Uzumaki

 

Uzumaki

Uzumaki
Junji Ito

It has been a long since I have read a manga. This one recommended by many readers. After my recent reading marathon of suspense books, I couldn't resist picking this up. Junji Ito is well-known for his horror fictions like Tomie, Uzumaki and Gyo.

This story based on the fictional town Kurouzucho. Kurouzucho plagued by some supernatural entity involving spirals. The protagonists are two teenagers Kirie and her boyfriend Shuichi. Weird things start happening around Kirie which involves people turning into snails, phobia of spirals, people with mosquito properties, an abandoned lighthouse suddenly starts focusing rays of lights around and Shuichi's dad's desperation towards spirals.

These all things involved spirals somewhere in it. Which initially looks normal but the way things start getting weird and twisted, the book becomes scarier. Kirie and Shuichi try their way out of town and face many weird and supernatural obstacles. It's interesting to read about their experiences and trying to escape the town.

The linework is good, but dunno why after some time Ito's linework gives a bit of headache, which forces you to keep the book down. (Maybe it's just me 😅). That's why couldn't finish this book in one sitting. There is gore in art so if you don't like bloodshed you might find few pages disturbing.

There are few similarities you'll notice if you have read Stephen King and Lovecraft books in past. Adult Swim is releasing an animated series on Uzumaki in 2022, trailer looks quite promising. This is a good read if you are a fan of horror stories and manga. It's not huge but it took me few days to finish it. And now I'm curious and want to read Gyo.