Recently, Adult Swim unveiled a bone-chilling trailer for the highly anticipated Uzumaki anime, showcasing the iconic spiral horror manga art of Junji Ito, solidifying his esteemed position in Japanese art.
After a long wait of two decades, the renowned Japanese horror manga series, written and illustrated by Ito, is finally being brought to life as an anime. The new trailer, which was released on Adult Swim's YouTube channel, offers a tantalizing glimpse into the terrifying world of 'Kurouzu-cho,' carefully crafted by the original artist himself. The trailer sets the stage by introducing Shuichi Saito, who confides in his girlfriend, Kirie Goshima, about the strange and unsettling events unfolding in their town. He urges her to leave Kurouzu-cho with him, expressing concern about the increasing number of whirlpools in the stream and the frequent appearance of whirlwinds. Shuichi suspects that these phenomena are somehow connected to the peculiar behavior of his father, who has become disturbingly obsessed with spirals, locking himself away in his study surrounded by spiral-themed objects.
Uzumaki revolves around Kirie, a high school girl living in Kurouzu-cho, a coastal town in Japan. Alongside her boyfriend, Shuichi, Kirie discovers that the town is plagued by a cursed spiral phenomenon. This curse has a profound impact on the residents, affecting their bodies, minds, and souls, as they become increasingly fixated on spirals.
The announcement of the anime adaptation occurred at the 2019 Crunchyroll Expo, where Studio Drive and Studio Akatsuki collaborated on the project. Production I.G USA and Adult Swim's Williams Street also provided support for this joint production. Heading the project was director Hiroshi Nagahama, known for his highly acclaimed works such as Mushishi, Detroit Metal City, and The Flowers of Evil. The haunting music for the anime was composed by Colin Stetson. A teaser was unveiled in 2021, offering fans a tantalizing glimpse into the nightmarish world of Uzumaki. Adult Swim's Creative Director, Jason DeMarco, expressed tremendous excitement about adapting one of Junji Ito's seminal works and assembling a team of devoted creators to do justice to this monumental horror manga. "As a huge fan of Junji Ito, I'm thrilled to be able to tackle one of his signature works with a team of amazing creators who are all equally devoted to doing justice to this monumental work of horror manga," said DeMarco.
Beyond its manga origins, Uzumaki gained popularity across different media forms. It was adapted into two video games for the WonderSwan console, and a spine-chilling Japanese live-action film was directed by Higunchinsky. The manga also received acclaim from English-language critics, earning an Eisner Award nomination in 2003 and a place on the Young Adult Library Services Association's prestigious "Top 10 Graphic Novels for Teens" list in 2009. Uzumaki manga series can be found on Manga Monster for free.
Toonami is set to broadcast the Uzumaki anime this year. Fans eagerly anticipate diving into the chilling world crafted by Junji Ito's imagination.
Source: YouTube
