A Complete Guide on How to Watch Uzumaki

The legendary horror manga classic, Uzumaki, has officially made its anime adaptation debut, so it’s time to be ready to watch the new series as it hits. Junji Ito’s one of the most prominent manga creators of our time, and Ito’s horror works are held in high regard as having some of the biggest impacts among fans. Due to the strength of the otherworldly level visuals for each story, and the otherworldly nature of the creatures within those stories, Ito’s works have stood the test of time. But it hasn’t really been the same case when it comes to adapting those manga stories into animation. 

That seems like it’s going to change with the release of Uzumaki. Production I.G. and Adult Swim have been in development on the Uzumaki TV adaptation for nearly half a decade, and that hard work is finally being rewarded with the full premiere of the series. With Uzumaki now airing through the rest of the month, it’s time for fans to tune into the new series as it airs. Thankfully, there are all sorts of ways to do so even if you miss its initial launch on Adult Swim. 

How to Watch Uzumaki

If you wanted to catch Uzumaki as it airs, the four episode limited anime series will be airing through October 20th. New episodes will be premiering as part of Adult Swim’s Toonami programming block on Saturdays at 12:30AM EST. The English dub encore of the episodes will then air with Adult Swim on Thursdays at 12:30AM EST beginning on October 3rd. Episodes will also be available to stream with Max the next day after their premiere, so fans will be able to check it out whether or not they managed to catch that initial airing. 

You’re going to want to catch the series too as the team at Production I.G. have been working hard to translate Ito’s famous work to screen. “Our goal was to get as close as possible to something truly unsettling, something Ito-sensei does in much of his work but we had not felt in previous animated adaptations,” Adult Swim’s SVP of anime and action series and executive producer Jason DeMarco said about the anime’s development. As DeMarco explained, the idea to take on the anime in black and white also came from musician Flying Lotus, “When I told him we were close to closing a deal to make the show, he said ‘You should do it in black and white,’” DeMarco stated. “I thought that was an amazing idea and suggested it to [director Hiroshi] Nagahama in our first meeting about the show. He said he had actually been thinking about the same thing and that he was thrilled I suggested it.”

Why You Should Watch Uzumaki

“Nagahama’s idea was to use motion capture and build everything in CG, then re-draw all of it, which he felt would give the animators the ability to tackle Ito-sensei’s line work, which is incredibly detailed,” DeMarco continued as he explained the decision to produce it in black and white ended up working out for the best, “The decision to produce the show in black and white ended up being a huge production issue, but obviously it looks terrific.”

As for why it’s taken so long to actually make it to screen, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted production quite a lot, “The pandemic completely stopped production on the show for close to a year. It was the single biggest impact,” DeMarco revealed. “Our crew was small, so having even a few members and their families getting deathly ill was a huge blow to both the production and our morale. It was very challenging to bring the show back from the dead.”