Uzumaki: Spiral Into Horror (2024) spoiler free review
“Spirals…this town is contaminated with spirals”. Uzumaki: Spiral Into Horror is a 2024 Japanese horror anime directed by Hiroshi Nagahama and Yûji Moriyama and written by Junji Ito and Aki Itami. It’s based on the horror manga series of the same name written and illustrated by Junji Ito published from August 1998 to September 1999. At 2019’s Crunchyroll Expo, the 4-episode anime tv miniseries adaptation was announced being officially released on Adult Swim in Japanese with English subtitles on September 29, 2024.
The population of Kurouzu is slowly driven mad by their growing obsessions with spiral shapes, finding them everywhere with shocking and horrifying results.
Anime synopsis
The voice cast includes Uki Satake (Japanese); Abby Trott (English) as Kirie Goshima, Shin-ichiro Miki (Japanese); Robbie Daymond (English) as Shuichi Saito, Toshio Furukawa (Japanese); Doug Stone (English) as Yasuo Goshima, Shino Kakinuma (Japanese); Dorothy Elias-Fahn (English) as Chizuko Goshima, Yuko Sanpei (Japanese); Laura Stahl (English) as Mitsuo Goshima, Takashi Matsuyama (Japanese); Aaron LaPlante (English) as Toshio Saito, Mika Doi (Japanese); Mona Marshall (English) as Yukie Saito, Mariya Ise (Japanese); Cristina Vee (English) as Azami Kurotani, Katsutoshi Matsuzaki (Japanese); Max Mittelman (English) as Tokuo Katayama, Wataru Hatano (Japanese); Kaiji Tang (English) as Okada, Tatsumaru Tachibana (Japanese); Sean Chiplock (English) as Kazuki Tsumura, Kōichi Tōchika (Japanese); Jonah Scott (English) as Ikuo Yokota, Ami Fukushima (Japanese); Erica Mendez (English) as Shiho Ishikawa, Yūto Uemura (Japanese); Khoi Dao (English) as Kazunori Nishiki, Satomi Hanamura (Japanese); Brianna Knickerbocker (English) as Yoriko Endo, Kappei Yamaguchi (Japanese); Erik Scott Kimerer (English) as Mitsuru Yamaguchi, Yoko Hikasa (Japanese); Jenny Yokobori (English) as Kyoko Sekino, Shiori Koshikawa (Japanese); Amber Lee Connors (English) as Keiko Nakayama, Yūji Ueda (Japanese); Stephen Fu (English) as Wakabayashi, and Sumi Shimamoto (Japanese); Larissa Gallagher (English) as Pregnant Woman L.
My Opinion
After 5 years of waiting, the terrifying story of Junji Ito has come to the small screen. With 4 episodes, this adaptation takes us to discover the mysterious events that occur in the small town of Kurouzu-cho and its people. Little by little, the spirals begin to affect the town like a curse that spreads like a disease. Will it be too late to escape and get away from the spirals? Kirie and her boyfriend Shuichi will soon find out.
Just like the manga, this adaptation is entirely in black and white. Bringing to life the grotesque, nightmare-inducing imagery, the anime came close to faithfully adapting the story. Even though there’re no changes to the story and its outcome, those who have read the manga will notice the shift in narrative order and the omission of details. Four 20-minute episodes are not enough to fully show this story. This causes the episodes to feel rushed, leaving behind no room for explanations or connecting with the characters.
The first episode adapts the first chapter “The Spiral Obsession Part 1” in its entirety and mixes parts of chapters 2, 3 and 8. The other episodes mix parts of other chapters out of order and it’s not until the fourth and last episode that the order of the chapters returns. Thus, those who read the manga will feel that the story was put in a chopper and the essential parts were cut leaving the rest behind. On the other hand, those who see this series without having read the original material won’t notice the difference but will notice the lack of coherence in the narrative due to lack of context and explanations.
The voice cast in both Japanese and English manage to capture the characters’ feelings and emotions, adding to the creepy atmosphere. The biggest flaw of this adaptation is the noticeable difference in quality between the first episode and the other three. While the first one shows good animation, adequate plot pacing, and lays the groundwork for the story, the remaining episodes feel incomplete and rushed. The quality drops considerably and is noticeable, something that may make you not want to watch the next episodes. Still, the anime should be given a chance and see it through since at the end of the day it’s still a chilling story worth experiencing.
All episodes are now available on Adult Swim and HBO MAX.