Heartwarming / Junji Ito

• "Gentle Goodbye": The protagonist learns that she isn't real; she's an afterlife construct that her husband created out of guilt that she died on her wedding day. He's been unfaithful to her, and unwilling to support her request to make her father an afterlife construct. What is her response? To leave the house, say goodbye to her sister-in-life (whom she also found out is a construct and was consistently kind to her), and return to her father's home. Constructs last only twenty years at most, so she has ten years at maximum to spend with her dad, and she wonders which of them will die first since he is getting on in years. Even so, the story ends with her smiling and reassuring "Papa" that she is home, and he's happy to see her. It doubles as a Moment of Awesome that she reclaims her dignity in such a fashion.
• "The Rib Woman": It seems that the protagonist Yuki is cornered by said title character and a weak-willed doctor to harvest the latter's ribs. Who comes to the rescue? Her brother! He says, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY SISTER?!" and confiscates the weapon the rib woman was using while asking Yuki if she's okay. Yuki ends up alive, and intact by the end of the story, if understandably shaken.
• "Wooden Spirit" is one of the few where the parents are actually able to do something. Said mansion is a national treasure, where a woman named Megumi and her father live. It attracts a woman named Manami, who more or less invites herself to stay and eventually marries said father. One night, Megumi sees her making love to the house but brushes it off as Manami being a "creep". Cue her father realizing the mansion has become sapient, growing eyes and flesh, and tries to burn it down. Megumi grabs him and talks sense into him and leaving would be the better option. They help each other leave the house, and both are alive and well, and together. Sure they lose the mansion and the mansion loses its "national treasure" status, but they are at least able to tell the tale. It's happier than a lot of Ito stories.
• "Hanging Balloon" ("Blimp" in the Viz Media translation) has a few moments to go with the dire situation:
  • Kazuko is mourning her best friend Terumi, who died by suicide allegedly. Terumi was also a celebrity, and some male fan club members harass her boyfriend Shiraishi. Kazuko and her classmates protect Shiraishi, saying You Leave Him Alone! or they'll call the police. As Shiraishi collapses while crying, Kazuko reassures him that Terumi's death wasn't his fault.
  • Shiraishi tells Kazuko that he saw Kazuko's head in his backyard. When she expresses that it may be part of the mass hallucinations, he brusquely tells her to come to see the head. She does when he calls and says he sees Terumi, and tries to save him from the noose hanging in the air. While the police don't believe Kazuko, she concludes that Terumi didn't die by suicide; the strange balloon things got her.
  • Kazuko grabs Chiharu when the balloons come for them. The ballons manage to hang both of their friends and aren't stopping. She keeps a tight grip on her shoulder as they run for it. When they call for help, a man in a window sees the balloons, tells them not to panic, grabs his crossbow, and fires at Chiharu's balloon. Bullseye. It at least saves Kazuko, while Chiharu's real head deflates. 
  • One journalist bravely gives instructions to everyone to not go outside, and not to try to destroy any of the balloons. He keeps reporting, even as his balloon is hanging outside the news building.
  • Kazuko's little brother manages to make it outside by using an umbrella to gum up his noose. Filled with hope, Kazuko and her mother tell him to come back safely.  
• Ito's story about being a fan of mangaka Kazuo Umezu, religiously reading his works and becoming an artist to follow in his footsteps, even achieving his own success by winning a contest of Umezu's with his first Tomie story.

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