|
Title |
Uzumaki |
|
Director |
Hiroshi Nagahama |
|
Studio |
Studio Drive |
|
Premiere Date |
September 28, 2024 |
Junji Ito is not only the greatest Horror author in Japan, but one of the best in the world. He's universally praised for his terrifying imagination and distinct and extremely detailed art style. However, while there have been several attempts to adapt his works into anime and live-action, they have never been successful. Uzumaki: Spiral Into Horror is produced by Adult Swim and Production I.G USA. It seeks to do justice to Ito by faithfully adapting his masterpiece: Uzumaki.
This is a joint production between Cartoon Network, Production I.G. And Studio Drive. After suffering several delays, Uzumaki is finally terrorizing audiences with the otherworldly, bizarre, and inexplicable story of a town cursed with a strange phenomenon.
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The Original Work: Uzumaki
A Terrifying Masterpiece
Uzumaki is a horror manga first released in 1998 and serialized in Big Comic Spirits. It is written and illustrated by Junji Ito. Ito was already known for his work in the genre, mainly his breakthrough series: Tomie. Uzumaki tells the story of Kirie Goshima and her boyfriend Shuichi Saito. They live in a small town called Kurouzo-cho. Several odd occurrences plague the town, all defined to be centered around spirals. Shuichi tells Kirie that the town is cursed by the "Spiral" (JP: Uzumaki). The citizens are affected by the escalating paranormal phenomena until the entire town is sent into an unfathomable cosmic nightmare.
Uzumaki remains Junji Ito's most beloved work, along with Tomie. Ito is known for making mostly one-shot stories. However, Uzumaki and Tomie are series, albeit short. Many of Ito's other works have been adapted into anime and live-action films. In either anime anthologies or dedicated works to one story, Ito's horrying works are no stranger to adaptation in various forms.
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Uzumaki: Spiral Into Horror
A Worhty Adaptation At Last?
Uzumaki was first announced at Crunchyroll Expo 2019 as a four-episode anime series. Studio Drive is the Japanese studio in charge of the animation, while it is co-produced by Adult Swim and Production I.G. USA. Junji Ito stated in an interview that he had already read the script, and he was quite pleased with it and called director Hiroshi Nagahama quite talented. He said that the studio was adapting the work faithfully, making sure the art was as accurate as possible to the original work, and that while four episodes are much shorter than the manga's story, they did a good job rearranging the series. The series was also confirmed to be animated entirely in black and white, making it closer to the original manga's aesthetic.
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic affected production as it did for tons of other projects, forcing the studio into its first delay. It was first slated for a 2020 release, and then, in July 2020, it was delayed a year. Then it faced four other delays, worrying fans. Many thought the series would simply get canceled and never actually be released. But on July 26, 2024. A teaser trailer dropped on the Adult Swim YouTube channel confirming the release date to be September 28, 2024.
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The Staff Behind the Phenomena
Studio Drive serves as the main animation studio. They have recently worked on To Your Eternity Season 2 and Konosuba: Explosion on this Wonderful World!. While their track record isn't anything impressive, the trailers show an unparalleled dedication to the original manga. Hiroshi Nagahama directs the series. He's known for his excellent work in Mushi-Shi and The Flowers of Evil. Aki Itami wrote the script. He's previously worked with Nagahama on said works. Colin Stetson composed the original soundtrack, a Canadian-American musician known for his collaboration with Arcade Fire and Bon Iver, as well as his soundtrack for Hereditary and The Menu.
The Voices Delivering the Horror
- Kirie Goshima is voiced by Uki Satake (Tsubomi Takane in MOB Psycho 100)
- Shuichi Saito is voiced by Shin-ichiro Miki (Kisuke Urahara in Bleach, Roy Mustang in Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, Zamasu in Dragon Ball Super)
- Shuichi's Father is voiced by Takashi Matsuyama.
- Kirie's Father is voiced by Toshio Furukawa (Piccolo in Dragon Ball Z/Super, Portgas D Ace in One Piece)
- Azami Kurotani is voiced by Mariya Ise (Killua in Hunter X Hunter, Foo Fighters in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean, Himeno in Chainsaw Man)
The cast is sure to deliver on the intense atmosphere of the series. Several accomplished actors give the production much-needed gravitas.
Uzumaki releases on Adult Swim on September 28, 2024. It releases the next day on HBO Max.