mariloom's review against another edition
5.0
i truly felt like a participant the whole time, like i lived in this bizarre town and underwent its descent just as all the characters involved
smalefowles's review against another edition
4.0
Such a good creepy premise, and the art is phenomenal. The first chapter is the best, but they're all pretty good.
paracosm's review against another edition
5.0
I am not surprised that I enjoyed this as much as I did. I’ve previously read other short stories by Junji Ito, but this was my first full “novel” by him and he’s now one of my favorite authors.
The premise is that some sort of eldritch horror takes over a small coastal town and curses it with spirals. People are going insane, objects are being diformed into bizarre shapes, and everything seems to be only getting worse as the plague continues. It’s strange, grotesque and I love it so much. The concept of the Spiral (also known as “uzumaki”) as some sort of lovecraftian entity is so interesting. You can tell how much creativity the author placed into developing its maximum potential. It reminds me of a podcast I’ve been listening to called The Magnus Archives, so now I know from where they took their inspiration from.
The art style is beautiful, it works so well with the story. Can’t wait to see it animated when the movie comes out. My main concert with this manga are the characters. I’ve heard before that Junji Ito is not that good with characterization, and that’s correct. The main character has no personality, she is just there to witness the events and tell us about them. You could almost remove her from the story and change the narrator to 3th person without any consequences for the plot. But I honestly enjoy reading it so much that I’ll give it five stars anyway.
The premise is that some sort of eldritch horror takes over a small coastal town and curses it with spirals. People are going insane, objects are being diformed into bizarre shapes, and everything seems to be only getting worse as the plague continues. It’s strange, grotesque and I love it so much. The concept of the Spiral (also known as “uzumaki”) as some sort of lovecraftian entity is so interesting. You can tell how much creativity the author placed into developing its maximum potential. It reminds me of a podcast I’ve been listening to called The Magnus Archives, so now I know from where they took their inspiration from.
The art style is beautiful, it works so well with the story. Can’t wait to see it animated when the movie comes out. My main concert with this manga are the characters. I’ve heard before that Junji Ito is not that good with characterization, and that’s correct. The main character has no personality, she is just there to witness the events and tell us about them. You could almost remove her from the story and change the narrator to 3th person without any consequences for the plot. But I honestly enjoy reading it so much that I’ll give it five stars anyway.
unicornofjoy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
thereistime's review against another edition
4.0
This was a great Halloween read, the drawings were quite creepy and the story itself is really interesting, the ending wasn't at the same caliber as the rest of the story, but it was still kind of creepy all the same.
flowercities's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
this is so creepy and wonderful
rakktels's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
sisa_moyo's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
My first horror manga and it absolutely scared me, those short shallow breaths over spirals???
@throneofpages owes me damages for therapy 😪
@throneofpages owes me damages for therapy 😪
maggieluong's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
ethan_libra's review against another edition
4.0
My first manga was a strong introduction to the medium. With sharp, precise drawings and great dramatic pacing, Junji Ito's Uzumaki, Volume 1 envelops the reader in the story, showing us the characters and the town they live in right before it starts being torn apart. Kirie and Shuichi were both strong main characters, and the setting was drawn beautifully. However, the true standout is Ito's trademark body horror, which creeps into the story, sears its images into your brain, and escapes before anyone has a chance to confront it. I have a feeling this will become a favorite recommendation of mine; too bad I had to return it before I could spread my copy to my horror-loving friends and family.