The whole Itou Junji thing is kind of weird for me. I’ve never gotten him, that’s fair to say. No idea why he’s considered to be a master of horror by many. The caveat is that a consensus exists that almost every effort to adapt his work into anime has been a disaster, so that might have something to do with it. I’ve tried Itou in manga form too a couple of times (including this series), though, and it still didn’t take. The side of me that hates being left out has always been rather irritated by all this.
Enter Uzumaki, the new four-episode adaptation of one of Itou’s most famous works. It’s sort of a hybrid creation, commissioned by Cartoon Network for Adult Swim but produced at Production I.G. with a bunch of Americans in key staff positions. Also of note is that it’s directed by Nagahama Hiroshi, who’s yet another odd element for me. I think his work on everything Mushishi is some of the finest in anime history, and I’ve literally never liked anything else he directed. A lot of it comes off as pretentious drivel, if I’m honest.
Here’s the question that keeps running through my mind watching Uzumaki. Is this *supposed* to be funny? I always talk about how personal comedy is, it either works for you or it doesn’t. Oddly enough I think horror is a genre that has some of that too, except that when it doesn’t work for you it often comes off as unintentionally funny. So this is really a meeting of those two syndromes for me. Am I getting humor I’m supposed to be getting, or laughing at something I’m supposed to find deadly serious? I can say with absolute Gods-honest truth that I have no idea which. But I can also say I found a lot of this episode really hilarious.
I also have to wonder (and I know from experience that I’m not alone in this) why the hell anyone stays in this jacked town. Like, seriously – bug out for the dugout, people. Including Shuichi, the protagonist, who literally asks why the hell anyone stays in Kurozou as he stays in Kurozou. He has family entanglements, it’s true, but even so. Normally I groan at the notion of middle-aged actors playing teens but Miki Shinichirou is still Miki Shinichirou and somehow this whole thing is so absurdist that it’s almost logical.
There’s some genuinely creepy stuff here, okay. And some freak-out moments like Shuichi’s mom cutting off her fingertips to get rid of the spirals. Mostly though I just found it to be incredibly silly, and both Nagahama’s direction and the overwrought acting style (not to mention the Svengoolie soundtrack) mesh with that. It is a handsome show at times with its monochrome palette and minimal animation, but Nagahama is doing a lot of showing off, as he tends to do. Before I decide whether I can go anywhere with Uzumaki I have to figure out just how exactly I’m going to take it. And good luck with that.
Lili
September 30, 2024 at 11:37 pmWithout hopefully getting too spoilery: Beyond Ito’s protagonists in general not being very smart or too stubborn for their own good, Uzumaki is a rare instance where he does begin offering explanation for the bizarre events and the townsfolk behavior later on. Whether that explanation will work for you will, of course, be very personal.
Other than that, this was actually pretty good as far as Junji Ito adaptations go. I’ll be watching the rest of the episodes. The oppressive atmosphere of the town was captured quite well.
sonicsenryaku
October 1, 2024 at 12:35 amThat’s the thing about Uzumaki (and a lot of Junji Ito works in general, I’ve found): it’s supposed to be both unsettling and humorous at times. Junji Ito doesn’t really take himself all that seriously; he understands how ludicrous some of the stuff he comes up with is (evidenced by conversations with the man). That doesn’t mean that he isn’t trying to make you uncomfortable, because he definitely is; but he isn’t above you having a laugh at the absurdity of his horror concepts or the situations the characters find themselves in. It’s that gap found between the horror/beauty of concept and humor/absurdity that makes his works charming, a point that the director himself highlights
Anyway I thought this first episode reveled in a lot of Hiroshi Nagahama’s directorial strengths without being self-indulgent at all. I don’t know, I just thought it was really easy to watch and immerse myself into its atmosphere. For the most part, when the show was trying to unsettle you (like with Mr. Saito Mania when speaking with Kirie’s dad, Mr. Goshima) it was effective and when things erred on silly (like with Katayama, the sluggish boy) it was jovial in an uncanny way that supplemented the horror.
While I’m still concerned whether these last 3 episodes can properly adapt the rest of the manga in a way that doesn’t feel overly compressed or without losing the lovecraftian dread, I’m looking forward to the rest of Nagahama’s sensibilities with these episodes. I was quite entertained
L0ken
October 1, 2024 at 3:16 am“The side of me that hates being left out has always been rather irritated by all this.” It’s kinda amusing that after years of experiencing different media, this feeling never goes away. Whether it’s a universally acclaimed series or some obscure niche, it’s fine when others like and find compelling things you don’t, and vice versa—that’s natural. But often, people at least want to understand the appeal and what makes something tick for others, to reasonably justify for themselves why they don’t vibe with it. However, I find that even getting a general understanding of ‘average appeal’ is just an approximation at best and often not entirely accurate. It’s still a very personal experience in the end. Sometimes you might not see it at all, or maybe you just didn’t get to the part where it clicks or has something that makes it worth it.
As for Uzumaki and Junji Ito, I think it’s not unusual to find his works a bit silly—after all, in interviews, Ito seems like a pretty humorous and chill guy. For me, it’s that certain blend of unsettling, amusing, and bizarre that makes me enjoy his works. So I think it’s legit to experience Uzumaki as funny series regardless of the shows’ intent… or you can just walk away like you did with tons of other acclaimed and beloved series, won’t be the first time.
Snowball
October 1, 2024 at 3:43 amMy general thought was that it was too pretentious.
toroidal
October 1, 2024 at 8:34 amAh yes, the “is Mayoiga intentionally comedic” question, transported to another show. I say yes to Mayoiga.
Guardian Enzo
October 1, 2024 at 8:59 amI’m pretty sure that wasn’t on purpose but I didn’t stick around long enough to decide for sure.
Simone
October 1, 2024 at 9:10 pmI think there was some cheek in Mayoiga (I stayed at least until the point where one guy is pursued by the hallucination of a giant silicone boob because his trauma was that he had implanted one under his scalp to raise his height so he could get in the military but then it exploded), but in the end it turns out that making a bad, boring show on purpose still results in a bad, boring show.
danish
October 2, 2024 at 5:36 amI’d say Ito is known for bizarre lovecraftian tension with an overt silliness. Racking your brain over whether you’re interpreting it correctly sounds like you’re too influenced by how he’s represented in marketing as a “horror master.” He’s the most popular mangaka in the horror genre, yes, but he’s also very funny.
Kurik
October 2, 2024 at 6:15 pmCuriosity made me watch it and while I found it bizarre and confounding in that no one leaves this town after seeing what they see….I am intrigued enough to see the rest.