Warning: Spoilers and Disturbing Imagery Ahead for Uzumaki Episode #2!One of the scariest stories in theUzumakimanga was just drastically cut down in the anime, and I’m pretty disappointed. Junji Ito’s masterful horror story isloaded with terrifying chaptersthat showcase the horrifying nature of the spiral curse in Kurouzu-cho. However, one that sticks out in particular is “Jack-in-the-Box,” a standalone tale that features some of the scariest imagery in the graphic novel. When I saw it was being adapted in episode two, I was excited…until I noticed how cut down the story ended up being.
InUzumaki’s second episode, “Jack-in-the-Box” is introduced and adapted pretty faithfully, with Mitsuru Yamaguchi consistently scaring Kirie in an effort to make her like him. In fact, when the story gets to his demise, the image of him crushed beneath the tires after leaping in front of it to prove his love for Kirie is just as unsettling as it was on the page. However, after this scene,the anime completely abandons the story before it can even hint at its terrifying climax in the manga.Instead, it proceeds to focus on other stories such as “Medusa” and “Twisted Souls,” and this left me devastated to see such a horrific story be completely ignored.
Uzumaki Completely Ignoring the Second Half of “Jack-in-the-Box” Left Me Devastatingly Disappointed
The Scariest Part of the Manga Was Completely Cut Out
In the original manga, Mitsuru’s story goes far beyond his death in the anime, and that’s what made it such a stand-out story. It follows Kirie as she begins to feel haunted by Mitsuru and feeling guilt for his death. She then gets Shihuru’s help to dig up his corpse to make sure he’s really dead after experiencing a disturbing vision. When they exhume the body, the two are shocked to see that Mitsuru’s corpse is still moving and springs after them. However, as the body dismembers with every bounce, it’s revealed that a spring from the car that crushed him was lodged into his spine, turning him into a human jack-in-the-box.
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This is such a solid horror story that perfectly uses Junji Ito’s signature disturbing artwork to tell a tale that’s separate from the mainUzumakistory yet fits within its recurring themes and imagery. The fact that the anime cuts this horrific second half out of the final product is completely disappointing becauseit neglects what made the story one ofUzumaki’s best.Ending the story just as the best part is approaching is by far the most frustrating part about episode two, even with thecontroversial decline in animation quality that left fans furious.
Uzumaki Relegates Mitsuru’s Corpse to a Cheap Jump-Scare Post-Credits Scene
Mitsuru’s Story Deserves More Than This
What’s frustrating about how “Jack-in-the-Box” was handled is thatthe anime actually does address the story’s scarier second half after the credits.The final scene shows Mitsuru’s grave before the ground gives way. Suddenly, Mitsuru’s corpse springs at the screen, making the same noise he would make to scare Kirie. It’s so brief that it makes me question why he couldn’t just get a segment of the anime to give this horrific sequence more context. It doesn’t even show why he’s launching out of the grave, completely nullifying his tie to the spiral curse since a spring in his spine is what causes him to leap in the story.
Plus, the decision to forego this part entirely and save it for a post-credits scene means thatone of the scariest images of the story, the Jack-in-the-Box with the demonic face, is shown completely out of context. When it appears in the anime, it’s a brief segment when Kirie drops the present as Mitsuru gets run over with the toy springing from its box. Then, it makes a scary face and is never addressed again. This completely neglects the reasoning behind this iconicdisturbing artwork by Ito, as Kirie sees it in the manga when she hears Mitsuru’s voice late at night in a string of guilt, which motivates her to check to see if Mitsuru is truly dead.
“Jack-in-the-Box” Would Have Benefited from Not Being Adapted at All
Uzumaki Needs Enough Room to Breathe As Is
If I was given the chance to rework this story’s anime adaptation, I would ultimately decide to just cut it out entirely. Thebiggest issue I’ve had with the anime so farisits rapid pacing due to only being four episodes long.While it’s been a decent adaptation so far, the speed of it is completely ruining the experience of what should be a slow story. “Jack-in-the-Box” is such a disconnected story from the rest of theUzumakinarrative that I would be fine with cutting it out entirely rather than trying to force it in and risk cutting out the most important parts.
To say I was disappointed by the execution of “Jack-in-the-Box” would be an understatement. It’s such a terrifying story in the original manga, and to see it completely upended before it can get to its second half takes away what made it scary to begin with. It’s anUzumakistory that was unnecessarily cut down, and while I wish they had cut it out altogether to give the series more room to breathe, it comes off as nothing more than missed potential given its horrifying source material.
Uzumaki: Spiral into Horror
Cast
Uzumaki: Spiral into Horror is an adaptation of Junji Ito’s acclaimed manga, directed by Hiroshi Nagahama. The series unfolds in the town of Kurôzu-cho where inexplicable events related to spirals plague the inhabitants, leading to terror and madness. Highlighting the psychological and supernatural, the show follows high school student Kirie Goshima and her boyfriend, Shuichi Saito, as they confront the spiraling horrors that engulf their town.
