Uzumaki: Spiral Into Horror Gets Off to a Strong Start (2025)

Key Takeaways

  • Drive's animation style enhances uneasiness with fluid, unnatural movements.
  • Colin Stetson's subtle sounds drive terror into your eardrums effectively.
  • Hiroshi Nagahama nails the direction, adapting famous manga stories seamlessly.

After five long years of waiting, and uncertainty about whether this series would actually be released. The newest adaptation of a Junji Ito work, Uzumaki, has been released on Adult Swim and HBO Max. The story of Kirie and Shuichi in the cursed town of Kurouzo-cho immediately entraps audiences with a distinct animation style, eerie music and atmosphere, and a stellar voice cast. Fans have been begging for a worthy adaptation of one of Junji Ito's enthralling works. Is this finally it?

Studio Drive's efforts are palpable in this first episode. Along with director Hiroshi Nagahama's vision. Was the long wait worth it? Or is this yet another dud in the Junji Ito curse?

Related

Who is Junji Ito, the Horror Mastermind Behind Upcoming Uzumaki?

Dive into the Ito-verse as you get ready for the upcoming anime Uzumaki with the creator behind some of the most mind-bending horror, Junji Ito.

Animation Bringing Ito's Pages onto the Screen

A Distinct, Unnerving Style

Uzumaki: Spiral Into Horror Gets Off to a Strong Start (2)

The series is produced entirely in black and white, making the visuals all the closer to the original manga. Studio Drive also seems to be implementing Rotoscoping as the main animation method. While this technique is often criticized for its awkward result, it may be on purpose. The characters' overly fluid, unnatural movement goes a long way to enhancing the unnerving feel of the scenes. Just from watching a few seconds from the episode, the audience gets this continuous sense of uneasiness, as if something is wrong at all times.

The black and white color palette and the detailed, carefully crafted artwork perfectly translate Ito's art into animation. It feels like watching an extremely well-done motion manga, in the best sense possible. Often, anime adaptations stray far from the original manga art, but in Uzumaki, every frame seems pulled directly from the book.

Related

Best Manga To Read If You Love Junji Ito's Uzumaki

Fans of Junji Ito's Uzumaki looking for something similar are certain to appreciate what these manga have to offer.

Sound and Music Providing what the Manga Couldn't

Terror Directly Into Your Brain

Uzumaki: Spiral Into Horror Gets Off to a Strong Start (4)

Colin Stetson is an accomplished Canadian-American composer who composed the soundtrack for Hereditary and The Menu, so he already had experience with horror. The music employed here is subtle but incredibly effective. Stetson strays away from the usual high-pitched, generic music often used in Horror media. Instead, he opts for continuous and organic sounds that enhance the visuals and make sure you're not distracted from the scenes, but rather pulls you in along with the characters. There are no jump scares or loud sounds, it's all subtle tones that drive the terror directly into your eardrums.

Uzumaki's voice cast is nothing but stellar. The episode has just a few characters, but every single one is voiced in the best way possible. Shin'ichiro Miki (Kisuke Urahara in Bleach, Roy Mustang in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood) is a long-standing star in Japan. He delivers Shuichi's turmoil perfectly, from his justified paranoia about the Spiral Curse to his terror once he experiences the occurrences first-hand. Azami Kurotani is a key character in this first entry, as she is the main monster of the week of "The Scar", she's portrayed by the talented Mariya Ise (Killua in Hunter X Hunter, Himeno in Chainsaw Man). Ise expertly conveys Azami's descent into the abomination she becomes, a psychological spiral into a horrifying creature.

Related

8 Best Games With Horror Based In Faith

While faith can be a comfort in dark times, sometimes it can also be the cause of those dark times, an idea these horror games revel in exploring.

5

Directing and Script: Hiroshi Nagahama Proves His Worth

An Impossible Task Made Possible

Uzumaki: Spiral Into Horror Gets Off to a Strong Start (6)

Hiroshi Nagahama is famous for directing Mushishi and The Flowers of Evil. He's no stranger to horror or thrillers. His style lends itself perfectly to Uzumaki, as, along with the visuals and sound, his way of directing the scenes makes sure the audience is constantly uncomfortable. Every scene is slow and creepy, anticipating the events with great precision. Uzumaki and Junji Ito's works in general, are all about careful build-up and intrigue leading to a shocking, unexplainable climax. Nagahama fully understood the assignment.

The first episode adapts three and a half chapters of the manga: "The Spiral Obsession" Parts 1 and 2, "The Scar" and "The Snail". These stories are intertwined, making the anthology format of the manga into a continuous coherent story. This episode, adapting some of the most famous stories and panels from the manga, instantly entraps the audience into the spiral. Manga fans and first-watchers alike are hooked by these terrifying images.

The Uzumaki anime starts off really strong with excellent visuals and sound. While the pacing may be a bit too fast for some fans, the story is adapted in a way that makes the events coherent and linked to each other. If the remaining episodes continue this level of quality, the Junji Ito adaptation curse may have finally been broken.

Uzumaki: Spiral Into Horror Gets Off to a Strong Start (7)

Your Rating

Rate Now

0/10

Your comment has not been saved

9/10

Uzumaki: Spiral into Horror

Uzumaki: Spiral into Horror is an adaptation of Junji Ito's acclaimed manga, directed by Hiroshi Nagahama. The series unfolds in the town of Kurôzu-cho where inexplicable events related to spirals plague the inhabitants, leading to terror and madness. Highlighting the psychological and supernatural, the show follows high school student Kirie Goshima and her boyfriend, Shuichi Saito, as they confront the spiraling horrors that engulf their town.

Uzumaki: Spiral Into Horror Gets Off to a Strong Start (2025)

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Duncan Muller

Last Updated:

Views: 5383

Rating: 4.9 / 5 (79 voted)

Reviews: 94% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Duncan Muller

Birthday: 1997-01-13

Address: Apt. 505 914 Phillip Crossroad, O'Konborough, NV 62411

Phone: +8555305800947

Job: Construction Agent

Hobby: Shopping, Table tennis, Snowboarding, Rafting, Motor sports, Homebrewing, Taxidermy

Introduction: My name is Duncan Muller, I am a enchanting, good, gentle, modern, tasty, nice, elegant person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.