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EP. REVIEW: Uzumaki


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GATSU



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 25, 2024 6:33 pm Reply with quote
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Covnam



Joined: 31 May 2005
Posts: 3824
PostPosted: Wed Sep 25, 2024 8:47 pm Reply with quote
I never read Uzumaki, but it sounds like it's more like a series of short stories following a central theme?
I was planning to wait and binge the 4 episodes since it's so short, but if there will be new stories each episode, then there isn't really a need...
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harminia



Joined: 24 Aug 2015
Posts: 2051
Location: australia
PostPosted: Wed Sep 25, 2024 10:59 pm Reply with quote
Covnam wrote:
I never read Uzumaki, but it sounds like it's more like a series of short stories following a central theme?
I was planning to wait and binge the 4 episodes since it's so short, but if there will be new stories each episode, then there isn't really a need...


It's basically like an anthology for a lot of it except it's set in the same place with the same characters watching the town get overtaken by spirals. The overarching plot is basically just there's spirals everywhere.
I don't think you'd necessarily need to watch every ep prior to understand, say, ep 3 or something but it'd be a good idea so you can understand the main characters and see how the town changes from story to story.
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bezchillwell23



Joined: 26 Sep 2024
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 26, 2024 1:48 am Reply with quote
Yeah, Uzumaki is structured as a series of loosely connected stories all revolving around the same town and the spirals that plague it. Each episode should feel like its own eerie tale, so watching them one by one could still be a great experience without needing to binge.
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Dr. Wily



Joined: 09 Nov 2007
Posts: 380
PostPosted: Thu Sep 26, 2024 3:34 pm Reply with quote
I still haven't read Uzumaki (mainly because I wanted to see this blind) but speedrunning was my chief concern after I heard it would only be 4 episodes (especially after hearing the manga is 600 pages). Still glad to hear it's mostly still good though. So hyped for Saturday. Though I'm gonna be out of town so I hope I can actually catch it.
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Covnam



Joined: 31 May 2005
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 26, 2024 9:56 pm Reply with quote
Thanks for the info. Guess I won't go out of my way to hold off if I have time to watch it Smile
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quoss



Joined: 08 May 2010
Posts: 52
PostPosted: Mon Sep 30, 2024 7:04 pm Reply with quote
Well, it's out! Indeed I'd give it a very measly 2/10 for unsettling but the art is great. ...Was gonna say that while and after reading Uzumaki, I felt truly haunted for weeks. I would mumble, "Spirals," to my poor innocent roommate and see them everywhere. Thought to myself after watching this episode, def not going to get that again. Then I started reading the newest Hyakkano chapter--a very silly lovey-dovey rom-com manga for those not in the know--which happens to feature flowing somen (but in a giant round pool.) . . . s p i r a l s
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Gem-Bug



Joined: 10 Nov 2018
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 07, 2024 1:02 pm Reply with quote
Man oh man, I saw a clip of the beach scene animation and I think I'm just going to not even touch this entire thing. What a total shame. Confused
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Farafra



Joined: 29 Jan 2021
Posts: 134
PostPosted: Mon Oct 07, 2024 1:04 pm Reply with quote
Shock of the century; the best Junji Ito adaptation to date still isn't very good.
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Top Gun



Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 4800
PostPosted: Mon Oct 07, 2024 1:10 pm Reply with quote
Maybe I'm alone here, and I'll freely admit to not having read the original manga, but I honestly don't mind the fast pacing. It gives me a sense of constantly being on my toes, with no way of knowing when the next batch of grotesque horror will come out of nowhere and blindside me. (Seriously, I need an "oh what the ****" counter going when watching these.) I'm sure this is a different experience than the manga, which I'd assume is much more deliberately paced, but I don't know, it's working for me for the most part.

As for how the episode looked, yeah, in retrospect I can see that it was pretty jank, but on first viewing I was so engrossed by what was going on that I only barely registered it. It is a shame that at least parts of this production seem to have turned into an absolute mess, though with the numerous repeated delays that was probably a given.
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Bvick00



Joined: 17 Jan 2022
Posts: 59
Location: Goa, India
PostPosted: Mon Oct 07, 2024 2:03 pm Reply with quote
The animation downgrade and lesser details of the grotesque scenes in Episode 2 was just tragic to watch! Going from episode 1 to this one was just rough and the production value of this episode reminded me of the rather sub par Junji Ito Collection from years ago. I can only hope that for the potential Blu-ray release that these issues are fixed, but that may prove to be a tall order.



Also of note, spoiler[ is that they changed the sequence of events from the original manga ] most likely due to compensate for the 4 episode length which is shorter then that of the original manga's 600+ pages.

https://bleedingcool.com/tv/uzumaki-junji-ito-anime-adaptation-process-like-a-dream/

From the interview :
Ito confirmed that the screenplay of the series is finished, since he checked. He says "Four episodes is way shorter than the original manga.spoiler[ They did a good job of rearranging the series.]

Sigh Sad I'm going to have to disagree with you there Ito, look at how they massacred your magnum opus in the 2nd episode, I can only hope it doesn't continue for the final 2 episodes.

....... Anime dazed

While we bemoan what happened to the 2nd episode, the amazing soundtrack composed by Colin Stetson is getting a release on vinyl records(very fitting indeed) with an exclusive beautiful and immaculate cover art courtesy of the horror maestro himself Arrow https://youtu.be/5f0qKjhKvR4?si=Da93miCMZgBc9JJb
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Dr. Wily



Joined: 09 Nov 2007
Posts: 380
PostPosted: Mon Oct 07, 2024 2:55 pm Reply with quote
I know "yelling at the characters to stop being stupid" is a thing in every horror movie ever, but the whole time I just couldn't help but think "Jesus, Kirie, you just saw your friend turn into a black hole, get on the first train out of town and never look back, girl! Maybe try to convince your family to leave too but if they're too stubborn then cut ties and bail! Don't stick around to see what other horrifying spiral-based nightmares come next!"

Also I can't be the only one who watched the hair fight and thought "wait a minute I saw this stand battle back in Diamond is Unbreakable, right?" Very Happy

Gem-Bug wrote:
Man oh man, I saw a clip of the beach scene animation and I think I'm just going to not even touch this entire thing. What a total shame. Confused


Honestly aside from the beach scene (I'm sure I know the one specific clip you're talking about since it went viral) the episode still looks pretty good. The main problem is, as the review mentioned, the breakneck pacing coming from shoving so much story into so few episodes.

Still just curious to hear at the end of the day how the decision was made to do only 4 episodes. Then again, if the credits are anything to go by, looks like it might something far more terrorizing than a spiral, running out of money! Mr. Green
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Top Gun



Joined: 28 Sep 2007
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 07, 2024 3:18 pm Reply with quote
Dr. Wily wrote:
Also I can't be the only one who watched the hair fight and thought "wait a minute I saw this stand battle back in Diamond is Unbreakable, right?" Very Happy

Heh, that was my very first thought too. Laughing
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FishLion



Joined: 24 Jan 2024
Posts: 237
PostPosted: Mon Oct 07, 2024 3:24 pm Reply with quote
Dr. Wily wrote:
Honestly aside from the beach scene (I'm sure I know the one specific clip you're talking about since it went viral) the episode still looks pretty good. The main problem is, as the review mentioned, the breakneck pacing coming from shoving so much story into so few episodes.


I feel like a lot of the horror in the manga came from the slow drip of weird stuff. That feeling of living somewhere and being stuck there and getting used to it is important. I will need to see for myself but this sort of thing trips up a lot of horror adaptations.
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Themaster20000



Joined: 05 Aug 2014
Posts: 871
PostPosted: Mon Oct 07, 2024 3:52 pm Reply with quote
Man, that's gotta be one of the biggest drops in animation quality in years. Even ignoring that, doing 5 stories simultaneously with that runtime is just impossible to make good. I sure covid really screwed things up schedule-wise, hence having to go to another studio animate it, but to not allow Nagahama direct this episode and the next one really me wonder just how bad it was behind the scenes.
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