A Guide to the Ju-On/Grudge Franchise
I spent a lot of time thinking one what to make my first list on here be before deciding what better than a guide to franchise I love that can be fairly complicated for those just trying to get into it without any help. For the record you’re really not required to watch all of these in the order I give or anything, just thought it’d be helpful!
A Quick Introduction
Ju-On is a series that mostly centers around the Saeki family: Kayako, her husband Takeo, and their son Toshio. Most of the lore establishes Kayako had fallen madly in love with a man (Shunsuke Kobayashi in The Curse, Peter Kirk in The Grudge [American remake]), eventually leading to Takeo finding out and him brutally murdering Kayako along with their pet cat and Toshio (though in some versions instead of Takeo who killed Toshio it was Kayako’s spirit). Toshio’s spirit fused with the cat’s in a way, therefore leading to the meowing sound Toshio is known to make. This also falls into Kayako’s death rattle sound, as Takeo snapped her neck/crushed her throat, therefore making it so she could only make that noise.
Takeo kills at least one other person (not stated here to avoid too many spoilers), before he is the one of the first claimed by the curse, the one which he created.
Now anyone who steps into the house or interacts with those who have gone into the house are now made to suffer the curse and ultimately be killed by Kayako, with no way to escape it.
The Ju-On Films
It’s only natural to start with the Ju-On films, as that’s where it all began clearly! And where it truly began was with two short films:
Katasumi/In A Corner (watch: here)
444-444-4444 (watch: here)
These short films introduce you to the characters of Kayako and Toshio Saeki. The characters in these short films also are a bit important as well, as you can see them in the actual first move in the franchise. Fun fact! These two shorts were actually part of a tv anthology movie called Gakko no Kaidan G ! Though the other segments are not connected to Ju-On at all.
Which leads us to those first two movies:
Ju-On: The Curse
Ju-On: The Curse 2
These movies don’t really seem to be well known in America, and that’s because they’re pretty hard to find here as far as I know. But they are definitely worth watching! Though it is important to note part of Ju-On: The Curse 2 is essentially just a continuation of Ju-On: The Curse.
After that is the two everyone knows:
Ju-On: The Grudge
Ju-On: The Grudge 2
It admittedly does get complicated considering the 2 in the name, but these are actually the third and fourth movies in the series. However, nothing to fear if you’ve watched these already first - given the fact the only really continuous characters are the Saekis there’s no really required order to watch these first four in (though I wouldn’t suggest watching The Curse 2 before The Curse).
This is where it gets a bit complicated, as the next two movies aren’t actually connected to the Saeki family at all:
Ju-On: White Ghost
Ju-On: Black Ghost
White Ghost and Black Ghost are sort of its own little stories, made to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Ju-On films. White Ghost centering around a spirit and for specific reasons a basketball it carries and Black Ghost centering around a young girl and the spirit that is connected to her somehow. You can watch these at any time, there really is no specific order, or you don’t even have to watch them if you don’t wish to. However, I have to give a content warning for White Ghost for covering topics of sexual abuse.
These next two you can consider almost a reboot of sorts, and the first two that have zero involvement from Takashi Shimizu:
Ju-On: The Beginning of the End
Ju-On: The Final Curse
It still follows the curse of the Saeki family and the original formula, but the story itself does change in a way. Though I won’t give any details to how it changes obviously.
There’s one other Ju-On film to speak of currently, though I’m not sure if you can really count it as a Ju-On film:
Sadako vs. Kayako
Not to much to say here - it’s a crossover film between Ring and Ju-On. It’s, as of this post being made, currently the most recent film with anything pertaining to Ju-On.
And on top of that, there is now a Ju-On tv show:
Ju-On: Origins
This one supposedly tells the “true story” of what happened to create the story behind Ju-On, so while Kayako and Toshio are not present, there are two similar characters. It’s only 6 thirty minute long episodes, so it’s a pretty quick watch. Note: This series has a lot of triggering content (such as: suicide, abuse, sexual assault, gore), so watch at your own risk.
The Grudge Films
Finally, we make it to the American films. Of course, if you’re just looking to watch the Ju-On films there’s no need to watch these, but it’s important to include them I believe. I also must note the first two American Grudge films were done by the original Japanese director/creator, Takashi Shimizu.
Not too much to note, I’ll just list them in order here:
The Grudge
The Grudge 1.5 (promotional graphic novel/animated short film for second film, found here)
The Grudge 2
Tales from the Grudge (three short films, watch here)
The Grudge 3
Grudge (2020)
As far as Tales from the Grudge goes though, it’s three short films by the names of Hotel, School, and House in that order (small warning for flashing lights in the House short though).
That’s all there is in terms of movies, however if you’re interested in other things there is also:
Ju-On: The Grudge (Wii Video Game)
The Novel for Ju-On
Ju-On: Video Side & Ju-On 2/Ju-On Vol. 2 (Manga)
Flash Games for The Grudge & The Grudge 2
And there you have it! A hopefully easy to understand guide to the Ju-On films!













