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This Week in Anime - Uzumaki Spiraled Out of Control

So is this basically a case of the studio making the first episode, the executives wigging out when they saw how much money that cost, and then ordering the project to have the remaining episodes made as cheaply as possible... because (in their minds) the series would perform perfectly fine on the Junji Ito name recognition alone? Anime having troubled productions is nothing new obviously, but it's rare to see such a dramatic shift in quality so blatantly like that. (I don't think ep 2-4 was quite "biggest dumpster fire ever" like folks online were quick to claim, but still, it hurt to have seen what the whole show could've been.)

I feel bad for Ito at this point. I really don't think it's such an impossibly tall order to get one of his famous manga made into a good anime. There's a worldwide demand for it, yeah? People like to say his art is just too detailed to replicate faithfully, but I don't think a 1:1 recreation of every panel is necessary.

Blade Runner Black Lotus becoming lost media because the franchise was sold to Amazon MGM so they can make Blade Runner 2099)

Beatdigga wrote:

Blade Runner Black Lotus becoming lost media because the franchise was sold to Amazon MGM so they can make Blade Runner 2099)

I don't think that's how lost media works, my guy. Or that you're using the definition right.

Long story short, I enjoyed Uzumaki for what it was, even with the obligatory dismay at the quality drop between episodes 1 and 2 - seriously, it's so much more than just the beach running scene that went wrong there - and sometimes, that's all that's needed in an opinion.

Adult Swim original anime is quickly gaining a reputation for poor quality in production and writing. That being said, I think DeMarco is safe unless War of Rorrhim bombs at the box office. If it does, I have no doubt Zaslav will fire him by spring 2025.

Timing-wise, and with the change in staff, I think the problems were already there. Going from Jason's online comment, and the timing around WB, I do think that any chance of salvaging it was over though. It seemed like word came down that the project was over, and it was a question of what they would have to show for it.

No, you’re right. I was under the assumption the show was no longer legally watchable. You can still watch it on Crunchyroll or buy it on Prime Video, although I don’t know why you’d want to.

Adult Swim anime originals are a great idea on paper, albeit one necessary because their parent company willingly sold a profitable anime acquisition and distribution business to Sony giving them a near monopoly on the stuff between them and Netflix. But in practice, Jason DeMarco’s attempts at the stuff have been dogged by production issues (Uzumaki), just bad writing (Rick and Morty the Anime, the endless FLCL sequels no one asked for) and copyright tomfoolery (Shenmue being canceled because of the Crunchyroll sale, Blade Runner Black Lotus becoming lost media because the franchise was sold to Amazon MGM so they can make Blade Runner 2099).

The worm is starting to turn on the ratings. After Week 1, Uzumaki was outdoing The Franchise on Max, and was only behind John Oliver and The Penguin. By Week 3, the ratings had essentially collapsed. Same with Rick and Morty, which started as the most viewed show on Max Week 1 only for its ratings to collapse as the show went on and became increasingly incoherent.

Adult Swim original anime is quickly gaining a reputation for poor quality in production and writing. That being said, I think DeMarco is safe unless War of Rorrhim bombs at the box office. If it does, I have no doubt Zaslav will fire him by spring 2025.

As I've said previously, I'm not a horror fan. I tend to avoid stuff like that as much as possible.... It also benefited from a strong story. It wasn't just some crazy maniac running around hacking people to death.