Uzumaki Episode 2 Discussion

What did you think of this episode?

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Oct 7, 12:03 PM

#201

CQLLIST

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Jul 2021

9184

I waited four years just to get an amazing first episode, only for the rest of the series to fumble (well, who knows). I guess an exception is Kirie's spiraled scene was something but her walk, for example, compared to Episode 1, it went from detailed 3D animation to a static PNG. What happened?! And let’s not even talk about the running scenes. The pacing is terrible too. Episode 1 covered only a few chapters, but now they’re cramming in five chapters at once. 4 Episodes in total, really concerning.

Oct 7, 12:10 PM

#202

-Xenophon-

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May 2021

692

I thought at first that I was watching the episode in 360p quality but it's just that the animation quality dropped somehow, I can't exactly define where but it really feels different from the eye candy that Ep 1 was.

Oct 7, 12:23 PM

#203

vinnywizanime

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Dec 2021

221

this was probably the worst anime episode ive seen, what the fuck is going on? The pacing is horrendous , dont even get me started on the animation, how much time did they take for this shitpiece again?

Oct 7, 12:56 PM

#204

hikikodokumori

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Aug 2024

120

Episode started very directionless, but in the end it gained traction. Animation is significantly lower quality this time around, I hope the trend doesn't continue. Still very eerie and unsettling but not really scary, to be honest.

Oct 7, 1:06 PM

#205

Vizvezdenec

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Jan 2015

232

And first episode was so good, smh.
Sigh, it was extremely promising even with over-pacing of 1st episode.

Oct 7, 1:10 PM

#206

VillettaNuSimp

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Sep 2022

Reply to TheRealRouges

Anayan_Kashyap said:
@TheRealRouges OOps, you're quite wrong there. You won't read Berserk if it was drawn by middle schooler, would you? Nobody would give a fuk about Attack on Titan if It had this level of Animation & cramming.
Animation is really important. It's the animation, through which you peek into the world the director imagined, similarly the art speaks more than dialogues.
The horror & beauty of Uzumaki is mostly Expressed with it's Art. The crappy adaption couldn't catch it. It's more like a joke now. A butchered adaptation is worse than something that was made crappy from the beginning.

It’s not a crappy adaptation, the first episode was perfect and the second one is decent enough. Next episode could end up being way better, since the studio schedule is all fucked up. If people can’t look over animations they just have negative fiction knowledge

TheRealRouges said:
people can’t look over animations they just have negative fiction knowledge

Bad animation can absolutely ruin a good story, especially if it's giving the wrong vibe. The stiff hair, the running on ice, the lack of details in the characters, etc... all contributed to making this episode not scary/eerie at all, and just plain goofy. Not to mention, even if we ignore the art, the pacing was some of the worst pacing I've seen in my life.

Oct 7, 1:29 PM

#207

oempaloempa747

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Jun 2014

This episode was unwatchable. I went from being hyped after the first episode, which had impressive animation, to needing to pause every two minutes just to give my eyes a break. I even had to go back and rewatch the first episode to make sure I wasn’t imagining things. I thought they were taking their time to get it right, but now it feels like I'll never have that perfect adaptation to recommend—or even enjoy for myself. Even if the next two episodes match the quality of the first, this episode has permanently tainted the series' reputation as a "good" adaptation. I’ll hate-watch it at 1.5x speed, praying for a good third episode, but I’ll definitely skip this one on any rewatch. Damn, it pisses me off beyond words.

This is a textbook example of, "If you can't do it justice, don't do it at all." How did the first episode scream love for the source material, with its gorgeous black-and-white palette, painstaking panel recreations, intricate hair details, and thoughtful sound design—only for the second episode to look like a cheap knock-off from the Uzumaki collection anime ? At this point, just slap some color back in and throw some Looney Tunes sound effects on top.

I know I’m being harsh, but it's really a shame. If it had been bad from the start, at least I could have accepted it. But after the long wait, the promising choices, and the trailers that made me believe they were going to do it justice, this feels like a massive letdown.

Oct 7, 1:43 PM

#208

SpicyAvaritia

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Jan 2022

The drop in quality is sad, but thats just the curse of Junji Ito Adaptions I guess. Still peak Psychological horror

Oct 7, 1:51 PM

#209

tgrab

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Sep 2023

what even happened

Oct 7, 1:53 PM

#210

Telyawon

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Sep 2014

As a lot of people already mentioned, animation felt really cheap compared to the first episode, but was still pretty decent, sort of (the running scenes were insanely funny though).

What I'm more concerned about actually is how they are going to put everything left from the manga in only two episodes, considering that some part of the plot cannot really be skipped afterwards and that we know from the trailers that the hospital arc will be adapted as well, feels like the pacing will be quite chaotic again. Let's wait and see how it goes, but so far, it still probably is the "best" adaptation of Junji Ito's work, despite its weaknesses.

Oct 7, 1:59 PM

#211

Samu-tan

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Aug 2009

2555

Fuckkkk, this actually breaks my heart. Episode 1 obviously wasn't perfect, but at least it really nailed the atmosphere and animation, so its obvious flaws weren't that grating. But now that the production quality took an absolute nosedive, it really is one of the worst imaginable adaptations.

What an awful bummer. When the adapation was announced, I was very cautious, especially after it had been delayed many times. But after the first episode, I was very optimistic. Now, I'm kinda just devastated. Thank god it's only 4 episodes long, cause I wouldn't be able to finish it if it were any longer.

Oct 7, 2:52 PM

#212

S5_0014_81

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Jan 2018

Garbage episode

I was already very skeptical of Episode 1 pacing overall, but this is just another thing entirely, a complete different show.

Like, you could hardly recognize their faces. Damn.

Oct 7, 2:55 PM

#213

povsuduvolosy

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Jan 2012

580

Could became a good fighting game, duh! They already got superpowers, Lack interesting locations though.

Oct 7, 3:13 PM

#214

Driz

best $30 i spent

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Oct 2023

104

dogpiss episode..

Oct 7, 3:33 PM

#215

ToTheGyz

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Apr 2023

491

Another really cool episode. Didn’t feel as good as the first one but was still very cool. Snail boy, hair fight, twisting couple, all really good stuff but not as good as the first one. The lighthouse at the end was sick tho

Oct 7, 3:40 PM

#216

Kinzo

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Jun 2009

353

Ah, so they used all the money up on the first episode alone hahaha. God, that quality drop is so rough but I'm still invested.

Oct 7, 3:52 PM

#217

AnimeNerd99

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Nov 2019

1056

The fall off from episode 1 is insane. Not only is the animation absolutely terrible(especially any running scenes), but the pacing is so absurdly fast. Things just happen out of nowhere then it just transitions to the next scene without any breathing room. The amount of cuts to the front of the school or train station immediately after some crazy shit happens is so jarring.

Oct 7, 4:47 PM

#218

Sun_Chan

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Aug 2019

3003

The episode just kept getting worse and worse as it progressed.

The worst part of the episode in my opinion was the snail students and whatever they were doing when they were put together.

Oct 7, 5:21 PM

#219

StockPainter

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Nov 2020

Godawful pacing and animation ruined this

Oct 7, 5:36 PM

#220

Fishb0i

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Dec 2020

407

RIDE THE SPIRAL TO THE END IT MAY JUST GO WHERE NO-ONE'S BEEN
SPIRAL OUT
KEEP GOING

I just watched both episodes with my dad. Damn good stuff so far. Animation took a hit in this episode, but frankly, that just amps up the spooky factor.

Oct 7, 7:08 PM

#221

DirtyOldGuy

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Jul 2015

869

God why did they always have to stop few seconds before having a proper reaction that they need to run away as soon as possible. It annoyed my soul

Oct 7, 7:16 PM

#222

stevejawbs

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Apr 2024

270

Dey got that PS2 Kingdom Hearts running animation

Average MAL user's media literacy:

Marinate1016 said:
Not reading allat cause I don’t care. Tensura peak. Have a good one tho

Oct 7, 7:32 PM

#223

MeCuMint

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Mar 2023

101

Ok... let's go by points.
The first chapter of the Uzumaki anime was incredible, where at times it did generate terror and horror in many moments, but after watching this second chapter, I only have 3 words, a complete disaster.

Not to mention that absolutely everything was ridiculous, not only the animation is terrible, but also the direction, the behavior of the characters, the "supposed" horror scenes, etc. Absolutely everything wrong in this episode.

I have no idea if the story happens as it is in the manga, but if so, surely those moments were horrifying at the time, but here, it's a joke, it's as if I were watching a funny situation in JoJos but with an atmosphere. of "horror" (it should be clarified that I am only talking about the direction of said horror scenes, not the story; sorry if I am making comparisons but those were the vibes it gave me...)

What I understand is that in the second chapter I do not encourage a different study than the first chapter, but the funniest thing is knowing that it took them 5 years to make this adaptation. BUT THIS CHAPTER LOOKS LIKE IT WAS ANIMATED A MONTH BEFORE THE PREMIERE!
While in the first chapter the effort on the part of the animators was evident, in this chapter the effort was zero, this production decision was truly crazy.

What happened with the Uzumaki anime is one for history!
A spectacular first chapter with excellent animation and a disastrous second chapter with horrible animation.

Now it's time to pray that this anime is redeemed with the next two last chapters, because what happened is simply crazy.

(I never gave such a long review for a specific chapter, but in this case it was worth it.)

Oct 7, 7:33 PM

#224

NonOhana

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Oct 2024

bad animation, bad art

Oct 7, 8:57 PM

#225

MichaelJackson

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Aug 2016

3765

considering the outsourcing, this is a big middle finger to all the naive ones saying China was gonna replace Japan in terms of animation.

Oct 7, 9:45 PM

#226

Cousin_Nicky

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Aug 2018

what happened... after all this time... waiting since day 1 what a waste of 5 years

Oct 7, 10:40 PM

#227

Goonish

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Aug 2022

Did you notice how everyone was complimenting episode one's art style, yeah they ruined it.

Oct 7, 11:05 PM

#228

kyledluffy

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Jan 2023

670

Freaky ahh animu👻

Oct 8, 12:45 AM

#229

MrNo-Name

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Jul 2022

Animation quality dipped

Oct 8, 1:14 AM

#230

Beef_Skellington

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May 2022

animation got worse than episode 1

Oct 8, 1:39 AM

#231

blizar

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Oct 2020

lost all longevity the show would have with this episode

Oct 8, 1:53 AM

#232

Technopunk

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Jun 2020

784

People being socked by the dip in animation quality is amusing, but the show was like this since episode 1. Frankly the thing its adapting was not that good to begin with. People just overrate Junji Ito like crazy cause they were exposed to his work when they were kids, rate it highly cause its popular so they dont wanna stand out, or are just easily spooked by gore due to individual or cultural reasons. They ignore/disregard the hilarious comedic timing of his work and the absurdity of the concepts, which just end up pulling you away from any horror mood that was attempted.

It takes serious work to make Junji Ito stuff scary, adapting it faithfully wont work cause the work was designed for manga panels, animation is its own monster. Most of the adaptations are also bad, riddled with typical bad Japanese CGI that just make things worse, this one is no different. Its not the kind of CGI that enhances the horror aspect, it detracts from it. Also the pacing is awful, it speedruns through the different scenarios, doesnt give you time to digest any of the creepy moments on their own. Again, this was a problem from the first episode, but somehow people are only noticing it now. But hey, I guess the rating of the work spiraling down is thematically appropriate.

"Don't let your memes be dreams."- Ancient Japanese proverb, probably

Oct 8, 2:39 AM

#233

Treyv0n

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Apr 2021

1736

I read that a different studio named Akatsuki animated this second episode…LETS NOT HAVE THEM ANIMATE ANYTHING AGAIN🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

But fr tho this episode was eerily creepy as usual man the spirals have now gotten to a point where it’s only affecting ppl specifically from that town which is creepy

Kirie deadass having an Uzumaki off that part was funny ngl

The lighthouse scene was horrific considering that all the bodies on the stairs are charred bodies from the officials that went up to investigate the lighthouse and the poor boy getting caught up in the after math yeesh😟

Hope the final 2 episodes are well animated this episode definitely made the series as a whole take a hit popularity wise😓

Oct 8, 3:40 AM

#234

kaneki1231_

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Mar 2022

311

i am not gonna complain about the animation quality i've seen worse
btw whats the ed is called i love it is it on spotify ??

Oct 8, 6:58 AM

#235

Kajo_Senpai69

Offline

May 2016

12390

For a story about spirals, it was surprising to find out that they had so many corners to cut.

I don't want to think that they spent 3 years making that masterpiece of a first episode only to run out of budget and made the others as an afterthought but it seems to be going down that route. Loved how tense the lighthouse scenes felt at least.

The Junji Ito curse continues. Just hoping they're holding back the budget to make the last episode look good like they do in One Piece instead of it spiraling downwards in quality every week. It's a ridiculous ask for a goddamn 4 episode-long show of all things but I just want to believe...

Oct 8, 7:26 AM

#236

Foppery_And_Whim

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Sep 2024

snailpirate said:
Hey why does this anime look like poopy caca doodoo?

Episode 2 at least was outsourced to cheaper Chinese studios after the director was fired, hence the drop in quality (or poopy caca doodoo 💩)

Oct 8, 9:43 AM

#237

shaadow82

Offline

Jun 2017

114

Is it just me or did the running scenes look like they used AI as a reference... I see a lot of videos online where people use AI to recreate old Vines and almost always, the AI makes the people in the video run, and in a very odd way, like what was shown in episode 2 of Uzumaki.

Oct 8, 10:23 AM

#238

Harvestor

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Aug 2019

374

They fucked up a FOUR episode show?
It wasn't unwatchable but this will definitely be remembered as one of the adaptations of all time..

Oct 8, 10:39 AM

#239

Satyr_icon

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Aug 2013

2285

Man, the animation in this episode was...rough, to say the least. What the fuck was that punch?

Really hope their entire budget didn't go on the first episode.

Oct 8, 11:17 AM

#240

Aleksai_i

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Apr 2017

kinda sad that the animation studio got switched.

Oct 8, 12:09 PM

#241

StyxParadise

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Feb 2023

1176

What the heck happened to the animation??

MALoween✟Mansion 2024

Oct 8, 12:15 PM

#242

ManoCustaff

Offline

Jan 2021

213

Reply to Satyr_icon

Man, the animation in this episode was...rough, to say the least. What the fuck was that punch?

Really hope their entire budget didn't go on the first episode.

@Satyr_icon Again, that's not how budgets work in anime. The production committee sets the budget for the entire project. The main issue here was both the studio and director change. In episode 1 we had Hiroshi Nagahama and Studio Fugaku, while in episode 2 we had Yūji Moriyama as director (who is known to be mid as fuck) and Studio Akatsuki, outsourcing parts of the animation to Chinese animators, that's probably why not only the animation but the storyboard and directing fell hard in this 2nd episode.

Oct 8, 12:31 PM

#243

Tekakurika

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Apr 2010

631

Is it ok that I laughed thru all of this? Its like a parody lol

Oct 8, 12:48 PM

#244

xGlocky

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Mar 2024

Terrible animation

Oct 8, 1:36 PM

#245

Satyr_icon

Offline

Aug 2013

2285

Reply to ManoCustaff

@fudish123 wdym again, I don't even know you lol

But thanks for the info.

Oct 8, 1:43 PM

#246

ManoCustaff

Offline

Jan 2021

213

Reply to Satyr_icon

@fudish123 wdym again, I don't even know you lol

But thanks for the info.

@Satyr_icon I've been saying this repeatedly in various Uzumaki threads, that's why I wrote again XD. There's more dirt in this story, though: check this thread here https://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=2183171

Oct 8, 1:45 PM

#247

MelonDoesStuff

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Apr 2022

Man, what the fuck...

Oct 8, 2:00 PM

#248

kinj1tw

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Aug 2021

Horrible, imposible seguir viendo

Oct 8, 2:38 PM

#249

Yuuichirou

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Dec 2008

848

Junji Ito's works always been like a dark comedy to me. It's horrifying, but has dark humor in it. So, this episode is more like a comedy. And whole series with it's pacing issues and overwhelming expectations just confirms it.

ATATATATATATATATATATATATA!! Omae wa mo shindeiru!

Oct 8, 2:47 PM

#250

Jokuc

Offline

Aug 2015

620

well that is some shit tier animation what the hell

It's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer.

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