Uzumaki is a story about a town that becomes possessed by a mystical entity that causes people to become obsessed with (and destroyed by) spiral patterns. It's one of my favourites (despite a sadly unsatisfying ending) and showcases not only Junji Ito's bizarre and macabre storylines, but also his gorgeous and skillful artwork. One of the graphic novels I'll be releasing in a controlled release/book box I'm participating in.

In the Graphic Novel Bookbox to be handed off to AKSarah tomorrow.

Received today from Earth_vs_Soup in the Manga/Graphic Novel Bookbox.

Interesting manga about a town that is becoming mesmerized with spirals. Creepy fantasy/horror with some captivating artwork.

Mailed to GoryDetails to kick off my Graphic Novel/Manga bookbox.

I was tickled to see this book in AKSarah's manga/graphic-novel bookbox, as I have the three-volume series myself. [You can see my copy of Volume One here; I read the series some time back but have let it languish for too long in my to-be-reviewed pile, so I hope to use this coincidence to motivate me to review my copies and get them moving again!] I'll leave the book in the box for someone else to enjoy. It's a wonderfully disturbing horror story...

Oh wow. This is another sample of fantastic art and intriguing plot. Again it is darker than I generally like, but I can't pass this up. Im keeping it out on the release of the box.

This was creepy, but definitely a good book. The illustrations are intricate and the story is suspenseful. This isn't the sugary-sweet, teeny-bopper type manga I used to think all manga was. I love that sugary-sweet teeny-bopper stuff, but this was really good. Great divergence from the typical and not perverse either. Morbid, but not perverse.

Can anyone explain to me how page 41 is possible?


Forwarded on in the Anything Goes Manga BookBox by AKSarah.

Read a little while ago.

The small Japanese town of Kurozu-cho has become infected with spirals. At first, it was mostly harmless, like whirlpools in the water and dust devils in the breeze. But then the spirals began infecting people. Kirie, the pretty teenage narrator, and her boyfriend Shuichi are the first ones to notice the spiral effect when Shuichi's father becomes obsessed with the shape. He begins collecting anything with a spiral pattern on it – snail shells, kimonos, ceramics, rolls of tape, and spiral-shaped incense – and stares at his collection for hours, ignoring his family and work. When his family tries to intervene, Shuichi's father becomes 'one with the spiral' through a grotesque, horrible death. Sadly, his death is only the first of many, as the influence of the spirals spread throughout Kurozu-cho.

Why spirals? Who the heck knows! In this first volume, there's absolutely no explanation given for why the spiral shape suddenly becomes an evil force destroying the residents of the town. It's very episodic: Kirie introduces us to a character, Shuichi identifies them as a spiral victim, and then the new character(s) die in a gruesome, spiral-themed manner. Kirie's narration is oddly distant for someone at the heart of every event, but then, she doesn't understand what's going on any better than her readers. Her detachment contributes to the surreal, unbalanced atmosphere of Uzumaki.

Junji Ito's art really makes the stories work. Images that would look simply absurd when drawn by other artists become chilling and disturbing here. They aren't quite gory – very little blood is spilled in this book – but it's very creepy and strange. The simplicity of black and white allows to create detailed, intensely intricate panels.

Horror isn't for everyone, especially stories this bizarre and violent, but for fans of the genre Uzumaki is definitely worth checking out. If you are a fan of movies like the The Ring or the stories of H.P. Lovecraft, I think you'll enjoy Junji Ito's nightmarish little spirals.