Rating: 
Summary: Very different
Review: A horror manga about spirals!? You might be wondering what's so scary about spirals. Well in my opinion, nothing. The book is not nearly as scary as it is vividly freaky. It is stunning, imaginative, and very unique. The art is high quality and the story is very intriguing. I read the whole thing in one sitting because I just couldn't put it down. The reason I only gave it 4 stars is because after you read it once, the shock value dissapates and it loses re-readability. I would recomend this book to anyone who likes the Twilight Zone. This book has a very similar feel to it.
Rating:
Summary: Very different
Review: A horror manga about spirals!? You might be wondering what's so scary about spirals. Well in my opinion, nothing. The book is not nearly as scary as it is vividly freaky. It is stunning, imaginative, and very unique. The art is high quality and the story is very intriguing. I read the whole thing in one sitting because I just couldn't put it down. The reason I only gave it 4 stars is because after you read it once, the shock value dissapates and it loses re-readability. I would recomend this book to anyone who likes the Twilight Zone. This book has a very similar feel to it.
Rating: 
Summary: A rare gem in the middle of a sea of dissapointment
Review: Horror comics are virtually impossible to do well. Most are either silly monster stories or are simply tales with twist endings ala "Tales from the Crypt" or the original "House of Mystery." Few are ever actually SCARY the way a well-made horror film or a well-crafted horror novel or short story is.This title is an exception to that general rule. Creator Junji Ito has taken what seems on the face of it to be goofy--a town cursed by evil spirals--and turned it into a vehicle for comic books that deliver genuine chills. An example of the masterful execution of this book is when the narrator and her boyfriend are sitting in a doctor's office with the boyfriend's mother, who has become obsessed with removing all spirals from her body--fingerprints are spirals, so they must be removed; her hair curls, so it must be removed--and they spot an anatomy chart that shows a person's inner ear... and the spiral it contains. The reader actually shares the shock and horror of the characters as they try to make sure the insane woman doesn't see the chart and then proceed to attempt to tear out her inner ear. It's an exceptionally well-done bit of graphic storytelling. I highly recommend this book if you're a fan of horror. Heck, I even recommend it if you're the kind of person who claims to hate Japanese comics ("manga.") Ito's style shows only a few of the "stereotypical" manga elements and actually put me in mind of a number of Italian and English comic book artists who specialize in romance or sci-fi comics during the Seventies and Eighties.
Rating:
Summary: Will you be dining on the Escargot appetizer this evening?
Review: I certainly won't. I will never look at anything with a spiral the same way ever again.
Ito has created a great story, even for someone like myself who is not a fan of Japanese animation, and also a beginner in the wide world of graphic novels and chapter books. (or grown up comic books if you prefer that term) The stories are told from the prospective of a young girl named Kirie Goshima who lives in the town of Kurozu, along with her boyfriend Shuichi Saito. The first two chapters deal with the tragic deaths of Shuichi's parents, his father dying from turning himself into a spiral, and his mother from trying to rid her body of spirals. (Think fingerprints and the cochlea in the inner ear for starters) Shuichi is convinced that their town is infected with spirals, which is seemingly proven by the odd patterns in the river and the fact that every time a body is cremated, the smoke belches out from the smokestack in a spiral pattern that covers the town before falling into mysterious Dragonfly Pond. After the deaths of his parents, he quits school and becomes a recluse, popping out only in time to save Kirie from one spiral or another. In the remaining chapters, we meet Azami Kurotani, a beautiful girl who has never been turned away by a boy since she received a crescent shaped scar upon her forehead. But when Shuichi turns her away, Azami becomes fixated on him, and falls victim to the spiral. Then Kirie's father, a potter, begins to notice changes in the way his clay behaves when fired in the kiln. His everyday plates and bowls begin to twist and warp into unusable shapes, and he becomes transfixed by his work until Shuichi realizes what is happening and steps in to help Kirie. Next is a love story of two youths whose poverty stricken parents have declared war on each other, and refuse to allow the young lovers to see each other. Just as the spiral seems to twist in upon itself forever, so does unrequited love writhe about the hearts of Yoriko and Kazunori. In the last chapter, the spiral steps it up a notch and enters the realm of the truly bizarre, when Kirie discovers that her own hair has been infected, and begins a life of its own. Surprisingly, this causes her friend Sekino to become jealous of the attention Kirie is getting from being led around by her hair. Some people will do anything for attention, and Sekino finds a way to compete with Kirie while Shuichi tries to find a way to save her. I found this volume to be extrodinaryly entertaining, and am already buried deep within Volume Two. With the subtle horror and fast paced storyline, these books are a great read for young adults and old adults alike. A simply fascinating study of how a mundane pattern can awaken from non-existence and possess an entire town, this is definately an entertaining "Food For Thought" piece that will cause you to wake up and take notice of all the patterns within your own life. Quite enjoyable, all in all. :o)
Rating:
Summary: Will you be dining on the Escargot appetizer this evening?
Review: I certainly won't. I will never look at anything with a spiral the same way ever again.
Ito has created a great story, even for someone like myself who is not a fan of Japanese animation, and also a beginner in the wide world of graphic novels and chapter books. (or grown up comic books if you prefer that term) The stories are told from the prospective of a young girl named Kirie Goshima who lives in the town of Kurozu, along with her boyfriend Shuichi Saito. The first two chapters deal with the tragic deaths of Shuichi's parents, his father dying from turning himself into a spiral, and his mother from trying to rid her body of spirals. (Think fingerprints and the cochlea in the inner ear for starters) Shuichi is convinced that their town is infected with spirals, which is seemingly proven by the odd patterns in the river and the fact that every time a body is cremated, the smoke belches out from the smokestack in a spiral pattern that covers the town before falling into mysterious Dragonfly Pond. After the deaths of his parents, he quits school and becomes a recluse, popping out only in time to save Kirie from one spiral or another. In the remaining chapters, we meet Azami Kurotani, a beautiful girl who has never been turned away by a boy since she received a crescent shaped scar upon her forehead. But when Shuichi turns her away, Azami becomes fixated on him, and falls victim to the spiral. Then Kirie's father, a potter, begins to notice changes in the way his clay behaves when fired in the kiln. His everyday plates and bowls begin to twist and warp into unusable shapes, and he becomes transfixed by his work until Shuichi realizes what is happening and steps in to help Kirie. Next is a love story of two youths whose poverty stricken parents have declared war on each other, and refuse to allow the young lovers to see each other. Just as the spiral seems to twist in upon itself forever, so does unrequited love writhe about the hearts of Yoriko and Kazunori. In the last chapter, the spiral steps it up a notch and enters the realm of the truly bizarre, when Kirie discovers that her own hair has been infected, and begins a life of its own. Surprisingly, this causes her friend Sekino to become jealous of the attention Kirie is getting from being led around by her hair. Some people will do anything for attention, and Sekino finds a way to compete with Kirie while Shuichi tries to find a way to save her. I found this volume to be extrodinaryly entertaining, and am already buried deep within Volume Two. With the subtle horror and fast paced storyline, these books are a great read for young adults and old adults alike. A simply fascinating study of how a mundane pattern can awaken from non-existence and possess an entire town, this is definately an entertaining "Food For Thought" piece that will cause you to wake up and take notice of all the patterns within your own life. Quite enjoyable, all in all. :o)
Rating:
Summary: Different, and well worth looking into.
Review: I don't read Manga, but out of curiosity I decided to give Junji Ito works a try. While his other story collection, Tomie, was nightmarish enough if somewhat crude, Uzumaki is a more polished and impressive "dark fairy tale". The premise alone is completely unique from anything else I've seen: a Japanese coastal village is under attack by the concept of the spiral. But it's how Ito explores this through his writing and art that really makes for memorable stories. Some are typical horror stories, others read more like twisted romances, and a few are simply bizarre. All that said, I've only read the first two volumes, and can't vouch for the quality of the third. Also, for those who are curious, the movie isn't bad but can't really compete with the comic. If possible watch the movie first, then read the manga.
Rating:
Summary: Vertiginous horror
Review: I don't think I'd care to visit Kurozu-cho. See, it's not an ordinary town. Just ask Shuichi Saito, who's convinced his father is going insane. It doesn't help that Shuichi's girlfriend, Kirie Goshima, found the man gazing intently at a snail in an alleyway. When Shuichi tells his girlfriend his theory that spirals have gained a malignant hold over the man, her reaction is to giggle. But together, this young couple faces a horrifying realization- that everyone and everything in their town has fallen under the spiral's monstrous influence. The results are shocking, creepy, even disgusting at times as Kirie opens her eyes to the growing madness around her and suffers a loss of innocence.
It begins with several pages of gorgeously moody, full-color art, but "Uzumaki," by Junji Ito, wastes little time unwinding its mysteries. From a man's obsession with, and possession by, the spiral, to crematory smoke that swirls in the air and reveals the faces of the deceased, to grotesque transformations and sudden violence, Ito frames it all with an unflinching eye, and depicts it with atmospheric linework reminiscent of Edward Gorey crossed with H.R. Geiger.
The stories themselves proceed with the inexorable logic of dreams, and once you've read the first, 2-part story, each set-up will fill you with dread. Two lovers, separated by their feuding families? What happens to them would never have occured to ol' Bill Shakespeare. A classmate believes her crescent scar enables her to ensare men's hearts? Well, she's going to learn that the spiral has powers beyond her moonshaped beauty mark. And what about the girl who becomes jealous of all the attention Kirie's suddenly curly hair receives?
Despite the gore, Ito never sacrifices mood, and if his female characters seem overly doll-like and fragile (especially Kirie herself), it only serves to heighten the horrors they encounter. This is one of the few horror comics... or books, for that matter... I've ever read that truly disturbed me. After all, Dracula has a mind, and the Wolf-man succumbs to silver. But how does one negotiate with, or defeat, a shape? Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as Tomie, but still worth a look
Review: I just recently got into (true) horror manga when I came across Junji Ito's "Tomie" books. I devoured them and moved onto some others, and I am looking forward to reading "Flesh Colored Horror" and some other real horror manga. "Uzumaki" did what Tomie could not--keep me up at night. But seeing as how I have panic attacks and insomnia, that is probably not a good thing. I love the horror genre, but I need to stop reading them after a certain point. Anyway, if you are looking for something to keep you up nights, then you should take a long look at "Uzumaki". Both "Tomie" and "Uzumaki" made me think about the story and how it can apply to the world around me; they both got me to notice things I would not have otherwise seen; both kept me is suspense and made me read them all the way through (without pausing); and both are very well-drawn, and the pictures are not very crowded. So, although "Uzumaki" didn't have quite the same effect on me that "Tomie" did, I still recommend it to anyone and everyone interested in horror manga.
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as Tomie, but still worth a look
Review: I just recently got into (true) horror manga when I came across Junji Ito's "Tomie" books. I devoured them and moved onto some others, and I am looking forward to reading "Flesh Colored Horror" and some other real horror manga. "Uzumaki" did what Tomie could not--keep me up at night. But seeing as how I have panic attacks and insomnia, that is probably not a good thing. I love the horror genre, but I need to stop reading them after a certain point. Anyway, if you are looking for something to keep you up nights, then you should take a long look at "Uzumaki". Both "Tomie" and "Uzumaki" made me think about the story and how it can apply to the world around me; they both got me to notice things I would not have otherwise seen; both kept me is suspense and made me read them all the way through (without pausing); and both are very well-drawn, and the pictures are not very crowded. So, although "Uzumaki" didn't have quite the same effect on me that "Tomie" did, I still recommend it to anyone and everyone interested in horror manga.
Rating:
Summary: The Best of Japanese Horror Manga
Review: I read a bit of horror manga in Japan, often because it reflects a lot of taboo subjects in Japanese culture quite brazenly and ... well, with great, bloody images. Seriously, though, you can learn a lot about Japanese society from the themes dealt with in these books, particularly eating disorders, control & need, fear of environmental collapse, and the oppression children feel under the weight of social relations, which I believe is the theme underpinning "Uzumaki". Ito is fairly perceptive, and certainly deserving of the recognition he received from Umezu Kazuo, the reigning king of the genre. Higuchinsky's film version of Uzumaki, which premiered a while back in SF, is a delightful David Lynch-esque, rambunctious satire of Japanese rural middle class values and life style. Anyway, I haven't read the translation, but you all who don't read Japanese are really fortunate to have access to Ito's work--check out Umezu as well. "Gyo" is less interesting, but "Tomie" is a fascinating commentary on heterosexual relations in Japan today. Possession, obsession, power, madness and murder--good bedtime reading!
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