After a long, strange journey the much-anticipated Uzumaki series is officially done. The fourth and final episode followed its predecessors with a general lack of quality, weird cuts, and just an overall bad time for everyone involved—the audience, the characters, and most certainly the animators. Now that the series has concluded, we can have a real discussion about the nightmare we all went through.
Episode 4 fell into the same trap episode 3 fell into with the animation. Once again, the animation was better than episode 2 but it still wasn’t great. For every semi-decent scene that is animated, there are two more that are stilted and awkward. Additionally, Kirie’s pixie cut doesn’t get any better. In fact, it’s animation is even worse. There are a handful of scenes where the animation of her hair is smooth and the layers in the back of her head look normal. But those were few and far between the scenes where her hair almost looked like a moving Lego block on her head. The layers that should move effortlessly are awkward and obvious since they are front and center.
A grievous error.
To properly cover the finale we have to discuss the copy-and-paste Mitsuo. Studios cutting corners is nothing new; we all know this, but doing it so blatantly is unacceptable. Not only did they copy and paste, but they didn’t even delete the original animation of where Mitsuo was standing. The layering of two Mitsuo’s on top of each other, while the rest of the animation was fluid, was especially jarring to watch. Something as simple as that should not be missed when you would think these episodes are run by multiple people before airing.
My biggest gripe with this episode is the fact that a falling jpeg is not the animation I thought we were going to get for an Uzumaki series released in the year 2024, but here we are.
Despite the weaknesses of the series, one of the consistent positives has been the score. No matter how bad the animation got, the score was the silver lining. Even with janky cuts that should have been much smoother, the score was able to deliver the creepy unease that fans were looking for. While it didn’t save the series from becoming what it was, you have to give credit where credit is due. It allowed the episode to have that uneasy feeling that fans want when watching Uzumaki.
Even though the animation is extremely messy, I once again have to give the stylization a small kudo. This was the only other thing that saved the finale. While it wasn’t anywhere close to the stylization of episode one, it was okay. The signature shading of Junji Ito’s style is present though it doesn’t touch the quality of the premiere. The animation for Chie was also pretty decent. For a character who is only in the finale, she looks like one of the few characters that animators put actual effort into.
Studio mistreatment.
Don’t forget the mistreatment the studio endured throughout the mess of this adaptation. Forcing the animators to complete a project on a time crunch and deliver the best quality they could manage is due to Western producers. The multiple delays, studio switching, and general mismanagement of the series put the animators in a tight spot that they never should have been in in the first place. Fans are rightfully annoyed after waiting for an overpromised series that woefully under-deliveres. But don’t blame the animators who simply tried to do their jobs under harsh and unjust conditions.
I mentioned last week that Jason Demarco’s lack of an apology in his skeets wasn’t fair to fans — and I still believe that. Now that the four-episode series is over it will be interesting to see if he comes out with a new statement. Ideally, a statement where he properly apologizes to fans and lets them know exactly what went on behind the scenes. As the showrunner, his lack of answers leaves a bad taste. He should take responsibility and apologize for the under-delivered mess. This adaptation deserved four episodes of what fans got in episode one.
Uzumaki: Spiral Into Horror was definitely not the adaptation that fans waited five years for. While the first episode excelled, the following episodes failed to meet that same quality. The downward spiral the series takes is disappointing and won’t soon be forgotten with how many memes have come from it. With the series concluded, fans are left wondering if there will ever be a decent Junji Ito adaptation. We can only wait and see.
Images courtesy of Adult Swim
REVIEW RATING
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Uzumaki Episode 4 - 5/10
5/10
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