If you are even a passing fan of modern anime and manga, you have more than likely heard people talk about a series called Jujutsu Kaisen. Since its opening chapters in 2018, young rookie mangaka Gege Akutami has taken the world of shonen manga by storm with his breakout series. Since Jujutsu Kaisen’s debut in Weekly Shonen Jump, the series has obtained not only a devout legion of fans, but has also gained itself an anime adaptation with extremely high production value, a full-length movie, and has had multiple volumes land on top 10 best sellers lists at just about every marketplace that sells manga. With a current count of 20 volumes in its home country, and the Viz Media translations not far behind at 17 volumes for English readers in the USA, the series shows no signs of slowing down and is on track to continue its reign in the manga mainstream.
The story follows Yuji Itadori, a high school age boy with well above average physical ability. After joining an occult research club with a few of his classmates, he gets mixed up in an event that draws supernatural beings with malicious intent called curses to his school. These curses are drawn to a rotting finger that the occult research club got their hands on. Yuji attempts to combat the curses on his own, and holds his own fighting them for a little while, but then is aided by another mysterious boy around his age named Megumi Fushiguro. Megumi is a fighter called a jujutsu sorcerer, and is able to use supernatural abilities by manipulating the curse energy in his body. During the two’s encounter with the curse creatures, Yuji swallows the rotting finger, which is as important to the plot as it is disgusting. The finger belongs to the king of curses and poisons, named Ryomen Sukuna, a cursed spirit who was too powerful to fully die, that ends up inhabiting Yuji’s body, sharing it with him after having his finger ingested. This wraps Yuji up in the world of sorcery, and is quickly recruited to a school for curse energy users called Jujutsu Technical High. From there, the school authorities devise a plan to have Yuji gather up and eat all of the remaining fingers of Ryomen Sukuna, with the theory that if he does, Sukuna will be in full control of Yuji’s body, and they can kill Sukuna and rid the world of him and his evil.
One reason I believe the story has gotten as big as it has is due to the fact that the narrative is easy to get into for someone just getting into manga, with its supernatural action and pinch of horror, and also has a plot and characters that feel familiar to longtime shonen manga fans. Jujutsu Kaisen wears its influences on its sleeve, and shares many similarities with other popular battle shonen manga. There is one story arc in particular further in the story though that sets you up to expect a common trope and then turns around and subverts it in a way that has strong emotional impact. This keeps the story from getting to predictable, and keeps you on your toes. Another interesting aspect of the story is that the end goal is the protagonist’s death, with Yuji having to become a vessel to house the king of curses, he will end up being collateral damage if the ones wanting to exterminate Ryomen Sukuna get their way. These ways of injecting new blood into the shonen formula keep Jujutsu Kaisen an interesting read, and requires the reader to be on their toes.
Jujutsu Kaisen’s art style is also an integral part of what gives the manga its atmosphere and mood. While the lines can look rough and sketch-like at times, I feel that this stylistic choice adds to the horror-eqsue styling the manga possesses. The art is not pretty or given a high degree of polish, and this melds well with the stylistic choices of the narrative to make the horror undertones the series possesses more pronounced. The character design is also reflective of many different traits the manga possesses that have been addressed earlier in this review. The heroes have designs that feel familiar, while still having their own unique flair, while the villain design really gets enhanced by the art style; they really give off the feel of being these malicious spirits and curses on appearance alone.
Jujutsu Kaisen is a great read for new or casual manga readers who love action and supernatural stories, as well as established fans of shonen manga that are curious as to what new creators are doing to add their own spice to the battle shonen formula that has been utilized by many beloved legacy franchises. With the series’ popularity only growing, it shouldn’t be hard to track down a copy and experience for yourself what makes Jujutsu Kaisen the overnight success it has become, and why it is beloved by millions of manga readers internationally.
If you are even a passing fan of modern anime and manga, you have more than likely heard people talk about a series called Jujutsu Kaisen. Since its opening chapters in 2018, young rookie mangaka Gege Akutami has taken the world of shonen manga by storm with his breakout series. Since Jujutsu Kaisen’s debut in Weekly Shonen Jump, the series has obtained not only a devout legion of fans, but has also gained itself an anime adaptation with extremely high production value, a full-length movie, and has had multiple volumes land on top 10 best sellers lists at just about every marketplace that sells manga. With a current count of 20 volumes in its home country, and the Viz Media translations not far behind at 17 volumes for English readers in the USA, the series shows no signs of slowing down and is on track to continue its reign in the manga mainstream.
The story follows Yuji Itadori, a high school age boy with well above average physical ability. After joining an occult research club with a few of his classmates, he gets mixed up in an event that draws supernatural beings with malicious intent called curses to his school. These curses are drawn to a rotting finger that the occult research club got their hands on. Yuji attempts to combat the curses on his own, and holds his own fighting them for a little while, but then is aided by another mysterious boy around his age named Megumi Fushiguro. Megumi is a fighter called a jujutsu sorcerer, and is able to use supernatural abilities by manipulating the curse energy in his body. During the two’s encounter with the curse creatures, Yuji swallows the rotting finger, which is as important to the plot as it is disgusting. The finger belongs to the king of curses and poisons, named Ryomen Sukuna, a cursed spirit who was too powerful to fully die, that ends up inhabiting Yuji’s body, sharing it with him after having his finger ingested. This wraps Yuji up in the world of sorcery, and is quickly recruited to a school for curse energy users called Jujutsu Technical High. From there, the school authorities devise a plan to have Yuji gather up and eat all of the remaining fingers of Ryomen Sukuna, with the theory that if he does, Sukuna will be in full control of Yuji’s body, and they can kill Sukuna and rid the world of him and his evil.
One reason I believe the story has gotten as big as it has is due to the fact that the narrative is easy to get into for someone just getting into manga, with its supernatural action and pinch of horror, and also has a plot and characters that feel familiar to longtime shonen manga fans. Jujutsu Kaisen wears its influences on its sleeve, and shares many similarities with other popular battle shonen manga. There is one story arc in particular further in the story though that sets you up to expect a common trope and then turns around and subverts it in a way that has strong emotional impact. This keeps the story from getting to predictable, and keeps you on your toes. Another interesting aspect of the story is that the end goal is the protagonist’s death, with Yuji having to become a vessel to house the king of curses, he will end up being collateral damage if the ones wanting to exterminate Ryomen Sukuna get their way. These ways of injecting new blood into the shonen formula keep Jujutsu Kaisen an interesting read, and requires the reader to be on their toes.
Jujutsu Kaisen’s art style is also an integral part of what gives the manga its atmosphere and mood. While the lines can look rough and sketch-like at times, I feel that this stylistic choice adds to the horror-eqsue styling the manga possesses. The art is not pretty or given a high degree of polish, and this melds well with the stylistic choices of the narrative to make the horror undertones the series possesses more pronounced. The character design is also reflective of many different traits the manga possesses that have been addressed earlier in this review. The heroes have designs that feel familiar, while still having their own unique flair, while the villain design really gets enhanced by the art style; they really give off the feel of being these malicious spirits and curses on appearance alone.
Jujutsu Kaisen is a great read for new or casual manga readers who love action and supernatural stories, as well as established fans of shonen manga that are curious as to what new creators are doing to add their own spice to the battle shonen formula that has been utilized by many beloved legacy franchises. With the series’ popularity only growing, it shouldn’t be hard to track down a copy and experience for yourself what makes Jujutsu Kaisen the overnight success it has become, and why it is beloved by millions of manga readers internationally.
