Gege Akutami, the proud creator of the fan-favorite anime and manga series Jujutsu Kaisen, has unapologetically traumatized the generation of weebs. Despite giving PTSD to the entire generation of fans, Akutami-San is humble as they publicly talk about their inspiration from other masterpieces of this period.
These include names such as Hunter x Hunter, Bleach, Yu Yu Hakusho, and even Kishimoto-San’s Naruto. Akutami-San took inspiration from the Ninjutsu series for several characters in his manga and anime series, which even includes the character sketch of The King of Curses.
Even though the mangaka thinks that Ryomen Sukuna is similar to the Nine-Tailed Beasts, they slam the 2002 series by rejecting a notion that had made the show so iconic and made it such a great watch.
Gege Akutami Decided to Follow a Different Path From Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto
Gege Akutami is probably the biggest fan of Masashi Kishimoto’s magnum opus, as they took inspiration from Naruto to draw one of the most popular characters in their series. It is none other than The Disgraced One, Ryomen Sukuna, who is the alter ego of Yuji Itadori.
The concept is similar to the Shonen series, where the Nine-Tailed Beast is locked inside our protagonist, Naruto Uzumaki. Moreover, fans would clearly remember how they would develop their bond over the course of the show.
During the Q&A session translated and later shared by a fan (@Infinity_Ex1sts) on X, a number of answers to burning questions on several topics from the mangaka himself were featured. One of the questions included unveiling the hints following Bleach and Naruto: Shippuden.
Gege Akutami answered that they feel the characters of Naruto Uzumaki and Nine-Tails Fox are similar to what “Sukuna is to Itadori or Rika is to Okkotsu.” However, they have often felt that their relationship ended in “reconciliation.”
This is something that the manga artist has avoided doing with The King of Curses, as they made the antagonist someone “that can’t be reconciled with.” Akutami-San said,
“NARUTO Shippuden” is about the relationship between the main character Uzumaki Naruto and Nine-Tails (Kurama). It’s like Sukuna is to Itadori or Rika is to Okkotsu. In “Volume 0” the relationship between the two, like in “NARUTO Shippuden”, ended in reconciliation, but in “JJK” I decided to take a different approach and show Sukuna as something that can’t be reconciled with.
However, this is not the first time the manga artist has been inspired by Masashi Kishimoto’s magnum opus, as they describe in the official fan book how they were inspired to draw one of JJK’s most iconic villains!
Kenjaku, the mastermind behind the Culling Games Arc, was inspired by none other than Orochimaru!
Another Iconic JJK Villain Gets Inspired From Naruto
There’s no denying that Kenjaku and Orochimaru have somewhat similar techniques. Kenjaku’s cursed technique allows him to transfer his brain into the body of the deceased, making him his puppet and enabling him to switch bodies as he pleases. It also gives him the access to host’s memories, skills, and even their cursed technique.
Orochimaru would use the Living Corpse Reincarnation, also referred to as the Eternal Youth and Immortality Technique, to enable him to adapt the body as per his needs.
This was no coincidence because in the official Jujutsu Kaisen fan book, later translated and shared by Shiro (@kaikaikitan) on X, the mangaka was asked about Kenjaku’s Cursed Spirit Manipulation, where he could swap bodies. Akutami-San said,
The brain is part of the body of the cursed user who takes over Geto’s body. So he looks like an ordinary person. It’s a cross-body cursed technique, which is like Orochimaru. He could possess two cursed techniques; his own cursed technique and also the cursed technique of the body he transferred to. The original body will lose the cursed technique when changing body, but he has taken a lot of measures.
Fans were not wrong when they learned that their favorite traumatic anime and manga series has been heavily inspired by one of their favorite childhood Shonen series. Some even believed Megumi was a much friendlier version of Sasuke Uchiha.
Jujutsu Kaisen and Naruto: Shippuden can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
