Warning: Spoilers Ahead for Uzumaki Episode 1The long-awaited adaptation forUzumakihas finally arrived, and while it had a good start, it’s already ruined a key character in just one episode.The hype behind the anime adaptationof Junji Ito’s masterpiece has been through the roof over the past year. The trailers looked promising for a faithful recreation of the manga after many understandable delays. However, now that the series is here, there’s one important character that seems to have undergone the most serious changes.
Shuichi Saitois the boyfriend ofUzumaki’s primary narrator, Kirie Goshima. In the original manga, he was depicted as a character who sensed strange things occurring in their town of Kurouzu-cho, but only viewed them as odd coincidences. However, when his parents die following his father’s odd fascination with spirals, Shuichi begins to spiral into madness himself as the town’s curse begins to show itself. His role is important to the story. However,in the anime, his character is changed for the worseas he’s already obsessed with the bizarre shape from the beginning.
Shuichi Saito Begins the Series With an Obsession, Rather Than Developing It Over Time
He Needed Time to Go Mad
This change in Shuichi’s character from the very first episode completely upends his arc over the course ofUzumaki’s story. In the manga,it was a slow creep into madness as he saw the spiral curse overtake his parents.In fact, it gets so bad for him that he becomes a recluse following his mother’s death because of how often he notices spirals surrounding the odd happenings in Kurouzu-cho. It’s a madness that happens because the curse hit him so close to home, making him a believer in the power it holds over the townspeople.
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By shifting things to make him at the same level of madness he was in later chapters before his father has even died,his arc completely changes to make him always aware of the curse.There’s no time for him to slowly begin to realize strange things happening to his parents before eventually drawing the conclusion that the town is cursed. He’s just always known, and it plays against Shuichi’s original depiction as a timid person that completely dissolves once he sees the truth behind the strange happenings in Kurouzu-cho.
Shuichi’s Character Change Ruins His Role in “The Scar”
His Reaction to Azami Makes No Sense in the Anime
Uzumaki’s adaptation of the manga’s third chapter, “The Scar,” is where the issue with Shuichi’s change in character is most prominent in the first episode. In the manga, by this point in the story, his parents are both dead, andhis paranoia has fully taken shape.This leads him to become a recluse as he begins to see spirals everywhere he goes. So, when Kirie meets with him and brings Azami with her, it’s clear why he notices something is up with the latter. His obsession has gotten to the point where he knows the signs of when the curse is starting to take shape.
The anime, however, throws his reaction to Azami’s presence in before his father has even died. Without losing his parents and developing a sense of paranoia,it feels odd for him to react to Azami the way he does.His exposure to the spiral curse at this point is minimal, as he only notices that his father has become obsessed with the shape. Without this crucial development in his character, his role feels incredibly out of place in what’s commonly known asone of the manga’s most terrifying chapters. Its visuals absolutely meet the expectations of Ito fans, but the narrative surrounding it just doesn’t work as well.
Shuichi’s Anime Arc No Longer Fits the Story’s Spiraling Themes
It’s Not Really a Spiral If He’s Already Halfway Down
The worst part about Shuichi developing a spiral obsession before the story has truly begun is how it plays into the overall themes of Junji Ito’s graphic novel.The whole point ofUzumakiis to show a town succumbing to madness as more strange events begin to happen.In order to mirror this, things need to have a status quo in the beginning before things go off the rails, just like how a spiral has a clear beginning to its curve. Shuichi being introduced while his sanity is already swirling completely upends how he fits into the narrative’s themes.
Withonly four short episodes availableto tell Junji Ito’s massive horror story, it’s clear that shortcuts would need to be made for everything to be told. However, the changes made to Shuichi are too overbearing to ignore. His spiraling descent into madness is what made his character interesting in the manga, especially with Kirie being an outsider looking in until she experiences her own exposure to the curse. It’s a shift in character that has completely ruinedShuichiinUzumakiin one episode, and while there’s still more story to tell, it’s hard to truly pin down how he fits in the story’s message overall.
Uzumaki: Spiral into Horror
Cast
Uzumaki: Spiral into Horror is an adaptation of Junji Ito’s acclaimed manga, directed by Hiroshi Nagahama. The series unfolds in the town of Kurôzu-cho where inexplicable events related to spirals plague the inhabitants, leading to terror and madness. Highlighting the psychological and supernatural, the show follows high school student Kirie Goshima and her boyfriend, Shuichi Saito, as they confront the spiraling horrors that engulf their town.
