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Jujutsu Kaisen
In 2017, a young mangaka (manga artist) created a one-shot manga entitled “Tokyo Toritsu Jujutsu Koutou Senmon Gakkou” (Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical School) under the pen name, Gege Akutami. This four-chapter one-shot was later renamed Jujutsu Kaisen 0 and became treated as the prequel to the awed series, Jujutsu Kaisen! This dark-fantasy series has quickly become one of the highest-grossing manga of all time, rivaling My Hero Academia. Drawing parallels from Tite Kubo’s BLEACH, one of Akutami’s declared inspirations, Jujutsu Kaisen revolves around exorcising creatures called “cursed spirits” and tackles adult themes while still maintaining a pleasant amount of humor.
For those interested, please click here for a convenient list of manga, art books, and more.
Manga
As with other comparable manga, Jujutsu Kaisen balances its dark nature and tone with whimsical humor. Each time the reader is seemingly slapped in the face with grim truths, they can easily escape in a sigh of relief with witty comments, slang, or even memes common on the internet. Main character Yuji Itadori often reminds adult readers how naively innocent and fun teenaged life can be, while offering a unique role model for young readers to admire. In fact, the manga takes an in-depth look at all of the manga’s leading characters. Akutami tends to aid us by cutting to the past for a different perspective of events occurring in the present day. While this is nothing new in manga, film, and television, Gege Akutami always uses this method of storytelling with purpose and not some cheap intention of creating “art.” Beyond all of this, what truly makes Jujutsu Kaisen stand out is its adult themes of social norms, broken families, intense bullying, forgiveness, crimes against nature, and even death. After only 16 published volumes to this day, Jujutsu Kaisen’s ripples are already transitioning into waves.
Jujutsu Kaisen 0 AKA Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical School
Anime
Excitement and nervousness are common emotions while waiting for an anime adaptation of a beloved manga. Luckily, concerns were easily subdued with the reveal of MAPPA Co taking on the project. For those unfamiliar, MAPPA is a highly trusted animation studio known for many animation projects such as the final season of Attack on Titan, Banana Fish, Yuri!!! On Ice, and the upcoming Chainsaw Man. Mappa Co has also been confirmed to develop the first Jujutsu Kaisen animated film based on Jujutsu Kaisen 0, aka Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical School. Trust in MAPPA was not misplaced regarding the first and only season developed so far. Season 1 stays true to its manga counterpart and spans from Chapters 1 - 63, or Volumes 1 - 8. The Japanese voice acting was provided by a top-tier cast of seasoned veterans Junya Enoki as Yuji Itadori, Yuichi Nakamura as Satoru Gojo, Yuma Uchida as Megumi Fushiguro, Asami Seto as Nobara Kugisaki, Mitsuo Iwata as Kiyotaka Ijichi, Nobunaga Shimazaki as “Mahito,” and the list continues...
TV Anime "Jujutsu Kaisen" Official Start Guide
Jujutsu Kaisen at Kinokuniya USA Bookstores
Kinokuniya USA has been closely watching the success of Jujutsu Kaisen with admiration. Not only do we host a supply of Japanese, English, and Chinese editions of the manga series, we’ve also combined forces with Animate USA to provide quality merchandise for fans.
Jujutsu Kaisen Official Fan Book
Jujutsu Kaisen Key Animation Vol. 1
Albums featuring music from Jujutsu Kaisen. Available in stores. Click here to check availability.
March 2021 Jujutsu Kaisen Fair at Kinokuniya USA
Looking Forward…
Any fan of superb illustration, animation, and storytelling will come to appreciate Jujutsu Kaisen. Accessibility is also great for the average anime viewer, as the show can be easily streamed on Crunchyroll or HBO Max. And after learning Akutami’s goal of ending the manga in 2023 in a recent interview with Mando Kobayashi where Akutami comically dressed as the character Mechamaru, the anime shouldn’t be too far behind. We look forward to the twists and turns Gege Akutami and MAPPA Co will reveal in both the upcoming volumes and seasons.