Spiral

Mitsuo Ando, a coroner, performs the autopsy on a former classmate, Ryuji Takayama, who died strangely. Inside the body he finds a tumor resembling smallpox and a run of numbers that spells RING. Ando tracks down Mai Takano, the dead man's assistant, and hears about a videotape. Skeptical by training, he tries to explain everything with science. But his research leads to a well in Hakone and a question: what if the virus is choosing how to spread? Second volume of the trilogy, first published in Japan in 1995.

1. ChangeWho investigates

   Wikipedia lists Rings as based on Spiral. But the book follows Mitsuo Ando, a coroner, and the film follows Julia, a student, alongside Professor Gabriel and her boyfriend Holt.

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2. ChangeThe hidden message

   In Spiral, Ando decodes numbers on a newspaper stitched into his friend's body: the word RING. In Rings the message is a Braille mark burned into Julia's hand. Either way, a hidden code leads to the next step.

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3. ChangeRebirth

   Spiral turns on Sadako's return. Rings borrows the idea and spells it out in Braille: "rebirth". Instead of a pregnancy, as in the book, Samara is reborn inside Julia.

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