The Facts:

Title: Jujutsu Kaisen

Author and artist: Gege Akutami

First published in Japan by Shueisha Tokyo on 5 March 2018

Series: Jujutsu Kaisen (19 books and continuing)

Graphics:

The graphics in Jujutsu Kaisen are a 9/10. Looks like it’s probably clear by now I like the graphics in Manga. I don’t deal in 2’s or 3’s. With this Manga being heavily fighting-based, Gege Akutami’s works show motion with ease and also the emotional depth of the characters during the fight’s progress. With curses looking like all different kinds of things and ridiculous weapons Akutami shows his creative abilities and skills by drawing up creepy curses and bizarre weapons.

Context in the Manga Universe:

As new mange, Jujutsu Kaisen hasn’t achieved as much notoriety as One Piece or Naruto but among manga readers, it has become popular and has earned its place in the New Generation. My prediction, is as the story develops, and there are more books, it will earn more fans.

What I like most:

What I like most is how the protagonist is a high school teenager and makes friends in every situation. Being a high school athletic prodigy, he could be the popular guy but instead, he insists on hanging out with the less popular people and always being friendly. Having the protagonist being a teenage boy makes him more relatable to me. This means the world-building for this character is filled with little details that make the whole series seem like a single step away from the world.

What I like least:

What I like least about this Manga is how similar it is to Naruto. The teacher Gojo being a tall man with spiky white hair that covers his eyes is almost the same as Naruto’s teacher, Kakashi. Naruto has a tailed beast sealed inside of him that everyone was afraid of and has to overcome, and Yuji has a demon lord sealed inside of him that everyone is afraid of and has to overcome it. Look, I like the idea in Naruto and in Jujutsu Kaisen, but I would like to see this series develop in an original space.

Interesting fact:

Jujutsu Kaisen is based on an urban myth that construction workers found a wooden coffin in the ground with seals all over it. One of the seals on the box said Ryomen Sukuna was sealed there, but before the priests could arrive, two high school students opened it and found a mummified corpse of someone with two heads, four arms and four legs, just like Sukuna.

Recommended for age:

The recommendation for this is 15+ but I would recommend this to children 14+ because the plot isn’t too scary. Some of the graphics and ideas are confronting for young viewers with one of the plot drivers being the threat of execution and every fight scene has blood and gore. It has similar messages to Naruto,  that your friends are here to support you and you don’t have to shoulder a burden alone.

How to explain it to your parents/teacher:

This is a passionate tale of a teenage boy named Yuji Itadori who gains cursed energy powers after he eats a finger of Sukuna, and overcomes what others say about him and shows the world that he can control the demon king inside of him and help people.

Film/TV crossover:

Jujutsu Kaisen has one tv series, and one film called Jujutsu Kaisen 0 which covers the back stories of one of the characters and apparently there is a video game in the making.

In Bibliography:

Akutami, G. 2022, ‘Jujutsu Kaisen Volume 1’, Viz [image] Available https://www.viz.com/read/manga/jujutsu-kaisen-volume-1/product/6116, Accessed 8 October 2022.