Uzumaki Is A Great Junji Ito Adaptation, But It Has One Big Flaw That Could Ruin It

Warning: Spoilers Ahead for Uzumaki Episode 1!Uzumaki has proven to be a great adaptation of Junji Ito‘s story, but there’s a noticeable flaw that could ruin it. Following years of delays, the first episode of Uzumaki has finally premiered, and it’s off to a roaring start. It’s by far the best animated Junji Ito adaptation as it perfectly mimicks his black-and-white style in animation. However, when looking at how the narrative is adapted, there’s a glaring flaw that spells trouble for the anime’s future.

Episode 1 of Uzumaki is kept to a concise 24 minutes. However, due to Uzumaki’s overall miniseries containing a small four-episode count, cuts were inevitable to properly adapt such a massive graphic novel. The problem is, when watching this episode, it’s clear that the series has bitten off more than it can chew. The pacing feels incredibly fast as it speeds through the original story’s slow tone to get to the more iconic moments in the manga. While it’s great to see moments like Azami’s eye swirl around the spiral overtaking her head animated for the first time, it doesn’t feel quite as impactful.

Uzumaki Needs to Slow Down for the Anime to Truly Succeed

Its Brisk Pace Goes Against What Made the Original Story Scary

The reason why Junji Ito’s Uzumaki was such a success among fans is because of how the story took its time to introduce the viewers to its world and slowly twist it into something horrific. The anime adaptation, on the other hand, doesn’t offer the same benefits. It moves along at such a quick pace due to its short number of episodes that it’s difficult to take the time to embrace what’s being shown on-screen. The miniseries is moving too fast for its own good, and it threatens to derail the overall narrative just to get to the more frightening images from the graphic novel.

For example, the build-up to Azami being consumed by her scar in the manga is purposely slow to show how the town of Kurouzu-cho corrupts her over time. However, in the anime, she’s given barely any time to properly be on-screen or for her story to play out. Instead, she’s competing with other storylines, such as Part One of “The Spiral Obsession,” half of Part Two when Shuichi’s mother is put in the hospital, and even the beginning of “The Snail,” which is a tale that doesn’t arrive until much later in the manga. Azami’s story is given no time to breathe, making the reveal of her consumption by the curse not as horrifying as the imagery suggests.

Sacrificing the Slower Pace of the Manga Makes Uzumaki Less Terrifying

Junji Ito’s Iconic Artwork Is Not as Strong Without a Solid Build-Up

The biggest reason why the quick pace of the anime adaptation of Uzumaki is a problem is how much it misses the point of what makes Junji Ito’s work so scary. While his disturbing artwork excels as some of the best horror imagery in the medium, his stories all benefit from proper set-up and payoff. For example, the reason his short story “Marionette Mansion” is pure nightmare fuel isn’t because of the slain corpse dangling by puppet strings, but rather the uncanny buildup shown when the main character’s sister allows herself to be tied to them and be controlled.

These slower moments make the shocking imagery have a greater impact when it happens. While it’s great to see some of Uzumaki‘s most iconic images brought to life, it’s just not as meaningful when the anime speeds towards them without taking its time. It’s an unncessary sacrifice that takes away what made Uzumaki so scary in the first place. In fact, it can be argued that while the Junji Ito Collection and Junji Ito Maniac anthologies aren’t as well animated, they match the pacing better than Uzumaki, making them more compelling narratives.

The Uzumaki Anime Learns All the Wrong Lessons from the Live-Action Film

A Short Runtime is Why the First Uzumaki Adaptation Failed

The worst part about this glaring issue with the anime is how it ultimately overlooked the issue Junji Ito’s story faced when it was first adapted. Two decades ago, director Akihiro Higuchi attempted a live action adaptation of Uzumaki, which ultimately faced negative reviews from critics. It’s a bizarre Lovecraftian-style film that did the best it could within the limitations of the medium, but the main problem it faced was its incredibly short runtime at only 90 minutes. The Uzumaki anime is facing this same issue with only four episodes at about 24-28 minutes each, and while it’s visually more faithful to the graphic novel, it’s just barely longer than the live action film.

There is Hope for Uzumaki’s Grand Finale

The Final Half of the Anime Needs to Dedicate Itself to Uzumaki‘s Third Act

While the Uzumaki anime has been incredibly rushed so far after just one episode, there’s still hope for the series when it comes to the story’s climax. While most of the manga can be viewed independently due to being more of a loosely-connected anthology, the final third is when everything comes together in a grand finale that sees Kurouzu-cho fall to the center of the chaotic spiral.

If Uzumaki wants to stick the landing, it needs to devote its last two episodes to this segment. While this would mean the second episode would be just as rushed as the first, the last two episodes would have the space to slow down. One episode isn’t enough to contain the grand themes of the final third of the story, so taking the final half of the miniseries to properly go at the manga’s original pace would properly give viewers a chance to see what lies at the center of Ito’s spiraling story.

Overall, Uzumaki was always going to face an uphill battle due to the immense size and depth of the original manga. There’s so much that connects each story to one another that makes it such a masterful piece of horror storytelling. There’s no way it can all be contained within a few episodes. Uzumaki is still a great adaptation of Junji Ito‘s story overall, as it mirrors his style perfectly, but this major flaw is hard to overlook as the anime puts more emphasis on the style over the story’s substance.

Watch Uzumaki now on Max!

Uzumaki: Spiral into Horror is an adaptation of Junji Ito’s acclaimed manga, directed by Hiroshi Nagahama. The series unfolds in the town of Kurôzu-cho where inexplicable events related to spirals plague the inhabitants, leading to terror and madness. Highlighting the psychological and supernatural, the show follows high school student Kirie Goshima and her boyfriend, Shuichi Saito, as they confront the spiraling horrors that engulf their town.

Cast

Uki Satake , Shin-ichiro Miki , Mariya Ise , Toshio Furukawa , Mika Doi , Takashi Matsuyama , Katsutoshi Matsuzaki , Tatsumaru Tachibana , Kôichi Tôchika , Ami Fukushima , Wataru Hatano

Release Date

September 29, 2024

Seasons

1