The first episode of the Uzumaki anime, a much-hyped adaptation of Junji Ito's seminal manga, had fans optimistic that there might finally be a Junji Ito anime adaptation that isn't terrible.

The second episode has stomped that optimism into a fine powder of disappointment among many in the fandom.

the uzumaki quality difference side by side is so jarring pic.twitter.com/A7KQ6FAaGe

— vance (@vancethot) October 6, 2024

The Uzumaki anime was first teased in 2019 and had a troubled development period, resulting in what will only be a four-episode run. Despite the challenges the anime faced, its first episode largely lived up to expectations, particularly concerning its animation quality.

Episode one, helmed by animation studio Fukagu, fluidly recreated some of Uzumaki's most famous scenes in Junji Ito's style.

Episode two was helmed by a different studio, Akatsuki, and in the day since it aired, social media has been lamenting Uzumaki's baffling drop in quality.

Multiple scenes have been singled out for roasting. In one instance, characters running on a beach appear to glide over the sand like GIFs over a JPG background: characters "walking" appear to be still models moved up and down without any fluidity to their movement and a punch is delivered in slow motion and causes its receiver to stiffly crumble.

On Reddit, viewers have also voiced suspicion that AI animation has been employed.

My day is ruined… https://t.co/vHLW1HWoOZ pic.twitter.com/dgJtIFvxCZ

— _doffylamingo (@doffylmingo) October 6, 2024

episode 1 vs episode 2 of uzumaki.. this is unreal im so mad pic.twitter.com/CD8xoym07q

— dylan (@dyianactive) October 7, 2024

…the botch of uzumaki anime needs to be studied pic.twitter.com/tbNA3bC0IU

— vance (@vancethot) October 6, 2024

The episode tackles some of the manga's most iconic chapters, including the "spiral" hair battle and the students turning into snails, which makes the dip in quality sting even worse for viewers.

It is unknown what animation studio or studios are in charge of episodes three and four, which will be released over the next two weeks.

The quality of episode two may ultimately be an aberration. As of now, many viewers fear that the team behind the Uzumaki anime spent most of their five-year development time perfecting episode one while the rest of the series will look as rushed as episode two.

uzumaki fans realising they waited years for an anime that used up its entire budget in the first episode https://t.co/QlvHUH5AYE pic.twitter.com/J20e2vh5er

— m✰ (@vmohv) October 6, 2024