Uzumaki chronicles the descent of Kurouzu-cho, a coastal town consumed by an ancient spiral curse, through the eyes of high school student Kirie Goshima and her boyfriend Shuichi Saito.
Junji Ito’s masterpiece explores existential dread, humanity’s self-destructive obsessions, and the futility of resisting cosmic inevitability.
This collection highlights quotes that encapsulate the series’ psychological horror and philosophical depth.
Spirals… this town is contaminated with spirals
Chapter 1 (The Spiral Obsession)
Speaker: Shuichi Saito
Context: Shuichi’s ominous warning establishes the curse’s pervasiveness, foreshadowing collective madness.
I can become a spiral… watch me become a perfect spiral!
Chapter 1 (The Spiral Obsession)
Speaker: Toshio Saito
Context: Mr. Saito’s grotesque self-transformation marks the curse’s first visible manifestation.
Female mosquitoes suck blood only when carrying eggs. We’re no different
Chapter 3 (The Scar)
Speaker: Shuichi Saito
Context: Compares human desperation to insects, critiquing survival-driven moral decay.
Your scar… it’s twisting into a spiral. The town is infecting you
Chapter 3 (The Scar)
Speaker: Shuichi Saito
Context: Reveals the curse’s corruptive influence on Azami’s identity and relationships.
These pots… they’re alive. The clay from Dragonfly Pond breathes
Chapter 4 (The Firing Technique)
Speaker: Yasuo Goshima
Context: Kirie’s father’s artistic obsession merges with supernatural possession.
I’ll destroy every spiral—even if I have to cut off my fingers!
Chapter 5 (Twisted Souls)
Speaker: Yukie Saito
Context: Yukie’s spiraling paranoia after her husband’s death fuels self-mutilation.
Our town’s lighthouse… it’s pulling people into its spiral
Chapter 6 (The Black Lighthouse)
Speaker: Shuichi Saito
Context: Symbolizes the curse’s gravitational pull toward inescapable doom.
Don’t look at the whirlpool! It’ll hypnotize you!
Chapter 7 (The Vortex)
Speaker: Kirie Goshima
Context: Kirie resists the spiral’s allure, showcasing her growing awareness.
My hair… it’s draining my life to create these cursed curls
Chapter 8 (The Hair)
Speaker: Kirie Goshima
Context: Kirie’s bodily autonomy erodes as the curse personalizes its attack.
We’re not leaving. The spiral has already claimed our souls
Chapter 9 (The Storm)
Speaker: Shuichi Saito
Context: Shuichi’s resignation contrasts Kirie’s lingering hope for escape.
These houses… they’re growing like living spirals
Chapter 10 (The Row Houses)
Speaker: Journalist Maruyama
Context: Architectural distortion mirrors residents’ physical and mental contortions.
Your baby needs spiral energy. Feed it… or it’ll consume you
Chapter 11 (The Umbilical Cord)
Speaker: Midwife
Context: Distorts maternal instinct into sacrificial horror.
Snails… we’re all becoming snails. Slow, spiral-bound corpses
Chapter 12 (The Snail)
Speaker: Mitsuo Goshima
Context: Mitsuo’s metamorphosis reflects the curse’s dehumanizing inevitability.
The typhoons… they’re spirals cleansing this town
Chapter 13 (The Whirlwind)
Speaker: Shuichi Saito
Context: Natural disasters as extensions of the curse’s apocalyptic will.
Why fight? We’ll all spiral together in the end
Chapter 14 (The Completion)
Speaker: Kuri Goshima
Context: Kirie’s cousin embodies collective surrender to the curse.
Your resistance is another spiral. You can’t escape recursion
Chapter 15 (The Labyrinth)
Speaker: Naho Saenoki
Context: Ghostly taunt underscores the futility of defiance.
Let’s twist together… become one eternal spiral
Chapter 16 (The Embrace)
Speaker: Shuichi Saito
Context: Final acceptance of shared doom as existential romance.
Cremation smoke… it spirals upward, binding us to the dead
Chapter 2 (The Cremated)
Speaker: Shuichi Saito
Context: Links death rituals to the curse’s cyclical nature.
Mosquitoes, whirlpools, galaxies… all spirals. All hungry
Chapter 17 (Galaxies)
Speaker: Shuichi Saito
Context: Unifies cosmic and earthly horrors under the spiral’s dominion.
Cut my hair, Shuichi! Before it strangles my hope
Chapter 8 (The Hair)
Speaker: Kirie Goshima
Context: Kirie’s defiance preserves her agency amid bodily corruption.
This pottery… it screams with the voices of the pond
Chapter 4 (The Firing Technique)
Speaker: Yasuo Goshima
Context: Art becomes haunted medium for the curse’s will.
Run, Kirie! The lighthouse fire consumes spiral dissenters
Chapter 6 (The Black Lighthouse)
Speaker: Shuichi Saito
Context: Shuichi protects Kirie from the curse’s purging flames.
Our baby… its heartbeat echoes the spiral’s rhythm
Chapter 11 (The Umbilical Cord)
Speaker: Pregnant Resident
Context: Maternal horror as the curse colonizes new generations.
You still resist? Your stubbornness is its own spiral
Chapter 15 (The Labyrinth)
Speaker: Naho Saenoki
Context: Ghostly antagonist reframes resistance as complicity.
Kurouzu-cho… we loved it into oblivion
Chapter 19 (Completion)
Speaker: Kirie Goshima
Context: Bittersweet epitaph for a town devoured by its own mythos.
