Junji Ito's UZUMAKI: Episode 2 FULL LENGTH Reaction!
Added 2024-10-12 13:00:05 +0000 UTCTWISTED HEADPHONE WARNINGS
The spiral into madness continues, but this time, it attacks the teens of the town -- as hair spirals, snails...emerge, and snakes twist into representations of a two losing its grip on sanity.
Meanwhile, a black and ominous lighthouse looms over the town and potentially could spell disaster leading up to the third episode!
LINK TO PIP REACTION: https://share.vidyard.com/watch/76LJybjuastf6vBfxg3G7r? *
Thank you for watching with me and for all the support!
Comments
Ahhh, thank you so much for the comment and kind words! I did enjoy the dub for the first episode! The subject matter of horror is crazy good throughout this – and the environment also adds to the horror as well! Yessss, I was so nervous as soon as Kazunori and Shiho were talking about leaving – I’m like, “JUST LET SOMEONE GET AWAY SHOW” hahaha! But noooo, we don’t get that haha! And yessss, empathy amidst the horror – I feel that’s honestly what saves Kirie in this series; the fact that she’s a kind-hearted person deep down and on the surface as well. I definitely feel that fear and paranoia being contagious is definitely a theme! Oohh, I like that description as well and yesss I agree with the spiral of poverty as well – and OH! I did not see the post-credit scene so I will be sure to watch that before the next episode or with the Episode 3 reaction! Thank you so much for that information and the content! Onto Episode 3!
Romaniablack
2024-10-13 14:05:57 +0000 UTCOh wow, it’s crazy this was written SO long ago, though 2001 doesn’t feel like that long ago! I’ve heard Glyceride is a REALLY gross and horrific one; I’m not sure I could dip my toes into that or not, hahaha! I’m maybe not that brave! 😛 HAHAHA – that’s a hilarious description of Umezu! Interesting - I may have to add that to my list or put it on my radar! Thanks for the suggestions! Ahhh, you know, thinking of it that way, I can see why people gravitated towards series like this! That’s a really good point! But yes, we are now overwhelmed with options! Thank you for the comment and kind words – yessss, nature is NOT always kind, indeed! Nature a foe we cannot control – oooh, I like that! And the bucket of crabs scenario is a great comparison as well! THE SNAIL CRACKER VIDEO! I’ve seen that before, but I’ll watch it again! ;) Thanks so much! Onto episode 3!
Romaniablack
2024-10-13 13:54:36 +0000 UTCI’m glad that this episode didn’t have as many “gross out” moments for me, too! And yesssss, getting past the censors is a great point! Because it’s horrifying, but touching on a real issue while not being “so” on the nose that it can’t be portrayed. Clever, indeed! And yes, Kirie doesn’t seem to have wanted the attention on herself, so maybe that’s why it didn’t affect her as much, but the spiral targeting her because she’s pretty and with the whole feature, thing - I hadn’t thought of that, so that’s a really good point! I’ll have to note that for episode 3! I’m just glad that it got cut off! The message is definitely there - it’s funny because in real life as well, sometimes people just ignore what is right in front of their faces for various reasons like fear, pride, etc. so the message works VERY well! The lighthouse that’s normally a beacon of sanctuary turning into something hellish that’s progressing the descent is INSANELY good writing – I agree, I am worried at how much more the town will “spiral” at this point, especially if there’s no real “cure” in sight! I definitely think the manga will be scarier, but I’m kind of curious as well! Hahaha! Thank you for the comment and kind words!
Romaniablack
2024-10-13 13:42:22 +0000 UTCI could easily see how the medium would shift the meaning in some circumstances and horror is an emotion that can REALLY work or not really work so I feel you, there! Thank you for the comment!
Romaniablack
2024-10-13 13:37:25 +0000 UTCI don't know why, but I think Junji Ito's manga would turn into kind of a comedy if it were animated. I mean, a manga is the best form for his works.
iHatePiano
2024-10-13 02:09:26 +0000 UTCI am glad to report that I was a little less unnerve with this episode than I was with the first one XD Oh no, yeah, I had the same thoughts about the snails and the meaning behind it. I think Ito does a great job of making a commentary on a very real situation without outright calling anything, as I imagine it wouldn't have passed the censors otherwise, and leaving it open enough to interpretation. It's unnerving nonetheless, but also so very clever. Kirie being infected by the spiral but also not damaged by it was very interesting to me. Like, we can assume that the other girl gets the spirals in her hair because she *wanted* to be the center of attention but, as far as I can tell, Kirie didn't seem to care about it and was rather uncomfortable with the attention; and yet, maybe simply because she was pretty and friendly, the spiral targeted her, and it ended choosing her hair, which was very pretty and maybe her most attractive feature, as the vessel to do that. Then we have the commentary that wanting all this attention slowly drained the life out of this other girl, and it just ties up very well, in my opinion. Like, between all the horror and disturbing happenings you can pretty clearly see the message, and that's pretty cool. Seeing the lighthouse turning on was NOT reassuring in the least. I was screaming at Kirie to *get the heck out of there* when she went in, but I guess she couldn't just leave her little brother there. Considering that this episode was definitely the descent into madness of the whole town, I don't quite know what'll happen next, but it does worry me. Honestly, you're making me want to read the manga as well... but I am also a little afraid it's going to be even scarier than this and I don't know if I can handle it XD
Alexandra Q
2024-10-12 18:13:17 +0000 UTCHad to grab my copy to read along for fun. ☺️ ( my copy was published in October 2001) Now, Junji Ito is one author that husband will actually read along with me! He usually doesn’t do anime or manga but he will dip his toe in every once in a while! His favorite Junji Ito story is “ Glyceride.” Another horror author that I love who has been getting a lot of attention lately is Kazuo Umezu. (Came before Ito) His manga, “ Drifting Classroom “ is the stuff of nightmares and the ultimate “ fuck these kids!” He has one anime on YouTube called “ The Curse of Kazuo Umezu” it’s not even an hour long so not a big time comment. Another story of his I like is Orochi Blood. That just got published by Viz in hard cover. I really think that Viz is going back to these lesser known mangaka, for us in the west, their due recognition by publishing everything from them. We have the popularity of Junji Ito to thank for this. I started consuming anime when all we had were giant robot boys , then mecha, then all the harems. I think, for me, this is why I love horror manga, it is just so different than what we usually think of when someone says “anime”. Nowadays, it’s a bit different. As far as subject matter, we pretty much have it all! Am I in manga hog heaven? Yes! Great review as always! The violence and sex aspect in nature is for me, fascinating! Natural is not kind. (for example, praying mantis mating habits) I would put that in that category of cosmic horror to some extent. Nature is a fore we cannot control. Loved the commentary on the loss of control as well. Feeling helpless and it’s all consuming nature. It’s like a bucket of crabs pulling any crab in that tries to escape. I see that around me as well and I live in the city! Had a conversation with my hairdresser about something like this yesterday. Edit: found a snail eating a ritz cracker. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/UoYMK1olf4s?si=1aThsmLSbtBdLj3X
Moominkomet
2024-10-12 15:04:16 +0000 UTCLoved the reaction & discussion! Was able to catch up with the first 2 episode reactions today. The dub is really excellent! I think episode 1 had a really good set up for a small-town-mystery type horror. And episode 2 went even further with primarily body horror, definitely agree with the analysis in the discussions. I really love the environment/transition frames, I think the art works well with sort of equalising the characters and the environments. The more there was talk of Kazunori and Shiho’s plan – the more anxious I got for them not being able to get away and randoms overhearing! Kirie with her moving hair watering Katayama was such an interesting moment – this is the type of thing I especially love about Ito works, distilled moments of empathy within the surrounding horror. I wonder what the central theme really is – potentially the way fear and paranoia is contagious. But also so much of it seems to be about bodily autonomy – how it can be subsumed by the beliefs/spiral influences of a small portion of a society/community/an individual. The spiral of poverty being a theme is also a really interesting note to bring in – and it can also be contagious in a way that is systemic in communities. Also, there was a post-credits scene which you may have missed if you skipped the credits. I would definitely be here for a manga review! Looking forward to next week! 💙
Sunspots
2024-10-12 14:47:01 +0000 UTC
