One of horror mangaka Junji Ito’s most famed works, Uzumaki follows teenage couple, Kirie and Shuichi, as they bear witness to their town’s gradual demise due to a curse of unusual nature. Uzumaki is, at its core, an exploration of the horror potential of the spiral, both in its natural occurrences (a woman becomes obsessed with spiral shapes in the human body including fingerprints and inner ear) and in more fantastical ways (people turn into snails).

The series is perhaps best viewed as a series of loosely connected vignettes as opposed to a complete story, due to the widely varied ways in which the spiral manifests in the town of Kurouzu-cho, and the relatively open ending. Certain chapters, while definitely horrific in their own ways, do not seem to fit the spiral motif as clearly as others (I would point specifically to the arc regarding pregnant women and mosquitoes). This was somewhat distracting during my read, but I’ll admit I tend to prefer stories with a major, cohesive plot rather than monster-of-the-week type stories, so it may be at least in part due to personal preference. There isn’t much emphasis on developing the characters beyond a few key traits either, but they definitely serve their purpose as vessels from which to view the world around them. That being said, Uzumaki is definitely unique conceptually and largely succeeds at crafting a world cursed by spirals. The curse starts off almost innocuous, manifesting first as a simple obsession that Shuichi’s father develops. However, by the end of the first chapter it becomes very clear that said curse is much more insidious and all-consuming.

It would be impossible to talk about Junji Ito without talking about his penchant for body horror. Ito shows no fear when it comes to creating scenarios which leave his character’s bodies transformed, mangled, or mutilated. The bulk of the horror comes not only from the feeling of unease and lack of control associated with a town-wide curse, but also images and scenarios that just leave you sick to your stomach in a peculiar combination of disgust and awe. Ito’s horror is never without artistry, which is a consistent drawing point for his work. There’s also something to be said for his timing. By all means Ito does not rely on the horror manga staple of creating a scenario in which you turn the page only to be greeted with a particularly jarring scene, but I would argue that these moments in Uzumaki are especially satisfying. Ito’s mastery of these moments, as well as a more gradual reveal and build set-up, make Uzumaki a particularly engaging read.

Uzumaki is by no means a perfect work, but it is no surprise that it is so well-regarded. If you have any interest in body horror or Junji Ito’s more long-form works, I would absolutely make the recommendation.