I’m Excited for the Uzumaki Anime, but the Episode Count Has Me Worried

Summary Uzumaki's highly anticipated anime adaptation premieres on September 29th with only four episodes, leaving fans worried about pacing issues.

The short nature of the series may sacrifice crucial buildup and context, risking a loss of dread and fear factor in the iconic horror stories.

Despite challenges, Uzumaki has potential to succeed if executed well, focusing on individual episode runtimes to properly adapt the intricate manga's tales.

As excited as I am for the upcoming Uzumaki anime, the low overall episode count has me a little worried. Five years following its announcement, the long-awaited adaptation of Junji Ito's most beloved horror stories is finally almost here. Plus, with a brand-new trailer and release date set, it looks like it will be a gorgeous recreation of the story. However, the one thing that fans should worry about is the number of episodes the series will get after such a long wait.

Uzumaki is set to premiere on September 29th, 2024 on Adult Swim, kicking off the miniseries as it leads into Halloween. However, it won't exactly be around for long. The series will only feature four episodes, ending less than two weeks before the spookiest day of the year. While Adult Swim is no stranger to short series like Uzumaki, as shown through their limited horror series Housing Complex C in 2022, I can't help but feel that four episodes aren't enough to properly bring Junji Ito's iconic story to life.

Uzumaki is a massive manga with many significant details that are important to its type of horror, so it's hard to imagine how this type of story can be told in such a short amount of time.

Uzumaki's Short Four Episode Run Is at Risk of Pacing Problems

Junji Ito's Masterpiece Benefits From a Slow Burn Approach

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Perhaps the greatest problem Uzumaki faces with very few episodes is how its pacing will be affected compared to the original manga. The complete graphic novel is compiled into a collection that exceeds 600 pages with each chapter depicting various happenings in the town of Kurouzu-Cho. Throughout these tales, Ito takes his time to show more isolated incidents of spirals driving the town's inhabitants mad before expanding more and more until the whole town is plagued by the curse.

With only four episodes, Uzumaki is at serious risk of speeding through these stories to meet the allotted time. While the artwork is incredibly faithful to Ito's iconic design, it feels like the pacing that makes it such an effective horror story will be lost in adaptation. Eerie buildup could be skipped through to get to the imagery that has made the story famous, completely ignoring what made the artwork so scary to begin with.

Uzumaki Is More Than Just Its Images

Dread Is Necessary to Properly Adapt Ito’s Story

Another issue that Uzumaki faces with its short adaptation is the risk of becoming more of a "greatest hits" montage than a legitimate horror story. After all, the manga is well-regarded for featuring some of Ito's most disturbing drawings. The problem is that, with such a short amount of time, things are highly likely to be cut out to save time, undermining the important context that Uzumaki needs to make the famous images scary in the first place. Horror is built on inducing dread to create a feeling of uneasiness to make the scare factor more effective.

For example, Uzumaki's most well-known story, "The Scar," takes its time establishing Azami as a mysterious girl that inexplicably draws boys to her. While it's hinted that her beauty is the key, Ito actually establishes that a scar in the middle of her forehead is the real cause for the unwavering attraction. Then, as the scar grows into a spiral, she literally begins to pull people in like a black hole. The reveal of the massive spiral on her head is iconic. However, without this buildup, it's just an image that looks creepy but lacks the fear factor that fascinates readers.

Uzumaki Can Still Succeed, but It’s an Uphill Battle

It All Lies in the Execution and Individual Episode Runtime

Some chapters are bound to be cut out, but as long as the feeling from the manga remains, it will be a success.

Despite these drawbacks, I do believe Uzumaki has the potential to succeed as a series. It has Junji Ito's style down perfectly, and with Ito himself set to make a cameo, it's clear the author has faith in the project. In the end, though, it all comes down to how the series is executed with such a limited amount of time to work with overall. For starters, the runtime for individual episodes has yet to be revealed. If Uzumaki is given 45 minutes to an hour for each episode, it would make a huge difference, leaving room for the story to properly build up its suspense.

Uzumaki has faced several delays since it was first announced, with the artists behind the project stating they wanted to ensure the anime is as faithful as possible to the manga. This means that the creators of the anime are putting a lot of passion behind the series, wanting to make sure that what made the manga so scary is properly translated into anime. Some chapters are bound to be cut out, but as long as the feeling from the manga remains, it will be a success.

No matter what happens though, I'm still unbelievably excited to check out Uzumaki when it premieres on Adult Swim in September. Junji Ito's masterful manga has remained one of my favorite works of horror since I first read it. The trailers that have been released for the anime have been incredibly promising as they stick to black and white, unlike Netflix's Junji Ito Maniac and Crunchyroll's Junji Ito Collection, to bring Ito's signature style to life.

However, I remain cautiously optimistic regarding how much runtime the creators have to adapt the story. Anything can happen, but with only four episodes to adapt a massive manga, I'm a little worried that Uzumaki faces more challenges than fans would expect.

Watch the first episode of Uzumaki on September 28th, 2024 on Adult Swim; available the next day on Max!

Sources: Adult Swim (1, 2)