Welcome to the worldscape that is Junji Ito’s Uzumaki. Otherwise known as “a contamination of spirals.”
In this four-episode series, you can expect: building dread, encroaching madness, and beautifully horrendous body horror—no one combines those themes better than Junji Ito. Uzumaki, one of Ito’s finest stories, is hip-deep in a spiral pattern that infects and mutates the inhabitants of the most dangerous place in the world: a small town.
This long-awaited animated series was crafted with the soul of Ito, and what it gives is the worst thing we can imagine: a perfect encapsulation of Ito’s vision of horror. You know the old saying “be careful what you wish for,” because you just might get it? The twists and turns into insanity on the screen are both awe-inspiring and like the spirals themselves…infectious.
The first episode starts with Kirie, a thoughtful high school girl, and her friend Shuichi, the boy who notices the vortexes contaminating their nondescript and nameless hamlet. After all, his father is patient zero. When Shuichi’s father dies, the spirals claim a death grip on the town and start showing up everywhere…but the only ones who can see this horrifically bizarre epidemic are Kirie and Shuichi. The madness that comes with it, however, is easier to spot.
After previewing one episode, I have no doubts this black-and-white horrorscape will deliver everything Ito fans are looking for. But when you watch, beware of the infamous “eye scene”—it’ll give you delightfully twisted vertigo. Uzumaki is a wild ride, done Junji Ito-style. Let’s hope you’re like me, and you aren’t attached to sleeping peacefully through the night.
Premiering Saturday, Sep 28 at 12:30AM during the Toonami
action/anime block on Adult Swim
Both the Japanese and English dub will be available to stream the next day on Max. English-language encore airings will debut every Thursday at 12:30AM beginning October 3.
Episode 2 Appetizer >>