Uzumaki: Spiral into Horror

Shuichi Saito is the boyfriend of Kirie Goshima. While he lives in Kurouzu-cho, he attends school in a neighboring town and takes the train to and from home. As a result, he is the first to notice the spiral curse’s effects in town. Shuichi turns Kirie’s attention to the curse, and the two work together to combat it.

When Shuichi is introduced in Chapter 1, he is already suspicious of the spiral curse. Kirie is concerned about his emotional state, calling him “depressed” (14). Shuichi continues to descend into depression as a result of the curse; while he himself is not affected by it, he cannot bear to watch those around him suffer. Shuichi’s parents are the first victims of the curse: His father becomes so obsessed with spirals that he dies trying to become one, while his mother destroys her body after being haunted by the spiral and her husband’s death. After his parents’ deaths, Shuichi commits himself to investigating the spiral—illustrating the precarious line between obsession and devotion.

Despite his emotional turmoil, Shuichi remains devoted to Kirie and continually saves her from death. While Kirie is skeptical of the scope of the spiral’s powers, Shuichi constantly reinforces it. In Chapter 12, Shuichi lectures Kirie for risking her life to bring him dinner during a deadly storm. This is one of many moments in which Shuichi serves as an educational source for the spiral curse.

Mitsuo Goshima is Kirie’s younger brother. As a supporting character, he largely serves as a device through which Junji Ito develops his protagonist Kirie and his themes. Mitsuo constantly gets into trouble throughout Uzumaki, whether he is wandering into the lighthouse in Chapter 9 or becoming a snail in Chapter 16. Kirie always comes to her brother’s rescue and fights to keep him safe from the spiral curse. In other words, Mitsuo is used to highlight Kirie’s devotion.

Despite how hard Kirie fights to keep Mitsuo safe, he completes his transformation as a snail person in Chapter 17. Kirie urges him into the wilderness, and the two never see each other again. Mitsuo’s tragic end embodies the emotional destruction of the spiral. While Kurouzu-cho’s physical destruction is clear, Mitsuo’s story illustrates the spiral’s emotional toll. Mitsuo is an innocent boy who is never selfish or cruel. Still, he is cursed to live out the rest of his life as a snail, while others far crueler than he continue to prowl Kurouzu-cho. Ito’s take on karma no longer exists as of Chapter 8: The innocent are confined to shells, while the cruel hunt them down. Mitsuo’s demise also lends further devastation to Kirie, who sees her entire family perish by the final chapter.

Ms. Maruyama is a television reporter who travels to Kurouzu-cho after it is destroyed by a series of storms and cut off from outside communication. As she and her crew drive to Kurouzu-cho, they are diverted by a twister—and Maruyama is the only one to survive the wreck. After venturing into town, she learns that she, too, is trapped by the spiral curse. Yet, Maruyama commits herself to trying to escape with the help of the Goshimas and Shuichi.

Maruyama is an unusual supporting character in that she is introduced late into Uzumaki. Though she is only in a few chapters, Maruyama’s determination is an important catalyst for Kirie’s own decision to escape; before Maruyama’s arrival, the Goshimas were resigned to scavenging. Being an outsider, Maruyama’s shock at Kurouzu-cho’s physical destruction and moral decay emphasizes the depths to which the town has been consumed by the spiral.