that Yuming, also known as Yumi Matsutoya, is one of the greatest composers in the world. This time, Yuming will be in charge of the opening theme (OP) for "Crimson." This is an extraordinary thing, and truly feels like a dream."
"When I first heard Yuming's scat-style demo, I immediately thought it was a masterpiece. It's very emotional and has a melody that you won't forget once you've heard it. Recently, this new masterpiece by Yuming has been playing endlessly in my head, and it has made me very happy. I think it is an important point that the TV anime Junji Ito"Crimson" is an anime series that evokes the image of crimson. In addition, with Yumi Matsutoya performing the opening theme, it will be a special anime work with a different atmosphere from "Collection" and "Maniac". I'm sure the fans are looking forward to it, so please look forward to it!"
Matsutoya commented, "No matter how surreal or grotesque Junji Ito works may be, there is always an underlying delicate Japanese beauty and sadness. In fact, the more bizarre the work is, the more it brings to light a yearning for something that is there but that we can never grasp. This is a common aesthetic sense that we Japanese fans, and many of our French fans, are subconsciously aware of. How wonderful it would be to be able to travel together with him through this mysterious world that has been brewing over the course of approximately 200 years!"
"This music video is a short journey that precedes Junji Ito'Crimson.' Our guide is the ever-changing, flying Karasu Ageha. I asked Junji Ito to draw a picture of a black butterfly. When I was asked to create the theme song, along with the melody set to a labyrinth-like chord progression, I envisioned the image of a messenger that connects the underworld with the present world and wanders through other dimensions. Coincidentally, it seems that black butterfly also has this meaning in French. I felt that the image I had drawn was not wrong. I hope that this (Karasu Ageha) music video will help as many people as possible to build up their anticipation for 'Crimson' until the main film is released," he said.
