The Most Anticipated Horror Anime Adaptation In Years Is Finally Getting Released

Junji Ito’s Uzumaki anime and manga centers on a small town nestled in the mountains as they begin to deal with unusual circumstances. A strange set of spirals starts to take over the town, appearing everywhere and in rather infinitive and disturbing ways.

The story is full of rather terrifying images and scenes that build up dread for the readers. 

Most of the story follows Kirie Goshima, a high school girl, as she discovers the spiral pattern.

While the spirals themselves are frightening, it’s the townspeople and their reaction to the strange designs and their appearances that create a disturbing story. The Uzumaki anime will likely follow a similar storyline, if not recreating it exactly. 

Uzumaki is considered Juni Ito’s magnum opus and with a few of his other works, such as Tomie, Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tale of the Macabre, and GYO: Tokyo Fish Attack! having already received adaptations in some form, many fans were left wondering when an Uzumaki anime would be announced. 

Uzumaki’s anime is a collaboration project between Adult Swim and Production I.G. The series was originally announced a few years ago, in 2020, but has faced several delays since then. 

According to the production teams, the delays are because they want to ensure no work gets rushed. Junji Ito is known for his detailed linework, and the artists are trying to remain as faithful to that level of detail as possible.

During an announcement in 2022, the Uzumaki Anime Production Team released a statement about their push for perfection and their unwillingness to meet a deadline by reducing their quality. 

“As much as we’d like to deliver this show to the public as soon as possible, we don’t want to compromise its quality by delivering a mediocre final product,” They wrote in their statement.

“We remain fully committed to pursuing the completion of this work at the highest caliber. We’ll be back with a firm premiere date once we are confident this adaptation is as good as we know it can be.”

This is pretty important, as some of the more recent adaptations of Junji Ito’s work have not done well. Without the intricate lines and levels of detail, the animated collections didn’t manage to have the same level of creepiness Junji Ito is known for.

With the Uzumaki anime having taken five years to create just four episodes, it bodes well for the anime to manage to recreate that creepiness found in the manga. 

While it’s exciting to know the Uzumaki anime is getting the attention it deserves, it has left fans in limbo as they wait for more information on when the anime is to actually be released or any update on its future.

Thankfully, the manga artist himself has finally told fans a little more about the show and how it’s doing behind the scenes. 

While speaking to The Japan Times, he revealed that he’s expecting the series to come out sometime this year, in 2024.

He also released a bit of exciting news saying that the first of four episodes is finished, which means the Uzumaki anime is finally making some headway.