'Uzumaki' Anime Delayed Again, Leading To Questions On If The Show Is As Cursed As The Town It Takes Place In

It's been nearly three years since Adult Swim posted a teaser for an upcoming anime adaptation of Junji Ito's classic horror manga Uzumaki that, to many, looked like it was going to be simply amazing.

The faithful recreation of the manga's black-and-white art style set to Colin Stetson's hypnotic Among the Sef raised hopes that Ito's work may finally get the adaptation it deserves, after a live-action adaptation of Uzumaki and the Junji Ito Collection anime generally underwhelmed viewers.

However, it seems that the anime is as cursed as Kurouzu-Cho, the town it takes place in. After first getting delayed from an intended 2020 release, COVID-19 caused another lengthy delay in the series' production, and in June 2021, the team announced that the anime would be delayed until October 2022. Now, it's being delayed again, this time indefinitely.

An important update for our Uzumaki Anime. pic.twitter.com/J3auulSvTI

— UzumakiAnime (@UzumakiAnime1) June 27, 2022

According to a tweet from the Uzumaki anime's Twitter account, the show's director, Hiroshi Nagahama, requested a third delay in order to allow his team to replicate Ito's intricate drawings.

The idea of a group of artists drawing spirals indefinitely is certainly fitting for Uzumaki, which is about a town that becomes hypnotically drawn to the shape of a spiral. The first chapter is about a man who is so obsessed with drawing spirals that he eventually becomes a spiral himself.

The third delay was a blow for many Ito fans, who are desperately waiting to see what Toonami and Adult Swim will do with what is arguably Ito's most famous work, though many agreed that the wait will probably be worth it in order to do the adaptation justice.

Uzumaki anime delayed again
I'm FINE. pic.twitter.com/tdi8tD1Y1z

— 🌜Maze🌞 (@meaninglez) June 29, 2022

Everyone working on Uzumaki: Please be patient while we get the anime as good as can be
Me: Ok :)
Also me: pic.twitter.com/MlZvwzz8DP

— Home of J. Cole and Gargoyles Propaganda (@helendelisle270) June 29, 2022

people griping that the uzumaki anime is taking too long to make when there's been a global pandemic and the animators are like "we are so sorry the art is just REALLY DETAILED" like LEAVE THE ANIMATORS ALONE OKAY?!?!?!
let them go the speed it takes. jeez.

— 🦋The Other Happy Place🦋 (@otherhappyplace) June 28, 2022

In other news from Ito-world, Netflix is producing another Ito adaptation, Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre, which is slated to release in 2023.