Photo/Illutration A scene from “The Hanging Balloons” ((c) JI Inc./ Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc./ Junji Ito Maniac Production Committee)

“Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre,” an animated show based on 20 creepy stories created by the horror manga artist, is now streaming worldwide on Netflix.

Ito is known for works that are frightening, yet funny and beautiful.

One of the episodes in the show is “The Hanging Balloons,” based on a 60-page short story Ito wrote about hideous-looking, balloon-like human heads appearing in the sky.

People who spot them end up hanging from a rope with a noose that dangles from each balloon.

Growing up, Ito, 59, was fascinated by horror manga creators Kazuo Umezu and Shinichi Koga.

When he was in his 20s, he submitted a piece for the Umezu Awards given by Gekkan Halloween, a monthly horror manga anthology published by now obsolete Asahi Sonorama.

Featuring a mysterious girl as the titular character, “Tomie” received an honorable mention and paved the way for Ito to make his professional debut.

His drawings rendered in minute detail have met with critical acclaim in and out of Japan.

The artist has won an Eisner Award, the U.S. comic industry’s equivalent to the Oscars, four times.

But Ito’s works are not just about horror.

A boy named Soichi, who holds nails in his mouth to curse people, and the bizarre six Hikizuri brothers are creepy characters, but they are also somewhat humorous and lovable.

“Both of them have something in common, which is that they are stupid,” Ito said. “I portray characters who have wrong ideas in an amusing manner with a twist of horror.”

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