Jujutsu Kaisen

Jujutsu Kaisen (Japanese: 呪術廻戦, "Sorcery Fight") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Gege Akutami, serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since March 2018. The individual chapters are collected and published by Shueisha, with eleven tankōbon volumes released as of June 2020.

Jujutsu Kaisen
Cover of the first manga volume of Jujutsu Kaisen, as published in Japan by Shueisha.
呪術廻戦
GenreAdventure, dark fantasy, supernatural[1][2]
Manga
Written byGege Akutami
Published byShueisha
English publisher
ImprintJump Comics
MagazineWeekly Shōnen Jump
English magazine
DemographicShōnen
Original runMarch 5, 2018 – present
Volumes12
Anime television series
Directed bySunghoo Park
Written byHiroshi Seko
Music by
  • Hiroaki Tsutsumi
  • Yoshimasa Terui
  • Arisa Okehazama
StudioMAPPA
Licensed byCrunchyroll
Original networkJNN (MBS, TBS)
Original run October 2020 – scheduled

Viz Media published the first three chapters for its "Jump Start" initiative and publishes the series in print starting in December 2019. Shueisha began to simulpublish the series in English on the app and website Manga Plus in January 2019.

An anime television series adaptation produced by MAPPA is set to premiere in October 2020.

Plot

Yūji Itadori is an unnaturally fit high school student living in Sendai with his grandfather. He regularly avoids the track team due to his aversion to athletics, despite his innate talent for the sport. Instead, he chooses to join the Occult Research Club, where he is able to relax and hang out with his seniors, and leave school by 5:00 pm to visit his grandfather in the hospital. While he is on his deathbed, his grandfather instills two powerful messages within Yūji - "always help people" and "die surrounded by people". After his grandfather's death, Yūji interprets these messages as one statement - everyone deserves "a proper death". He is then confronted by Megumi Fushiguro, a sorceror (巫, Shaman) who informs him of a high-grade cursed charm talisman at his school that Yūji recently made contact with. His friends at the Occult Club unsealed the talisman, a rotting finger, which attracted Curses to the school, creatures that are brought about through negative emotions and are strengthened by consuming magical powers present in sorcerers or such charms. Unable to defeat the Curses due to his lack of magical powers, Yūji swallows the finger to protect Megumi and his friends and becomes the host of Sukuna, a powerful Curse. Due to Sukuna's evil nature, all sorcerers are required to exorcise him (and by extension, Yūji) immediately. However, despite being possessed, Yūji is still able to retain control over his body for the most part. Seeing this, Satoru Gojō, Megumi's teacher, decides to take him to the Tokyo Metropolitan Magic Technical College to propose a plan to his superiors - postpone Yūji's death sentence until he consumes all of Sukuna's fingers, allowing them to kill him once and for all.

Characters
Yūji Itadori (虎杖 悠仁, Itadori Yūji)
Voiced by: Junya Enoki[3]
A 15-year-old athlete who joins his school's Occult Club to avoid the track team. After finding and opening a box containing a cursed charm resembling a rotting finger, his school is attacked by phantom-like creatures known as Curses. In order to protect his friends, he consumes the rotting finger and becomes possessed by a Curse known as Ryoumen Sukuna. He later joins the Tokyo Metropolitan Magic Technical College under the tutelage of Satoru Gojō, where he is placed under a sort of death sentence, which has been suspended until he consumes all of Sukuna's fingers in order to kill himself and Sukuna at the same time.
Megumi Fushiguro (伏黒 恵, Fushiguro Megumi)
Voiced by: Yuma Uchida[3]
A sorcerer studying in first year at the Tokyo Metropolitan Magic Technical College under the tutelage of Satoru Gojou. He meets Yūji when trying to locate a high-grade cursed charm talisman at his high school. He is the one that convinces Satoru to try to save Yūji from his execution after his possession by Sukuna. He uses his curse power to create spirits (式神, Shikigami) out of his own shadows to exorcise Curses. He has been noted to have high potential as a sorcerer by several other powerful people, including Sukuna himself.
Satoru Gojō (五条 悟, Gojō Satoru)
Voiced by: Yuichi Nakamura[4]
A sorcerer working as a teacher in the Tokyo Metropolitan Magic Technical College. He teaches Yūji Itadori, Megumi Fushiguro and Nobara Kugisaki. He convinces his superiors at the college to keep Yūji alive until he consumes all of Sukuna's fingers. Even though his title of 'The Strongest' is self-proclaimed, most allies and enemies alike never actually dispute the title and generally consider him to be one of the most dangerous people alive. As a result, he is widely respected and venerated by sorcerers, even by those in the college's sister school in Kyoto, and holds high influence in the sorcery world. He uses his curse power to control the space around him in innumerable ways.
Nobara Kugisaki (釘崎 野薔薇, Kugisaki Nobara)
Voiced by: Asami Seto[3]
A sorcerer studying in first year at the Tokyo Metropolitan Magic Technical College under the tutelage of Satoru Gojou. She transferred to the college so that she could live in Tokyo without any expenses. She meets Yūji Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro during her first official mission as a sorcerer. She uses a charm weapon hammer and nails infused with her curse power to exorcise Curses.
Sukuna (宿儺, Sukuna) / Double-Faced Spectre (両面 宿儺, Ryōmen Sukuna)
Voiced by: Junichi Suwabe[5]
A high-grade curse who is considered to be the undisputed 'King of Curses'. According to legend, Sukuna was a demon resembling a human with four arms who appeared during the prime era of sorcery. Sorcerers of this time period found that they were unable to fully exorcise him, so they resorted to cutting up his 20 fingers and storing them as cursed charms, hoping that one day these charms would be destroyed, and as a result, he would truly be defeated. Currently, he is the "guest" of Yūji Itadori. He has taken an interest in seeing Megumi Fushiguro achieve his full potential. His goal is to gain complete control over Yūji's body and go out on a killing spree. He has an immense amount of curse power, and it is estimated that his full strength is on par with or even greater than that of Satoru Gojō, though Satoru claims otherwise.
Maki Zenin (禪院 真希, Zenin Maki)
Voiced by: Mikako Komatsu[6]
Toge Inumaki (狗巻 棘, Inumaki Toge)
Voiced by: Kōki Uchiyama[6]
Panda (パンダ)
Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki[6]

Media

Manga

Jujutsu Kaisen is written and illustrated by Gege Akutami. The series started in Weekly Shōnen Jump on March 5, 2018.[2][7] Its chapters are collected and published by Shueisha into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was published on July 4, 2018.[8] Eleven volumes have been released as of June 4, 2020.[9] A prequel volume titled Jujutsu Kaisen 0: Tokyo Toritsu Jujutsu Koutō Senmon Gakkou (呪術廻戦 0 東京都立呪術高等専門学校, lit. "Jujutsu Kaisen 0: Tokyo Metropolitan Magic Technical School) was published on December 4, 2018.[10]

Shueisha began to simulpublish the series in English on the app and website Manga Plus in January 2019.[11] Viz Media published the first three chapters for its "Jump Start" initiative.[12] In March 2019, Viz Media announced the print release of the series starting in winter.[13] The first volume was published on December 3, 2019.[14]

Volume list
No.Original release dateOriginal ISBNEnglish release dateEnglish ISBN
1 July 4, 2018[8]978-4-08-881516-9December 3, 2019[14]978-1-9747-1002-7
2 September 4, 2018[15]978-4-08-881608-1February 4, 2020[16]978-1-9747-1003-4
3 December 4, 2018[17]978-4-08-881666-1April 7, 2020[18]978-1-9747-1004-1
4 March 4, 2019[19]978-4-08-881756-9June 2, 2020[20]978-1-9747-1480-3
5 May 2, 2019[21]978-4-08-881828-3August 4, 2020[22]978-1-9747-1481-0
6 July 4, 2019[23]978-4-08-881876-4——
7 October 4, 2019[24]978-4-08-882076-7——
8 January 4, 2020[25]978-4-08-882168-9——
9 January 4, 2020[26]978-4-08-882218-1——
10 March 4, 2020[27]978-4-08-882274-7——
11 June 4, 2020[9]978-4-08-882296-9——
12 August 4, 2020[28]978-4-08-882381-2——

Light novels

A light novel entitled Jujutsu Kaisen: Soaring Summer and Returning Autumn (呪術廻戦　逝く夏と還る秋, Jujutsu Kaisen Iku natsu to kaeru aki), written by Ballad Kitaguni, was published under the Jump J-Books imprint on May 1, 2019.[29] A second light novel entitled Jujutsu Kaisen: The Path of Roses at Dawn (呪術廻戦　夜明けのいばら道, Jujutsu Kaisen Yoake no Ibara Michi), was released on January 4, 2020.[30]

Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced in the 52nd issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump published on November 25, 2019.[3] The manga author Gege Akutami and the main cast members appeared at Jump Festa '20 on December 22, 2019.[31] The series will be produced by MAPPA and directed by Sunghoo Park. Hiroshi Seko is in charge of the scripts, Tadashi Hiramatsu will design the characters, and Hiroaki Tsutsumi, Yoshimasa Terui and Arisa Okehazama will compose the music. The series will premiere on MBS and TBS's Super Animeism in October 2020.[32][5] Eve will perform the series' opening theme song "Kaikai Kitan," while Ali will perform the series' ending theme song "Lost in Paradise feat. AKLO."[33] The anime is licensed by Crunchyroll for streaming in outside Asia.[34]

Reception

As of December 2018, the series had 600,000 copies in circulation,[35] 770,000 copies in circulation as of February 1, 2019,[36] 1.1 million copies in circulation as of February 27, 2019,[37] As of June 2019, the series had 2 million copies in circulation.[38] As of November 2019, the series had 2.5 million copies in circulation.[39] As of May 2020, the series had over 4.5 million copies in circulation.[40]

The series ranked 1st on the "Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics of 2018".[41] In 2019, the manga was nominated for the 65th Shogakukan Manga Award for the shōnen category.[42]

Leroy Douresseaux of Comic Book Bin gave the first volume a score of 8.5 /10. Douresseaux praised the series for its characters, plots, settings, and internal mythology, and described it as a "combination battle manga and horror comic book".[43] Shawn Hacaga of The Fandom Post, in his review of the first volume, compared the series to early Bleach and praised it for its world, lore, characters and artwork, concluding that it is a "solid first volume".[44] Hannah Collins of Comic Book Resources found parallels between Yūji and Sukuna and Marvel Comics characters Eddie Brock and Venom. She also noted similarities to Bleach, Blue Exorcist and Tokyo Ghoul. Collins commended the manga and regarding its anime adaptation announcement concluded that Jujutsu Kaisen is a "darkly enjoyable action series that's sure to be one to watch out for in 2020".[45] Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network ranked the first volume as a C. Silverman praised the series' use of Japanese folklore and yōkai elements, comparing this and Akutami's art style to Shigeru Mizuki's GeGeGe no Kitarō, but criticized the story for being "very generic". She concluded; "It has the potential to be more as Akutami gets more comfortable with the serialization process and figures out precisely where the story is going, so it may be worth a second book to be certain. But as of this one, it's just okay, making it the kind of series that gets damned with faint praise".[46]

References
  1. "The Official Website for Jujutsu Kaisen". Viz Media. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  2. Ressler, Karen (February 25, 2018). "3 New Manga Launch in Shonen Jump in March". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  3. Rafael Antonio Pineda (November 24, 2019). "Jujutsu Kaisen Manga Gets TV Anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
  4. Crystalyn Hodgkins (December 21, 2019). "Jujutsu Kaisen Anime Casts Yūichi Nakamura as Satoru Gojō". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  5. Pineda, Rafael Antonio (May 20, 2020). "Jujutsu Kaisen Anime's Video Reveals New Cast, Staff, October Premiere". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  6. Loo, Egan (July 15, 2020). "Jujutsu Kaisen Anime Unveils Cast, Designs of Magic Tech College's 2nd-Years". Anime News Network. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  7. "ジャンプ50周年記念した新連載、第1弾は新鋭が描くダークファンタジー". Natalie (in Japanese). March 5, 2018.
  8. 呪術廻戦 1 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  9. 呪術廻戦 11 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  10. 呪術廻戦 0 東京都立呪術高等専門学校 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  11. Morrissy, Kim (January 27, 2019). "Everything You Need to Know about MANGA Plus by Shueisha". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  12. Ressler, Karen (February 26, 2018). "Viz's Shonen Jump to Preview Jujutsu Kaisen Manga". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  13. Hodgkins, Crystalyn (March 16, 2019). "Viz Media Adds A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow Manga, Announces Rerelease of Kazuo Umezu's The Drifting Classroom Manga". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  14. "Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 1". Viz Media. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  15. 呪術廻戦 2 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  16. "Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 2". Viz Media. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  17. 呪術廻戦 3 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  18. "Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 3". Viz Media. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  19. 呪術廻戦 4 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  20. "Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 4". Viz Media. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  21. 呪術廻戦 5 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  22. "Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 5". Viz Media. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  23. 呪術廻戦 6 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  24. 呪術廻戦 7 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
  25. 呪術廻戦 8 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
  26. 呪術廻戦 9 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
  27. 呪術廻戦 10 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  28. 呪術廻戦 12 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  29. 呪術廻戦　逝く夏と還る秋 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  30. Rafael Antonio Pineda (November 17, 2019). "Jujutsu Kaisen Manga Gets 2nd Novel in January". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  31. Harding, Daryl (December 21, 2019). "New Jujutsu Kaisen TV Anime Key Visual is Finger Licking Fun!". Crunchyroll. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  32. アニメ「呪術廻戦」10月放送開始！両面宿儺役に諏訪部順一、制作はMAPPA. Natalie (in Japanese). May 20, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  33. Rafael Antonio Pineda (August 10, 2020). "Eve, Ali Perform Theme Songs for Jujutsu Kaisen Anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  34. Sherman, Jennifer (August 12, 2020). "Crunchyroll to Stream Jujutsu Kaisen in October". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  35. Hodgkins, Crystalyn (January 1, 2019). "Roundup of Newly Revealed Print Counts for Manga, Light Novel Series - December 2018". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  36. Hodgkins, Crystalyn (February 2, 2019). "Roundup of Newly Revealed Print Counts for Manga, Light Novel Series - December 2018". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  37. Sherman, Jennifer; Ressler, Karen; Hodgkins, Crystalyn (March 3, 2019). "Roundup of Newly Revealed Print Counts for Manga, Light Novel Series - February 2019 (Updated)". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  38. @jujutsu_PR (June 30, 2019). "【特報】『呪術廻戦』コミックス累計200万部突破記念プロジェクト" (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved August 9, 2019 – via Twitter.
  39. 週刊少年ジャンプ連載「呪術廻戦」TVアニメ化　虎杖役は榎木淳弥、共演に内田雄馬＆瀬戸麻沙美. eiga.com (in Japanese). November 26, 2019. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  40. 秋アニメ『呪術廻戦』呪いの王・両面宿儺 役が諏訪部順一さんに決定！　アニメーション制作はMAPPA、さらに第1弾PVも公開. animate Times (in Japanese). May 20, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  41. Ressler, Karen (February 4, 2019). "Japan's Bookstore Employees Rank Top Manga of 2018". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  42. Rafael Antonio Pineda (November 22, 2019). "65th Shogakukan Manga Awards' Nominees Announced". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  43. Douresseaux, Leroy (December 3, 2019). "Jujutsu Kaisen: Volume 1 manga review". Comic Book Bin. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  44. Hacaga, Shawn (January 21, 2020). "Jujutsu Kaisen Vol. #01 Manga Review". The Fandom Post. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  45. Hannah, Collins (December 8, 2019). "Manga's Answer to Marvel's Venom: What You Should Know About Jujutsu Kaisen". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  46. Silverman, Rebecca (January 19, 2020). "Jujutsu Kaisen GN 1 - Review". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
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