The Strange, Cosmic Horror of Junji Ito's Uzumaki

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[@Wendigoon]

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[@SkullfaceTyler]

Hi

[@fishyfishery]

hello

[@afluffyboi4093]

I feel like the scariest one to me is the head one every other one is relatively survivable but what do you do against the heads

[@marshalmarshall2109]

WENDI WERE DID YOUR HAIR GO

[@JamesWagner-vv9iz]

Okay but i felt as if some parts were honestly transphobic

[@nigtfoxdajfox9280]

Wendigoon not seeing the irony of having a cannibal cryptic as mascot while being most easily upset by cannibalism of all horror themes just made my day

[@Jolene007]

It’s like Batman, embodying the thing you fear most

[@stereopolex]

He's jealous Probably was like: >:c

[@juaquintiscareno]

@@stereopolex>:( moment

[@Segascreamcast_]

Or wearing a shirt for a game about Catholcism, specifically considering transubstantiation.

[@mars7304]

Hmm, it's almost like the cryptid he uses as his mascot belongs to a culture he isn't from 😮😮

[@michealmchardy2871]

I never saw Kirie as a negative, I always saw her as the earliest victim of the spiral, just that she never realized it. She does the same thing over and over, just repeating her mistakes, never once realizing that she's caught in her own spiral.

[@randomvideoboy1]

People were criticizing the ending? So many braindead tourists reading Uzumaki expecting it to be a blumhouse movie. Most of Junji Ito's story ends with the protagonist barely surviving or not surviving and nothing explained, which makes all his stories all the more terrifying.

[@johnperez9571]

​@randomvideoboy1 bros gotta comment this another 20 times I guess. It's beautiful that art is up to interpretation and you're allowed to critique something that hasnt/won't be clarified. As for both of your sakes it's just a theory on how his mind works. That is unless you yourself are Ito. Which I doubt considering he can joke about his work more than his fans can for some reason.

[@pptonto]

I never thought of it that way, this makes so much sense and definitely tampered down a lot of the frustrations I felt towards Kirie.

[@Perrin_06]

Bro just made me like kirie 💀😭

[@Ash-yu2cj]

@@randomvideoboy1 Exactly. With Junji Ito’s work, it’s like the protagonist’s fate is sealed as soon as the story begins. And honestly, just knowing that alone really sucks you into the horror because you know it’s hopeless but you don’t know how or when it will play out.

[@orynrusset]

1:00:06 “haha bullies, be careful who you’re mean to because one day you may…have children with them” is now in my top 5 wendigoon quotes for sure

[@eternalvibe9083]

I am not at this part yet and am so excited to see this. Update:💀

[@xeenoe]

I love that Kirie and Shuichi's last moments were a moment of defiance. When face with this massive THING that does nothing but demand their attention and devotion, they laid down with each other and died together, not paying it any mind. Sometimes all we can do in the face of horror is refuse it

[@RANima71498]

That is true. Even Kirie’s parents, despite turning to stone side by side, didn’t even look at each other as they perished. Only Kirie and Shuichi chose willing to face each other, close their eyes, and have a peaceful expression of acceptance for their collective fates rather than the serene awe of the Spiral everyone else had. It was their final “f*** you” to the Spiral and it was handled really well, with no words whatsoever.

[@acey.mp3]

can we talk about how kirie was so concerned about shuichi taking care of himself, that she went to bring him lunch in a HURRICANE. TWICE.

[@TheGriffinsDen]

type of love I want fr

[@someoneawesome8717]

​@@TheGriffinsDenget you someone from Louisiana or Florida then

[@Andrews13channel]

This sounds crazy but i live in puerto rico and its really not all that lol ive done it myself

[@Ash-yu2cj]

Honestly I love their relationship so much it’s really sweet. I wanted them to get out alive but at least they got to be together in the end.

[@Crownotwearingahat]

@@Ash-yu2cjSame! When I read the ending, I wanted to cry because they didn't get out but the fact that they died in each other's arms was a bittersweet enough ending for me that I was satisfied :')

[@lsd2162]

shuichi is the standard, if he doesn't stay back for me in a cursed town where we experience horrors beyond our comprehension just to protect me then I don't want him

[@ericknorskr8568]

only do that for an bad bitch like kirie tho. She took such good care of him even at his worst (multiple times too).

[@kooolainebulger8117]

he's a real one

[@raineteeth]

Both of them are the standard. If he doesn't stay to experience and cuddle in the face of inevitable doom, he's not a real one. If she doesn't cheer me up and help keep me sane in times of cosmic dread, are we even dating?

[@juju_fym]

Shuichi and Kirie are the realest couple from Ito's works tbh. They always thug it out

[@95keat]

With standards like that all your relationships are gonna spiral out of control

[@cbtillery135]

We've got him discussing manga, we're halfway there to a Wendigoon Evangelion video

[@RoosterFloyd]

I watched Evangelion when I was twenty three, so maybe I got to it too late but I just don't get the hype. Even though I'm a big anime and manga fan. Same with Akira and Ghost in the Shell. Has nothing to do with the dated animation either, they are all great to look at, I just didn't find them as compelling as stories like Monster or Psycho Pass (Just to name a few more less mentioned classics that I actually love)

[@cbtillery135]

@@RoosterFloyd didn't like the Freudian vibes?

[@cbtillery135]

@@RoosterFloyd I struggle with the concepts put forth by Sigmund Freud on the daily so I like it quite a bit

[@RoosterFloyd]

@@cbtillery135 No, I personally love Freud. I didn't get that vibe from Evangelion.

[@cbtillery135]

@@RoosterFloyd you don't know how the evas work?

[@justaduck3615]

I always felt bad for Shuichi, his downfall was that he wasn’t willing to abandon those he loved. If he were a worse person he would have survived.

[@deesevrin8570]

the spiral pulls you in

[@golemgolden4670]

Nah, he would still die and get brought back through the ground/air. You cant escape the spiral

[@SinderSoyl]

He simply met Ito's theme of obsession. Uzumaki, much like a handful of his other works, seems to deal with themes of obsession. It's the concept of a spiral too, after all, you get pulled in harder and harder the more you obsess over something. Shuichi, while he's a really good guy, couldn't pull himself from his obsession with his loved ones. It's, to me, one of the morals of the story. It's the struggle to pull yourself away from an obsession and that sometimes, it's your loved ones who you need to pull away from once they begin to endanger themselves and you in the process.

[@Michael-bn1oi]

​@@golemgolden4670 No, because he would have broken the cycle. It's the obsession that fucks you.

[@golemgolden4670]

@@Michael-bn1oi The story literraly says that people who get cremated outside the town still return the dragonfly pond.

[@Kazrel_VO]

The funniest part of Junji Ito is he's supposedly a pretty fun guy to hang around with IRL. It's always the happy ones that put out the most twisted works. XD

[@Enderborn-qc2vw]

He’s like the polar opposite of Miyazaki, whose super negative but makes many works of whimsy and positive with Studio Ghibli

[@salt3dgam3r]

The picture of Junji Ito with his cat will forever live in my head

[@jrk1666]

while Miyazaki who makes some of the prettiest animation is the grumpiest man alive

[@kekaari2695]

its that gap moe

[@cyrus8886]

I love love the comparisons between him and Miyazaki Most of ito's work are very grim but he's the nicest person ever While most Miyazaki's work are cheerful but he's the most pessimistic person ever

[@kevinbaltzell2949]

After living in Japan for a few years I can confirm that the chapter on the boy that turns into a snail is exactly how that would play out in real life.

[@airplanes_aren.t_real]

Could you please elaborate?

[@Prodigi50]

@@airplanes_aren.t_realInstead of reacting people would just ignore a very obvious problem until they became unable to ignore it any longer. Japanese people are notorious for their subdued reactions.

[@vulgaritar48]

@@airplanes_aren.t_real The Japanese are masters at staying in their own lane, probably to the extent that an eldritch god's presence would be tolerated for at least a while before anyone began to do the impolite thing and acknowledge it.

[@MoGumbo_]

@@vulgaritar48 Its called the spiral of silence

[@joyburd2]

This is why the ending worked so well for me. I experienced it as existential horror and a constant slip into the inevitable. It is not only scare because there’s gore and body horror, but because there is truly nothing, at any time, that can be done. And I think this is why Shuichi in the end is a very passive character and quickly stops trying to escape. He understands the events as inevitable, and is constantly staving off that madness.

[@Zidbits]

To you and anyone else who loved Uzumaki, Junji Ito's entire collection of works is exactly like this (cosmic horror, etc). I'd argue Uzumaki isn't even his best cosmic horror - I think that distinction goes to Remina. The reason I put Remina above Uzumaki and Tomie is because Tomie has literally been done to death. It's spawned a whole catalogue of movies (9 movies in total. Yes, nine, that isn't a typo), spin-offs, etc. Same with Uzumaki - it's been around a long time. I think his other, lesser known books should get more attention.

[@clairejohnson8814]

I love how at the end the two of them aren’t looking at the spiral they’re facing each other with their eyes closed. Like a last small insignificant personal triumph against the spiral. It is an immortalization of their love but in the end it doesn’t save them. Ugh so good

[@aldiascholarofthefirstsin1051]

There is a weird chance Kirie survived this and became some weird spiral prophet, so I don't know about that.

[@amyf5066]

​@@aldiascholarofthefirstsin1051 But that's not how the story ends. You can make assumptions on what happens next, but at the end of the day... It doesn't really matter. This story, much like a lot of Itō's stories, doesn't need to be fully understood to be appreciated... I'd argue it isn't even meant to be understood. This last panel, with the two accepting their fate but refusing to give up on each other -and by extension themselves, is not to be seen as a sign of hope, or a possible future. It is about the inevitability of their fate, and how they try to appropriate it, within the very limited spectrum of what is even allowed to them in that moment. They can only lie and stay there for eternity, but choose that eternity to be each other's comfort, rather than the Spiral's pawn. That is so much more powerful as a symbol, than Kirie surviving on her own and staying a prophet for the spiral. It also makes more sense in the story, considering Shuishi was the one voice of rebellion against the Spiral in the town, the one thing trying to keep Kirie anchored so she wouldn't be swallowed by the Spiral... Which still ended up happening anyways.

[@Cilent__]

​@@amyf5066you say it isn't meant to be understood and then you tell us what it is actually about.....So you have the only proper interpretation of something that isn't meant to be understood? Lol ok

[@amyf5066]

@@Cilent__ English isn't my first language so I'm struggling to explain more complex ideas. What I meant by "isn't meant to be understood" is it isn't meant to be analyzed like a linear story, with a beginning and end, because the story itself... isn't about a story. It's more about the symbols that are Kirie, Shuichi and the Spiral (the townspeople too !) So it's not necessarily relevant to try and find out what happened next to Kirie, because her purpose was already served in the story... But also that's just my personal analysis & understanding ! I've read this book many many times, I definitely didn't understand it like this the first time (I was also like half my current age, that's gotta influence it too). I feel like the beauty with such an absurd and "unclear" story, is that pretty much anyone can decide what it means and what's important about it, unlike something more straightforward! Hope that was a little more clear.

[@amyf5066]

@@Cilent__ also I typed this at like 4am so I'm sure it's barely understandable ahah

[@o0Hidden0o]

My favorite thing about writers like Junji Ito is that his stories go for the very simple “Wouldn’t it be fucked up if *weird thing* happened” and just build upon a spooky concept until you have something inexplicable and horrifying. Much like some of the best twilight zone episodes, the horror is left unexplained and therefore unknowable, the best form something scary can take.

[@defaulted9485]

Even better, it's like Junji Ito seen French cuisine and proceeds to make the most French Food Horror imaginable. Thank God he never seen Phillipines Balut and just French Escargot. He makes the most mundane thing into horror, and some actually cryptic stuff beyond revolting. A Master of his craft.

[@ixcaflores3878]

I mean you can really see in his works. It's not so much about the dread of being alive, it's more of a "brooo this would be so fucked, imma draw it 😂"

[@spook407]

Pretty much the essence of body horror

[@CHARCHAD9]

My favourite of the first type is the story Gyo. It's about undead fish with metal legs. So, "Sharks are already scary but wouldn't it be fucked up if they could walk on land?!" XD

[@GreebleClown]

Yeah he made a horror(?) series about his fiancée’s cats. They’re literally just regular cats doing regular cat things, but the way he draws things as frightening and how his self insert is so out of his depth on how to coexist with cats is hilarious. [edit] Oh hey, he mentioned it in the video!

[@bytoadynolastname6149]

Uzumaki is the result of Ito hearing the phrase 'Spiraling out of control'.

[@airplanes_aren.t_real]

And ironically spiraling out of control in order to write these stories

[@dakat5131]

I think one of the scary things about the snail story is that while snails and being turned into a snail is repulsive, no one in the story can do anything about it without also being turned into a snail. The curse seems to retaliate against anyone who bothers or harms the snails in any way so they just have to stand by and watch it happen.

[@onionarmpit]

A real estate agent claiming people are moving out instead of dying is the most realistic thing I've heard in this book, id love to see you cover more if his work

[@helloworldies]

Yeah this was 100% my immediate thought given how many people we've seen die/disappear

[@samhenley7156]

Don't want the property to be stigmatized

[@mojus2890]

​@@samhenley7156 exactly, what if someone thought the area was somehow dangerous?

[@TheGreatUnknowing]

Helen Richardson

[@JacobHernandez-ht1dt]

He made a video about no longer human and even though it's a completely different author, he uses Junji's artwork for the reinterpretation of the book he did as a background for the video like with this one. If you haven't seen that one yet, you should it's just as good as this video.

[@tea_time_t]

I love the contrast of Ito being such a positive person irl while drawing horrifying imagery, and Miyazaki being constantly tired and pessimistic while drawing/directing fantastical children's stories.

[@thelostremainunfound]

I was thinking about this comparison as well, glad someone else did too

[@winterviveca5976]

Some time ago I saw Miyazaki's menager or someone like that allegedly saying "He's already working on another story. I can't stop him." and it's hilarious. The man is coping with reality without any rest

[@JustAlex1795]

The duality of man

[@barklols4607]

I love the one drawing Ito did of his moms dog captioned something like “And she looked up to the horror manga artist for help”

[@Gamfluent]

many are used to “pour your soul into art” when in reality you can do the opposite, music is all about that, you don’t have to be angry to feel the freedom and rebellion of punk

[@barbararab6390]

I love how in their last moments, Kirie and Shuuichi not only immortalized their love, but also stuck a middle finger to the spiral god. They were the last survivors, Kirie was constantly being the object of obsession by the tornadoes, Shuuichi was the only one who was calling it out. And in the end, even as spirals, both didnt die looking at it, they closed their eyes facing each other. For a spiral god that needs attention from people, that must have stung

[@FelixDuke-uc5em]

For some reason, I found that the end of Uzumaki was both terrifying and beautiful. In the eyes of something never ending and mysterious, Shuichi and Kirie just embraced each other and found peace within their new eternity. Devastating and tragic, but so beautiful.

[@apollyonnoctis1291]

2:19:26 I actually think there is some sort of twisted hope with the ending. You asked "What can humanity even do against an incomprehensible and perhaps even unbeatable thing?" Shuichi and Kirie gave us the answer: we can spite it. As has been stated, just as obsessed as the people the 'Spiral God' makes over spirals, it itself is obsessed with attention, the shape of a spiral itself demands your attention. But what do we see Kirie and Shuichi do in their last moments? They ignore it, they hold each other tight and look into each other's eyes instead of the God, which is what it wants, no, what it demands of them. My belief is that the 'huge booming sound' that then echoes across the cavern as the place starts sealing up was the God actually roaring out at them to pay attention to it, to look at it, to worship it, to bow down to something 'superior' to them in every way. And they simply close their eyes and clasp each other tighter, holding on to what they actually love, refusing to give this parasite what it wants, even as it continues to roar at them. And when I realized this, I realized how, despite how powerful and 'almighty' the Spiral God is, at it's quite literal core, it is no less mad than the very 'congregation' it hypnotized into obsessing over it. It is an attention seeking brat in the shape of a god that only cares about people obsessing over it and worshiping it, ultimately having no greater purpose or goal of its own. It's not just nothing, it's *less* than nothing. It's pathetic. And Shuichi and Kirie spite it in their final moments by expressing to each other something humans have that it will never have, regardless of how many it enthralls, no matter how large a 'congregation' it gathers, and no matter how much it warps the world to its design or how powerful it is: Love. True, unrequited, unconditional love for one another; unlike the ultimately empty form of 'love' it forces people to give it. That is what humanity can do in the face of something like it. We can spite it; we can spit in its face, flip it the bird one final time and mock how pathetic it is as a god picking on us 'ants', even when it's about to tear us to shreds. Because even if we can never hope to truly defeat it, we can wound it in a way that matters: a wound to its pride; a kind of wound that will never truly heal even after every second of eternity has passed, a wound which will leave it loathing its own immortality. Even in Lovecraft's own stories, humanity's never been 'helpless'. In "The call of Cthulhu", when Cthulhu starts clambering from its lair, one of the sailors decides to spite it by running it through with a steam boat, which wounded it in a way which will take ages for it to heal. In "The Dunwich Horror", using only magic nose dust, a copy of the necronomicon, and a duped up shotgun, three men manage to stop a building sized child of Yog-sothoth by banishing it. In "Shadow over Innsmouth", the fish people are all arrested, their efforts to take over the land dwellers halted by a police raid.

[@dumbloser666]

facts my brother! spit your shit indeed!

[@ImNWCR]

Yep, i really did read all of it.

[@Squidrienn]

Beautiful.

[@ametuergamer1524]

Tldr?

[@darrelsam419]

That was a good read, and makes a lot of sense. I really love the idea that despite all odds, the one thing that humans have that can overpower even a god is spite, and also love in this case.

[@raineteeth]

"If Shuichi is to be believed which he is because we love him and he can do no wrong" Truest words have never been spoken

[@dhimankalita1690]

WOMP WOMP

[@j.2512]

i won't stan a simp

[@skitterybananas1365]

​@@j.2512you're a bigger loser than any person you deem a "simp"

[@airplanes_aren.t_real]

Except when he used insecticide near a pregnant woman

[@Prodigi50]

@@airplanes_aren.t_realThat pregnant woman turned out to be a blood sucking bug lady. So he was still right about that.

[@weekachawchaw6304]

1:59:11 that part actually made me really emotional. the way mitsuo didn't want to leave kirie, and kirie promising to find him :(( it was so sad i nearly cried

[@peepopopo7140]

"This is the high school. You need to come pick up your son." "Is he sick?" "Yeah you could say that..."

[@parisulki729]

" 🎶 It might seem crazy what i'm about to say 🎶 "

[@casualgameuz7639]

I think in the end, Kirie and Shuisui defied the spiral god: after all, everyone that was dragged down here was looking at it, watching in awe, but not those two, they are looking at each other and finding comfort in each other presence.

[@artinstructor4020]

That's romantic in a way

[@internetdinosaur8810]

That was my interpretation as well. The ending made me cry

[@dustymcwari4468]

Someone also said that actively damages the god a bit, because gods in Japanese folklore need people praising them 24/7 in order to live and thrive, so it may need to restart the cycle a lil earlier next time if wants to continue living, which is probably gonna be much harder unless modern day humanity is stupid enough to think that place is safe for building a new town over despite nothing they threw at it ever came back

[@coffeedude]

I love how he is completely serious when explaining the hair fight as if it's not an utterly ridiculous concept

[@NeonValleys]

Wtf bro... Hair fights are very serious. Every year thousands of people die in Rwanda due to rogue hair fights. My grandma died of a hair fight back in 87, please don't make light of such a serious thing.

[@kankeydong2500]

@@NeonValleys lmao

[@j.2512]

If you know ito you know its on purpose that it is ridiculous in a funny way. its just the man's sense of humor

[@coffeedude]

@@j.2512 yeah! agreed!

[@TheCuratorsCuriosities]

I suffered life changing injuries from the hair war of '15. I can't walk and have to use a cane at 24 years old. How dare you mock hair fights, you plebeian?

[@tlovi7342]

My guy, your retelling and analysis of this story has inspired me to not only buy this manga for myself to support the author/artist (spot on with the statements regarding his ability in both realms too, by the way), but to read other works by him now as well. Phenomenal breakdown, and your love of his work shines through in this work that you have done. May God bless you and your wife, my friend and thank you for your content, keep up the great work!

[@alizahimran9786]

That’s amazing! Me too I’m gonna do the same

[@joshuazane3210]

I think my favorite part of all of this is the absolutely bizarre series of words it made you say at certain points."Think you can just crawl up into a lighthouse and look at a big light and get your friend burnt to death? No, idiot, BOOM; you're a snail!"

[@HugeMeatMan]

The snail chapter is actually the scariest to me. Ever since I read it in 5th grade, the shot of a human snail was burnt into my mind. It is the terror of yourself devolving into a mindless abomination.

[@BuckysKnifeFlip]

Well I hope this makes you laugh then. The thought of school administrators seeing this abomination leave snail trails on windows and their first thought is CALL HIS PARENTS TO PICK HIM UP and not screaming in sheer horror is hysterical to me. They don't freak out, it's just he's being a nuisance by distracting the kids from learning. It's such a weird Kafka esque reaction, it makes me laugh everytime I think about it.

[@bladenot-runner1795]

I used to have pet snails and they're such funky creatures that I couldn't take it seriously, lol.

[@coolbeans5911]

Same here, it's nightmare fuel

[@dustymcwari4468]

It was kinda funny to me because something similar also happened in Spongebob, up to even the episode ending with Squidward also becoming a snail Though the manga did well raising that already concerning premise later on with how the mad survivors would love to devour the snail people so much they even salivated as soon as they saw someone with a large lump on their backs, let alone a spiral, keeping them leashed or inside a fence because they became the cattle in those harsh times

[@HenryZhoupokemon]

its just the japanese version of kafka's Metamorphosis, with has no relation to 177013 Metamorphosis

[@amelielikethemovie2795]

I see the ending as a last act of defiance. Everyone who was down in the pit were made to stare directly at it, the spiral, forever carved in their fake devotion, but Kirie and Suichi looked instead at eachother, turned away from this spiral old god, and instead closing their eyes and laying in eachothers arms. That is their final fight against the spiral curse. A final act of love to eachother.

[@adelefurness4021]

I agree!! Especially since they dont make a spiral like the others. They only wrap their arms tightly around each other, in a parallel to the way Yoriko and Kazunori escaped the town to be with eachother!!!!

[@Raiethstar]

1:30:51 people aren’t moving out, they’re dying. So, so many people have died, and no one is panicking because they just ‘moved away’.

[@majazaglewski2579]

Yes, exactly this. and hes also a business man looking to house them

[@hovis_esports]

should be pinned

[@EE-jp5ev]

I seriously hope he reads this cause you're absolutely correct

[@Zippsterman]

My thoughts as well

[@miandrzeje]

@@EE-jp5ev He doesn't need to because a minute later he said exactly what that comment is saying. Don't know why there's a few comments correcting Wendigoon even though he realized that people might just died and didn't actually move out in the video.

[@V0X9652]

I'm almost done with the "Faith: The unholy Spirit" video, and the Mortis shirt has me so incredibly happy.

[@BuckysKnifeFlip]

Oh my god. The school calling the parents to pick up their snail child and the bullies STILL pick on him. This is the best unintentional comedy.

[@haineko1101]

I'd just like to add in something that I noticed as a speaker of Japanese. There are a TON of meaningful homonyms in the names of people and places, most of which are related to spirals. The town's name is "Kurouzu-cho": "kuro" is the color black, "uzu" means a swirl, and "cho" is a suffix for a town or subdistrict. This means the setting of the story is literally "Black Swirl Town". "Maki" is a noun-form conjugation of the verb "maku", which means to curl up like a scroll. You see a lot of names with "maki" in them in the story. "Azami" is a combination of "aza", meaning scar, and "mi", meaning beauty. "Katayama" has two double meanings. First, "kata" is the beginning of the word "katatsumuri", which means snail. Second, there is a condition called "Katayama disease", also known as schistomiasis, which is a parasitic flatworm infection whose carriers are freshwater snails. The list is extensive, so I won't go into all of them, but let me close out with two more: "Shuuichi" is a compound of "shuu", which can be written with the kanji for "focus", and "ichi" meaning the number 1 or a single point. Taken together, this can be read as "focal point", or the centerpoint of a spiral. "Kirie" is multifaceted also. "Kiri" can be written with the kanji for "drill", as in the twisting hand tool, and is also frequently used for other things that turn. It can also be written with the character for "cut", which in literary terms references the conclusion of a story. Lastly, the name "Kirie" itself has religious undertones as a homonym to the Greek "Kyrie eleison" ("God, have mercy"), a well-known part of liturgy in Christianity, at least part of which is likely known to Ito due to his exposure to international literature.

[@m0rkim00]

That's super cool. I love hearing about the reasoning behind character and location names that all have a pretty common theme or relate directly to the story

[@spunkmckunkle5604]

I knew there'd be something like that, it's really cool to see the deeper meaning.

[@dhimankalita1690]

WOMP WOMP

[@a.e.7367]

this is the best comment, thank you for explaining

[@PuncherOfWomenAndMinorities]

​@@dhimankalita1690im gonna oil you up and touch you lil bro

[@coolbeans5911]

the mushroom baby chapter was by far the most disturbing pregnancy horror concept i've ever come across in media imagine having a baby sewn back into your abdomen? Disgusting. I love it.

[@thewatchtower4747]

The entire hospital arc is my favorite part of the book, the mushrooms, the mosquito women, and the reverse birth are some of the creepiest ideas in the story

[@kolider2315]

I actually lost sleep over that one. That particular kind of body horror really gets me 😂

[@CountessVonFingerbang]

I stupidly re-read that when I was pregnant with my second kid and actually had to stop and take a moment. Very very repugnant for me at the time.

[@pixility5612]

Literally worse than borrasca 😂

[@sloppyglizzy8313]

For me it’s the weird mosquito woman shot. It makes my skin crawl. That entire chapter and also the snail person being eaten… 🤢

[@Shuffles_Art]

One of my favourite aspects of Uzumaki is how the form of the spiral itself is portrayed within different parts of the story, specifically how the spiral curse itself reacts to those who do and don’t conform to the spirals desires. Shuichi’s father was hopelessly devoted to the spiral, he did everything to appease it and thus he died with ease and happiness in comparison to his wife who constantly fought against the spiral and thus died in constant suffering and despair. The moon scar girl constantly used her hidden spiral as a shrine to be praised and infatuated with, constantly appealing to the spiral’s alluring effect and thus she was rewarded with all of the popularity and power she desired ever since she was a kid, but when Shuichi became the only man who wasn’t obsessed with her spiral scar, it was like the scar itself started to attack her as if she was no longer useful because she’s finally found her match that can oppose the spiral’s effects. The snail guy seemed to have just been slow and sluggish from the start, the spiral just emphasised it and turned it into its most physical form. It even rewards the snail guy by turning his bully into a snail too, as if it sensed his suffering and saw it as an opportunity to appeal the spiral’s followers and reward it with the suffering of those who wrong them. The aspect of the row houses is a very subtle effect of the spiral that only becomes more prominent as they grow and expand. Even when you first see the row houses, they perfectly align up to where they look like rows within a spiral, linking back to how the row houses are the ancient buildings that remains from the former spiral town. Those who work on the houses and build the spirals from it are protected, showing their devotion to building and feeding into the spiral itself. That’s why I also think Kirie and her family are safe from the spirals for the most part, the spiral sees what role Kirie has to play in the spiral and thus doesn’t interfere until everyone’s already trapped and Kirie’s family are now susceptible to the spiral’s wrath. It’s as if it knew that killing Kirie’s family would only drive her away from the town, taking Shuichi along with her, and so they leave them alone so that it inclines Kirie to stay and force Shuichi into staying along with her. And in the end, they feed into the nature of the spiral itself, they see all of these events going on around them, but they never take action to fight against it or leave it at all and so eventually it all circles right back around to the beginning again where they’re clueless and naive to the spiral’s true effects. To me that’s why Kirie is a little bit repetitive in her character arc and how she reacts to the earlier stories, she sees what’s happening but by the end of it she’s right back where she was and doesn’t learn a thing for when it happens next time, like a spiral going from one end right back around on itself over and over and over again. It’s such a deep intricate story that has so many different levels to it, you really feel yourself getting lost in all of its detail, like you yourself are staring deep into a spiral, following the line around and around and around until you too become one with the spiral’s influence.

[@creepyagenda5697]

Funfact: Junji Ito used to do comedy before horror, so it’s interesting seeing how he can make things equally silly and horrific. Which is why The Dissolving Classroom is one of my favourite works.

[@emexdizzy]

I think the spirals can be read as allegory for the ways that an isolated community like a small town can become desensitized to the problems happening in that community. They don't know any other way of life, so this is "normal". Shuichi knows better because he's left and seen the world beyond this town, but everyone else is still trapped in thinking this is normal. It's like growing up in a cult. You don't know how bad it is until you aren't forced to live that way anymore.

[@TheAdaoo7]

Living in Scotland, being from a relatively small town myself (around 15,000) I can absolutely attest to these parallels. The symptoms aren't so bad in my town but I travel a lot, going to more remote towns up north, either passing through, away on business or just going on holiday for leisure and let me tell you. A lot of them seem completely desensitized, in their own bubble. All they really know or talk about is local life. In a way it's nice because it's a reminder of how the world used to be and since my town is relatively small too, it reminds me a lot of how life was for us back in my childhood before the Internet and later, smartphones were everyday use. All that really mattered to us was what happened around us, and in a way it was beautiful. People were more connected and life was less turbulent. There is also the bad side of things, in a lot of instances it makes relating to a lot of the people you meet a lot harder if you're not from there, you might find them and their opinions or sense of logic "twisted", some parallels to how people in uzumaki became literally twisted and immediately became unfamiliar and a source of great unease to those around them. As well as what you directly addressed yourself, things that we would consider major issues are brushed off so easily. I was walking my dog in a very small village in the isle of Skye (pop. 80), when two dogs ran out of a farmhouse and across the road and tried to viciously attack my dog, she snapped back and I blocked them off with my foot. When I got to the local cafe I told the staff what happened and they were like "oh yeah a couple of bad people live in that house, they just let the dogs run amok, they've come out and ran cars off the road and everything". Naturally I was like "why hasn't someone called the police" and they smiled and shrugged as if it was a stupid question and just said "village politics pal".

[@clevtrog]

Reminds me of a great song from a Russian musician about someone facing a heraclean task while wishing everyone unknowing to sleep, kind of a Plato’s cave allegory. Seems their poetry translates into their music.

[@ShuckleIX]

​@@TheAdaoo7 Could say a million things about the psychopathic violent horrors you mentioned, BUT I'D BE SHADOWBANNED FOR EXPOSING THE CRUELTY. KZbin NORMALIZES IT. THIS HELL IS SEALED.

[@ShuckleIX]

​@@TheAdaoo7​ Could say a million things about the psychopathic violent horrors you mentioned, but I'd be shadowbanned for exposing the cruelty. KZbin normalizes the cruelty. This dystopian hell is sealed.

[@Cilent__]

​@@ShuckleIXlol

[@BrokenFingerParadise]

I remember reading this and then thinking at the end "Well at least the little snail boy survived" Hopefully those words will give you all some peace too.

[@HallowIsSmol]

yeah that was my thought too lmao

[@deck2296]

And probably the guy who did the maintenance for the spiral row houses survived too!

[@maximillian1109]

Those snails seems chill af though, like...

[@LockeRobsta]

He will go onto have snail children and then, tens of thousands of years later one of his children will be looked upon by a passing Japanese man...

[@kc_cobra]

That isn't comforting at all when you really think about it.

[@Asher17]

I read Uzumaki about 10-12 years agon and even though I forgot some of these chapters, until you brought them up, it never left me. This is absolutely my favorite of Ito's work and among my favorite horror stories of all time.

[@msemaschuk260690]

Would LOVE to hear more talk about Ito. I've loved Uzumaki for ages, but this helped me get a deeper appreciation of it.

[@nighthorizon7411]

I love junji ito’s ideas and concepts for horror as well as how horrifyingly detailed and beautiful his art is, then you see him irl and he’s a chill nice cat dad

[@ville__]

Don't translate..... भवतः हृदयस्य धड़कनं कतिपयेषु घण्टेषु स्थगयिष्यति, अस्य शापस्य मुक्तिं प्राप्तुं एकमात्रं मार्गं मम चैनलस्य सदस्यतां कुर्वन्तु ‎

[@GoofiestRatman]

@@ville__ god i hope

[@StevieMcKenna10]

The picture of him with cat ears sent me into a spiral bc it caught me off guard so bad

[@heltaku9397]

God I love his comics about his cats

[@JamesWagner-vv9iz]

But i felt some feeling as if some parts were transphobic in some ways or another

[@elijahdavila3684]

It's not typically talked about but Uzumaki is actually one of the best examples of cosmic horror. The people of this town are compelled into unsettling behavior and physically warped into inhuman forms by an unknown force that is affecting them like this via something as mundane as a shape.

[@anonymousanonymous6214]

@Sirzhukov it is imo. Why isn't it to you

[@enskovy]

​@@Sirzhukov Why isn't it?

[@sheepketchup9059]

​@@Sirzhukov seems very cosmic to me, why it isn't to you?

[@Sirzhukov]

@@anonymousanonymous6214 I tried to write an elaborate response, but YT hides my comments for some reason. Here is a short rundown: cosmic horror is a horror of grand scale, it's about insignificance on a vast universal plane. It's not about weird and bizarre. Uzumaki only has that last bit with Spiral God, but it's just a plot device made to tie things up, hardly a focus of this work.

[@SilverDreamweaver]

​@@SirzhukovExactly.

[@annacastro2855]

My head canon (which I know couldn't have happened or else there'd be no story) is that poor Shuichi asks Kirie to run away with him and she says yes and they _live,_ happy ever after and spiral-free 😭

[@jesslauren8031]

I love when people talk about Junji Ito and his stories, the psychology and meanings of them.

[@spiderdude2099]

My favorite thing about Itto’s art style is just how “hauntingly attractive” he draws a lot of the characters, especially women. Everyone looks so…ethereal and beautiful sometimes, but in a way that is very…strange. It’s hard to describe. There are still panels in these stories that are gorgeous. And I think he contrasts that greatly with the shift to the grotesque that happens during the horror segments.

[@wawacat6568]

Oh my god I thought the exact same thing with Whispering Woman or Wooden Spirit, where the women look beautiful, but you know there's something about them that'd just rub you the wrong way.

[@jjcoola998]

Yes, I think you're definitely correct, it's very surreal!! I wasn't sure how to articulate it, so I'm glad you did! (And did an amazing job)

[@vaenkhar7236]

Yeah it's the manga effect, but I admit he makes em ethereal with he's art style, indeed especially women (I think he like drawing women), but men too sometimes

[@henkdachief]

I think being attracted to comic book characters is weird bruh

[@spiderdude2099]

@@henkdachief way to make it weird dude. I’m talking in an artistic sense. The characters are beautifully drawn and have a very particular visual aesthetic through Itto’s art style that is unique, and pleasing to look at. Never once did I say anything about attraction. Have you never once appreciated art in your life? Would you call someone “gay” for admiring the Statue of David?

[@TheMasterJCL]

"Not that much gets to me anymore." Wendigoon, I have seen you have a panic attack at the sight of a bearded man on wheels. Don't get me started on the sea.

[@godwarrior3403]

Yeah no kidding. He consistently gets extra spooked about things I think are especially lame

[@moonygryffin5641]

Also goats

[@rt5u]

Bearded man on wheels? what was that?

[@theproplady]

@@rt5u "The Oldest View" series.

[@asiriusworm]

"Not that much gets to me anymore" except when his wife just walks in

[@godlike4676]

I think I like watching wendigoon so much is bc even if it’s a 24 hour video he always acts like it’s just your friend telling you about something he thinks is cool as shit and trying to get you as interested as he is, never change bro fr ❤

[@baramonjaro]

Just read Uzumaki online so I could watch this video. I've always wanted to read it and just never got around to it so you uploading a video about it finally pushed me to do so and it was so worth it!

[@noneknowstheswagger]

my favorite thing about the horror genre is that, usually, the person behind that horror is chill and/or silly. it’s the best plot twist

[@calamitysangfroid2407]

lovecraft was racist and probably suffering from nutrient deficiencies because he was afraid of vegetables, so i think he's a third thing which is 'genuinely messed up'

[@randomvideoboy1]

People were criticizing the ending? So many braindead tourists reading Uzumaki expecting it to be a blumhouse movie. Most of Junji Ito's story ends with the protagonist barely surviving or not surviving and nothing explained, which makes all his stories all the more terrifying.

[@RedRum253]

@@randomvideoboy1 the thing is that people are too used to happy endings, and stories that end with a full explanation and a perfect solution that wraps up the whole story. And what’s funny about that is the fact that most of the time these endings aren’t even good and usually don’t even make sense and are unrealistic. That’s why Junji Itos stories have such good endings, because you doesn’t care if you want a full explanation of what happened and he definitely doesn’t care if you want a happy ending. Because that shit isn’t realistic and real life isn’t like that. That’s why I loved the anime Jujutsu Kaisen so much, especially after watching the 2nd season. Up until then I was so used to anime’s like Demon Slayer where things happen that make no fucking sense just so that we get a happy ending where nobody dies and everyone’s happy. But when watching JJK, I was actually more satisfied after watching season 2 because the show didn’t care about forcing a happy ending for me, it did unexpected and realistic things and it actually made the show WAY more enjoyable and satisfying to watch.

[@PlutosAsleep]

i also suffer from nutrient deficiencies because i am afraid of vegetables

[@Kalibre97]

It's the same thing with (most) people into some of the more obscure metal genres. Most of those pig squeal vocal bands are just angry shitposting and chill nerds that wanna have fun

[@snarryvader81]

Uzumaki's probably my favorite manga of all time. You''re just living your normal life in your hometown, things start getting a little strange, then things start getting A LOT strange, but you don't try to move away until the cosmic horrors have grown so strong they won't let anybody leave. Characters trying to go about mundane day to day life while all the bizarre spiral shit is happening is amazing.

[@TheGreatUnknowing]

Have you read Stagtown?

[@snarryvader81]

@@TheGreatUnknowing No, what's it about? I'm guessing it's somewhat similar.

[@MoriMementa]

When I first read this in high school, I thought it was a little odd to see people trying to go about their daily lives despite all this horrible stuff happening. And now it's 2024 and that aspect of this manga has aged like fine wine.

[@turtlepro2652]

Bro I just stumbled onto this video on my home page and I have never been so glad to dedicate 2 hours to watch this.REALLY hope you do another and the way he explains it all after the chapter is just amazing keep up the great work.

[@KaylaDBee]

Uzumaki is without a doubt my brother and I's FAVORITE work from Junji Ito. I've got nearly the exact same stack of books you have, and I'm trying my best to fill it out and read it all too. But I was so excited to see you talk about it. You talking about No Longer Human and his adaptation of Frankenstein got me to look into both of those, and I adored them both (as much as you can adore depictions of despair), and it made me beyond happy to see you talk about this one. Keep it up!

[@AbhNormal]

Having read Uzumaki and a lot of Junji Ito's other stories, I've noticed a recurring theme of paranoia and self-fulfilling prophecies. Part of what makes Ito's work so compelling to me isn't just his beautifully horrific art, but the way he's able to visualize the feeling of slowly but surely falling down a rabbit hole and not being allowed to ever come back to reality again.

[@randomvideoboy1]

People were criticizing the ending? So many braindead tourists reading Uzumaki expecting it to be a blumhouse movie. Most of Junji Ito's story ends with the protagonist barely surviving or not surviving and nothing explained, which makes all his stories all the more terrifying.

[@shenanigans2877]

​@@randomvideoboy1People can dislike one aspect of a story bro it's not the end of the world

[@20000dino]

Which is why I'm honestly puzzled how Wendigoon consideres Uzumaki to be one of his least favorite Ito's works, especially since he seemed to grasp its appeal so well. Out of all of Ito's works, it materializes Ito's recurring horror themes in arguably one the most horrifically creative and beautiful ways. I've never seen a single horror theme fleshed out in such an artistically cohesive way, both in concept and in how it's implemented visually and literarily (as in how the narrative structure seems to literally resemble that of a spiral, both in how it simultaneously unravels and dives in itself).

[@joobishoobis1227]

I think it speaks to how much he enjoys the rest of itos work and not the quality of this one

[@evapunk522]

​@@shenanigans2877 Yeah but it basically means that there are people who just don't really understand why the story ends the way that it ends. I like Ito's works because they never really give you a happy ending...and sometimes it's a bit of a dissatisfying ending, and that's what makes his works really stick with you and get under your skin. If someone doesn't like the end, that probably means that they didn't get it...which sucks.

[@user-qh1mj5zq8e]

I appreciate Wendigoon taking about Ito's use of paneling because It's really an art form in itself. Like, drawing comics isn't just about doing cool images but also about making sure the reader naturally looks to the next panel, as well as keeping the framing and perspective of each image interesting. It's the kind of thing that you usually only notice if it's done poorly. It's neat to see it actually examined, and Ito is definitely a master.

[@KittyPieVibes]

Yes! I remember watching a video about “Maus” and how it was paneled. It really opened my eyes to how not only the art is important but how you present it as well

[@mimi-fm7hz]

@@KittyPieVibes maus is truly one of the best pieces of art and story telling I’ve seen.

[@JJ-jh6dk]

I also really like "How Media Scares Us: The Work of Junji Ito" by Super Eyepatch Wolf for more on stuff like this, very insightful and great to check out after this vid

[@j.2512]

Its the same with cinema, nobody notices good storyboarding because they are too inmersed in the narration but you notice bad storyboarding even when you can't verbalize whats wrong with the scene

[@JoJo-fan-right-here]

Thank you for urging us to read uzumaki ourselves. I finished it today, and my mother noticed that “something is wrong” with me. Because I am scared.

[@maawwii]

Yes please make more videos on anything Ito! Was so happy to have a video from you on this, and the fact that it was 2+ hours made my day! It would be awesome to hear your take on his short stories for sure. Amazing video 🤩

[@redbanana6841]

I'll never forget when Shuichi's mother asks 'Is there a spiral in my ear?' That moment of impending terror hits on a level that surpasses regular horror media. It's hard to articulate why, but it might be because her actions are the most understandable: she's having a mental breakdown because her husband died so gruesomely, she's taken on his obsession and turned it into a phobia, and there's a sense of inevitability when she finds out about that part of her own anatomy. I hope that the plot holes were just that, and not the spiral influencing people's behaviours, because there's a real deep horror to people standing by, pushing Kirie and Shuichi out of the row houses, eating each other, acting violently and greedily etc.

[@qballextraction]

I randomly started reading Uzumaki years ago on a scanlation site since the drawings were so beautifully done. First chapter was weird but okay, digging it. Got to the point where the mom asked that question and instantly noped out. I knew where it was heading and just couldn't.

[@henkdachief]

What’s regular horror media? Five nights with Freddy? This story was lame and not scary at all some blood sucking women ohhh how spoooky give me a break this was hack

[@Remedy462]

I mean, human beings do that and are historically horrible. But, regardless, what makes her specific comment about the ear more terrifying, on an intuitive basis, is just how fragile our eardrums are and how we primitively needed/need them for survival, so this hits on a physical and subconcious level as deep as the knife in her very own ear. Absolutely amazing, emotionally destructive, and flinchingly awful. Wonderful horror from a master who can tie together a collage of horror from wistful imagination into a compendium of the macabre.

[@nixieboo5201]

@@henkdachiefdude are you ok 😭

[@jesustyronechrist2330]

It's nothing in particular that makes that scene so harrowing. It's the concept of imagining what's to come. It's different from the "jumpscares" where you "know something is coming". It's like the purest form of "known fear", in contrast to what most say "unknown fear" being the default and only way to make good horror. But that kind of thinking is why so many horror falls flat: They completely ignore that there's this other side of horror other than unknown threats.

[@InvinciblKillerQueen]

With Ito's artstyle what's most striking to me is how it shifts between a "mundane" scene and a "supernatural" scene. It's always very detailed, but where an ordinary scene is crisp, consisting of sharp lines and simpler shapes, when the supernatural and horrific appears everything seems to warp around it. It works to assist that visual jumps-scare quality you mention. One thing I love about Uzumaki is that as the spiral forms sublimate towards the end of the series they begin to take that on cleaner aesthetic from the more mundane style. The Spiral has begun to totally overwrite the world, and even within the artwork it's becoming the new normal.

[@dhimankalita1690]

WOMP WOMP

[@feliciah6140]

Loved this video, please do more about Junji Itos works! Your analysis and theories are always really interesting

[@giovanna1995]

I've been dying to see someone go so deep into Uzumaki, and I'm extremely happy that you were the one to do it! I hope you do Enigma of Amigara Fault next, that one definitely has a similar amount of mystique to it that I can't get over

[@louthinator]

ok so, not sure if you're ever going to see this Isaiah but, when it comes to the whole "why aren't they moving out when it's clear people are moving out" thing, in japan, if a lot of people have died or gone missing in an area, an estate agent will not tell you that, it's bad for reputation and it invokes the dead which are both bad ideas in japan. So they tell you "oh they just moved out" which to them isn't entirely inaccurate because they also believe in spirits so it's like their spirit moved out of the home and went on to their next life. So all those properties are likely left behind by those who were killed.

[@henkdachief]

Yeah he said that in the video

[@louthinator]

@@henkdachief he alluded to it but said he wasn't sure so I'm just clarifying :)

[@j.2512]

Japan had a really high suicide rate because most murders will get labeled as such. Yakuza frames it as suicide and the police and government play along. Japan is all about appearances, they prefer to look as a country were people kill themselves from working too hard than one where people are constantly extorted and appear to die in misterious circunstances

[@louthinator]

@@j.2512 That's the unfortunate thing about Japan, I love their long and storied culture, I love the myths they come up with, and I love how polite their society is, like you can leave a fruit stand open for people to buy from and every time they will pay without being prompted, but then there's this darker side to it all. Almost makes you wonder if a society can exist where you get these kinds of benefits, without these extreme drawbacks.

[@celty228]

@@louthinator They also have extremely light punishments and, again, the appearance thing strikes once more because judges will often cite the "future" of young inmates as cause for little punishment. You can rape and kill people and there will be much lighter consequences if you are young or have connections. There have been many examples to cite or google. In addition, many young girls run away from home due to their fathers' molesting them, but again with society's expectations and appearances causes blame to also fall on the girl because family is important. Molested by a stranger? Many don't report it due to feeling shame despite it not being their fault. Bullying? Looks bad and you shouldn't tell authorities if you don't want to make the school look bad. Feeling suicidal? Better than not working yourself to death for your family(when it's really the company that wants you to do that). They even prompt respect for foreigners as a part of their respectable culture but a small amount of those respecters talk shit behind their backs. Japan is a beautiful country to visit and live, but god forbid you become a victim to a crime or exploitation, because there is a probable chance no justice occurs.

[@TheeAxo]

loving the MORTIS shirt

[@LboyW]

It goes so hard🔥

[@hedgehogmorph7248]

Opening new Vendigoon video: What I'm About To Do Has Not Been Approved By The Vatican

[@shinycorsola8894]

we out here keeping faith with this one🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@p-__]

My farts are better than Wendigoon’s farts 💨

[@genericuser984]

@@p-__ begone, heretical machine, your kind are not welcome here

[@Moon-iv1xy]

I totally agree with you on the ending. I think the hopeless and unexplainable situations really turn his scary art into perfectly terrifying terror. Excited to see you cover more of this works!!

[@TheMetalfreak360]

I normally have this long format videos on my second monitor, when I hit around the 30m - 1hr mark, I put it on my main monitor, I loved this video, just like with Junji Ito's work, was just captivated by the story itself and the art, and would love to hear and see more of his other works. Especially Hellstar Remina, which is my personal favourite. Great work as always Wendigoon.

[@marinterry3055]

I love that Junji Ito incorporates his ability to create short form horror into his long form works. We can see that in uzumaki in the way that every chapter affects people differently. Some chapters that freak one person out, may not bother somebody at all. For example, the snail chapter freaked me out more than almost anything else. The idea of going from a human into a creature forced to even PROCREATE with somebody you hate because of your new nature is horrific to me. It’s hard enough to create one good spooky story, but to fit a bunch of mini ones into an over arching narrative shows junji itos talent.

[@Wohlfe]

And occasionally you get stuff like the cyclone riders chapter that's just him fucking around lol

[@Atolm4]

​@@WohlfeAnd even then it's all strange enough to be unsettling. With so many people on the cusp of rage and madness, and the consequences of something as easy as thoughtless movement being incredibly violent, the atmosphere in my mind was tense and uncomfortable, dreamlike in the worst ways.

[@ville__]

Don't translate..... भवतः हृदयस्य धड़कनं कतिपयेषु घण्टेषु स्थगयिष्यति, अस्य शापस्य मुक्तिं प्राप्तुं एकमात्रं मार्गं मम चैनलस्य सदस्यतां कुर्वन्तु ‎

[@JFJD]

@@ville__You are a parasite. Even if you had some sort of ability (you don’t), the fact that you attempt to ensnare people in their own fear in order to enrich yourself is deplorable. May what you attempt to inflict on others rebound on your own head.

[@JammerAma]

Jokes on you i want to die ​@ville__

[@TheZipperDragon]

One thing I've noticed about Ito's work is that he'll have events happen that most people would say "That's fucked up." But in the story they just say "That's fucked up...Anyways."

[@Quader417]

Honestly quite a few manga/anime tends to do that plus theres a lot of ghosts/yokai in Japanese mythology that’s just really weird like inanimate objects gain a soul if they’re neglected… someone should check in on the Japanese lol

[@goolgepl2112]

​@@Quader417a weird thing about Japanese yokai/horror is that it's often just matter-of-fact-ly delivered like "Yeah he exists out there. Turn around 3 times and clap, it probably helps"

[@dnevita]

Thank you for all the time invested in this video, I'm too coward to read Junji Ito, but I really love his work, and this video give me the chance to enjoy the book without the nigthmares of actually read it. You just won new fan

[@gwenthielman932]

Yes I totally want more of this! This is what I've been looking for for ages!

[@Gogamziussy]

I like to think that with mitsuru, his death was in technicality caused by the spiral of a car wheels rotation which cursed his after life.

[@macaemeia146]

also the spring is a spiral

[@jessicaschuh7258]

Another cool part of the story is the name of the town, and it's one of the first indications of the spiral within the manga. The town is named Kurozu-cho, and the kanji in the original panel is 黒渦ー町. The first kanji means black (黒 - くろ in hiragana / kuro in romaji), the second kanji means swirl (渦 - うず in hiragana / uzu in romaji), and the last kanji means town (町 - ちょう in hiragana / chou in romaji). 渦 is also the first kanji in the word Uzumaki, which we know means spiral (渦巻き - うずまき in hiragana / uzumaki in romaji). The events of the story literally take place in Black Swirl Town :)

[@thomastakesatollforthedark2231]

And that second kanji looks like a swirl of course

[@j.2512]

moon runes are completetely autistic

[@anaionescu8913]

That's why I love the Japanese language. There's always something hidden in plain sight if the author wills it.

[@inendlesspain4724]

@@anaionescu8913 For the japanese it's not hidden at all. I mean, sure, japanese creators can get pretty creative and multi-layered with their names and kanji spellings, but in this case "black swirl" is pretty straight forward. Reminds me of the characters from Komi-san can't communicate whose names are all literal descriptions of their personalities or main traits.

[@KumoKumiko]

another fun layer is included in the specifics of the pronunciation: Kurôzu-Cho, with proper Japanese pronunciation, sounds like the English word 'Close', so it can ALSO be said that the name of the town means 'Closed Town', like a closed loop that you can't escape from

[@maxmac-pj9bb]

Great video, this is the second book I’ve read along with you as you do an analysis of it (with the first being Blood Meridian), and I feel like it’s such a great way to go through a book. I hope you continue to make videos like this!

[@zackthemaniac5754]

Never been truly introduced to Ito's work but I LOVED this, same vibe as fleshpit but with a more prodding-fun horror angle. I watched the whole thing at work and I am BEGGING you to do more Ito content like this

[@samkittredge7353]

I would say the Mitsuru story actually DOES involve the spiral. For instance, when he gets run over, he gets twisted up around the wheel into a spiral. The spring is also formed in a spiral shape. That’s what jumped to my mind when looking at the panels.

[@fireking0531]

I mean if you really wanna get into it you could easily say the stitching is in a spiral form too lol

[@ollieabbe2423]

Plus, the series has shown that obsessions with people can be a part of the influence of the spiral, even when the spiral isn't directly part of it- so the spiral could have been influencing his obsession with Kirie

[@Shuffles_Art]

Yeah I’d say since the suspension spring was stuck within Mitsuru’s dead body, the town must’ve struck his body with the spiral curse and caused it to rise from the dead through the power of the spiral. And once the spiral stitching and the spiralling spring came undone, the curse dispersed and vanished leaving only the dismantled corpse behind.

[@merenguethesnail]

i guess you could say the realisation *sprung* up on you?

[@mintymayhem9673]

my favorite part of this book is that every chapter has that one panel. there’s always that one panel with something horrific and crazily detailed. every chapter has essentially a poster of something that ito-sensei wants to stick in your mind. chapter 11 has my favorite panel out of the book.

[@CarmenRodriguez-zk1ti]

What was the panel in chapter 11?

[@corvidalexander3618]

​@@CarmenRodriguez-zk1ti I'm assuming that maybe it's Kirie's cousin after having the baby put back inside of her

[@mintymayhem9673]

@@corvidalexander3618yup

[@blooKona]

please more ito! i cant read them myself because i get too squeamish but i love the format of this video and the way you delivered the story, i was with you for the whole thing!!!

[@TrenchcoatsinaWoman]

I was so exciting to see you covered Junji Ito! He’s sort of one of my “forbidden” obsessions haha. As a horror fan, I hugely respect him and his work, but his stuff hits me hard across my body horror limit and is just too scary for me. You created a nice commentary barrier for me to learn about the full story better so thank you :)

[@kalthenonbinarypal2225]

I actually see the ending of Uzumaki as being a bit more positive. Kirie describes the eternal moment of her death not as one of pain, suffering, or giving in to the darkness, but as an eternity spend in the arms of Shuichi, the person she loved. The same goes for her parents, who, despite dying/being swept away separately, end up side-by-side. To me, the story says that when all hope is lost, when there's no way to stop the inevitable and the end nears, all that's left for humans to do is love. I don't see the ending as Kirie giving up or giving in to the spiral, but as her choosing to let her final moments be moments of love. It's a nihilistic ending, sure, but it's a positive nihilism that encourages the reader to choose love whenever they can.

[@orcciezaj]

I also read the ending in this way, it's a deeply positive note for such a bizarre and macabre work

[@jiggityjack8113]

I would also argue that Kirie and Shuichi didn’t completely lose. They don’t stare at the spiral at the end, but at each other.

[@kalthenonbinarypal2225]

@@jiggityjack8113 YES great point!

[@ville__]

Don't translate..... भवतः हृदयस्य धड़कनं कतिपयेषु घण्टेषु स्थगयिष्यति, अस्य शापस्य मुक्तिं प्राप्तुं एकमात्रं मार्गं मम चैनलस्य सदस्यतां कुर्वन्तु ‎

[@linuxguy1199]

It also kinda encapsulates the human condition as well, no matter what we do, how we act, we'll all die eventually. Those final moments we're accepting that fact and making the most out of it.

[@georgeofhamilton]

I feel the worst for Suichi’s parents, to be honest. They caused each other so much grief in their madness.

[@dhimankalita1690]

Womp womp

[@HEHEHEHEHEHE789]

​@dhimankalita1690 Why are you watching such a complex video and then commenting something so juvenile as this?

[@dhimankalita1690]

@@HEHEHEHEHEHE789 "cOmPleX" lmao

[@Remedy462]

Loved the narrative. It's just like many couples where one partner falls into an obsession that drags the other one along until it ruins them. Completely horrible in reality, but incredible in fiction because we might learn not to make those similar mistakes, intervene when someone has those problems, or simply leave to salvage ourselves. Truly a tell-tale of obsession.

[@celty228]

@@dhimankalita1690 I agree it's not that complex but commenting womp womp every chance you get makes you look like someone who spends all their time on reddit

[@allison9187]

Wendi!!! This was AWESOME. I’m a huge manga reader and an enormous Ito fan. PLEASE do more videos on some of his other works. Your takes are so wonderful to listen to and so in line with the themes Ito loves to use. I would love to hear your takes on Tomie or even Gyo.

[@Starvir0]

I really need to see your take on Tomie! All the other videos I have seen are amazing, but never seem to fully capture or understand it all like I hope you could. Junji Ito is an amazing author, and all of his works deserve more attention and thought added to them. Please give us more!

[@heritortheory6201]

42:00 Nope. Kirie and Shuichi are spiraling around one another, that is their spiral curse. Shuichi is incredibly insightful and aware of what is going on while Kirie is completely oblivious and almost impossible to notice the danger going on all around her. Shuichi could get away but he cares too much about Kirie and will not leave her side. Or maybe more accurately Shuichi is spiraling around Kirei.

[@teejaykaye4357]

That’s a great insight, I hadn’t considered it that way but it makes total sense that they’d be poised as opposites but simply can’t leave each other and get dragged down deeper as the world ends.

[@dumbloser666]

reminds me of yin yang

[@xXTheKingEmothXx]

It's also because Shuichi is separated from the spiral more often since he goes to school out of town, while Kirie has been born, raised and educated in the town. The spiral doesn't specifically manifest in people, it's ever-present, innevitable. It's a spiral, it's always dragging everything in, and everyone, the longer they stay in the town, is dragged into its grasp. Kirie is incapable of leaving. Even when she wants to, the spiraling effect just... persuades her. Shuichi eventually realizes that Kirie is trapped, and decides to stay and accept their fate together.

[@randomvideoboy1]

People were criticizing the ending? So many braindead tourists reading Uzumaki expecting it to be a blumhouse movie. Most of Junji Ito's story ends with the protagonist barely surviving or not surviving and nothing explained, which makes all his stories all the more terrifying.

[@umyeah3116]

I think that Kirie’s friend that challenged her into the hair battle was able to develop the curse’s powers so fast is because I think the curse chooses to manifest in people who are like it. As in wanting attention, as also seen with the girl who was chosen by the curse because she sought out male attention, the curse manifested in her scar.

[@ceangel101]

Yes please more ito stories!!! His artwork is so iconic & I love hearing your take on his stories

[@alakazamthisisasham]

i'm like emotional right now. that was so good. and yes, you're right, i should have read it. but now i know. the depth and breadth of this dude's work-- always like whatever screenshots i saw but had no idea the stories could be so deep. and this isn't even the best one??? the number of creative applications of the spiral shape and the consistent canon he was able to create. amazing. if you do another junji video i would both love it and avoid it cuz now i want to read them.

[@anclamari4096]

Kirie might be a "meh" horror protagonist but something about her adds to the surrealism of Uzumaki... Her boyfriend is a paranoid spiral radar, they're constantly surrounded by death and gore and she's relatively Normal about everything. Uzumaki is told from the pov of someone under the curse like everyone else in town and IMO the vibes just won't be the same if the story was centered around a rational character like Shuichi.

[@double1777]

Kirie and Shuichi’s relationship is one of my favorite parts of this manga. As well as the entirety of Chapter 3. I choose to personally interpret Azami’s scar as actually having the power to attract guys, so it’s interesting to see how the spirals corrupt her with her scar as a conduit.

[@user-ns4zm8qe9p]

Maybe the spiral demon was jealous ?

[@nunyabizness6113]

​@@user-ns4zm8qe9p in a way...yes. I see that chapter as the spiral curse trying to drive a wedge between kirie and suichi but it doesn't realize how GOATED suichi is

[@Istormur]

This was amazing!! Great video throughout. Would watch 1000 more videos of Ido

[@pjtice2096]

I really liked this format with the pages behind you, makes it really easy to quickly see what you're talking about when I hit a red light

[@madeliner1682]

no joke I got a lil paranoid because I was taking a break from reading uzumaki and as I was going to the bathroom I realized that the toilet paper wrapping around the tube makes a spiral. 10/10 book actually make me spooked by TP

[@dhimankalita1690]

WOMP WOMP

[@TheNotSoRealJeff2]

Look at your pfp buddy.

[@Armando_S.]

Memento mori

[@Head-Tr1ck]

Memento Mori.

[@fixsationon7244]

I have a spiral shaped iron rod to dry large blankets located above ly feet. I was so terrifiéd to sleep after reading uzumaki

[@clan741]

Personally I do see one uplifting aspect of the ending. When succumbing to the spiral, the 2 of them aren’t looking at the spiral like everyone else is, they are staring at eachother. The one thing the spiral wanted was to be witnessed and lost into, yet this couple defy it just by caring for eachother more.

[@randomvideoboy1]

People were criticizing the ending? So many braindead tourists reading Uzumaki expecting it to be a blumhouse movie. Most of Junji Ito's story ends with the protagonist barely surviving or not surviving and nothing explained, which makes all his stories all the more terrifying.

[@pep4338]

Are you copy pasting this on every comment or using a bot​@@randomvideoboy1

[@britneycarino]

I remember going on a Junji Ito binge a few years ago and LOVED Uzumaki even though I was so creeped out. It’s a great manga and your video makes me experience all those feelings again!

[@3LeagueSos]

Started watching but then decided to read/own it first, so I'll see you back here in a week or so. Thanks!

[@Hamza-rd6jk]

Junji Ito's works are almost impossible to translate into a video format. His unique art style and pacing are often lost in animation and even more so in live action. Also Uzumaki was utterly bonkers and I absolutely loved it. Go read it for yourself to fully experience the WTF moment on each page.

[@p-__]

My farts are better than Wendigoon’s farts 💨

[@ville__]

Don't translate..... भवतः हृदयस्य धड़कनं कतिपयेषु घण्टेषु स्थगयिष्यति, अस्य शापस्य मुक्तिं प्राप्तुं एकमात्रं मार्गं मम चैनलस्य सदस्यतां कुर्वन्तु ‎

[@invadernav3422]

To me, the best 'adaptation' of Junji Ito's work is the game World of Horror. It's not a direct adapatation, but its art style and writing style are as close as you can get to it. It's a truly fantastic game, and anyone who's a fan of his work should play it!

[@Negro420Cooking]

​@@ville__ what is the purpose of this, your pathetic

[@Exel3nce]

I just hate uzumaki. It started of great and became a clown show with its human tornado's

[@omegalul8466]

Uzumaki in a nutshell. Kirie: so umm. i have this problem. . . . Shuichi: Aight fam, say less.

[@simonolesen3436]

Would definetely love to see more of these. Really loved this, so hearing more of stories from him would be so awesome.

[@FairbrookWingates]

Oh wow, your interpretation of the ending....and telling of the story to get there... I feel like I've read the story with you now, but at the same time want to go read it "again"! Best outcome, master video, please do more on Ito's work, please!

[@MachinShinful]

describing Junji Ito as "a fella just out to have a good time" is perfect and I think he'd love to hear it. I also love the mushroom placentas being fed to patients, because after you give birth, the doctor offers for you to keep the placenta if you want it. in a lot of cultures, the mother eats the placenta for the nutrients. fun!

[@nafachmi709]

So fun!

[@joescraft123]

Very fun =)

[@medusha979]

I think the spiral theme for Mitsuru’s story comes in him spiraling into obsession over Kirie. A more figurative spiral than others in the story but I think it works

[@anib8863]

Also springs are spirals.

[@athylaandreatta7294]

Please talk more about Junji Ito! Your way of explaining horror stories is fantastic, and Junji ito has so much more good stories. I agree with you in a lot of stuff, and you just made the ending of Uzumaki better for me with your theory. This was excellent, and people would love to know your favorite stories of him.