{"rewrite":{"id":"r_c3ffc4b414e55df704c6cacb","clusterId":"c_9670eabef8104f747b15a956","slug":"toei-and-13-studio-adapt-junji-ito-s-the-hanging-balloons-as-thai-film","model":"deepseek-v4-1-flash","headline":"Toei and 13 Studio Adapt Junji Ito's The Hanging Balloons as Thai Film","summary":"Toei and Thai production company 13 Studio are producing a Thai-language feature film of Junji Ito's horror short \"Kubitsuri Kikyu\" (The Hanging Balloons), announced Tuesday. Thai director Taweewat Wantha is directing. The film moves the story's setting to Thailand while keeping the original's eerie worldview. The short debuted in Asahi Sonorama's Monthly Halloween in 1994 and inspired a Japanese live-action film in 2000 and a 2023 Netflix anime episode.","whyItMatters":"It is the second Ito short story in a year to be set up as a Thai-linked live-action feature, following the jointly produced The Long Hair in the Attic.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eTaweewat Wantha is set to direct a Thai-language film of \u0026#34;Kubitsuri Kikyu,\u0026#34; the Ito short that Viz Media published in Shiver: Junji Ito Selected Stories as \u0026#34;Hanging Blimp\u0026#34; in 2017. The adaptation relocates the story to Thailand, a new interpretation that Toei says respects the original\u0026#39;s eerie worldview.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe choice of director keeps the project inside Thailand\u0026#39;s horror filmmaking circle: Wantha\u0026#39;s credits include Death Whisperer 2, Tha Rae: The Exorcist, and the upcoming Dawn of Soengsang. The source story itself is short, which leaves the film\u0026#39;s running time as one of the open questions.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"The 1994 Hanging Balloons short already spun off a 2000 Japanese film and a 2023 Netflix episode. Toei and 13 Studio now add a Thai-language entry, with Taweewat Wantha directing from Thailand.","twitterPost":"Hanging Balloons has been a live-action film and a Netflix episode. Toei and 13 Studio add a third version: Thai-language, Taweewat Wantha directing.","threadsPost":"The Hanging Balloons has been adapted twice: a 2000 Japanese live-action film and a 2023 Netflix episode. Toei and 13 Studio are producing a third version, in Thai, with Taweewat Wantha directing. Junji Ito's short is now a recurring license.","newsletterBlurb":"Toei and Thai production company 13 Studio are producing a Thai-language feature film of Junji Ito's short story The Hanging Balloons, with Taweewat Wantha directing. The film shifts the story's setting to Thailand while keeping the original's eerie worldview. The short debuted in Monthly Halloween in 1994 and was later adapted as a Japanese live-action film and a Netflix anime episode.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Anime News Network\",\"url\":\"https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2026-10-13/junji-ito-the-hanging-balloons-short-manga-gets-thai-film/.242777\",\"title\":\"Junji Ito's 'The Hanging Balloons' Short Manga Gets Thai Film\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":4657,"outputTokens":651,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1791893229,"createdAt":"2026-10-13T12:01:26.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-10-13T12:06:05.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-13T12:06:05.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_9670eabef8104f747b15a956","canonicalTitle":"News\nJunji Itō's 'The Hanging Balloons' Short Manga Gets Thai Film","representativeArticleId":"a_534fc4d311d765f61b110ffe","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[\"The Hanging Balloons\"],\"work_titles\":[],\"studios\":[\"Toei\",\"13 Studio\"],\"people\":[\"Junji Ito\",\"Taweewat Wantha\"],\"type\":\"license\",\"domain\":\"industry\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-10-13T10:32:40.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-10-13T10:32:40.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-13T12:06:06.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Anime News Network","url":"https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2026-10-13/junji-ito-the-hanging-balloons-short-manga-gets-thai-film/.242777","title":"News\nJunji Itō's 'The Hanging Balloons' Short Manga Gets Thai Film"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":["The Hanging Balloons"],"work_titles":[],"studios":["Toei","13 Studio"],"people":["Junji Ito","Taweewat Wantha"],"type":"license","domain":"industry","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":null}