At Japan Expo 2025 a new anime series based on the works of Junji Ito, Junji Ito Crimson, was officially announced.

While details on the new anime series are scant, the anime’s opening theme song “Karasu Ageha” was revealed and is performed by singer and songwriter Yumi Matsutoya. 

A release date, voice cast, and production staff weren’t announced – however Crunchyroll will exclusively stream the anime outside of Japan when it does premiere.

The theme song for the anime was produced after Matsutoya visited the Junji Ito Exhibition: Temptation at the Setagaya Literary Museum in 2024, after which she posted about it on social media.

Ito, who has been a longtime fan of Yumi, saw her post and they talked about working together. Later, Yumi appeared on a radio show where she met Ito, and wore a yukata purchased at the exhibition with artwork from Ito’s work.

The artwork on the dress is an adaptation of Ito’s “Beauty of the Deep Sea”. It was this meeting that inspired Matsutoya’s new song, which will be in her upcoming 40th original album launching this fall.

Matsutoya’s new song is also the name of its titular main character, Karasu Ageha, who plays the role of connecting both the underworld and this world. Its theme is centered around the idea of “mixing different alternate dimensions”, which ties directly into her new album.

Here’s a music video for the theme song, which features original illustrations and art by Ito:

Here are comments from both Ito and Matsutoya:

Junji Ito

Currently, an anime titled “Junji Ito Crimson” based on my original story is in production. The title alone gives me goosebumps and I can’t wait for it. I heard they’re adapting selections from both my old and new short story collections, especially those that make strong use of the blood-red color. I believe the singer Yumi Matsutoya, known as Yuming, is one of the greatest composers in the world, and she will be singing the opening theme song for this anime “Crimson.” It’s unbelievable, it feels like a dream. I first heard the demo where she was singing in a scat style, and that part alone was enough to call the song a masterpiece. It has such an rich emotional melody that you can’t forget once you’ve heard it. I’ve been filled with joy these days since Yuming’s beautiful new song keeps playing in my head endlessly. The TV anime “Junji Ito Crimson” evokes an image of crimson red, which is what makes the series stand out. top of that, having Yumi Matsutoya sing the opening theme song will make this anime very different and special from the other series “Collection” or “Maniac”. I’m sure fans can’t wait, but I hope everyone gets excited and looks forward to it!

Yumi Matsutoya

In Junji Ito’s works, no matter how surreal or grotesque they are, there is always a delicate sense of wonderful Japanese beauty and sorrow underlying them. In fact, the more bizarre it is, the more it sparks a longing for something that is there but can never be grasped. I believe it’s a shared aesthetic sensibility, one that is subconsciously understood by us Japanese fans and many French fans. How it is to be able to travel together through a magical world that has been carefully brewed over nearly 200 years!

This music video is a small journey that precedes Junji Ito’s “Crimson.” Guiding us is a crow swallowtail, flitting around. I asked Junji Ito to draw a black butterfly for this piece. When I was asked to compose the theme song, along with a melody on a labyrinth-like chord progression, I imagined a messenger drifting between dimensions, linking the realm of the dead with the world of the living. Coincidentally, the black butterfly also carries a similar meaning in French. It made me feel that the image I had envisioned was not mistaken. Until the full work is released, I hope that this music video of “Crow swallowtail” will help to fill the anticipation of “Crimson” for as many people as possible.