The anime adaptation of Uzumaki: Spiral into Horror, Junji Ito , is facing harsh criticism after the airing of its second episode. Jason DeMarco , executive producer and co-creator of Toonami on Cartoon Network, recently used the social network Bluesky to comment on the reason for the significant drop in the episode's quality, generating a buzz among fans. Although he deleted his posts, many users managed to save and share his statements.
What is the reason for the terrible animation in the Uzumaki anime?
The second episode, which aired on October 5, 2024 on Adult Swim, had a noticeable drop in animation quality. “We knew this was going to happen,” DeMarco commented in one of the now-deleted posts. “I can’t go into details, but we were harmed. However, the options were: A) cancel and take the loss, B) air only episode 1 and end it, or C) release all four episodes, even with their flaws. We opted for the last option out of respect for the team’s hard work.”
DeMarco pointed out that, after years of waiting, he understands the fans' frustration. He suggested that the production problems may have been caused by a few people
"Many people dedicated themselves too much to ensuring that this series was never aired because of one or two individuals.".
Therefore, the first episode of the series garnered much praise for capturing Ito's unsettling style, leading many to believe that finally a Junji Ito adaptation had broken the "evil of his adaptations." However, the second episode, with its choppy animation, inconsistent lip-sync, and uneven art, generated a large wave of disappointment on social media.
Despite the challenges, the series will still have two more episodes: the third, scheduled for October 12th, and the finale, on October 19th. Finally, DeMarco concluded by stating that they did their best with the resources available, but left it ambiguous whether the decisions made were the right ones.