Junji Ito’s stories rarely work well when animated. From “Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre” to “Junji Ito: Collection,” it seems impossible to convey his artistic visuals in animation without accidentally making the stories choppy or slightly saturated. Sometimes, the animation can even remove the audience from the atmosphere that Ito is known to create. This hasn’t prevented artists from trying to adapt these works, and recently, that’s a good thing. Toonami, known for legendary series like “Dragon Ball Z” and “Samurai Jack,” has been working on an animated version of Ito’s “Uzumaki” for the past four years. When the project was first announced, it was a concept that seemed like a distant hope. However, with the first look at “Uzumaki,” it seems more and more promising. Toonami’s “Uzumaki” has an eerie atmosphere that offers possibilities for what an animated Ito iteration could be; its dedication to the manga’s style, with spirals surrounding the characters, help to create this atmosphere.
“Uzumaki,” which means “whirlpool” in Japanese, is meant to cause fear and paranoia in the reader with the sheer amount of spirals found both in the story and in the “spiraling” of individual characters who descend into madness as time passes. The story shows each character fall into some sort of obsession — either with themselves or their work or by harming those around them. The still drawings of the manga mean that one must use their imagination to follow the spirals, to see the degree of obsession of each character, and to understand the dizzying and addictive nature of the shape. An animated version of “Uzumaki” would not only bring the spirals to life but would make the concept all the more salient and meaningful.
The consistency of the spiral imagery also adds to the animation’s visuals. The manga’s line art finds its way into the animation in every aspect down to the smallest details, such as the wind and the hair. The characters’ slower movements keep the illustrations from seeming static while also keeping the animation smooth. As a result, the characters seem to be simultaneously full of life and somber, remaining consistent with the depth and nuance of the material. And of course, Ito is well known for the intricate drawings that he makes — lines one after the other, stippling that would take ages to recreate and horrifying one-off shots of characters that would make the average viewer nauseous. The animation doesn’t just do its best to recreate his work; it is incredibly successful. The animation follows this style to a T, with no strand of the protagonist’s hair left out. Even from the first look, the animators don’t simplify her at any moment. The lack of color and the focus on sound design to fully immerse the viewer shows more intent to replicate Ito’s work, something both incredibly heartwarming and exciting.
As Adult Swim, a programming block broadcast by American cable channel Cartoon Network, releases more and more information, it feels nearly impossible to not be constantly shaking with anticipation at how incredible the animated iteration of “Uzumaki” looks thus far. Each hatched line, each image, each animated frame is a love letter to Ito and his craft, and I’m hardly able to contain my excitement at what this means for how his works could be replicated from here on out. “Uzumaki” has the opportunity to be one of the most impressive, if not the most impressive, adaptation of an Ito story, and one can only hope that Toonami upholds that expectation.
Daily Arts Writer Avery Adaeze Uzoije can be reached at auzoije@umich.edu.