The leading narrative of the dark shonen genre, Jujutsu Kaisen, is an amalgamation of a lot of different references and inspirations that Gege Akutami got from different creatives. One of these inspirations came from Tite Kubo’s Bleach, which is part of “the Big Three.” Akutami has been quite vocal about how Bleach helped him understand the art of manga.
Both Jujutsu Kaisen and Bleach are considered to be the pinnacle of the manga and anime industry, with the former being part of the current era. Akutami’s masterpiece portrays a narrative that is unique and enigmatic and, in some ways, shares a similarity with Bleach. It truly reflects the impact Kubo had on Akutami.
However, the similarity in certain aspects of the story is not the only way Akutami has shown respect for Kubo. The Jujutsu Kaisen manga creator once wrote a Bleach anthology to honor Kubo. But the sad thing is that no one will ever get to see how good it turned out.
Gege Akutami’s Bleach Anthology That Will Remain A Mystery Forever
In 2021, Jujutsu Kaisen released a special official fanbook that featured an interaction between Akutami and their favorite manga creator, Kubo. During this interaction, Kubo found out that Akutami wrote and compiled a Bleach-inspired poem anthology called Kumo no Kyojin, and they talked about this in one of the bonus chapters of Jujutsu Kaisen.
Kubo’s exciting reaction was:
This I gotta see.
However, to Kubo’s disappointment, Akutami wrote this poem in a notebook, which later got lost in the world.
Well, the truth is I don’t have it anymore. And the scariest part is… I have no idea who does.
While Kubo insisted on finding the mysterious notebook and reading the poem, Jujutsu Kaisen’s mangaka made another interesting revelation about the book having other artworks as well.
These artworks reflected Gege Akutami’s talent when they were just in middle school. However, it is sad that these artworks and the Bleach anthology will never see the light of day.
The Succession of Bleach’s Concept in Jujutsu Kaisen
Jujutsu Kaisen has excelled immensely in the past few years. The series has reached the level of giants like One Piece and Naruto. However, this wouldn’t have been possible if Akutami had never read Tite Kubo’s manga. Kubo’s Bleach taught the importance of art and narrative building to Akutami, which they used in Jujutsu Kaisen.
From characters to plotlines, Bleach, and Jujutsu Kaisen share a lot of similarities. The dark world of curses and deaths, supernatural events in a realistic environment, and the process of learning new powers and abilities are some aspects that draw parallels between Jujutsu Kaisen and Bleach.
Additionally, the concept of Bleach’s Bankai and Jujutsu Kaisen’s Domain Expansion is similar in more than one way. They are both space-oriented attacks that can cause damage to a larger area or number of opponents. Thus, the impression of Kubo’s Bleach on Akutami is quite visible in Jujutsu Kaisen, and it certainly helped the series reach the top spot.
You can watch Jujutsu Kaisen on Crunchyroll and Bleach on Hulu.
