She describes the growing obsession of her town, and its contamination, by spirals. It is narrated by teen girl Kirie Goshima, describing the bizarre and inexplicable events that occur to her and her boyfriend Shuichi in their hometown. I would like to share with you the strange events that took place here.” So begins Uzumaki, innocently enough. But the horde continues to grow, and it is not content with staying on one small island… Because of their early encounter with the creatures, Tadashi and Kaori become involved in trying to determine what exactly these monstrous creatures are and where they come from.

Their attempts to destroy it are unsuccessful, and soon they find that they are not the only ones with a problem: a horde of rotting, legged fish emerge from the ocean and swarm all over the island, bringing with them an unbearable stench. Later, on land, they discover what it is when it invades their room: a fish, seemingly rotting, with spider-like legs. While scuba diving, Tadashi spots something in the water that he can’t identify, moving impossibly fast. Gyo begins on a small Japanese island, where Tadashi and Kaori are enjoying a vacation. It is a testament to their brilliance that those editions are still readily found in stores - my local Barnes & Noble has what appears to be a full collection of Ito’s works. Uzumaki and Gyo are considered Ito’s masterpieces (to date), and were released in gorgeous deluxe editions about a decade ago.

But this absurd situation is revealed in the end to have a strikingly horrific denouement. People enter the holes, seeming to disappear into the mountain without a trace.

Gyo uzumaki