Jujutsu Kaisen's biggest inspiration may have come to light only after the finale

Gege Akutami's Jujutsu Kaisen manga reached a polarizing conclusion on September 30, 2024, and the fanbase once again found itself divided over the manga's ending. While some considered it a fitting conclusion to the exceedingly popular battle shonen series, others felt it was extremely rushed, alluding to the unresolved plotlines as a major issue.

However, at the end of the day, the majority of the Jujutsu Kaisen fanbase came together to thank Akutami for creating one of the best dark shonen series of the modern era.

While reflecting on their favorite characters and the series itself, one fan on Reddit pointed out some striking similarities between Jujutsu Kaisen and Katsura Hoshino's D.Gray-man manga series. The fan suggested the latter series might have been the biggest inspiration behind the creation of Akutami's magnum opus.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers for the Jujutsu Kaisen and D.Gray-man manga series. Reader's discretion is advised.

Exploring if Katsura Hoshino's D.Gray-man manga inspired Gege Akutami's Jujutsu Kaisen series

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Gege Akutami has attributed much of Jujutsu Kaisen's success to other popular series like Yoshihiro Togashi's Hunter x Hunter and Tite Kubo's Bleach. That said, a Reddit user with the username u/FitCare9113 recently pointed out some striking similarities between Jujutsu Kaisen and D.Gray-man, as they claimed that Katsura Hoshino's magnum opus might have been the biggest source of inspiration for Gege Akutami.

According to the original poster, upon closer examination, one may notice a surprising number of similarities between certain characters in these two manga series, including their personalities, design, and overall writing.

A major parallel between the two series lies in their respective protagonists. In Jujutsu Kaisen, Yuji Itadori became a vessel for Ryomen Sukuna, an ancient sorcerer renowned as the King of Curses in the history of jujutsu sorcery. This event pulls Yuji into the world of curses and sorcery, where he decides to become a sorcerer to fight and exorcise curses.

Yuji, Megumi, Nobara, and Gojo as seen in the anime (image via MAPPA)

In D.Gray-man, Allen Walker, a young boy who joins an organization of exorcists named Black Order, serves as the vessel for a powerful being called Nea D. Campbell, also known as the 14th Noah.

After betraying the other members of the Noah Clan to overthrow the Millennium Earl, Nea implanted his memories and essence into Allen Walker before his death to ensure that he would resurrect inside Allen's body one day. While the relationship between Yuji and Sukuna is similar to that of Allen and Nea, the theme of two souls inhabiting the same body isn't uncommon in the animanga world.

The second similarity between the two series, as pointed out by the original poster, lies in the character design of Jujutsu Kaisen's antagonist, Kenjaku, and the members of the Noah clan in D.Gray-man. Given that all members of the Noah clan famously have stitches on their foreheads, the poster deduced that Akutami may have taken direct inspiration from the D.Gray-man manga for Kenjaku's character design, who has similar stitches on his forehead.

Additionally, in chapter 143 of the Jujutsu Kaisen manga, Yuji's mother, Kaori Itadori, was seen with stitches on her forehead, which implied that at some point before Yuji's birth, Kenjaku must have taken over her body. In D.Gray-man, Allen Walker also had a parent with stitches on their head.

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Perhaps the biggest similarity between the two series is the complex relationship each protagonist has with their respective fathers and uncles. In Yuji's case, he was revealed to be Sukuna's nephew in one of the series' most shocking twists. Apparently, at the time of his birth, Sukuna was supposed to be a twin. However, he rejected that fate and consumed the fragment of his twin's soul, which was reincarnated as Jin Itadori, Yuji's father.

In Allen Walker's case, it was revealed later on in the manga that Nea D. Campbell, who possessed Allen's body, was the younger twin brother of Allen's adoptive father, Mana Walker (born as Mana D. Campbell), which made him Allen's adopted uncle.

However, what's interesting about Nea and Mana's relationship is that not only are they twin brothers, but they once used to be a single being, or rather, a single soul, which was later split into two. Not only that, Mana himself stated that he had "devoured," or perhaps, killed Nea following the latter's betrayal of the Noah Clan. This particular instance of one twin "devouring" the other may have inspired Sukuna to do the same.

Considering all the similarities between the two series, it certainly isn't a stretch to assume that Katsura Hoshino's D.Gray-man may have been a major source of inspiration for Gege Akutami's magnum opus. In fact, Kenjaku's character design and the parallel between Mana "devouring" Nea and Sukuna quite literally consuming his twin brother's soul provide strong evidence of D.Gray-man's influence on Jujutsu Kaisen.

Final thoughts

Upon careful comparison and analysis, it becomes evident that D.Gray-man significantly influenced Jujutsu Kaisen. This connection was further highlighted when Akutami directly referenced Hoshino's writing in one of the most memorable scenes of the Culling Game arc.