Gab Hernandez 
Adult Swim revealed the release date for Junji Ito’s Uzumaki anime, but fans won’t have too many episodes to watch even after this long wait.
Adult Swim’s Uzumaki has been one of the most anticipated anime in recent years. After all, Uzumaki is the most well-known work of acclaimed horror author Junji Ito. The manga is packed with body horror so visceral and cosmic horror so intense that it still lingers in people’s memory today. Unfortunately, adaptations of Junji Ito’s work tend to disappoint hardcore fans.
Uzumaki got a live-action film adaptation in 2000 with mixed reviews despite the overall accuracy of the manga’s visuals and scares. The Junji Ito Collection anime, which adapted several one-shot horror stories from the iconic mangaka, also received negative backlash. Netflix’s Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre didn’t fare any better. Thankfully, Adult Swim’s Uzumaki looks to break the trend with its fantastic-looking teaser.
When is the release date of Adult Swim’s Uzumaki?
Adult Swim’s Uzumaki will premiere on September 28, 2024.
Four years removed from the original announcement, Adult Swim finally attached a concrete release date to the Uzumaki anime. The original trailer dropped in August 2019, and news was sparse until 2023 when a first look at the series in motion was released.
The July 2024 trailer showcased even more scenes from the manga, including some of the book’s most iconic panels. After the trailer, fans understood why the series took so long. The unique black-and-white style perfectly emulates Ito’s aesthetic, even while in motion. Veteran anime film director Hiroshi Nagahama of Mushishi fame also captures the macabre slice-of-life vibes of Uzumaki.
Meanwhile, the stellar soundtrack is provided by composer Colin Stetson, who scored Hereditary and The Menu. Overall, the series looks amazing, and fans wonder how many episodes they will get of the classic horror story.
How many episodes will Adult Swim’s Uzumaki have?
Adult Swim’s Uzumaki will have four episodes. Despite the Uzumaki anime’s release date coming long after its initial announcement, that wait won’t be rewarded with too much show to watch.
“They did a good job of rearranging the series,” said Ito in an interview with Crunchyroll. Though he reveals it’s shorter than the original manga, the praise for the rearranging could be Ito’s approval of how the short version still told a compelling story.
Given the “episodic” nature of Uzumaki, there are certainly ways to streamline the series without sacrificing the story or its most iconic moments. Ito himself said he was “very happy” with the team’s dedication to staying faithful to his work, which should give fans a lot of confidence.
It remains to be seen whether the anime can highlight the jarring episodic chapters without sacrificing the overarching cosmic horror tale. Uzumaki contains individual stories about spirals mixed into a larger story about a doomed town. Ultimately, fans will find out what’s in store once it arrives this fall on Adult Swim.
