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Over this past weekend, Adult Swim and the adaptation team behind original author and illustrator Junji Ito’s Uzumaki anime series gave fans a sneak peek at the finished product. While the series has been suffered from several production delays ever since it was announced in 2019, recent news on the adaptation has fans excitedly awaiting for additional information.
The clip premiered at the events of 2023’s San Diego Comic-Con, which was held last weekend and saw the Junji Ito’s Uzumaki anime team in attendance. While no specific release date or release window was announced at the convention, additional information from official sources has revealed when fans can expect the series.
Although this news is exciting, some fans are worried that Junji Ito’s Uzumaki anime series will run into yet another unanticipated delay. That being said, even if another delay is announced for the series, fans won’t be waiting much longer than they otherwise would, considering how the series is complete.
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Junji Ito’s Uzumaki anime series will be coming “later this year,” according to Adult Swim's Senior Vice-President
Expected release date and what we know so far
Following the presence Junji Ito’s Uzumaki anime team at this year's San Diego Comic-Con, fans were curious about the series’ expected release date. As mentioned above, this curiosity came with some caution on the part that there have been litany of delays in the production of the series.
Thankfully, fans have some news on the release date from a trustworthy source in the form of Adult Swim’s Senior Vice-President, Jason DeMarco. Aside from Adult Swim, DeMarco also serves the same position for Warner Bros Animation. Thus, if anyone’s word can be trusted on the status of the aforementioned anime series, it’s him.
DeMarco commented on the series’ status via Twitter, where he tweeted a link to the clip that was played at the San Diego Comic-Con. In the accompanying caption for the tweet, DeMarco told fans that they can expect Junji Ito’s Uzumaki anime to be “coming later this year,” suggesting a currently-planned 2023 premiere date.
This news is encouraging, both in the context of assuming no further delays and even if an additional delay is made. Even if an additional delay for the series is made, fans can likely expect it to premiere by Spring 2024 latest.
As mentioned above, Junji Ito’s Uzumaki anime series has gone through several delays since first being announced in late August/early September 2019 at Crunchyroll Expo. The series was originally planned for a 2020 premiere date, but it was delayed first in late July 2020 and then shifted to a 2021 release window due to unspecified reasons.
On June 15, 2021, the series once again canged dates to October 2022, this time citing the effect of COVID-19 on the anime’s production. The series’ most recent delay came in June 2022, this time at the request of production staff who felt the series wasn’t up to par with Ito’s source material. This was the last fans heard of the release status until DeMarco’s recent tweet.
Production information and what to expect
Junji Ito’s Uzumaki anime series is being animated and produced by Production I.G USA and Adult Swim’s in-house Williams Street production arm. The series is set to air on Adult Swim’s Toonami programming block in the United States before premiering in Japan. Uzumaki is being directed by Hiroshi Nagahama, with Colin Stetson composing the series’ music.
The series is set to be produced entirely in black and white, as seen in the latest sneak peek video above. Ito has consistently praised the series’ production throughout the process, even going as far as to say he was “quite happy” with the faithfulness to his original manga. The mangaka also praised the anime’s decision to reorder certain events, saying the series has done a “fantastic job” in that regard.
Being based on the original manga series, viewers can expect Junji Ito’s Uzumaki anime series to be as much of a supernatural and psychological horror as the original manga was. With the setting of a town that is cursed by supernatural events involving spirals, the same is to be expected in the anime as well. As such, fans will find the horror of Ito’s manga series in the anime adaptation, hopefully elevating the source material to new heights.
Be sure to keep up with all anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2023 progresses.
