Junji Ito’s “Uzumaki” comes to Adult Swim

Horror buffs, your nightmares are about to get an upgrade. The long-awaited “Uzumaki” adaptation is finally slithering onto Adult Swim this year, with the first of four episodes already complete.

What’s the deal with the Uzumaki anime series?

• Four-episode series based on Junji Ito’s mind-bending manga
• Produced by anime powerhouse Production I.G
• Directed by Hiroshi Nagahama (of “Mushishi” fame)
• Sticking to a black-and-white aesthetic (like the OG manga)

After some pandemic plot twists, production’s back on track with episode one in the bag. A teaser on YouTube’s already racked up millions of views, proving fans are hungry for horror.

With Ito’s recent Netflix success introducing his twisted tales to a wider audience, expectations for this adaptation are coiling higher by the day. Get ready to kiss your spiral mac and cheese goodbye – “Uzumaki” is coming to mess with your mind soon. Reflecting on his use of spirals, Ito remarked,

“It has a charm that makes it clear why some people are obsessed with uncovering the secret of its pattern, but unraveling it will be difficult and likely plunge one’s world into chaos.”

“Uzumaki” Manga

• Title: Uzumaki (うずまき)
• Author: Junji Ito
• Genre: Horror, Supernatural, Psychological
• Publication:
  • Serialized in: Big Comic Spirits
  • Publisher: Shogakukan
  • Original Run: 1998 – 1999
• Volumes: 3

Is The Uzumaki manga Scary?

In Kurouzu-cho town Kirie Goshima leads a life with her family. One day as she heads to the train station to meet her boyfriend, Shuuichi Saito, she notices his father fixated on a snail shell in an alley. She casually mentions this to Shuuichi, who reveals that his father has been behaving lately. Shuuichi expresses his growing urge to escape the town with Kirie believing that spirals have infected the place.

However, his father’s fixation on spirals soon takes a turn triggering a series of inexplicable events that drive the people of Kurouzu-cho into a frenzy of madness.

Uzumaki Characters and Cast

Source: Erik Augustin Palm. “Fear still matters to Junji Ito.” (June 29, 2024), Twitter