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A review by clovetra
Uzumaki by Junji Ito
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
what absolute insanity.
so first off i have to say this easily my favourite ito collection. i loved how there were consistent characters i.e. kirie & shuichi (ugh my loves). the only reason i'll say this isn't a 5 star is because i loved vol 1&2, however i didn't enjoy vol 3. ok lets rate the chapters baybeeee
the spiral obsession part 1: amazing beautiful stunning. i love the "origin" story. it also sets the tone super well and the visuals are stunning. 4/5
the spiral obsession part 2: i loved the insanity of this chapter. the pacing was amazing, beginning to see shuichi's spiral (heh) into insanity was fun. 5/5
the scar: quintessential uzumaki story. so fucking weird and i loved seeing the images we all recognise as ito's work. ending is insane but tbh what story doesn't end wildly. 5/5
the firing effect: lowkey forgot about this story. visuals eat but idk the story is mid. 3/5
twisted souls: insanity. the visuals esp at the end had me gasp out loud. the story overall was a bit messy imo but the ending made up for it. 4/5
medusa: was quite insane. i liked seeing kirie in the firing line of the spirals. the ending is cute & i love her relationship w/ shuichi here. also hair battling is cool. 4/5
now onto volume 2:
jack in the box: LOVED IT. batshit crazy & idea was great. kinda irrelevant for the plot overall. 3/5
the snail: also giving quintessential ito. enough said. 5/5
the black lighthouse: idk i didn't like this one. it kind of didn't follow the theme of other chapters & seemed a bit too far-fetched for the universe. 2/5
mosquitos: least favourite story of uzumaki. so random & did not fit this anthology. also irrelevant 1/5
the umbilical cord: same deal as mosquitos except slightly more fucked up. 2/5
the storm: weird, never expanded on, but crucial to the plot so i kind of get it. 2/5
ok now volume 3:
to me volume 3 doesn't have chapters. idc that they do. they all follow sequentially so im going to like just stream of consciousness this bitch. this volume kinda sucked ass! literally if u asked me anything significant that happened i could maybe name 3 things. i liked the snail plot (i love the snails bro they're so fucked up and i just like snails full stop). i get this takes the spirals to a new level but idk man i kind of didn't like it. i know i complained about this exact issue with flesh colored horror but i hate when ito explains the fucked up things happening!!!! and this is exactly what vol 3 does. i did enjoy the time skip & the visuals but they were nawt enough. the ending was also incredibly lackluster. and the extra chapter <b>galaxies</b>.... where does that fit in the timeline? im just confused at this point.
overall i liked this, but i felt as the chapters progressed ito lost his way a bit. this is easily my favourite junji ito story tho. lets hope as i go thru his more recent works the more i enjoy them SKFJSKF
so first off i have to say this easily my favourite ito collection. i loved how there were consistent characters i.e. kirie & shuichi (ugh my loves). the only reason i'll say this isn't a 5 star is because i loved vol 1&2, however i didn't enjoy vol 3. ok lets rate the chapters baybeeee
the spiral obsession part 1: amazing beautiful stunning. i love the "origin" story. it also sets the tone super well and the visuals are stunning. 4/5
the spiral obsession part 2: i loved the insanity of this chapter. the pacing was amazing, beginning to see shuichi's spiral (heh) into insanity was fun. 5/5
the scar: quintessential uzumaki story. so fucking weird and i loved seeing the images we all recognise as ito's work. ending is insane but tbh what story doesn't end wildly. 5/5
the firing effect: lowkey forgot about this story. visuals eat but idk the story is mid. 3/5
twisted souls: insanity. the visuals esp at the end had me gasp out loud. the story overall was a bit messy imo but the ending made up for it. 4/5
medusa: was quite insane. i liked seeing kirie in the firing line of the spirals. the ending is cute & i love her relationship w/ shuichi here. also hair battling is cool. 4/5
now onto volume 2:
jack in the box: LOVED IT. batshit crazy & idea was great. kinda irrelevant for the plot overall. 3/5
the snail: also giving quintessential ito. enough said. 5/5
the black lighthouse: idk i didn't like this one. it kind of didn't follow the theme of other chapters & seemed a bit too far-fetched for the universe. 2/5
mosquitos: least favourite story of uzumaki. so random & did not fit this anthology. also irrelevant 1/5
the umbilical cord: same deal as mosquitos except slightly more fucked up. 2/5
the storm: weird, never expanded on, but crucial to the plot so i kind of get it. 2/5
ok now volume 3:
to me volume 3 doesn't have chapters. idc that they do. they all follow sequentially so im going to like just stream of consciousness this bitch. this volume kinda sucked ass! literally if u asked me anything significant that happened i could maybe name 3 things. i liked the snail plot (i love the snails bro they're so fucked up and i just like snails full stop). i get this takes the spirals to a new level but idk man i kind of didn't like it. i know i complained about this exact issue with flesh colored horror but i hate when ito explains the fucked up things happening!!!! and this is exactly what vol 3 does. i did enjoy the time skip & the visuals but they were nawt enough. the ending was also incredibly lackluster. and the extra chapter <b>galaxies</b>.... where does that fit in the timeline? im just confused at this point.
overall i liked this, but i felt as the chapters progressed ito lost his way a bit. this is easily my favourite junji ito story tho. lets hope as i go thru his more recent works the more i enjoy them SKFJSKF
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Suicide, Medical content, Death of parent, and Murder