Good news! There’s new footage from Toonami’s adaptation of one of Junji Ito’s most beloved horror tales, Uzumaki. Bad news! You’re getting the footage now because the show itself isn’t coming for a long, long while.
After previously teasing more news to come from the series—adapting Ito’s classic tale about a young girl named Kirie Goshima, who lives in the mysterious town of Kurouzu-cho, afflicted by a horrifying spiraling curse that transfixes the area and its citizens—today Adult Swim released a new message from the anime’s director, Hiroshi Nagahama. In the haphazardly edited video, Nagahama explains that due to the ongoing impact the covid-19 pandemic has had on the anime industry, delays have once again hit Uzumaki’s production, leading to a projected release date of October 2022.
The adaptation was first announced in 2019, with an expected 2020 broadcast, but has since been postponed multiple times. At least now we actually have a brief, but incredible-looking glimpse of the series too (it starts around 1:30 in the video above), which sees Kirie descend on Kurouzu-cho as she explains that she’s about to discuss “all the strange events that took place here.” It’s incredibly striking to watch her move, a 3D object that looks more like one of Ito’s manga panels brought to life than a more traditional approach, which is probably just one indicator about why it’s taking Production I.G. and Adult Swim’s Williams Street so long to get right.
“I think Uzumaki is the most complete demonstration of my artistic ability and imagination,” Ito himself told io9 in an interview about the adaptation last year. “The contrast of the black and white art really leaves a vivid impression, and I wonder if that’s what makes other creators curious about trying to adapt it.”
At least, it seems, the wait will be worth it.
Uzumaki is currently set to hit Toonami in October 2022.
For more, make sure you’re following us on our Instagram @io9dotcom.