Gege Akutami is a genius with a pen and paper. Coming up with plots and arcs dark enough to twist the fans’ hearts and creating characters with fame so massive that the world knows about Jujutsu Kaisen perhaps even without knowing what it is. Whether one is an anime fan or not, the very concept of what the series is has been familiarised to the common public.
There have always been references to various different sources all over the series. Whether they are from pop culture or other mangas, Jujutsu Kaisen is a compilation of all that fans love and hate at the same time.
One of the biggest inspirations for the manga happens to be Bleach. Tite Kubo’s masterpiece became the reason why Akutami even got into manga art. So much so that the mangaka had an embarrassing story about his obsession with Kubo’s work.
Gege Akutami Wrote a Poem on Bleach
In the Jujutsu Kaisen anime, Mahito can briefly be seen reading a book called Kumo no Kyojin or The Cloud Giant. If fans were to dig deeper into the book and try to find it or the author, they would be surprised to learn that it is Gege Akutami who created the book and it is far from just a fictional addition to the plot.
In an interview with Tite Kubo in the Jujutsu Kaisen Official Fanbook, Akutami revealed that there is an anthology with their name on it that consists only of poems dedicated to Bleach.
The compilation of poems came into being during their middle school years as a sort of self-project, one that they incorporated Mahito into reading.
“The truth is I don’t have it anymore. And the scariest part is… I have no idea who does.”
Once Kubo found out about it, there was no surprise that he was eager to read it, so much so that he asked to read it if possible.
A Possible Work of Art Lost in the Mix
Gege Akutami, when asked about the notebook’s whereabouts, revealed that the piece of literature was nowhere to be found. Tite Kubo, in the Jujutsu Kaisen Official Fanbook, asked to read the poems, however, Akutami could not provide him with the same.
“Poems aside, that notebook also contained a bunch of sketches. I ended up giving it to one of my juniors who wanted it. Back then, I didn’t have the crisis management skills to recognize it could be used as blackmail, so I handed it over without a second thought.” They continued, “I hope they threw it out for recycling.”
The mangaka revealed that the book did not have poems alone, instead, it was filled with illustrations and sketches. Akutami went about distributing these sketches without ever thinking too much about it.
Giving something so intricate and private that too in middle school was a mistake inviting trouble. The author came to understand that much later, learning that what they gave out of goodwill came back as blackmail material.
