Did Satoru Gojo save Jujutsu Kaisen from being axed from Weekly Shonen Jump? Explained

Jujutsu Kaisen has established itself high up in the Shonen rankings when it comes to a modern-day series. Gege Akutami's dark fantasy manga grew in popularity following its inception and later, thanks to MAPPA animating it, the manga's popularity skyrocketed even further.

Today, it is one of the most followed stories in the anime/manga world and continues to rake in viewers. However, initially, it did not start out that way and a clever move by Gege possibly rescued it from being taken off Weekly Shonen Jump.

---

Jujutsu Kaisen: Gojo the silent saviour for Akutami's series

In all its perfection, Jujutsu Kaisen in its early phases was at a potential risk of being axed from Weekly Shonen Jump. For whatever reason, it stood on the edge of not being featured in the magazine. However, to avoid such an event, creator Gege Akutami released an incredible illustration of Gojo Satoru.

To be specific, the illustration was of the moment when Gojo expanded his Domain while fighting Jogo. This was also the first time fans were treated to what lay behind the blindfold. To say that it did not disappoint, the illustration and the actual scene itself would be a major understatement.

After that, it was all but confirmed that Weekly Shonen Jump would feature a chapter of Jujutsu Kaisen. So, in a way, the strongest sorcerer stood in the way of a potential cancellation of what turned out to be a major success.

---

How does Weekly Shonen Jump work?

Weekly Shonen Jump (Image via Shueisha)

In essence, Weekly Shonen Jump is a weekly shonen manga anthology published by Shueisha in Japan. It functions under the Jump line of magazines. With the first ever issue being released with a cover date of August 1, 1968, it is one of the longest-running manga magazines.

Now, in association with Shueisha, Weekly Shonen Jump convenes annual competitions for new or emerging manga artists to create one-shot stories. They are submitted to a panel of judges (consisting of past and present manga artists) where the best are bestowed with a special award for the best of these new series.

Jujutsu Kaisen, being a shonen series, has been featured here and sees a chapter released every week in this magazine. But it is in fact a sequel to Akutami's one shot Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical School, now called Jujutsu Kaisen 0.

It ran from April to July 2017 and was compiled into a tankōbon volume with the previously mentioned title in December 2018. Jujutsu Kaisen itself began in March 2018 and has been continuing ever since, having enjoyed huge success.

---

In Conclusion

Gojo Satoru in Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 (Image via MAPPA)

An excellently and impressively detailed illustration of the massively popular Gojo Satoru was enough to avoid the series being axed from Weekly Shonen Jump. However, it created a little hitch for Gege Akutami and that was to draw Gojo in a perfect and attractive manner henceforth.

Nonetheless, the series not being taken out of the magazine was probably the best decision ever, given how far it has come today. Undoubtedly Gege's genius is to be credited and the fans as well, who have shown a different kind of love for the series. Somewhere even the white-haired sorcerer, as always, played a little part too.