New Sukuna and Yuji art from Akutami proves the mangaka still cares about Jujutsu Kaisen

Modified Jan 15, 2025 00:30 GMT

New Sukuna and Yuji art from Akutami proves the mangaka still cares about Jujutsu Kaisen (Images via MAPPA Studios)

One of the most significant events in the manga industry during the 2024 calendar year was the ultimate conclusion of mangaka Gege Akutami’s original Jujutsu Kaisen series. As one of the most globally successful and popular shonen series in recent years, its ultimate conclusion was an especially significant day for the industry.

While the mainline story of Akutami’s beloved manga has officially concluded, Akutami has by no means remained inactive in their utilization of the Jujutsu Kaisen intellectual property. One of the most significant ways Akutami does this is through continued illustrations, with the latest featuring protagonist Yuji Itadori and his body-stealing roommate, Ryomen Sukuna.

Jujutsu Kaisen mangaka's love for the series palpable via excellent quality of latest artworks

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When a mangaka concludes their series, there is always a major concern from the fanbase that there’ll never be a way to see or interact with that beloved world again. Although for many series this does prove to be true, Akutami’s efforts in the months since Jujutsu Kaisen’s conclusion make it clear he’s not done with the series yet. Moreover, the love Akutami has for their story is palpable in the published illustrations they choose to share with fans.

The quality of the artwork specifically speaks to this, being as good a quality as everything in the manga series, if not better. Further showcasing Akutami’s love for the series is that this artwork has all been shared by the mangaka for free rather than being collected into a sellable book. This is something Akutami could very easily do if they wanted, and with great success at that, yet the mangaka instead chooses to show their love for the series by sharing the artwork at no cost.

Yuji and Sukuna are undoubtedly two of Jujutsu Kaisen's most popular characters (Image via MAPPA Studios)

One could make the argument that Akutami is simply continuing to produce these free artworks as a means of promoting MAPPA Studios' television anime adaptation of the series. However, a majority of these post-ending artworks from Akutami lack specific references to or mention of the anime adaptation.

Advertising an anime to a manga’s fanbase is also diametrically opposed to how the anime and manga industries relate to each other. In reality, an anime series is meant to be an advertisement for its corresponding manga source material. With this in mind, it’s unlikely that Akutami is creating and sharing these artworks for any reason other than to show their love for the series, and their appreciation of its fans.

Fan reaction

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Unsurprisingly, Jujutsu Kaisen fans are both expressing gratitude to Akutami for the illustration, and emphasizing the mangaka’s artistic skill. Some fans are using more general laudations to praise the effort, while others are honing in on specific aspects of Akutami’s prowess:

“GOAT Gege with the amazing Sukuna and Yuji art once again. I will be there for his next manga [goat emoji, 2x fire emojis],” praised one fan.

“the day i can draw hands like that i'll officially have won at life,” enviously explained another.

Other fans are instead discussing how much they miss the series since it ended in September 2024:

“Mann I mis jjk,” lamented one netizen.

“Bro I miss this manga sm.,” mourned another.

In any case, it’s clear that people miss the regular serialization of Akutami’s flagship manga series, even several months after its ultimate end. Thankfully, Akutami doesn’t seem to be washing their hands of the story anytime soon given the artwork which has continued to come out since.