Fans of Junji Ito's work have been waiting for an anime adaptation of Uzumaki for ages. It finally arrived on Max, but does it live up to the hype?
Uzumaki: A Masterpiece in the Making?
The first episode is a visual treat, perfectly capturing Ito's signature black-and-white style in animation. However, there's a major snag: the pacing. The 24-minute runtime for each episode means some serious cuts to make the long manga into a miniseries that runs only four episodes. That pacing might seem ok, but unfortunately, the super fast pace seems to miss some crucial elements of what makes Ito's stories work.
The Importance of Slow Burns
Ito's horror isn't about jump scares. The creepiness of his work is built slowly and meticulously. Uzumaki is a prime example! The stories show these events from a disturbing viewpoint, a journey, and gradually pulls the reader/viewer into something super unnerving and makes those shocking imagery a lot scarier! In Uzumaki the anime seems to race through all of these amazing, subtle moments that would build a terrifying storyline just to reach these key moments! But when they arrive, they seem less impactful. One of the best illustrations of this? Take Azami, one of the main characters in Uzumaki. This person gets almost no screen time and as a result, some key storylines have barely any focus. In fact, her narrative ends up conflicting with several other smaller moments.
Lost in Translation
The rushed approach not only hurts specific characters. It loses the essence of what makes Junji Ito's work so effective! A true slow burn lets you take time to fully comprehend a character's journey and really make it hit hard when the horrors begin. Instead, it's as if Uzumaki speeds past things to show a few frightening visuals but not what created it!
For example, the manga takes time to depict how Azami is gradually affected by the curse, yet the Anime is almost instant in creating those same horrifying elements!
Uzumaki's Mistakes
The super rushed nature of this new adaptation feels similar to past versions!
A live-action film version was released about two decades prior. Critics hated it!
It ran for a short runtime, only about 90 minutes which is just about the same total runtime for the anime miniseries (four 24-minute episodes).While the new adaptation stays true to Ito’s aesthetic, this speed makes Uzumaki a shallow dive.
A Glimpse of Hope
Even with its faults, there's still some good news! There might just be a chance that it picks up.
While much of the Uzumaki manga can stand on its own as a series of connected stories. The final section really needs to take its time, and is even considered to be a masterful work of horror.
There's still a possibility that the remaining three episodes could give a new chance to take it slow and really develop this complex, amazing ending! While some viewers may feel disappointed so far it doesn’t mean you should give up! If they really focus the narrative for the end, then Uzumaki might deliver a phenomenal climax! If this is really taken into account it may make Uzumaki the definitive Ito adaptation. Even though the overall miniseries runs too short of a runtime, there's still hope for Uzumaki.
