Uzumaki

Description

From Viz:
Kurôzu-cho, a small fogbound town on the coast of Japan, is cursed. According to Shuichi Saito, the withdrawn boyfriend of teenager Kirie Goshima, their town is haunted not by a person or being but by a pattern: uzumaki, the spiral, the hypnotic secret shape of the world. It manifests itself in small ways: seashells, ferns, whirlpools in water, whirlwinds in air. And in large ways: the spiral marks on people's bodies, the insane obsessions of Shuichi's father, the voice from the cochlea in your inner ear. As the madness spreads, the inhabitants of Kurôzu-cho are pulled ever deeper, as if into a whirlpool from which there is no return.

Type

Manga

Related Series

N/A

Associated Names

Lubuk Pusar (Malay)

Sarmal

Spiral (ITOU Junji)

Spirala (Polish)

Spirale (French)

Spirals

Spirála

The Spiral

Uzumaki - Spirala užasa (Serbian)

Uzumaki - Spirale (Italian)

Vortex

Whirlpool

Спіраль

الدوامة

ก้นหอยมรณะ

うずまき

漩涡

Groups Scanlating

Manga-Sketchbook

Latest Release(s)

v.3 c.18-20 (end) by Manga-Sketchbook 18 years ago

v.3 c.15-17 by Manga-Sketchbook 18 years ago

v.3 c.14 by Manga-Sketchbook 18 years ago

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Status in Country of Origin

3 Volumes (Complete)

Completely Scanlated?

Yes

Anime Start/End Chapter

Starts at Vol 1, Chap 1

Ends at Vol 3, Chap 19 (Skips Chap 20) Heavily abridged with a new epilogue

User Reviews

N/A

Forum

0 topics, 0 posts

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User Rating

Average: 7.9 / 10.0 (1105 votes)

Bayesian Average: 7.86 / 10.0

15%

18%

31%

20%

Last Updated

November 3rd, 2024 7:54am PST - 6 months ago

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Genre

Drama Horror Mature Mystery Psychological Seinen Supernatural Tragedy
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Categories

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Category Recommendations

My Cursed Prince Charming

Renai Mangaka

Zoushoku Shoujo Plana-chan!

Recommendations

Author(s)

Artist(s)

Year

Original Publisher

Shogakukan

Serialized In (magazine)

Big Comic Spirits (Shogakukan)

Licensed (in English)

Yes

English Publisher

Viz (3 Volumes - Complete; 3-in-1 Deluxe Edition - Complete)

Activity Stats (vs. other series)

Weekly Pos #747

(-2)

Monthly Pos #1657

(-128)

3 Month Pos #2943

(-27)

6 Month Pos #3686

(+457)

Year Pos #4104

(-124)

List Stats

On 389 reading lists

On 810 wish lists

On 2817 completed lists

On 49 unfinished lists

On 327 custom lists

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Forum Posts Click to view the forum

User Comments [ Order by time added ]

Clever horror, but disappoints in the end

by lynira
13 years ago

Rating: 6.0 / 10.0

I thought this series was generally quite clever. The idea of basing the series on the notion that the spiral, a beautiful design which occurs naturally in many places, could become a "force" which steadily draws in everything and devours it, was interesting. Also, the people are drawn well, and the environment and its spirals have a lot of detail. It has a carefully crafted pervasive atmosphere that even the reader can feel, just like the spiral's pervasive presence in the world. I didn't like the gruesome stuff (it's not unbearable, but certainly not for kids), but it is a horror after all. I also thought the lead-in to ending was well done. (When this lead-in starts, the manga sort of shifts from being various short horror stories around one theme to more of an adventure story style, where the events in the chapters connect. I liked this later part better since it was more like an adventure, but those who like more of a pure horror story might like the beginning more.) But the ending was so half-hearted and incredibly unsatisfying--the mangaka didn't even bother to explain the basis of the spiral curse, why it plagued this particular town, or anything. Explaining more will involve spoilers, so read in the box if you're interested:

The part leading up to the ending was the best, in my opinion. Making the whole town naturally be built into a huge spiral unwittingly by its inhabitants was really clever, especially since we were made to wonder about why the old houses weren't destroyed and at the design on the old map. And then it turned out there was a path leading underground in the old lake--with a spiral staircase of course. It was exciting to finally find out what was hiding in the lake. And then it turned out there was a whole "spiral kingdom" down there, the source of the spiral curse! I think this was designed well by the mangaka, engaging the reader with the promise of finding out what was causing everything, gradually revealing ever more grand and more mysterious spiral "secrets" which were behind the events: from small individual occurrences with spirals, to the swirling lake, to the whole town's structure, to a near-endless spiral staircase leading down, to an enormous cave full of a giant spiral castle, around a a giant spiral "eye." But then it just ends: "and then Kirie and Shuichi turned into spirals too, and they stayed that way together forever. The end." What a let-down.

It was lacking both in respect to the characters and in respect to the spiral premise of the story. After coming to like Kirie and Shuichi through all the events, I was left thinking, "That's it? Come on, you're telling me after miraculously surviving all the other stuff, they just went poot? They got all the way to the cause of the spiral curse and then just died?? What was the point of them surviving as normal humans to reach the spiral eye then? And the mangaka didn't give any explanation about the spiral curse, even though that's what the manga was about.

Of course, what I wanted was for Kirie and Shuichi to somehow overcome the spiral curse (They did make it all the way to the source, after all!) and escape the town, but I think this manga still could have had a satisfying ending if, after they "died" (became spiral people who just stare at the "eye"), the mangaka had explained the crux of the spiral curse through narration. The "extra story" chapter at the end is the perfect place for that narration, too! (But instead, it's only a oneshot about a spiral event, like in the beginning of the manga.) Without bothering to tell us why the curse was there, why in that particular location, how the spiral underground eye was created, why it would "turn off" and then back "on" over time, why the spiral curse wasn't able to spread and affect other surrounding areas, etc., it just feels like the foundation of the story is missing. Especially after what I thought was a great lead-in to the ending, it's a real let-down. I can deal with the ending not being happy (well, typical "happy," anyway), but an ending lacking the most important part of the manga (an explanation of the spiral curse), really diminished the experience of reading this for me.

... Last updated 11 years ago

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Masterpiece of terror

by Telengard
17 years ago

Rating: 9.0 / 10.0

With Uzumaki, Junji Ito proves that he knows what I'm afraid of. In the bizarre events and gruesome images of these volumes I have seen things I now wish I could forget. These things have been preying on my mind for a few days already, and I expect they will for weeks to come.

The stories are loaded with innovative ideas you aren't likely to see repeated in any other work of horror. If Freddy, Jason, and Michael epitomize slasher films, Uzumaki is the antithesis of them. There are very few cliches to be found here.

The plot of Uzumaki is somewhat loose as the stories are mostly event driven. The end is almost disappointing, and perhaps flawed. Without spoiling I can only say that the end seemed inevitable.

The characters of Uzumaki are somewhat deeper than in Ito-sensei's previous works, but still quite simple. Even more, they grew on me, and I slowly began to care about them. This is a vast improvement over the characters of Tomie, for example.

The art of Uzumaki is very good, and at times breathtaking. The environment is filled with intricate patterns and detailed scenery. I was astounded by the vast difference in quality between Uzumaki and Ito-sensei's earlier works.

Uzumaki should be considered required reading for all serious horror fans. General audiences should be forewarned that readers will be confronted with viscerally repulsive imagery. Uzumaki is not for everyone, but if you think your constitution is strong enough then give it a read.

... Last updated 17 years ago

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At first I was like .-., then I was like o_O, then I was like O_O, and then I went =\

by AmishSamurai
16 years ago

Rating: 7.0 / 10.0

The title sums up my opinion. Started off odd, then slightly more odd, then just plain weird, and then lame and nonsensical. Good if you have 2 hours to kill though.

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Starts off promising but ends up being just okay

by cowflu
4 years ago

Rating: 6.0 / 10.0

I was pretty into this at the start. Kirie's boyfriend was like "this town is wrong, we need to leave," Kirie wasn't seeing it, things start getting weird. But eventually you gotta ask... why isn't Kirie leaving? Sure, we can imagine multiple reasons (she's just a highschooler; her parents want to stay; she's already infected by the spirals) but the issue is never actually addressed. Guess it's just because she's a horror protagonist. Like, how many times do you need to see people get mutated and/or die before you pack your bags, grab your little brother, and forge a new life in Midoriyama? Maybe I'd be more into it if the story took place over 30 years or there were multiple protagonists who individually never reached a critical mass of weird until it was too late. Maybe it's just because the manga is over 20 years old so I'm more used to works inspired by things like this who had to change things up. I suppose I, like Kirie, will just not worry about.

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Ridiculous

by FormX
13 years ago

Rating: N/A

From the description and the majority of the feedback, this looked like a real horror with a lasting effect... so I held it off.
I finally felt like wanting to know more about the spirals, so I read it in one sitting at night.

Turned out to be less than what I thought it would be. The beginning is was pretty good, but then the spirals just began to escalate into ridiculousness that you could even laugh at.

Sure you may look at spirals in a different way afterwards, but don't expect too much.

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A Good Classic Horror Story

by falconmaster3000
5 years ago

Rating: 8.5 / 10.0

It's very charming and macabre. Sort of reminds me of Edgar Allen Poe in a weird way. It's not without flaws, but it's a fun read. I liked it a lot. Although it doesn't particularly stand out, it's good and short as long as you can suspend your disbelief enough and not over-analyze or critique characters' actions.

You will enjoy it more if you view the telling the story of the town with the main characters being devices to convey that story, rather than the story of people. This is probably intentional and very post-modern. A person has little agency in what happens to them; the events of life (and particularly the town and the spirals) just happen beyond anyone's control.
Overall, the artwork is memorable and the work is well-crafted. You will enjoy it

... Last updated 5 years ago

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Pretty good

by nail80
15 years ago

Rating: 8.0 / 10.0

Having heard a lot about Uzumaki i thought about taking a chance and end the speculation. I'm a big fan of horror so i just couldn't pass this manga up.
And what can i say?
It was amazing, after reading the first two chapters i was mesmerized and a bit disgusted.
So i decided to read it as many chapters as i could in one night, the horror concept was twisted and played around as much as possible to still be scary: and at some points it was, it was brutal. The first two volumes were very, very good, but the third volume was kind of a let down.
It was obvious that the semi episodic nature of the manga had to end, there had to be evidence of a greater evil so to speak, which put the characters in a flawed thriller.
I have to give kudos because it is a very original concept, but had the final volume been better and still scary it would have gotten a 9.
Another thing that i have to mention is that although the art isn't mindblowing it really works for the story, having also read Gyo i became familiar with it and it was really enjoyable.

Overall it is a magical little trip towards an insane ridden, obscure, twisted world that horror fans should take, if only just to see something different.

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creepy awesome

by zoo
16 years ago

Rating: N/A

i have to agree with some previous comments. the beginning was fantastic - solid premise with a lot of promise. i really enjoyed the little 'adventures' and the spiral observations in nature. the art was superb and clean, and the story-telling was very well-timed, but by the third volume, things got a little too absurd. and i didn't like the ending. it felt like ...a cop-out? it was unsatisfactory. regardless, i enjoyed reading it.

Rating: 9 / 10.0

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Addictive

by tumy102
16 years ago

Rating: N/A

I started reading this at 11pm (what was I thinking eh). Well finished the whole thing in one go, at some point you get the feeling that the story just keep repeating over and over again however you don't stop and I think that's the addictive thing about Itou sensei's works.
Although nothing is resolved at the end, but I really enjoy how sensei portrays his characters, very normal, very real, greedy, delusional, coward, etc. Especially the main heroine when she decides not to get in further danger to satisfy her curiosity (normally in horror movies and manga, the main character foolishly get into trouble that the stupidest person could have figure out that it's not okay to be curious) and the villager who refuse to help others just to safe themselves. Intentional or not, lessons of Karma is spread all over the pages.
I am haunted by the Snail people chapters, people turning into snails, people eating snails, the spirals that grew on their back, their expressions, the first two snail boys mate, their eggs, >,< send chills down my spine.
Art is great, classic manga style, no sailor moon eyes and Tsubasa legs, which i love, plus the haunting detailed scenery deserves praise.
Although things are explained at the end but nothing gets resolved, still a Good read.

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Snails....

by Egg Tart
16 years ago

Rating: 9.5 / 10.0

At first I thought it was just bizarre but as it progressed parts of the story really did scare me. The events building up to the main plot were really unique and the twist(no pun intended) were great. The many disturbing scenes and the concept of the manga in general really hook you.

The horror aspect really shined. I have to admit, after the whole snail face chewing scene I've never looked at them in the same way...

The ending wasn't what I had hoped nor did it do justice to the rest of the manga but still it seemed some what fitting for the story...

... Last updated 14 years ago

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