Adult Swim has recently shared a new trailer for the anime adapted from the horror manga Uzumaki, the gem from master Junji Ito. This chilling adaptation will feature four episodes and will premiere very soon, on the 28th of this month, on Adult Swim, and just one day later on streaming via HBO Max.
This is not the first anime adaptation of Uzumaki. This signature work by Junji Ito has already been animated in the series The Junji Ito Collection. Produced by Studio Deen, this series adapted some of the most popular stories from the acclaimed horror author. This anime, aired in 2018, had a total of 12 episodes. Currently, the anime is available on Crunchyroll in its original version with subtitles in several languages. In the year 2000, Uzumaki also had its own live-action adaptation. Director Higuchinsky made a film based on the work that brought some of the manga’s most iconic panels to the screen.
Uzumaki is one of Junji Ito’s most popular works. The piece, categorized as a horror seinen, began its publication in Big Comic Spirits, by Shogakukan, in 1998. Ultimately, the manga consisted of three compiled volumes. Later, the work was collected in a single volume.
Production and Voices
This animated production of Uzumaki is directed by Hiroshi Nagahama (Mushi-Shi) for Production I.G. (Psycho-Pass, Haikyu!!) and Adult Swim. As for the music, Colin Stetson, composer of the cult horror film Hereditary, is responsible for creating the soundtrack for this anime.
Regarding the Japanese voice cast, it is composed of the following members:
- Uki Satake as Kirie Goshima.
- Shinichiro Miki as Shuichi Saito.
- Toshio Furukawa as Kirie’s father.
- Takashi Matsuyama as Shuichi’s father.
- Mika Doi as Yukie Saito.
- Mariya Ise as Azami Kurotami.
- Katsutoshi Matsuzaki as Katayama.
- Wataru Hatano as Okada.
- Tatsumaru Tachibana as Tsumura.
- Kouchi Toochika as Yokota.
- Ami Fukushima as Shiho.
Synopsis
Uzumaki, by Junji Ito, tells the terrifying events that begin to plague the small town of Kurouzu-cho. The story follows Kirie Goshima and her boyfriend Shuichi Saito as they try to understand a series of supernatural occurrences that seem to be related to the spiral symbol. At first, Shuichi notices that his father develops a strange obsession with spirals, collecting objects and continually drawing this shape. The obsession consumes him to the point of self-destruction, a creepy physical transformation that marks the beginning of a series of tragic and grotesque events for the town’s inhabitants.
As the spiral becomes a recurring element, this seemingly harmless figure starts to infiltrate every aspect of life in Kurouzu-cho. People begin to deform and undergo physical transformations that reflect their obsessions, such as a young girl whose face is absorbed by a vortex growing on her head, or a student who slowly turns into a giant snail. The curse of the spirals goes beyond the body, also affecting the environment, from the winds to the sea, which form spiral patterns, trapping the town’s inhabitants in a series of inevitable storms and disasters.
The most terrifying aspect of Uzumaki is that, although the characters try to escape, the curse seems omnipresent and without a clear explanation, causing despair and madness to spread like a disease. The town’s inhabitants are consumed both by fear and an inevitable acceptance of their fate. Junji Ito uses this progressive degeneration to explore the fragility of the human mind when confronted with the incomprehensible, turning the everyday into something terrifying. The spiral, the central symbol of the work, is not just a geometric shape, but a representation of an obsession that devours reason, the body, and society.
We recently talked about Uzumaki and the work of Junji Ito, and by the way, if you haven’t seen the article, you can do so by clicking THIS LINK. It’s a pleasure to say that only a few days remain until we can enjoy this work, which is undoubtedly one of my favorites when it comes to manga. Celebrate, horror and weirdness-loving otakus! But since there are still a few days left, in the meantime take some time, check out the comments, and let us know your opinion about this, because, you know, we’ll be reading you! 😉
Images Source: Adult Swim Official YouTube Channel, Adult Swim on X, Ramen Para Dos, ANIME TIME MEDIA
