Adult Swim’s Uzumaki has the potential to become the best adaptation of Junji Ito’s horror masterpiece.
Adult Swim’s adaptation of Junji Ito’s graphic novel Uzumaki is just the latest in a long row of attempts to bring Ito’s art to life. Most previous screen adaptations have failed to capture what makes Ito’s horror work so well, at least according to the hardcore fans of the legendary artist. Adult Swim’s effort, however, might hit the spot for both fans and anyone with a penchant for the macabre.
Originally announced in 2019, the four-part animated series Uzumaki kept being postponed due to the pandemic and seemingly went dead until last July, when Adult Swim presented a new Uzumaki trailer at San Diego Comic-Con. Based on the trailer, we’re in for a treat. A dark, disturbing, and at times disgusting treat. In a good way, of course.
For anyone who’s read the thick 650-page volume, the manga may seem tricky to adapt to the screen. Uzumaki is mostly image-driven, with a simple plot and characters. Page after page, story after story, you are subjected to increasingly more disturbing, nightmare-inducing visuals. Ito manages to maintain the unsettling feeling throughout the graphic novel while remaining unpredictable and keeping the reader curious about what’s coming next. It’s a creepy kind of horror that shies away from obscene gore and shock factor more than you think.
Uzumaki stays with you, whether you want it to or not. The trailer shows us that Adult Swim is prepared to be uncompromising and stay true to the original, giving us hope that the anime will be just as good as the manga.
The series is directed by Hiroshi Nagahama, celebrated for his work on Mushishi and The Flowers of Evil. To help preserve the dreamlike, surreal atmosphere of the manga, Adult Swim enlisted Colin Stetson, a composer who wrote the iconic Hereditary soundtrack, to create the soundscape for the anime.
The creators are in no rush to complete the series. Uzumaki’s future is still uncertain, with no actual release date in sight. Nonetheless, fans have plenty of reasons to remain optimistic. Considering the amount of time and effort that has been poured into the project so far, as well as the promising trailer, we can say that Uzumaki is in safe hands.
Adult Swim’s Uzumaki has the potential to become the best adaptation of Junji Ito’s horror masterpiece.
Adult Swim’s adaptation of Junji Ito’s graphic novel Uzumaki is just the latest in a long row of attempts to bring Ito’s art to life. Most previous screen adaptations have failed to capture what makes Ito’s horror work so well, at least according to the hardcore fans of the legendary artist. Adult Swim’s effort, however, might hit the spot for both fans and anyone with a penchant for the macabre.
Originally announced in 2019, the four-part animated series Uzumaki kept being postponed due to the pandemic and seemingly went dead until last July, when Adult Swim presented a new Uzumaki trailer at San Diego Comic-Con. Based on the trailer, we’re in for a treat. A dark, disturbing, and at times disgusting treat. In a good way, of course.
For anyone who’s read the thick 650-page volume, the manga may seem tricky to adapt to the screen. Uzumaki is mostly image-driven, with a simple plot and characters. Page after page, story after story, you are subjected to increasingly more disturbing, nightmare-inducing visuals. Ito manages to maintain the unsettling feeling throughout the graphic novel while remaining unpredictable and keeping the reader curious about what’s coming next. It’s a creepy kind of horror that shies away from obscene gore and shock factor more than you think.
Uzumaki stays with you, whether you want it to or not. The trailer shows us that Adult Swim is prepared to be uncompromising and stay true to the original, giving us hope that the anime will be just as good as the manga.
The series is directed by Hiroshi Nagahama, celebrated for his work on Mushishi and The Flowers of Evil. To help preserve the dreamlike, surreal atmosphere of the manga, Adult Swim enlisted Colin Stetson, a composer who wrote the iconic Hereditary soundtrack, to create the soundscape for the anime.
The creators are in no rush to complete the series. Uzumaki’s future is still uncertain, with no actual release date in sight. Nonetheless, fans have plenty of reasons to remain optimistic. Considering the amount of time and effort that has been poured into the project so far, as well as the promising trailer, we can say that Uzumaki is in safe hands.
