Dos Monos x Junji Ito. A stimulating conversation about the classic manga "Uzumaki"

I was put into a semi-trance state during the solo concert the other day. My wife and mother-in-law have been away lately, and I've been feeling a bit tired from taking care of the cat, dog, and lizard we keep at home. But Dos Monos' cool vibes flowed into me, and I felt instantly more energized.

Thank you. Today I would like to talk again about "What is scary?" When did you first become interested in horror, Mr. Ito?

I've been easily scared since I was a child, but when I came across Kazuo Umezu's works, I realized that something could be "scary yet interesting," and I wanted to draw it myself.

Ito-sensei's manga certainly gives me chills and excitement at the same time. What's more, it also has a coexistence of beauty and horror. His debut work, "Tomie," is a perfect example of this.

I too am inevitably drawn to beautiful women, and as a manga artist, I have a lot to learn about how to portray women in an attractive way. On the other hand, I also enjoy drawing the opposite: grotesque things. I find it rewarding to combine the two extremes of horror and beauty.

Our latest EP, "Dos Moons," also aimed to achieve both.

This album is the first time that Dos Monos has written lyrics with an awareness of beauty. Zhuangzi it also cited Laura Palmer from Twin Peaks as a reference, but now that I think about it, I may have been writing with the image of a "beautiful drowned corpse" in mind.

Horror is booming worldwide right now, and your works are incredibly popular in Asia, the West, and elsewhere. Which of your works do you personally feel is the most popular?

"Uzumaki." I don't know why.

That's surprising. Ito-sensei's works have sharp ideas and concepts, and clear stories. But "Uzumaki" is philosophical, almost like a Zen dialogue, and is unique among his works. But it's encouraging to see such a seemingly difficult-to-understand work being read all over the world.

As Shoko-san said, while I was serializing that work, I had the ambition to solve the mystery of the "swirls." Swirls are a universal motif that are also depicted in ancient ruins. In other words, I thought that perhaps they represent a primal human sense of fear. In the end, I was unable to solve the mystery, though.

It's interesting. I feel like if you leave nature alone, everything will spiral. The same goes for the galaxy, shells, and even fingerprints.

If we don't go against the laws of nature, we will become a whirlpool.

Yes. We live our lives constantly being subjected to a vortex-like force.

In his commentary on "Uzumaki," Sato Masaru cites "Das Kapital" and writes about the horror of being obsessed with money. The essential fear of "Uzumaki" may be connected to the karma of human beings.

As a human principle, our attention is drawn to the spiral, and ultimately, that is what we desire in our physical movements.

I wish I could have spoken to the three of them while Uzumaki was still being serialized. I might have been inspired and the mystery solved.

So now is the time for a sequel...

No, I'll leave that to the three of you to figure out (wry smile).

That's true. With the sun and the moon, a galaxy with a spiral (i.e., a black hole) at its center makes perfect sense. I'll think about it (laughs).