After multiple delays, the highly-anticipated adaptation of Junji Ito’s magnum opus, Uzumaki, has dropped its first full-length look at the scares to come. The debut trailer for the four-episode anime brings the horror auteur’s iconic work to life, promising a terrifyingly good time with disturbing visuals (in a great way) and familiar imagery dripped in stark black and white.
Animated by Drive (To Your Eternity Season 2, KonoSuba God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World! Season 3), the show follows high schooler Kirie Goshima, her boyfriend Shuichi Saito, and the citizens of the small quiet town of Kurozu-cho, which is enveloped by supernatural events involving spirals. Production I.G. (Kaiju No, 8, Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045) and Adult Swim serve as co-producer on the project.
The synopsis of the series is as follows:
“Kurozu-cho, a small fog-bound town on the coast of Japan, is cursed. According to Shuichi Saito, the withdrawn boyfriend of teenager Kirie Goshima, their town is haunted not by a person or being but by a pattern: uzumaki, the spiral, the hypnotic secret shape of the world.
It manifests itself in everything from seashells and whirlpools in water to the spiral marks on people’s bodies, the insane obsessions of Shuichi’s father and the voice from the cochlea in our inner ear. As the madness spreads, the inhabitants of Kurozu-cho are pulled ever deeper into a whirlpool from which there is no return!”
The Uzumaki anime was first announced in 2019 and slated for a 2020 release, before spiralling into three delays. At the time, Production I.G. cited the need for additional time to ensure that “the quality of the intricate designs and detailed line work” was accurately recreated through the anime’s distinct black-and-white art style. It will premiere on Adult Swim on 28 September.
The original manga ran from 1998 to 1999 and continues to receive critical acclaim, with positive reviews from English-language critics. It was also nominated for an Eisner Award in 2003.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
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