Important takeaways
- Drive's animated style heightens unease with fluid, unnatural movements.
- Colin Stetson's subtle sound drives terror into your eardrums effectively.
- Hiroshi Nagahama nails the direction and seamlessly adapts famous manga stories.
After five long years of waiting, and uncertainty as to whether this series would actually be released. The latest adaptation of a Junji Ito work, Uzumakihas been released on Adult Swim and HBO Max. The story of Kirie and Shuichi in the cursed city of Kurouzo-cho instantly captivates the audience with a distinctive animation style, eerie music and atmosphere, and an amazing voice cast. Fans have been asking for a worthy adaptation of one of Junji Ito's captivating works. Is this finally it?
Studio Drives efforts are evident in this first episode. Together with the director Hiroshi Nagahamas vision. Was the long wait worth it? Or is this another dud in the Junji Ito curse?
Animation Brings up Ito's pages on the screen
A distinct, edgy style
The series is produced entirely in black and white, making the visuals all the closer to the original manga. Studio Drive also appears to implement Rotoscoping as the main animation method. Although this technique is often criticized for its uncomfortable result, it may be intentional. The overly fluid, unnatural movements of the characters go a long way to enhancing the unnerving feel of the scenes. Just from watching a few seconds of the episode, the audience gets this constant feeling of unease, like something is wrong all the time.
The black and white color palette and detailed, carefully crafted artwork translate Ito's art perfectly into animation. It feels like watching an extremely well-made exercise manga, in the best sense. Often anime adaptations deviate far from the original manga art, but in Uzumaki every frame seems taken straight from the book.
Sound and music provide what many couldn't
Terror straight into your brain
Colin Stetson is an accomplished Canadian-American composer who composed the soundtrack for Hereditary and The menuso he already had experience of horror. The music used here is subtle but incredibly effective. Stetson moves away from the usual loud, generic music often used in horror media. Instead, he opts for continuous and organic sounds that enhance the visuals and ensure that you are not distracted from the scenes, but rather drawn in with the characters. There are no jump scares or loud noises, it's all subtle notes that drive the terror straight into your eardrums.
Uzumaki's voice cast is nothing short of amazing. The episode only has a few characters, but every single one is voiced in the best way possible. Shin'ichiro Miki (Kisuke Urahara in WhitenRoy Mustang in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood) is a long-time star in Japan. He delivers Shuichi's turmoil perfectly, from his justified paranoia about the Spiral Curse to his horror as he experiences the events firsthand. Azami Kurotani is a key character in this first entry, as she is the main monster of the week “The Scar”she is portrayed by the talented Mariya Ise (Killua in Hunter X HunterHimeno in Chainsaw man). Ise expertly conveys Azami's descent into the abomination she becomes, a psychological spiral into a terrifying creature.
Director and screenplay: Hiroshi Nagahama proves his worth
An impossible task that became possible
Hiroshi Nagahama is known for directing Mushishi and The flowers of evil. He is no stranger to horror or thrillers. His style is perfectly suited for Uzumaki, as his way of directing the scenes, along with the visuals and sound, make the audience constantly uncomfortable. Each scene is slow and creepy, foreshadowing the events with great precision. Uzumaki and Junji Ito's work in general is about careful build-up and intrigue leading to a shocking, inexplicable climax. Nagahama fully understood the mission.
The first episode adapts three and a half chapters of the manga: “The Spiral Obsession” Part 1 and 2, “The Scar” and “The Snail”. These stories are intertwined, making the manga's anthology format a continuous coherent story. This episode, which adapts some of the most famous stories and panels from the manga, immediately captivates the audience in the spiral. Manga fans and first-time viewers alike are mesmerized by these terrifying images.
The Uzumaki anime starts off really strong with excellent visuals and audio. Although the pace may be a little too fast for some fans, the story is adapted in a way that makes the events coherent and connected to each other. If the remaining episodes continue at this level of quality, the Junji Ito adaptation curse may finally have been broken.
