Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Roving
Uzumaki was the first manga I ever read back when the world was locked down due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Everything from the atmosphere, tone, horror, pacing, and art was simply magnificent.
This anime adaption, however. It's a slap in the face. I will never accept or believe they chose monochrome over color for artistic reasons. It was simply a financial decision and that also applies to everything in this adaption. You can clearly see they put most of the finances and production into the first episode. After that, it takes a downward spiral...pun intended. Nothing about this anime is worthy of it's source material. It's just outright awful.
One day I hope we can get an adaption worthy of the manga. I'd love to see it in color and produced by Studio Bones. Until then, I will continue t…
Read at the sourceMugiwaara_ya
You will just waste your time watching this anime.
Better read the manga.
The production experienced delays and changes in animation studios. One theory suggests the initial studio spent most of the budget on the first episode, necessitating a studio change for the remaining episodes.
Reading the manga is better because of the character designs , it is anime with a simple horror story and is not that interesting there are better choices in horror anime.
Here's a breakdown of the issues:
Initial Promise and Quality:
The first episode was praised for its animation and accurate depiction of the manga. Deteriorating Quality:
Subsequent episodes saw a significant decline in animation quality, with some describing it as "sloppy" and "lazy".
Pacing Issues:
The anime's pacing was also critic…
Read at the sourceMooBouBies
People made a big stink about the animations drop in quality after episode 1 when this first came out. I won't lie, it definitely drops off, and its pretty horrible in places, but id say it fits the corny horror vibe of Junji Ito very well. The vibe I got from the beginning was more of a horror comedy mix, at least I found myself laughing at most of the creepy things from the start, so the animation being stilted was more of a plus than a downside for me in that regard. Then again, Im really not much of a stickler for "good" animation generally, so if its a problem for you then fair enough.
I think people may take Junji Ito a bit too seriously if they think he was robbed by this adaptation. He's a bit like Stephen King in that he pumps out a ton of horror and his work has a surprising amo…
Read at the sourceLegoC97
60-SECOND REVIEWS
Look how they massacred my boy! My sweet, spirally snailboy!
Junji Ito is an auteur and Uzumaki is perhaps his greatest creation. And, boy, was I looking forward to this for YEARS since that initial announcement. Junji Ito has never once had a good adaptation of any of his works, but maybe MAYBE this would be the one.
And then to pull off one of the worst bait and switches I've ever seen, releasing a first episode which was fantastic and everything I ever hoped and dreamed it would be. Maybe a little rushed, but that's okay. Finally, a great adaptation! And then episode 2 released, then 3, then 4. Episode 1 is a strong 8/10 and worth a watch. The rest is a 3/10.
You know, perhaps the real spiraling horror is getting excited for every new Junji Ito adaptation only t…
Read at the sourceAjianRozu
GREAT SERIES... if you're looking for a silly body horror comedy.
this series started off fine but got extremely bad FAST. Messy pacing and timeline, horrible animation and too many content in too little time. this series is extremely funny because of how messy it is you can't take anything seriously because of how messy the pacing and animation is. this series is a perfect body horror comedy, you will be laughing your ass off from ep 2 onward. the characters faces look so ridicules it's actually distracting from what's happening in the plot, like you will be more interested in the weird faces of the background characters more than what's supposed to be the focal point of the scene. The only good thing about this series is the ending ost and that's it. In the end if you want to experience…
Read at the sourceXOArama
This is probably the most disappointed I've been by an anime in a while. If not for the hype prior to release as "the first good Junji Ito adaptation" I may not have been as let down, but here we are. Can't go anywhere without talking about the animation, even after the first trailers I was already skeptical about the use of CGI, yes its possible for it to look good, and episode one I would say is once of the better uses of CGI in anime I have seen, it still wasn't right. For going as far to be black and white to be closer to the manga, the CGI and smooth movements were too off-putting, but not bad, good even, but not perfect. Then we get to the rest of the episodes, I'm not even going to waste my breath on this, it was horrible, insane downgrade in quality and a very big let down. The iss…
Read at the sourcebatty97
Honestly probably the best anime I have ever seen, it feels as if the manga has come to life, quite literally through the animation style, the fact people have given anything other than masterpiece is a travesty, if you know the manga of Junji Ito you will love this, if not I suppose that is why people aren't appreciating it.
Regardless, as a fan of both horror and the amazing Junji Ito I absolutely adored this and how well it was done, his work is always disturbing in a captivating way which makes you fell enticed to the world he has created, this anime is no different.
I watched it yesterday and I will be watching again in the weekend to share the experience with my friend, thank you to everyone who took part in making this masterpiece.
Read at the sourceAristofanes
Uzumaki is a massive failure. Nevertheless, it is one of the best anime series of 2024.
The anime is not as good as the manga. However, I actually believe that the first part of the anime is better than the source material. There is a crucial difference – while the manga narrates each of the unsettling episodes separately, the anime decides to tell you multiple ones at the same time. This way the whole story feels more interconnected and the characters, especially Shuuichi, have more space for personal development, or rather descent.
Having said that, after a very strong start, the anime fails spectacularly. The second part almost feels like a self-parody. The pacing is off, the feeling of horror is almost completely gone. Instead of being mesmerised and unsettled by the story, one almost…
Read at the sourceApollo720
Animation and pace (besides the first episode) were mediocre at most, what makes me think if the problem was the anime production or if the problem was anno writing, I will probably revisit the manga some time from now.
It's crystal clear that it had potential, maybe if they done in 8 episodes instead of 4 I could actually care for the characters, because of the rushed events it was impossible to process them and feel the impact/terror it wanted to pass, not only that but the suspense also was greatly affected because of the poor pace.
The characters were dumb as a brick, what isn't anything new coming from an horror piece of media, but the sequence of events made them look even dumber, in the final 2 episodes I was rooting for the curse to catch them.
Overall it looks like a unfinished…
Read at the sourceAweSok
Overview Uzumaki
The anime is about some kind of spiral horror aspects that the world becomes convoluted and strange and loses the sense of self within this strange but weird idea in a good way that the story revolves around. I am just reading this first sentence I typed am I already lost myself in my extremely good English. The story is good with this craziness, the people become a void of spirals and things keep spinning. I love this type of horror it created with the idea.
Story 8/10
I think for the idea they really taken this idea to the next level, and they explored it so well that the story revolving around it fits and somewhat makes sense somehow. I am really impressed how the story revolves around spirals… It doesn’t make sense right now but trust me when you watch the anime it all…
Read at the sourcehahman
Please, do yourself a favour and read the manga! The show, with the exception of the first episode, was badly animation and the story progress was far too quick, leaving you little time to fully enjoy the art and horrors, and numbing you to the next "scare". If you really must, just view the first episode to see how interested you are in the theme, and then begin reading the manga from the beginning.
For anyone who wants to know more, the first episode is amongst the best adaptations of a Junji Ito work, the animation is great, the music is amazing, the plot compared to the manga is condensed slightly but it palatable. However, you'll be a fool to think the rest is as amazing as that intro. From episode 2 you'll realise that the animation is choppy, and jarring, while the plot feels hurrie…
Read at the sourcelilstilinski
It's the best animated adaption of Junji Ito's work by far, but that's not saying much. Sticking with the black and white style was smart, because it helped them focus on the creepy details that Junji Ito is able to create with his line work alone. I think the voice cast and the ambient sounds worked to its advantage as well.
The biggest drawback to this adaption is its length. I think it could have used at least two more episodes to slow the pace down, because Uzumaki is full of back to back horrors that ramp up in intensity and absurdity whereas in this adaption, some of the short stories seem to just go nowhere (Shuichi's mother) or fall flat (the spring boy). Still, it really did capture the unsettling feeling of the original work.
Read at the sourceKaaruOobun
U Z U M A K I
Short review
Story: (8)
I understand the setting completely and how the story unfolds, but if only more details were put into crafting this masterpiece. This would be one of my favorite horror. In my personal opinion: Each episode feels like it deserves its own season. The concept is there, but it lacks something. They’re cramped into one episode, but still I understand the author's intent.
Characters: (9)
SHUICHI (8.7)- Respectable. The curse is inevitable, but he still fights until the end :(
KIRIE (9) - Her decisions are sometimes questionable, but she’s alright since she’s not crazy. I also love her character
design; beautiful!
Unpopular opinion: I’d like to see her in a romance genre.
PEOPLE (7) - I like how they are mentally messed up all the way to the end. Also so…
Read at the sourcejuxyper
The overall negative views of the already existing reviews mostly focus on the source material at hand. I will refrain from doing so, and focus on the anime itself.
Why disconnect my review from the manga? It is already quite obvious that the adaptation is in fact a different imagining of the events, so taking it at face rather than with its background would seem to do it more justice.
Let's start with the visuals. Even though the crew took a *very* long time to get this anime done (about 4 years, for 4 episodes of TV standard length), the animation quality tends to lack quite a bit in places, especially for episodes 2 and 3. However, the art *style* was a perfect approach - it gives you the best Junji Ito feel from all the adaptations I've seen so far. A pity that they couldn't get it do…
Read at the sourceCuube
Uzumaki starts off great in the first episode with gorgeous animation and a good vibe, bringing the original manga into life, but completely falls a part in the later episodes. The pacing of the show completely misses the mark, it got to the point where the pacing made it impossible for me to be immersed in the story. It completely failed to build tension or suspense like the original manga did. I would honestly recommend future viewers reading this to watch the first episode and to figure out what uzumaki is all about and switch over to the manga if you enjoyed ep1.
Overall, I would not recommend this show and advise you to read the manga and save yourself from the horrible animation later on.
Read at the sourcebossunhimeswitch
I want to start by pouring one out for the anime this could have been. It's a shame that production problems plagued this adaptation, because the concept of making the anime black and white and really paying attention to the tone and point of the source material were all good choices. The first episode had so much promise and then we never reached that level of greatness again. That said, the subsequent episodes, while their production values suffered, did an excellent job of taking the story from the manga and improving upon in here and there to make it flow a little better and function well within the constraints of four episodes. Those little tweaks is why this is marked recommended instead of mixed feelings. Yet, I also feel disappointed that we did not get the product we could have ha…
Read at the sourcewhiteflame55
Yep, this was certainly... a show that happened.
The first episode was great, which makes this one particularly hard to rate because it's a balance of that with just how far it spiraled down in the next few episodes. Maybe... maybe that was the point? To make the audience feel like they're spiraling as well? If so, kudos to the showrunners: you did it.
I'm sure plenty of reviews will talk about the visual quality, which took a nosedive after episode 1. This was a fraught product in development and it shows, with the budget for this thing nearly drying up after that first episode. It's too bad because you can really see the commitment to visual fidelity side-by-side with what it looks like when a studio phones it in, and the jank is absolutely real.
But it's not just the visuals that br…
Read at the sourceGrGs
well... this was an experience like no other...
Though as you can see I set this review as recommended but that's not because this show is anything amazing nor mind blowing. I think that for a 4 episode long anime this is a pretty unique experience that most anime fan should try to experience at least once.
Anime as a medium isn't fit for horror, as animation especially in anime artstyle is pretty bad at showing fear or disturbing imagery so I guess I could appreciate Uzumaki for trying to make up for it by making the artstyle and coloring similar to that of a manga, but did it work? Well kinda... The artstyle manages to enhance the creepy eerie feeling that probably wouldn't exists if it was colored like a normal anime, but even then it is still quite lacking.
And now lets talk about…
Read at the sourceraviwe
Uzumaki is, in my opinion, a true masterpiece of the horror manga genre. If you're even remotely curious about manga horror or willing to give it a shot, check out the manga—because this anime only manages to butcher it. The only redeeming factor is the innovation in art style in the first episode, which seemed like a good idea at first. Unfortunately, the quality drops quickly, and the changes to the source material are ultimately unwarranted.
With that said, let’s start by exploring what this manga is about and the themes it seeks to convey. We’ll discuss whether the beginning is misleading, how it approaches its themes, and how effectively it utilizes the major elements of the medium.
So, what is this manga about?
At its core, Uzumaki is a story about obsession. The obsessive nature…
Read at the sourceImNotAnOtaku1
The human mind is home to every single one of the greatest inventions that we, as a species, have seen; be them practical devices or amazing stories, there's a near infinite amount of beauty which originates in the brain of many a-homo sapiens sapiens out there. The human mind is also home to whatever the fuck this is, so it more or less evens things out to a middle-ground between "wonderful" and "God please we need another great flood and this time without Noah's ark".
Junji Ito is, undeniably, one of the greatest horror writers in recent history, and Uzumaki is by many considered to be his magnum opus, his créme de la créme, and for those who don't understand Latin nor French: his bestest, goodest work. It takes a single man's mind to come up with such a story as that of Uzumaki, and wh…
Read at the source