Uzumaki

	"Mature Content"
	This character or verse has mature themes and concepts, thus those of young age are ill-advised to look through these.

Background

Uzumaki (うずまき, meaning "Spiral") is a Japanese horror manga series created by Junji Ito. It was serialized in Big Comic Spirits, a weekly seinen magazine by Shogakukan, from 1998 to 1999, and later compiled into three volumes between August 1998 and September 1999. An omnibus edition was released in March 2000, with a second one following in August 2010. In North America, Viz Media serialized the English version in Pulp magazine from February 2001 to August 2002, and published the series in volumes from October 2001 to 2002, followed by a re-release between 2007 and 2008. A hardcover omnibus edition was also published in October 2013.

The story is set in the fictional town of Kurouzu-cho, which is afflicted by a supernatural curse centered around spirals. The idea for Uzumaki came from Ito’s attempt to write about people living in a never-ending terraced house, which led him to incorporate the spiral as a central motif. He believed the horror of Uzumaki worked well because it twisted familiar symbols, often portrayed positively in Japanese culture, and focused on characters struggling against a force far greater than themselves. The series is widely regarded as Ito’s masterpiece and has garnered significant critical praise. It was nominated for an Eisner Award in 2003 and included in the Young Adult Library Services Association's list of the "Top 10 Graphic Novels for Teens" in 2009.

In addition to the manga, Uzumaki was adapted into two video games for the WonderSwan and a Japanese live-action film in 2000, directed by Higuchinsky. An anime adaptation, co-produced by Production I.G and Adult Swim, premiered in September 2024 as part of Toonami’s lineup in the U.S.

Plot

Uzumaki follows Kirie Goshima, a high school student, and her boyfriend, Shuichi Saito, as they experience the horrifying spiral curse that overtakes their quiet town of Kurouzu-cho, or "Black Vortex Town."

ExpandThis dropdown contains the plot of Uzumaki. Read at your own risk as you may be spoiled otherwise!

As strange occurrences linked to spirals begin to consume the town, Kirie and Shuichi witness how the curse spreads, driving the townspeople to obsession or terror. Shuichi, who becomes withdrawn after the deaths of his parents—each falling victim to the disturbing physical and psychological effects of the spirals—develops an unsettling sensitivity to the curse. Despite his warnings, most dismiss him until it’s too late, when the supernatural spiral forces claim more lives. Kirie is also ensnared when her hair curls into sinister spirals that drain her energy, captivating the townspeople and attempting to strangle her whenever she tries to cut it. Shuichi saves her, severing her hair before it can fully consume her. As the town succumbs to relentless typhoons and other spiral-related disasters, Kurouzu-cho is reduced to ruins. The few remaining survivors are forced into ancient, abandoned terraced houses, which become more crowded and grotesque as the curse intensifies. Over time, the residents expand the houses into a sprawling labyrinth, their bodies grotesquely warping into spirals from the curse’s effects. Kirie and Shuichi try to escape, but the spiral curse bends time itself, and when they return, they find that years have passed. The town has transformed into a nightmarish spiral city, where mutated citizens now form part of the architecture, their bodies twisted beyond recognition. Desperate to find Kirie’s parents, the pair venture to the heart of the spiral labyrinth. Deep underground, they discover a vast, ancient city composed entirely of spirals. In the eerie stillness, they encounter the petrified forms of past victims, including Kirie’s parents, frozen in grotesque spiral shapes. As they press further, Shuichi and Kirie realize the true nature of the curse: the spiral city itself is alive, a malevolent force expanding periodically, cursing the surface out of a twisted desire to be witnessed. Shuichi, unable to go on, urges Kirie to leave without him, but she chooses to stay. In a final act of surrender, the two embrace, their bodies contorting and merging into spirals as they become part of the eternal curse. At that moment, a stone spiral tower erupts from the center of the city, symbolizing the completion of the cycle. Kirie reflects that time in the spiral city stands still, while outside it races forward, ensuring the curse will repeat itself endlessly as a new Kurouzu rises on the ruins of the old. The spiral is eternal, and its grip on the town is unbreakable.

General Information

Official Date

• Manga: January 19, 1998 - August 30, 1999
• Live Action Film: 2000
• Anime: September 29, 2024

Company

• Manga: Shogakukan, NA: Viz Media (English Publisher), Big Comic Spirits (Magazine), NA: Pulp (English Magazine)
• Anime:

Creator/Developers:

Genre: Horror, Psychological Horror, Supernatural, Dark Fantasy

Demographic: Seinen

Cosmology: Universe

Number of Series: 5 (The original manga, the anime, the live-action movie, and two video games)

Number of Episodes: 4 (Noted that it was a four-epsiode miniseries)

Number of Chapters: 20 (19 original chapters, along with a lost chapter making 20)

Number of Games: 2 (Both games were for the WonderSwan, a handheld game console released in Japan by Bandai)

Status:

• Manga: Finished
• Anime: Ongoing

Sales: Over 1.5 million copies sold (From 2020 to 2022)

Reception: Ito himself is a brand, being a household name in Japan and his fame has spread worldwide. With Uzumaki being his top book. It was nominated for an Eisner Award in the category of "Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material" in 2003, chosen as the first volume for the Young Adult Library Services Association's "Top 10 Great Graphic Novels for Teens" in 2009, including in the its list of the 53 "Great Graphic Novel for Teens", etcetera.

List of Misconceptions

The Spiral is a non-sentient force

The Spiral is a sentient being, actively trying to keep the people of the town from leaving it.

Power of the Verse

The verse mainly has regular humans with one contextually omnipotent force in the central area of the story manipulating them and giving them abilities at times.

Knowledgeable Members

• GiverOfThePeace

Characters

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  The Spiral