Credit to Ray Hathcock

A storyline that goes from an adventurous teen who is always bored to a quick-paced plotline of the deaths of
thousands, whether they’re innocent or not, Jujutsu Kaisen has been one of the top grossing manga currently read, primarily due to the fast-paced ‘Shibuya Arc’ that took over most of season two in the anime, which came out July 6, 2023. The majority of people prefer watching anime over reading manga, due to either the ability to get through a series quicker or to grasp an understanding of what the narrative is. Although the author, Gege Akutami, explains powers and little bits of information in blurbs on its own separate page in the manga to lessen the confusion.

“The anime is easier to comprehend when it comes to fighting dialogue,” junior Terry Schmitt said. “The art style of the manga gives you a much more thorough sense of style, like the style and the beam and everything, but overall I prefer the anime.”

The story follows along with the main character, Yuji Itadori, who used to not associate with any kind of magic. Though when he found an ancient finger and was explained how dangerous it was, his selfless nature and quick wit pushed him to take action and fight the cursed spirits that killed many innocent lives. It had become his mission to allow for proper deaths. That was until he was physically unable to anymore. This action is one of the things that intrigued many of the fans, including Kalista Bolland, a senior at FHN who discovered the anime when it was first released. She saw Jujutsu Kaisen after noticing that it was made by a studio she hadn’t heard of before then. During that time, she was very interested in anime. She only recently has read the manga, due to the influx of spoilers that were on social media.

“I’d say while I do like that the art has improved in the anime, I feel like a manga is story wise, a lot more

constructed,” Bolland said. “The powers or techniques they have is my favorite. I feel like I haven’t really seen them. And I think it’s kind of funny how they always have to explain everyone’s power before. Each character is really unique.”

The primary reasons why this manga has been so popular is for its level of intensity in its action. The cruelty towards the characters, especially towards Yuji Itadori, has been something fans have been interested
in.

“Its cruelty is a big part of it, it doesn’t pull any punches,” Schmitt said. “It’s a very realistic show when it comes to character interactions. But when it comes to the manga, its hardstyle definitely differentiates it. And just the uniqueness of its stylization and its world building in its characters are all things I really hadn’t seen before.”