Gyo (ギョ, Gyo, lit. "Fish"), fully titled Gyo: Ugomeku Bukimi (ギョ うごめく不気味, "Fish: Ghastly Squirming"), is a horrormanga written and illustrated by Japanese artist Junji Ito. Serialized in Shogakukan's weekly Big Comic Spirits magazine from November 2001 to April 2002, it was collected into two tankōbon volumes published in Japan in 2002.[1] The work exemplifies Ito's signature style of body horror and psychological dread, blending elements of science fiction and apocalypse in a narrative centered on grotesque mutations of marine life.[2]The story follows Kaori and her boyfriend Tadashi, who are vacationing in Okinawa when they encounter a bizarre, legged fish emerging from the ocean, accompanied by an overwhelming "death stench" that signals widespread decay.[2] As the phenomenon escalates, hordes of fish and sea creatures develop mechanical legs powered by the infectious odor, invading coastal areas and spreading chaos across Japan, forcing the protagonists to confront the horrifying origins and implications of the outbreak.[2] Ito's intricate, spiraling artwork amplifies the visceral terror, depicting the transformation of natural life into nightmarish abominations that threaten human survival.[3]Gyo was licensed in North America by Viz Media, with its English release spanning two volumes from 2003 to 2004, followed by a combined deluxe hardcover edition in 2015 under the Viz Signature imprint.[2] The manga has been translated into multiple languages and contributed to Ito's international acclaim as a master of horror, alongside works like Uzumaki and Tomie. It was adapted into a 70-minute original video animation (OVA) film titled Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack, directed by Takayuki Hirao and produced by Ufotable, released in Japan on February 15, 2012, by Aniplex.[4]
Synopsis
Main storyline
The story of Gyo opens with college students Kaori and Tadashi vacationing in Okinawa. While enjoying the beach, Kaori detects an overwhelming foul odor emanating from the ocean, which Tadashi initially dismisses. Their respite is interrupted when a large shark equipped with spider-like legs emerges from the sea and scuttles onto the shore, releasing a pervasive "death stench" that permeates the air.As the couple flees in horror, they witness more sea creatures—fish of various sizes—afflicted by the same bizarre condition, propelling themselves on land using elongated appendages that enable them to walk. Tadashi, with a keen scientific curiosity, captures one of the smaller specimens for examination, theorizing that an infection is causing the mutation, allowing the fish to escape polluted ocean waters. The infection spreads rapidly, with hordes of walking fish invading coastal areas, driven by an infectious gas that powers their relentless march toward land.[5]Returning to Tokyo by ferry amid escalating chaos, Kaori and Tadashi find the city under siege as the aquatic invasion overruns Japan. The creatures overrun streets and buildings, their numbers swelling into a grotesquearmy that topples infrastructure and overwhelms human defenses. Society begins to collapse, with reports of similar outbreaks worldwide signaling a global apocalypse; quarantines fail, and military efforts prove futile against the unending tide. Humans, too, succumb to the infection, developing similar leg-like growths and joining the horde in a nightmarish assimilation.[6]Tadashi's uncle, Dr. Koyanagi, reveals the gas's origins: a virus developed during World War II Japanese military experiments on sea life, which has resurfaced to compel all infected organisms to conquer terrestrial environments. In a desperate bid to turn the tide, Tadashi assists in experiments, constructing makeshift devices powered by the gas to combat the invasion, but his efforts only accelerate the catastrophe for some. The narrative culminates in Kaori's tragic infection and transformation, as she is attached to a walking machine before being destroyed; Tadashi joins immune students in researching a vaccine.
Characters
Kaori serves as a protagonist in Gyo's main storyline, depicted as a college student with pronounced germaphobia and sensitivity to smells that heightens her vulnerability to the emerging horrors. Her impulsive and emotional personality contrasts with the crisis's escalating chaos, positioning her reactions as a key driver of the narrative's tension and human drama. As Tadashi's girlfriend, Kaori's relationship with him provides an intimate lens on the personal impacts of the fish invasion during their initial vacation encounter.Tadashi, Kaori's boyfriend, is characterized by his analytical and inventive demeanor, which leads him to pursue solutions amid the unfolding events. His problem-solving approach highlights a rational counterpoint to Kaori's emotional responses, influencing their joint efforts to navigate the phenomenon. Tadashi's role underscores themes of human ingenuity in the face of inexplicable threats, often taking initiative in investigating and responding to the walking fish, including working with his uncle Dr. Koyanagi.The supporting cast includes Dr. Koyanagi, Tadashi's uncle and an inventor who explains the phenomenon's origins, and his assistant Ms. Yoshiyama, who aids in research efforts. These characters illustrate institutional responses and the broader societal ripple effects of the crisis, serving to amplify the story's sense of isolation and loss. Secondary figures, such as scientists and government officials, appear in limited capacities to offer explanations, often revealing human overconfidence in addressing the disaster.
Background and production
Creation and serialization
Gyo was serialized in the weekly seinen manga magazine Big Comic Spirits, published by Shogakukan, from November 2001 to April 2002, consisting of ten chapters that built an escalating narrative of oceanic invasion and societal collapse.[7]The series' core concept stemmed from creator Junji Ito's longstanding fear of sharks, which originated from watching Steven Spielberg's 1975 film Jaws as a child; this phobia sparked the central idea of marine creatures emerging onto land with mechanical legs, transforming a personal dread into a broader horror premise.[8][9]Following the success of his earlier spiral-themed horror Uzumaki (1998–1999), Ito developed Gyo as his next major serialized work, drawing on themes of uncontrollable natural forces while adapting the episodic structure to fit the magazine's weekly format.[7]Shogakukan compiled the chapters into two tankōbon volumes, with the first released on February 28, 2002, and the second on May 30, 2002; the collection also incorporated two bonus short stories, "The Sad Tale of the Principal Post" and "The Enigma of Amigara Fault," which were previously published in Big Comic Spirits.[10][11]
Art and style
Junji Ito's artwork in Gyo is renowned for its intricate, grotesque linework, which meticulously renders the mutated sea creatures and resulting human deformities with visceral detail. These lines emphasize anatomical distortions, transforming familiar forms into nightmarish hybrids that amplify the manga's body horror elements. For instance, the mechanical legs attached to fish are drawn with precise, overlapping strokes that suggest both rigidity and unnatural fusion, drawing readers into the unsettling transformation process.[12][13]The panel composition in Gyo utilizes dynamic, spiraling layouts to mirror the story's escalating chaos and invasion, often contrasting initial serene seascapes with increasingly disordered spreads of ambulatorysea life. Early panels employ wide, open frames to establish calm oceanic vistas, while later sequences tighten into fragmented, overlapping arrangements that propel the viewer's gaze through hordes of grotesque figures, heightening the sense of overwhelming disorder. This technique not only supports the apocalyptic tone but immerses readers in the disorienting progression of the horror.[14]Ito employs heavy blacks and strategic shading to evoke the abyssal depths of the ocean and the cold, metallic sheen of the creatures' legs, creating stark contrasts that underscore anatomical aberrations. Textures are conveyed through varied line densities—dense cross-hatching for slimy, infected surfaces and sparse outlines for mechanical intrusions—enhancing the tactile revulsion of body horror without relying on color. Negative space is used sparingly to isolate deformities, making them appear more pronounced against shadowed backgrounds.[12][15]Ito's style in Gyo reflects influences from Japanese horror manga traditions, notably Hideshi Hino's emphasis on visceral grotesquerie, which Ito adapts into his signature surrealism through exaggerated proportions and impossible anatomies. This evolution allows for a blend of realistic human expressions with otherworldly distortions, setting Gyo apart in the genre.[16]While the interior pages of Gyo are rendered in black and white, the limited color applications on covers feature vivid reds and greens, highlighting the infected, decaying forms of the sea creatures to immediate visual impact. These choices accentuate the themes of biological corruption from the outset.[17]
Included stories
The Sad Tale of the Principal Post
"The Sad Tale of the Principal Post" is a short horror story by Japanese manga artist Junji Ito, originally published in 1997 in Weekly Big Comic Spirits and later included as a bonus in the first volume of the 2002 Gyo edition.[18] The story depicts a family celebrating the completion of their new home, only to discover that the father has gone missing during the housewarming festivities.[19]Searching for him, the daughter hears his voice calling from the basement. The family investigates and finds the father trapped and crushed beneath the daikokubashira, the house's central supporting pillar, a traditional Japanese architectural element symbolizing stability. He explains that he became stuck while inspecting the foundation and warns that attempting to free him by moving the post would cause the entire house to collapse. Resigned to his fate, he sacrifices himself, and his body remains embedded. The family later builds a small shrine over his exposed skeleton to honor him, leaving the mystery of the exact circumstances unresolved.[20]Spanning just four pages, this self-contained tale highlights Ito's signature blend of the mundane and the grotesque in a compact format.[21]
The Enigma of Amigara Fault
"The Enigma of Amigara Fault" is a standalone short story by Japanese horrormanga artistJunji Ito, originally serialized in Big Comic Spirits magazine in 2000 and reprinted as a bonus chapter in the second volume of Gyo in 2002.[22] The narrative unfolds following a powerful earthquake in an unnamed Japanese prefecture, which exposes a massive fault line on the northern slope of Amigara Mountain near the epicenter.[23] This geological event reveals hundreds of eerily precise holes embedded in the rock face, each contoured to the exact shape and size of a human body, varying in posture and dimensions as if tailored to specific individuals.[24]The story centers on protagonist Mamoru Owaki, a university student who feels an inexplicable pull toward the site and travels there amid growing media attention and crowds of visitors.[23] Upon arrival, Owaki encounters Yoshida, a young woman who has located what she believes is her "personal" hole—one that matches her silhouette perfectly, evoking a profound, almost hypnotic sense of belonging.[24] As scientists and authorities investigate the phenomenon, attempting to block access for safety, more people arrive, each driven by a similar irrational compulsion to search for and enter their matching cavity, ignoring warnings about the dangers.[23] This mass hysteria underscores the story's core mystery: the origins of the holes remain unknown, speculated to be ancient formations predating the earthquake, yet they exert a siren-like call that overrides reason and self-preservation.[25]As the plot escalates, Owaki discovers his own corresponding hole, triggering an overwhelming urge to crawl inside despite the visible horrors unfolding around him.[24] Those who succumb undergo grotesque bodily contortions, their forms twisting unnaturally to conform to the hole's irregular shape, resulting in elongated limbs, distorted torsos, and agonizing screams echoing from within the mountain.[23] Some emerge as barely recognizable, hulking figures, shambling away in a trance-like state, while others vanish completely into the depths, implying an eternal, inescapable entrapment.[24]Yoshida, initially hesitant, ultimately yields to the compulsion, her entry marking a turning point that propels Owaki toward his own fateful decision.[23]The narrative builds to a chilling climax of psychological descent, emphasizing themes of inescapable fate and the terror of innate, self-destructive instincts through the holes' unrelenting allure.[23] It concludes on an unresolved note of horror, with the mountain's fault serving as a metaphor for hidden voids within the human psyche, leaving readers to ponder the implications of such primordial compulsions.[24] This bonus tale complements the Gyo volume by shifting from external apocalyptic threats to intimate, personal unraveling, bundled alongside another short story in the collected edition.
Adaptations
Manga editions
The Gyo manga was originally collected and published by Shogakukan in Japan as two tankōbon volumes in 2002, with the first volume released on February 28 (ISBN 4-09-186081-8) and the second on May 30 (ISBN 4-09-186082-6).[26]Viz Media released the English-language translation in North America as two volumes from September 2003 to March 2004, with the first volume bearing ISBN 1-56931-995-2 and 200 pages.[27] Viz re-released the series with updated covers in 2007–2008 and later combined it into a single hardcover deluxe edition in April 2015 (ISBN 978-1-4215-7915-3, 400 pages), with a reprint in 2024.[28]International translations followed soon after, including a French edition by Tonkam starting in 2006 and a Spanish edition by ECC Ediciones in 2015. Additional translations appeared in languages such as Italian by Star Comics (2018), German by Carlsen Manga (2020), and others through various publishers, with digital editions available up to 2025.[29]Digital versions of Gyo became available on platforms like Comixology (now part of Amazon Kindle) starting in 2012, offering both individual volumes and the deluxe collection, with ongoing availability as of 2025.All standard print and digital editions include the bonus stories "The Sad Tale of the Principal Post" and "The Enigma of Amigara Fault."
The OVA adaptation of Gyo, titled Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack!, is a 70-minute animated film directed by Takayuki Hirao and produced by Ufotable.[4][30] It premiered in Japan on February 15, 2012, with limited screenings at film festivals before its home video release.[31] The adaptation condenses the manga's plot, shifting greater focus to protagonist Kaori while minimizing the role of Tadashi, and introduces modern elements like cell phones to update the story from its 1990s origins.[32] It omits the manga's bonus stories, such as "The Sad Tale of the Principal Post" and "The Enigma of Amigara Fault," concentrating solely on the core walking fish invasion narrative.[32]The animation employs a hybrid style, blending traditional 2D for characters and environments with 3D CGI models for the hordes of mechanical fish to depict their massive scale and grotesque movements.[33] This approach amplifies the horror through dynamic fish swarms, though it sometimes creates visual inconsistencies between the 2D and 3D elements. The ending diverges significantly from the manga, emphasizing visual spectacle with heightened explicit gore, including more graphic depictions of infection and decay to heighten the film's visceral impact.[32]The Japanese voice cast features Mirai Kataoka as Kaori, Takuma Negishi as Tadashi, Ami Taniguchi as Erika, and Masami Saeki as Aki.[4] In North America, Aniplex of America distributed the film on DVD with English subtitles on July 9, 2013; an English dub was not produced for this release.[31][34] It became available for streaming on Crunchyroll following the home video launch.[34]
Themes and analysis
Horror motifs
Gyo exemplifies Junji Ito's mastery of body horror through grotesque mutations that transform marine life and humans alike, evoking visceral disgust via the invasion and reconfiguration of flesh. Fish and other sea creatures develop mechanical, spider-like legs powered by a mysterious bacterial infection, enabling them to scuttle onto land while emitting a pervasive, rotting stench that permeates the narrative. As the disease spreads to humans, victims undergo horrifying alterations, such as gills forming on their necks and scaly protrusions erupting from skin, blurring the boundaries between human and aquatic forms in a manner that highlights the body's vulnerability to external corruption.[35][36]The surreal escalation of these horrors amplifies dread by progressing from localized anomalies—such as a single shark emerging on a beach—to a global cataclysm where hordes of ambulatory sea life overrun cities, driven by an inexplicable evolutionary force. This impossible biology, where bacteria compel rapid adaptations defying natural laws, creates a sense of inexorable, otherworldly progression that undermines rational understanding and fosters mounting terror. Ito's depiction of this invasion as an unstoppable, odoriferous wave underscores the futility of resistance, turning the familiar ocean into a source of incomprehensible menace.[35][37]Atmospheric tension is built through the strategic use of confined spaces, which contrast sharply with the vast, encroaching threat from the sea and intensify feelings of entrapment. Scenes set in cramped apartments invaded by swarming fish or on isolated boats surrounded by teeming waters evoke claustrophobia, trapping characters in intimate proximity to the decaying horrors and amplifying the sensory assault of the stench and slime. This juxtaposition of personal enclosure against oceanic scale heightens the pervasive unease, making escape feel illusory even in open environments.[35][37]Psychological elements anchor the horror in human frailties, with germaphobia serving as an entry point that personalizes the revulsion toward contamination and decay. Characters' initial curiosity about the bizarre phenomena draws them deeper into the nightmare, leading to a confrontation with cosmic indifference where individual agency dissolves against the indifferent march of the infection. This progression from personal phobia to existential dread mirrors Ito's exploration of the psyche's fragility under surreal assault. Kaori's germaphobia, for instance, intensifies her reactions, transforming abstract fear into immediate, embodied panic.[35][38]Within Ito's oeuvre, Gyo's aquatic invasion parallels the obsessive spiral motifs in Uzumaki, but shifts the focus from geometric curses to biomechanical perversions rooted in marine biology, emphasizing invasion over internal coiling. Both works employ escalating surrealism to dismantle normalcy, yet Gyo's emphasis on olfactory and tactile disgust distinguishes its body horror as a more invasive, multi-sensory experience.[39][40]
Societal commentary
Gyo's portrayal of marine life mutated by a bacterial gas has been interpreted as a critique of environmental degradation, with the walking fish serving as a metaphor for the impacts of oceanpollution and overfishing, where human exploitation of natural resources leads to uncontrollable ecological backlash. The pervasive "death stench" gas, originating from deep-sea vents but amplified by human intervention, symbolizes industrial waste and the long-term consequences of unchecked environmental harm, highlighting how modern society's disregard for natural balances invites apocalyptic retribution.[41]The narrative further explores evolutionary hubris through characters' efforts to exploit the phenomenon for military advantage, mirroring real-world scientific overreach in biological and genetic engineering, where attempts to manipulate nature for power result in self-destruction. This theme underscores the dangers of tampering with evolutionary processes, as the bacteria—revealed to stem from Imperial Japanese Army experiments during World War II—evolves beyond human control, critiquing the arrogance of technological dominance over biology.[39][42]In depicting the rapid collapse of urban infrastructure and social order amid the invasion, Gyo illustrates apocalyptic isolation, emphasizing the fragility of modern civilization when confronted with forces that erode communal bonds and individual agency. Society's descent into chaos, with survivors turning to desperate, self-serving measures, reflects broader anxieties about reliance on technology and isolation in contemporary life.Ito draws influences from historical events, particularly Japan's wartime biological weapons programs like Unit 731, which conducted unethical experiments that parallel the manga's origin of the death stench as a man-made plague resurfacing decades later. These elements are updated to address 2000s eco-anxieties, blending sci-fi inspirations such as invasive alien entities with real-world concerns over environmental and technological fallout.[43][42]
Reception
Critical reviews
Critics have praised Junji Ito's Gyo manga for its innovative blend of grotesque body horror and environmental themes, often highlighting the story's ability to transform absurd premises into chilling narratives. Theron Martin of Anime News Network commended Ito's mastery in merging campy elements with genuine terror, noting how the manga's obsessions "blossom grotesquely" by its conclusion, earning it a strong recommendation for horror enthusiasts.[44] Similarly, a review in Freaky Trigger described certain sequences as "sublime" in their "terrible imaginative beauty," emphasizing the work's effective mix of chase action, body horror, and global disaster motifs.[45]The manga's eco-horror originality has been a focal point, with Everything is Scary analyzing it as an allegory for climate change, where an ancient oceanic germ invades humanity, symbolizing environmental retribution through decaying bodies and societal collapse.[46] Horror Obsessive further explored this in an ecocritical lens, positioning Gyo as a key example of Ito's nature-reclamation motifs, where polluted seas birth mechanical abominations that overrun civilization.[43]Criticisms of the manga often center on pacing and character development, with some reviewers noting that the narrative's escalation feels uneven in later chapters, leading to underdeveloped arcs for protagonists Tadashi and Kaori. Anime News Network's forum discussions echoed this, describing Gyo as "lightweight" compared to Ito's denser works like Uzumaki, with annoyances emerging prominently in the second volume.[47] The ending has been called abrupt, leaving themes of immunity and cure unresolved in a way that prioritizes visceral impact over closure.[48]The 2012 OVA adaptation received mixed professional reception, lauded for its visual fidelity to Ito's gore but faulted for narrative compression. Fangoria highlighted the film's commitment to bizarre, grotesque imagery, praising how it captures the manga's carnivalesque horror through scenes of ambulatory sea life invading urban spaces.[49] However, Anime News Network critiqued its choppy pacing due to the 70-minute runtime, which rushes the plot into a "randomly paced" frenzy that sacrifices tension for rapid escalation.[32]Aggregate user scores reflect this divide: as of November 2025, the manga holds a 7.19/10 on MyAnimeList based on over 45,000 ratings, while the OVA scores 5.33/10.[50][51]Notable analyses include PopMatters' 2013 examination of Gyo's body horror, which details how parasitic infections force grotesque transformations, evolving Ito's signature style from psychological dread to biomechanical invasion.[35] O'Grady Film's 2022 essay further dissects the techno-organic nightmares, interpreting the fish-legged horde as a metaphor for humanity's exploitation reduced to expendable fuel.[52]
Cultural impact
Gyo has contributed to the broader eco-horror subgenre within manga, portraying environmental catastrophe through mutated aquatic life as a metaphor for human hubris and pollution, influencing discussions on nature's retaliation in contemporary horror narratives.[43] This theme in Gyo echoes Lovecraftian cosmic horror while critiquing socio-environmental issues, as explored in academic panels like the 2025 Mechademia conference session on its Lovecraftian elements and environmental critique.[53] The manga's grotesque imagery of leg-walking fish has inspired ecohorror analyses, highlighting Ito's role in blending body horror with ecological warnings.[54]Fan communities have embraced Gyo's visceral horror, with the subreddit r/junjiito serving as a hub for discussions, fan art depicting the iconic walking fish, and shared reactions to its disturbing visuals since the manga's release.[55] Cosplay of Gyo elements, such as mutated sea creatures, has appeared at conventions like Japan Expo and Comic-Con International since the early 2010s, fostering interactive fan experiences that extend Ito's nightmarish aesthetics into live performances.[56] These activities underscore the manga's enduring appeal in horror enthusiast circles, where users recreate its biomechanical abominations through digital and physical art.In pop culture, Gyo has permeated memes and digital media, with TikTok videos and challenges in the 2020s viralizing its shark-with-legs imagery for humorous yet eerie edits, often juxtaposing the horror with absurd scenarios. The manga's influence extends to video games, where Ito's surreal body horror has indirectly shaped titles drawing from his style, such as fan games and references in Minecraft splash texts inspired by related works like The Enigma of Amigara Fault, amplifying Gyo's motifs in interactive media.[57] Additionally, the 2012 OVA adaptation expanded its reach, introducing animated interpretations that boosted online visibility and meme proliferation despite mixed reception.[58]Academically, Gyo is analyzed for globalizing Japanese horror through its fusion of sci-fi and grotesque ecology, as seen in scholarly essays on Ito's oeuvre that position the manga as a pivotal example of post-war trauma and environmental dread in manga studies.[59] Ito's work has resonated in Western horror comics, where artists cite his detailed, unsettling transformations as a blueprint for visceral storytelling.The legacy of Gyo endures through merchandise like T-shirts featuring Kaori's mechanical fusion and sticker sets of the death stench motifs, available via official retailers and pop-up stores in 2025.[60] Exhibits tied to Ito's career, including 2025 installations at museums like the Ishinomori MangaMuseum, incorporate Gyo's panels to showcase his influence, while events at the KyotoInternationalMangaMuseum highlight its themes in ongoing horrormanga retrospectives.[61] Overall, Gyo has solidified Ito's international stature, embedding its aquatic apocalypse into globalhorroriconography.