The popular manga "Jujutsu Kaisen" by Akutami Gege, which is also popular as an anime, reached its final chapter in the 44th issue of the magazine "Weekly Shonen Jump" (Shueisha), released on September 30th, bringing the curtain down on its approximately six and a half year serialization. It was also announced that the total number of copies of the series, including the digital version of the comics, has exceeded 100 million, bringing the series to a beautiful end. Following the conclusion, director Goshozono Shota, who worked on the second season of the TV anime, provided an illustration and comment.
◇Comment from Director Goshozono Shota
I thought, "Maybe I have talent," so I entered the anime industry as a video artist, but I gave up after about a year.
After that, the serialization of Jujutsu Kaisen began.
It was a work filled with things I grew up watching. I realized that the author was the same age as me.
They say that if you eat the arm of someone who is good at drawing, you will become a good artist, but Itadori became strong by eating someone's finger.
I didn't have the guts or intelligence to do that. Fortunately, I was able to return to anime work as a key animator through social media.
A little while later, while I was at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant with a friend from work, he received a message requesting me to do key animators for Jujutsu Kaisen.
I asked my friend to reply that I would do it because it's my favorite manga. That's how I got involved with the Jujutsu Kaisen anime.
Park (Park Seong-hoo) was the director of the first season.
I hesitated to accept the job because it seemed like a lot of work, but he gave me my first job as storyboarder and director.
At that time, I never thought I would end up directing the second season.
Directing is a tough job.
While working on Jujutsu Kaisen, I would sometimes think about Akutami-sensei's work, and the sheer amount of work alone was immeasurable.
I wonder what it's like to continue drawing a weekly manga for six and a half years.
Just how tough is the job?
And now Jujutsu Kaisen is coming to an end.
Thank you so much, Akutami-sensei.
Jujutsu Kaisen began serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump in March 2018. The story follows high school student Itadori Yuji, who is thrown into a world of battles over curses after a powerful cursed object is unsealed. The anime has also gained popularity, with the first season airing from October 2020 to March 2021. The movie version of Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie, a prequel to the first season, was released in December 2021 and was a huge hit, grossing approximately 13.75 billion yen in Japan and approximately 26.5 billion yen worldwide. The second season of the TV anime aired from July to December 2023. There is also talk of a sequel to the second season, Shimetsu Kaiyu, being produced. A compilation of the second season's episodes, Kaigyoku and Tamaori, is being produced and will be released in theaters in 2025.
