When Gege Akutami’s Jujutsu Kaisen first came out in 2018, fans instantly fell in love with the series because it introduced a band of negative characters who, despite their terrifying motives and ambitions, had a certain charm to them. Although every anime or manga series has at least one antagonist that becomes a fan favorite, Jujutsu Kaisen still stands out.
This was because other anime and manga series usually have a sympathetic or sad background story for the antagonist to make fans understand the feelings and reasoning behind their actions in the storyline. Akutami once revealed that they don’t like the idea of using sympathy for villains.
They pointed out that the simple explanation of the collision between the convictions of the protagonist and the antagonist is enough to fuel the rage of characters like Sukuna and make them cold-hearted villains who want to destroy the world.
Gege Akutami Explains Their Process of Creating a Villain
An interview with the Jujutsu Kaisen creator was featured in the Jump GIGA 2022 Spring issue, which was translated and shared by @soukatsu_ on X(Formerly Twitter). During the interview, Akutami was asked about their thought process while creating the antagonists, who have a certain appeal despite being on the wrong side.
Akutami stated:
“There’s no real need to make them sympathetic [characters] so I think it’s vital to clearly show why the antagonist clashes against the main character’s convictions, and cement that as the axis on which they act. It’s easy to give reasons behind irrational acts, but it’s very difficult to translate them into principles the character acts upon.”
According to the mangaka, they believe that instead of focusing on the sad or emotional past, they rather focus on creating clashes between the good and bad characters that are only based on their motifs and convictions.
They even gave an example of Choso and explained that Choso’s only motivation in the entire series was to protect his younger brothers, and when Yuji killed them, he decided to take revenge. Later on, when he found out that Yuji was also related to him by blood, he switched sides and is currently helping Yuji defeat Sukuna, the King of Curses.
Jujutsu Kaisen Features a Different Class of Villains
Gege Akutami’s Jujutsu Kaisen has given its fans a wide variety of characters who are unique to the narrative in their own way. The persona and the overall creation of these characters are one of the main reasons why Jujutsu Kaisen is considered to be one of the most popular anime and manga series in the whole world.
Among these characters, the negative ones, especially Sukuna, have managed to build a separate fan following for themselves, who, after knowing the intentions of the villain, still choose to love him and follow him. Sukuna has time and time again shown that he is a stone-cold killer who just wants to fight strong opponents and evolve himself.
There are other villains like Toji Fushiguro who are loved by fans for their convictions and savage nature, and because of these qualities, the clash between them and other characters makes it more appealing for Jujutsu Kaisen fans.
You can watch Jujutsu Kaisen on Crunchyroll.
