Adult Swim’s Uzumaki series has been so light on the updates that many believed it was never coming. But, over the weekend, an exciting new update proves we may be closer than ever to witnessing the animated series adaptation of Junji Ito’s legendary cosmic horror manga.
Directed by Hiroshi Nagahama (Mushishi), the four-episode Uzumaki miniseries will follow Ito’s Uzumaki manga series, three volumes first published in 1998 following “high-school teenager, Kirie Goshima, her boyfriend, Shuichi Saito, and the citizens of the small, quiet Japanese town of Kurouzu-cho which is cursed by supernatural events involving spirals.”
Also on board delivering Uzumaki‘s terrifying soundscape is Hereditary’s Colin Stetson.
The series was originally supposed to air in October 2022, but due to multiple delays in production, has been continually pushed back.
Following the last update from March, an official trailer that dropped at San Diego Comic Con, at this weekend’s Anime Expo, the English-language voice cast for the series was revealed:
– Abby Trott (Nezuko Kamado in Demon Slayer) as Kirie Goshima
– Robbie Daymond (Megumi Fushiguro in Jujutsu Kaisen) as Shuichi Saito
– Cristina Vee (Killua in Hunter x Hunter) as Azami Kurotani
– Doug Stone (Psycho Mantis in Metal Gear Solid) as Kirie’s father
– Aaron LaPlante (Duke in Resident Evil: Village) as Shuichi’s father
– Mona Marshall (Izzy Izumi in Digimon) as Shuichi’s mother
– Max Mittelman (Red XIII in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth) as Katayama
And that’s not all – a recent Japan Times interview with the legendary mangaka Ito himself revealed that the series is set to air on Adult Swim later this year, and that it also ‘lives up to Ito’s expectations’.
Given that Uzumaki is considered by many to be Ito’s magnum opus (high praise indeed for a career that includes the legendary Tomie series, as well as literally hundreds of other terrifying works), having Ito’s approval is make or break.
The series will be the first Uzumaki adaptation since Higuchinsky’s live-action film released during the ‘J-horror boom‘ of the early 2000s.
While we still don’t have a concrete date for release, expect to see Uzumaki sometime later this year. We’ll bring you more updates as they spiral in.
