Horror Masterpiece Anime Adaptation Finally Releasing After Years
Nearly five years after first releasing the teaser trailer, Adult Swim has finally announced a premiere date for the long-awaited adaptation of Uzumaki. The anime series is based on the horror manga from legendary author Junji Ito.
Uzumaki premieres on Adult Swim on September 28. Episodes will be available to stream on Max the day after their broadcast on Adult Swim.
The highly-anticipated show will debut on Adult Swim on September 28 as part of Toonami. New episodes of Uzumaki will also be available on Max one day after its premiere on Adult Swim. In addition, English dub encores will also be available on Thursdays.
In August 2019, anime fans were initially teased with a short and almost cryptic trailer announcing the upcoming release of a four-part miniseries in 2020. Like most things to come out of the pandemic, disappointment followed as the series was indefinitely delayed. Fortunately for anime fans, the wait for Uzumaki is now nearly over.
Hiroshi Nagahama serves as the director of the anime adaptation. Nagahama has directed several anime projects including Mushi-Shi and Detroit Metal City.
The four-episode anime series will follow high school students Kirie Goshima and Shuichi Saito, who live in a quaint Japanese town. Things begin to go sideways when reports of troubling events are linked to an ominous spiral curse affecting people in town. The curse causes ordinary people to become obsessed with spirals, leading to horrific situations.
Uzumaki ups the tension as Kirie and Shuichi are soon forced to find a way to escape being drawn into the curse themselves. They must work together to survive as more of the townsfolk around them fall under the curse. As more time passes, the hopes of saving themselves and their loved ones dwindles and the true horror begins to set in.
As depicted in the moody and unsettling trailer, the town of Kurouzu-cho truly becomes a terrifying place to be. Many of those afflicted by the curse become entranced, turning into helpless victims. While losing their minds, their body parts are painfully twisted into spiral shapes.
The creative minds behind Uzumaki include some well-respected figures in anime. Hiroshi Nagahama serves as the director of the anime adaptation. Nagahama has directed several anime projects including Mushi-Shi and Detroit Metal City.
In 2023, Netflix adapted Ito’s work into the anthology series Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre.
Penning the screenplay is anime screenwriter Aki Itami, who previously worked with Nagahama on the anime series Flowers of Evil. Not to be outdone, Uzumaki is scored by composer Colin Stetson, who has scored films such as Hereditary, The Menu, and Color Out of Space.
For anyone unaware of Ito’s work, a sense of dread is often available by the bucket. Many of his characters are put into scenarios where the odds are stacked against them. From the looks of the Uzumaki trailer, it appears that this adaptation is staying true to Ito’s vision.
Ito has carved out an impressive resume with his mind-bending and oftentimes horrifying manga. In 2023, Netflix adapted Ito’s work into the anthology series Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre. The horror series features twenty unique stories from the artist that stretch across a dozen episodes.
Impressively, Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre remained true to Ito’s original work. However, the series failed to capture the complete horror essence of the manga that made it successful. Uzumaki will attempt to creep out a new generation while still appeasing Ito’s diehard manga fans.
