Just in time for spooky season, the long-awaited Junji Ito project has finally released! In partnership with Adult Swim and Production I.G, a brand-new anime adaptation of one of Ito’s most renowned works, “Uzumaki,” has arrived.
This horror series follows the eerie events that begin to plague the small town of Kurouzu-cho. A strange obsession with spirals takes hold of the town’s inhabitants, and only Shuichi Saito and Kirie Goshima seem suspicious of these supernatural occurrences.
The series premiered on Adult Swim on September 28th, with streaming available on HBO Max the following day.
Check out the full trailer below!
This series has been in development for five years, after being announced at Anime Expo back in 2019. Fans were understandably getting antsy, especially after several delays were announced.
Personally, I was super excited for this adaptation—after reading the series over four years ago, I couldn’t wait to see this disturbingly twisted story come to life.
The imagery and body horror are so masterfully crafted that they captivate readers with every turn of the page.
The early footage from the anime definitely gave me hope for what this show could become. As I’ve mentioned before, Junji Ito anime adaptations like “Junji Ito Collection” and “Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre” notoriously failed to capture the essence of what makes Ito’s art truly skin-crawling.
The blend of 3D animation and monochromatic tones really makes this show feel like it was peeled directly from the pages of the manga. I think this style lends itself well to the unsettling nature of the series, allowing it to maintain the look and feel of the source material. I’ll be the first to admit that, in certain scenes, the 3D animation—like in many anime—can feel a bit clunky and awkward. But it’s not distracting enough to make it unwatchable.
In the first episode, we’re introduced to the main cast and the townsfolk who begin to fall under the spell of the spiral curse. Without spoiling anything, much like the manga, we’re thrown into the madness early on, and the visuals do not disappoint. One scene, in particular, is still burned into my brain—a contorted figure of one of the characters fully taken over by the spiral. Serious nightmare fuel!
In interviews, Junji Ito has shared that he draws a lot of inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft’s storytelling and world-building, quoted as saying:
“Lovecraft’s expressionism with regard to atmosphere greatly inspires my creative impulse.”
This influence is clear in his work, with very morbid and philosophical implications woven into the stories he crafts.
I’m a huge fan of series like “The Twilight Zone” and “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”, so this kind of tale is right up my alley!
Don’t have a cable provider or HBO Max? Don’t worry they’ve released the full first episode for free on the Adult Swim website – HERE
I can’t wait to keep watching as we hop into the Halloween season! But enough about me—what did you think of the first episode? Let us know in the comments below!
And hey, if you’re in the mood for more mysterious supernatural tales, check out Yellow Stringer, AVAILABLE NOW!
