As we teeter over the edge of a new decade, I thought that for this week it would be prudent to explore a bit of the exciting new content awaiting us in the near future, rather than merely spotlighting past films and media. I guess Paprika and The Fifth Element will find their place in the sun some other time.

So, with the historical chapter of the 2010s ready to shut soundly behind us, let's look ahead and take a dive into one of the most celebrated networks in the dying medium of cable tv: Adult Swim. Running such programs as Rick and Morty, Robot Chicken, The Eric Andre Show, and a slew of other fantastic and iconic shows, Adult Swim has hardly been sitting back on their laurels in terms of the new projects they have planned for the upcoming year. In fact, their new flagship series for the face of the 2020 programming campaign is an ambitious little series they've dubbed Uzumaki Toonami.

Announced in late August with the release of a sensational series teaser, Uzumaki Toonami is essentially an animated adaptation of Junji Ito's body of work as a horror mangaka. Confused? Then you must've somehow been lucky enough to miss encountering some of this iconic horror artist's truly disturbing mangas, as well as the ever popular English dubs of these stories, which have blossomed across YouTube to the delight of Western digital media users.

Ito distinguishes himself from traditional horror creators in that Ito pulls terror from everyday objects or scenarios, ignoring established conventions of the horror genre, such as isolated or grim locations or 'moral monsters.' Rather, the artist abandons the rules of horror and instead prefers the strategy of 'taking something normal and looking at it backwards.' While other horror creators may inspire terror through the threat of haunted cabins in the woods, gothic vampirism, or the like, Ito can tug long lasting horror and paranoia from inverting items as familiar to us as grease, spirals, balloons, and house cats.

Suffice it to say, Junji Ito is a unique new vision in Japanese horror that has gained international intention, to the point of catching the eye of Turner Broadcasting and, subsequently, Adult Swim. Now, with the much-anticipated Uzumaki Toonami slated to premiere soon this upcoming year, hype for the project is gradually gaining ground since the initial explosion of interest created by the dropping of the show's teaser.

True, little else has been announced or revealed about the project; however, as we scratch off the days left until the new year, time will only tell until this project bursts back into the spotlight with more terrible, disturbing, and exhilarating new tales will be brought to life by the Adult Swim animation team, in honor of Junji Ito's breath of fresh air into the horror genre. In the meantime, stay tuned and keep your lights on.