Manga Review – Uzumaki by Junji Ito (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Length: 416 pages
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: May 30, 2017
ISBN-13: 978-0062289254
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Hidden Legacy series
Source: eGalley from NetGalley.com
Rating: 5/5 stars

“Kurôzu-cho, a small fogbound town on the coast of Japan, is cursed. According to Shuichi Saito, the withdrawn boyfriend of teenager Kirie Goshima, their town is haunted not by a person or being but by a pattern: uzumaki, the spiral, the hypnotic secret shape of the world. It manifests itself in everything from seashells and whirlpools in water to the spiral marks on people’s bodies, the insane obsessions of Shuichi’s father and the voice from the cochlea in our inner ear. As the madness spreads, the inhabitants of Kurôzu-cho are pulled ever deeper into a whirlpool from which there is no return!”

This was an amazingly well done (and disturbing) manga. The story was incredibly well done, you can tell there is a heavy HP Lovecraft influence here. All of the Uzumaki story is included in this one large volume, which was awesome.

I enjoyed this a ton and had trouble putting it down. The story is strangely engaging. I kept wanting to read chapters to see what bizarre new horror would overtake the town of Kurozu-cho. I was absolutely dying to know how it would all play out.

The illustration is beautifully detailed and so interesting to look at. Ito-san much have taken a ton of time drawing this manga; it was amazing.

The characters also have a lot of depth to them. You really feel for Shuichi; whose parents were taken by the spiral’s madness early on. He is smart and savvy, but also ends up struggling to stay engaged in day to day life after his ordeals. Kirie is an interesting character as well; she is almost strangely innocent and passive to the horrors that go on around her. Despite her innocence she has a keen sense of survival as well.

Overall I would highly recommend to those who enjoy horror manga. This was an incredibly well done manga that obviously had a lot of time and thought put into both the story and the illustration. It is incredibly gory and disturbing so I would recommend to adult readers only (older teen would probably be okay too if they are really into horror). Highly recommended.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– Graphic Novel Reading Challenge