Warning: This article contains spoilers for the first episode of “Uzamaki.”
FINALLY, the adaptation of Junji Ito’s most famous horror manga, “Uzumaki”, is available for viewing online.
For long-time fans of Junji Ito’s work, many have felt that previous adaptations have fallen flat in bringing the author’s horridly gruesome illustrations to life. Much acclaim, however, has come from the long-awaited adaptation directed by Hiroshi Nagahama and produced by Adult Swim and Production I.G.
“Our goal was to get as close as possible to something truly unsettling, something Ito-sensei does in much of his work but we had not felt in previous animated adaptations,” said Jason DeMarco, a producer of the show and the SVP of Adult Swim’s anime and action series.
Originally, the series was announced back in 2019, but has faced three delays since then. Despite this, fans have continued to wait patiently for the adaptation, and finally, they’ve been able to bear the well-earned fruits of their labor.
At present, it has an average of 100% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer, and 94% on the Popcornmeter.
On practically every social media platform, Uzumaki is a hit. Fans are raving about how well the adaptation stayed true to Junji Ito’s art style and admire the creativity of its animation and sound design.
#Uzumaki
— OYASUMI AIKO (@Hoyri0) September 30, 2024
I don’t know if it’s rotoscope or 2D animation but it’s peak that’s what i know 🙌 pic.twitter.com/UY4jfsdl8b
I've absorbed nearly every bit of Junji Ito's works and was so damn excited when Adult Swim dropped the teaser for Uzumaki back in 2019.
— Jesse Gomez (@ItsJesseGomez) September 30, 2024
The wait was worth it, and EP1 was a great time. Translating his art into motion is both grim and beautiful, I can't wait for EP2!#Uzumaki pic.twitter.com/6zdQQiWHJY
i can't believe the wait is over and we finally have an uzumaki adaptation that is worthy of its name holy fuck https://t.co/EGgvVFtmbd
— meep🌼 (@stardustjolyne) September 29, 2024
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen an anime adaption feel exactly like reading the manga before,” said one user on Reddit.
“Watching makes me wanna fish the book out of the box I have it in and see how they combined storylines. So happy to finally see it and all the hard work put into it.”
About Uzumaki
Junji Ito’s manga series Uzamaki was originally released as a part of Shogakukan’s weekly seinen manga magazine called “Big Comic Spirits”. It was later on released as a full manga, with three volumes published from 1998 to 1999.
The story revolves around the quiet town of Kurouzu-cho, particularly the life of a young girl named Kirie Goshima, who is dating a boy named Shuichi Saito.
As time passes, more and more strange things start happening in Kurouzu-cho, and all of them can be traced back to a singular shape: a simple spiral.
Soon enough, the curse of the spiral starts taking over everyone’s life. Its first victim is Shuichi’s father, who becomes so obsessed with spirals that he decides to become one, even taking his life just to be able to fulfill this dream.
The next is Shuichi’s mother who, amid the grief for her departed husband, starts to hear his voice asking him to join her – to become part of the spiral. She starts to go crazy, losing her mind any time she sees a spiral, and even cutting off her own fingertips just to escape them.
Some other victims are Kirie’s classmates, Azami Kurotani and Katayama. Her entire life, Azami has had no problem with her crushes liking her back, which she attributes to a crescent-shaped scar that she got when she was a child.
Over time, however, this crescent slowly starts to turn into a spiral. It grows larger and larger until eventually, it consumes her whole.
Katayama, on the other hand, is often teased by his classmates as being slow. One day, while he’s being bullied by another boy, he is dragged out naked toward the hallway. This reveals a large spiral on his back.
It is unsure yet what is to come with regards to Katayama’s fate, but for those who’ve already read the manga, it isn’t going to be pretty.
Personal takeaways
The first episode of Uzumaki immerses viewers into the setting of this quaint little town, using unsettling animation techniques alongside an equally hair-raising soundtrack. It truly captures the essence of Junji Ito’s work while, at the same time, also making unique choices that elevate it from its predecessors.
While the episode starts with Kirie chuckling at Shuichi as he talks about his plans to leave town as well as what’s been going on with his father, it ends with her life completely changing as she realizes just why he wanted to leave this town of spirals behind.
These spirals are not as they seem; though just a shape to us, to the people of Kurouzu-cho, they are a curse – a figure that will consume them sooner or later, no matter the circumstances.
One may not think much of these spirals, but in a town wherein they ensure you’re destined to meet your demise soon enough, you start to realize just how much of your life is simply one big spiral.
What’s particularly terrifying about Ito’s work – and about seeing it on-screen – is that in this horror show, there is no big, bad monster chasing people around town. It is instead an invisible evil, an inescapable curse.
Azami’s curse, for example, started when she was only a child. She did not do anything wrong for her to be inflicted of it; she is not a bad person, per se. But the curse takes hold of her anyway.
In this town, no one is safe. How, after all, are you meant to run from something that seems to be a part of your very fate?
It is expected that the following episodes of the anime will tackle the rest of Junji Ito’s manga, and fans can’t wait to tune in to see what happens to Kirie, Shuichi, and the rest of the people in Kurouzu-cho.
If you’re waiting for the next few episodes of Uzumaki, here’s the release schedule for episodes two to four:
- Episode 2: October 5 (Adult Swim) / October 6 (Max)
- Episode 3: October 12 (Saturday) / October 13 (Max)
- Episode 4: October 19 (Adult Swim) / October 20 (Max)
