Jujutsu Kaisen: Gege Akutami’s Secret Sauce for Success Was Not Following Dragon Ball, Instead Became Heir to Another Major Series That Made Horror Popular

Gege Akutami, the creator of Jujutsu Kaisen, took major inspiration from Bleach over Dragon Ball and that turned out for the best.

Gege Akutami’s Secret Sauce for Success Was Not Following Dragon Ball, Instead Became Heir to Another Major Series That Made Horror Popular

SUMMARY

  • Gege Akutami drew inspiration from Bleach over Dragon Ball for Jujutsu Kaisen.
  • They wanted the characters to be more grounded rather than gaining overpowering capabilities.
  • This move turned out to be the best as JJK is one of the most famous shows nowadays.
Show More
Featured Video

It is true that Gege Akutami, who created the anime series Jujutsu Kaisen, drew more inspiration from Bleach than from Dragon Ball. They asserted that they were drawn to Bleach because of the way it combined classic shonen action with horror aspects. In addition, they wanted to make a show that, unlike DB, which is renowned for its outrageous power levels and transformations, was more rooted in reality.

Advertisement

Jujutsu Kaisen is incredibly well-liked in Japan and around the world. Numerous elements contribute to its success, such as its captivating characters, a well-written plot, and striking images. Another noteworthy aspect of the series is its original take on comedy, horror, and action. At the moment, JJK is one of the most well-liked anime and a global sensation.

The Main Cast of Jujutsu Kaisen
The Main Cast of Jujutsu Kaisen

Also read: Gojo Satoru is Not Dead Jujutsu Kaizen’s Author Gege Akutami’s Past Comment Hints Gojo Will Return For One Thing

Advertisement

Gege Akutami Drew Inspiration From Bleach for Jujutsu Kaisen

Jujutsu Kaisen author, Gege Akutami, has stated that Bleach served as much of an inspiration for them while developing his series. Since Bleach was a more realistic series than Dragon Ball, they wanted to combine the horror components with the usual shonen action that was largely featured in Bleach. It is acclaimed for its distinct fusion of horror and action, as well as its ominous and evocative tone and fully realized characters.

Gege Akutami - Jujutsu Kaisen Creator
Gege Akutami – Jujutsu Kaisen Creator

Also read: Gege Akutami May Not Want Anyone to be Stronger Than Gojo Satoru after Jujutsu Kaisen Completely Ignored Takaba’s Cursed Technique

Furthermore, the concept of cursed energy and cursed spirits is similar to Bleach‘s concept of soul reapers and hollows. Akutami has also said that they wanted to create a series that was different from Dragon Ball in terms of its power levels and transformations. They believed that the transformations were too simple to pull off and that DB‘s strength levels had grown excessively.

Advertisement
Bleach, Ichigo Kurosaki
Bleach, Ichigo Kurosaki

According to Otaquest, they intended JJK to be a series in which characters had to earn their powers through hard work and transformations were uncommon and challenging to accomplish. Akutami’s decision to draw impulse from Bleach rather than Dragon Ball has clearly paid off. JJK has become one of the most popular shonen manga and anime series in recent years.

Jujutsu Kaisen and Bleach Has Many Things in Common

Bleach was one of the earliest well-known Shonen anime programs to use horror themes in its narrative. Previously, horror was usually limited to seinen or seinen-esque anime series. However, Bleach‘s popularity demonstrated that horror could appeal to a larger population. The show’s dark, moody tone, its nuanced villains, and its unsettling visuals all contribute to its horror components.

Ichigo Kurosaki in Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War
Ichigo Kurosaki in Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War

The series also features a number of scary moments, such as the introduction of the hollows and the Soul Society arc. The success of Bleach aided in the mainstreaming of horror in anime. It served as an inspiration for several shonen shows to include horror aspects in their narratives, including Jujutsu Kaisen and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. Thus, horror has emerged as one of the most popular genres in anime today.

Advertisement

Also read: Jujutsu Kaisen: 6 Ultra-Powerful Members of the Feared Zen’in Clan Yet to Make Anime Debut

The main characters of two well-known shōnen manga series, Bleach and Jujutsu Kaisen, are Ichigo Kurosaki and Yuji Itadori, respectively. There are many similarities between the two people despite their dissimilar histories and personalities. In addition to sharing a similar physical appearance, both characters have orange hair and are tall and muscular. Paradoxically, they also share a similar sense of style—they frequently dress in black.

Ryomen Sukuna in Jujutsu Kaisen
Ryomen Sukuna in Jujutsu Kaisen

Both Ichigo and Yuji have a strong sense of justice, which is another resemblance and both of them are prepared to risk their lives in order to keep others safe. They both have a strong sense of resolve and never give up easily. Furthermore, both of them are connected to magical abilities as Yuji is a receptacle for the formidable Sukuna Ryomen, and Ichigo is a Soul Reaper. They are able to battle bad forces and defend the earth because of their link to supernatural powers.

Advertisement
Rajdeep Majumder

Written by Rajdeep Majumder

Articles Published: 675

On top of all things music and pop culture, Rajdeep has a vested interest in the world of film and television. As a dedicated writer, he stays informed about the day-to-day happenings in Hollywood as well as the world of manga. Currently, Rajdeep has accumulated more than 600 published articles on FandomWire under his byline. Looking ahead, he can envision himself leaving a mark in the highly competitive and rapidly evolving world of entertainment journalism.