A review by kxtekss
Uzumaki by Junji Ito

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I really did enjoy this. I was expecting a more linear storyline at the beginning, but I did enjoy the earlier chapters' themes with the toxic human craving for attention, and the last few chapters (from the hurricane to the end) brought me more of what I was expecting overall with the story (I think the addition of Chie helped with this a lot too.) Though the ending had an incredible concept behind it,
(especially when Shuichi and Kirie intertwine with each other, lifting the curse with the knowledge it'll happen again and again)
I wish it would have delved more into the mystery behind the spiral. I felt like a few things were explained by Shuichi out of the blue rather than truly discovered by the protagonists which was disappointing to me because I liked what the actual mystery behind the spiral ended up being.
Maybe I missed a panel or two but I was confused how Shuichi figured that all out just from the map in the row house and intuition. Even from the beginning, I felt like he knew more about the spiral than he was letting on, and I was expecting there to be some big reveal about his connection to the curse.
It was overall a good read though and the art in it was both jaw-droppingly beautiful and horrifying at the same time. Junji Ito is a very talented guy. His artwork can catch anyone's eye, and so many of those panels will stick in my mind forever (both pretty and scary drawings lol.) I feel like I'd enjoy his short stories more than a multi-volume manga like this, and honestly I think this might've been better suited as a short story at points,  but I did love this work.
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