A review by madmichele
Uzumaki by Junji Ito
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.75
loved this - not quite as much as the tomie series, but still. I think I would’ve enjoyed it more if shuichi was the protagonist - I just didn’t care about kirie quite as much as him. I loved his characterization much more and I think this story from his perspective would be very compelling.
I wasn’t scared of uzumaki but that’s more telling about me than it is about ito. the story was certainly creepy as hell but I just never get scared of supernatural or unrealistic horror. anything realistic (or more realistic sci-fi or fantasy even… like the invisible man film really scared me even though the science doesn’t exist) will get me. so I definitely wasn’t disappointed by my lack of fear, it’s very normal to me. the story was definitely creepy though. I would love to pick ito’s brain — what on earth is going on in there?
artistically, ito really excels in body horror & conveying emotion/story through the eyes. the panels containing one or both of those elements are my favorite and have definitely stuck with me. I also think people ignore his comedy when praising him, like of course he is clearly a master of horror but he’s also quite funny if you pay attention!
a little thing that I really enjoyed throughout reading was the little tiny spirals in the background of panels. they’re unnoticeable if you’re not looking, but from the beginning there are spirals in the blades of grass and wood grain - it’s really some fantastic subtle storytelling on ito’s part. as an artist I really loved that attention to detail.
finally, I loved how the story itself was also a spiral… you don’t realize it at first, but when it hits you… damn.
I wasn’t scared of uzumaki but that’s more telling about me than it is about ito. the story was certainly creepy as hell but I just never get scared of supernatural or unrealistic horror. anything realistic (or more realistic sci-fi or fantasy even… like the invisible man film really scared me even though the science doesn’t exist) will get me. so I definitely wasn’t disappointed by my lack of fear, it’s very normal to me. the story was definitely creepy though. I would love to pick ito’s brain — what on earth is going on in there?
artistically, ito really excels in body horror & conveying emotion/story through the eyes. the panels containing one or both of those elements are my favorite and have definitely stuck with me. I also think people ignore his comedy when praising him, like of course he is clearly a master of horror but he’s also quite funny if you pay attention!
a little thing that I really enjoyed throughout reading was the little tiny spirals in the background of panels. they’re unnoticeable if you’re not looking, but from the beginning there are spirals in the blades of grass and wood grain - it’s really some fantastic subtle storytelling on ito’s part. as an artist I really loved that attention to detail.
finally, I loved how the story itself was also a spiral… you don’t realize it at first, but when it hits you… damn.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Blood, Gore, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Violence, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Grief, Medical trauma, Forced institutionalization, and Death of parent