The manga is brief, as it is only 19 chapters long with one extra story, but it drags the reader through so much. The manga's first two chapters set the stage for all the events that are to follow: a man's obsession with all things spiral-shaped, smoke that forms a spiral when it reaches the sky, the protagonist's boyfriend becoming paranoid over the mysterious activities that have been occurring in the small, sea-side town where the story is set, and so on. Once the main points of the story are established, Ito assumes that the reader is aware of the basics and takes a completely episodic approach with his storytelling until the last few chapters. Each chapter is dedicated to one object that is associated with spirals, notably snails and curly hair. He sometimes cuts corners with this concept, though, and dedicates chapters to mosquitoes and lighthouses (Apparently, his excuse for this is that they move around in spiral shapes). What the reader doesn't realize, though, is that this is all build-up for the conclusion of the story, making this one of the most depressing manga I have ever read. I won't say much to avoid spoiling you, but the spiral concept of the story becomes all the more encompassing. Part of the horror that comes from this story is obsession and giving in to that obsession. It comes from watching the gradual downfall of a once peaceful town that has its daily life completely transformed (no pun intended...oops) by the psychological breakdowns of its townspeople. It comes from some of the characters' realization of what is going on, screaming in fear that they don't want to die, and knowing that they not only do not have any control over the situation, but that they know that they will never be the same again. I could go on, but my point is that the horror in this is completely psychological, but this is not Perfect Blue we're talking about. The terror in this is slow and painful, making the story all the more engrossing and terrifying.
Another major part of the story's appeal is Ito's unique drawing style. You could probably read the manga just for the artwork and still gain some enjoyment from that...that is, if you don't suddenly close your book in shock. It's one thing to read in text what is going on and another to see it. The artwork magnifies the reader's imagination hundredfold and presents possibly the only way to visually express everything that Kirie, the protagonist, is experiencing. Some of the scarier images include Shuichi's father rolling up his tongue into a spiral, half-human/snail hybrids, an army of pregnant women with blood-stained drills, and the lost souls that are the townspeople of Kurozu-cho who have resigned to the fate of "becoming one with the spiral", so to speak. That's not even half of the grotesqueness that the art has to offer. Some of the less scary art, such as the spiral-shaped grass and amusingly-spiraled hair, are cool to look at, but at the later points in the chapters, those only serve as distractions from the horror contained within the story. My favorite aspect of the art, however, is the fact that some of the worst images are usually hidden as two-page spreads beneath some of more harmless panels on the previous page. It's almost as if Ito is daring the reader to look on to the next page. One prominent example can be found in the "moon scar" chapter, and you'll know what I mean once you read it. That sort of suspense made the manga all the more thrilling to read. The art is not only creative and nice to look at, but adds its own layer of horror to the story.
I feel bad for the characters in the story. I really do. By the end of the manga, they almost become completely different people. Even Kirie, who seems to consistently remain pure and untainted by the spiral's allure, has trouble facing some of the greater moral choices that she has to make during the story. She is always exposed to some kind of human flaw that is caused by the spiral's influence, such as vanity and lack of motivation. Because of how consistent Kirie remains through all of this, she seems almost like a Mary Sue character. Normally, this can be harmful to character development, and it is in some cases, but in the world of Uzumaki, her innocence is a virtue. She is spared from experiencing the same kind of insanity and corruption as her peers, and yet she has to witness everything first hand. At the same time, it seems like that that is her form of corruption, watching her family, significant other, and the people of her home gleefully give in to the madness surrounding them. Although that is not a form of character growth in the most traditional sense, the characters are growing based on the events happening to them rather than conjuring some kind of growth based on dialogue and interaction. Uzumaki has a very isolated form of character development that occurs in the foreground due to the highly-detailed story elements that take center stage.
Before I finish, I would like to state that this is a review for a manga that I read last, for the first time, in June 2011. The story, imagery, and overall package that this manga contains has stuck with me since. I still get chills from this manga whenever I get flashbacks to it. I might have even experienced a few nightmares from this story a short while after reading it, but my memory of that is a little hazy. Leave it to Junji Ito to take some of the most insignificant things that we take for granted and enlarge them into things to avoid with dread and disgust. If you are looking for some great Lovecraftian horror to sink your teeth into for Halloween, or anytime for that matter, look no further than this manga. Just be weary of any escargot on the menu next time you eat at a fancy restaurant.
