*** As of June 10th, 2022 this fanbook has been fully translated to English.
Imgur album with all pages and translations: imgur.com/a/HGmL2zu
Google Drive folder to download all pages: tinyurl.com/3khfa6zt
— Translations by soukatsu_ from Twitter: tinyurl.com/2pes7ynh
— Translations by kaikaikitan from Twitter: tinyurl.com/m5wzrzr5
— Kubo interview translation by neontomcat from Twitter: tinyurl.com/5h3y6mnd
FOREWORD
The World Trigger and Kimetsu no Yaiba fan books brilliantly reflect their creators’ dedication to the core of their stories (in my subjective opinion). So what is the point of a Jujutsu Kaisen fan book that doesn’t have the densely elaborate foundations of World Trigger, or the intimate view into the world of Kimetsu no Yaiba? When I thought about it, I came to the decision that it would be an utterly clean break from the bad blood with my very first editor. I’m not sure if that’s a sign of maturity or not.
Those who pick this fan book up might find their interest directed towards not only Jujutsu Kaisen, but towards Akutami Gege to some extent as well. In fact, I think more personal aspects emerge from this fan book more so than the usual manga volumes. If you’ve picked up this fan book on accident, please be careful.
Alright. It’s time for the Jujutsu Kaisen official fan book to begin.
*TL courtesy of soukatsu_ on Twitter (tinyurl.com/veeu8d5d)
※ This fan book is based on the contents of Jujutsu Kaisen up to volume 15. Please note that settings and other information may change depending on future developments in the story.
※The age of the characters whose birthday is known is as of October 31st, 2018 (as set in the story). Please note there are spoilers.
TOKYO JUJUTSU TECHNICAL COLLEGE STUDENTS
Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu Technical College 1st Year
AGE: 15
BIRTHDAY: March 20th
BIRTHPLACE: Miyagi
ENROLLMENT METHOD: Scouted
CURSED TECHNIQUE: None
SKILLS: Divergent Fist, some experience with Black Flash
HOBBY/SPECIAL SKILL: Karaoke, watching TV, impersonations
FAVORITE FOOD: Any kind of rice bowls, noodles
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: None
CAUSE OF STRESS: Science subjects (He failed molecular science)
FAVORITE TYPE: Jennifer Lawrence (Tall girls with big butts)
Q: Did he dye his hair?
A: His hair is natural.
Q: What’s the origin of his name?
A: His last name came from a medicinal herb. And his given name is from my classmate. I tried to make their given names as realistic as possible.
Q: Does he usually talk to Sukuna?
A: Not really. They don’t really get along with each other.
Q: It seems that Sukuna often speaks to him when he’s alone, so is he able to sleep well every night?
A: Yeah, he’s fine. Itadori can even sleep comfortably on the asphalt of the Tomei (Tokyo-Nagoya) expressway.
Q: Does Itadori practice any martial arts?
A: Nothing in particular. Just a little karate from his grandfather. Even the Manji Kick that Itadori did was just the best possible move Itadori chose to do at the time.
Q: What happens if Itadori, who is resistant to curses, eats a Death Painting Womb?
A: Either the Death Painting Womb will become something like Sukuna’s current state, or the Death Painting Womb itself will disappear and become cursed energy within Itadori. If Itadori ingests it after he is already a host for Sukuna, the Death Painting Womb will just be obliterated by Sukuna.
Q: What are the titles of the movies that Itadori watched during his training with Gojo?
A: I think they were Léon: The Professional, The Descent, The Host, The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On. The one that was spoiled by Gojo is Deep Blue Sea.
Q: What is the thing that Itadori will absolutely never be able to forgive?
A: Overwhelmingly sickening wickedness.
Q: Does Itadori have any friends aside from the ones at Jujutsu Tech? Is he still in touch with his friends from junior high school or his hometown?
A: He kept in touch with them without much difficulty [before], but Itadori started carrying a mobile phone after he came to Jujutsu Tech, so you can guess how it went from there.
Q: What kind of occupation would Itadori have if he hadn't become a jujutsu sorcerer?
A: I think he’d probably be a firefighter…
Q: Does he have a favorite TV show or genre?
A: I picture him as an omnivore, like he’ll just leave the TV on at all times and watch whenever.
Q: What made Itadori attracted to Jennifer Lawrence’s butt and height? Please tell us in which movie he first saw her.
A: Silver Linings Playbook.
Q: Is he the type to do school assignments or holiday homework properly?
A: He’s the type to do it the day before. He’s the type to do it late but will always properly submit his work.
Q: What happened in his hometown that led to Itadori being called “The Tiger of West Junior High”?
A: I haven’t thought about it but it must be the kind of thing where someone tried to pay him to get in a revenge brawl and he helped save someone instead, and it led to a wild series of exaggerated rumors about him beating up a yankee delinquent.
Q: If Itadori and Todo were not jujutsu sorcerers but were in the same junior high school, would they have become good friends?
A: I’m sure they’d be able to find something they like about each other.
Q: How did Itadori feel when Ozawa Yuko asked him to take a picture at the graduation ceremony?
A: “Sure, a photo right? Gotcha.”
Q: Itadori seems to have many clothes with hoods, but do you have any particular character designs for him?
A: Nothing in particular. The hoods are just my personal habit when I draw him.
Q: You once mentioned you don’t really like Itadori. Why choose a character you have difficulty with as the protagonist?
A: It’s not that I hate him, it’s just that I’m not good at handling him. I’ll work hard on that so I'm not bad at it anymore. I’m in the process of chipping away at it, rather than actively choosing to do so.
*TLs courtesy of soukatsu_ (tinyurl.com/yajjswnf) and kaikaikitan (tinyurl.com/5d8h5h59) on Twitter.
Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu Technical College 1st Year
AGE: 15
BIRTHDAY: December 22nd
GRADE: Grade 2 Sorcerer
BIRTHPLACE: Saitama
ENROLLMENT METHOD: Family lineage
CURSED TECHNIQUE: Ten Shadows Technique
SKILLS: Ten Shadows Technique
Divine Dogs (White, Black, Totality)
Nue
Great Serpent (Orochi)
Toad (Gama)
Max Elephant (Bansho)
Rabbit Escape (Datto)
The Well’s Unknown Abyss
Domain Expansion: Chimera Shadow Garden
HOBBY: Reading
FAVORITE FOOD: Food that goes well with ginger
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Paprika, any sweet side-dish
CAUSE OF STRESS: Humans (90% of the time)
FAVORITE TYPE: None (They only need to have an unwavering sense of humanity)
Q: Does Fushiguro feel sad when his shikigami is destroyed?
A: He takes the emotional hit in his own way. People like Fushiguro seem to be more melancholy when an animal dies, than when a stranger dies.
Q: Is he the type to be interested in other people's love affairs?
A: I think it's more like verifying that he was right all along, rather than an interest.
Q: How would Megumi reject a girl’s confession?
A: Gomeeeeeeeen!!! (Sorrryyyyy!!!)
Q: Does he watch news programs and read newspapers?
A: He watches and reads them, but he doesn’t believe in half of it. He often reads non-fiction books (refer to volume 1, page 110).
Q: What was Fushiguro’s first ever mission and who assigned it to him?
A: It was something suitable for him, according to Gojo. It seems like he was teasing Fushiguro.
Q: Who taught Megumi how to handle cursed tools and martial arts?
A: Gojo and Maki.
Q: What was the most outrageous problematic behavior Fushiguro caused when he was in junior high school?
A: “The Case of the Delinquent Youths in Perfect Health Being Strung Up On a Banner”
Q: Have any of his friends passed away, aside from his classmates?
A: I think there have been. At this point, Fushiguro had had a reasonably long career as a jujutsu sorcerer.
Q: How did Megumi and Tsumiki get by after their parents disappeared?
A: Basically, Tsumiki did all of the housework. Megumi helped out. Gojo stepped in to pay for incoming utility bills before the small amount of money Tsumiki’s mother left them ran out.
Q: He immediately remembered the names of his classmates, but did they interact with each other in junior high school?
A: He just has a really good memory.
Q: How did he become so insightful?
A: Maybe it's because he has a pretty negative outlook and doesn't have much faith in the average person.
Q: Why is Inumaki not included in his list of senpai he can respect?
A: Because Inumaki is quick to join in on Panda and Gojo’s ridiculous antics.
Q: Has he ever laughed so hard that he cried?
A: I don’t think he has.
Q: How was he treated as a jujutsu sorcerer before entering Jujutsu Tech? Was he ever assigned missions?
A: He was never assigned missions. Gojo, who was in charge of him, shows up every now and again to mediate and takes him on missions sometimes.
Q: Is the tablet that Fushiguro uses his own personal device?
A: It belongs to the technical college. The auxiliary manager will lend it to him when needed.
Q: Did he know Maki and Mai even before entering Jujutsu Tech?
A: Yes. When Gojo was working on the issue between Megumi and the Zenin clan, he took Megumi along to visit, so I think that's when they first met.
Q: Is there a reason why he hates paprika?
A: He doesn’t like sweet side dishes.
Q: Is there anything in particular you keep in mind regarding his character design?
A: His outline looks too much like Itadori if I’m not careful, so I think it’s a pretty common mistake.
*TLs courtesy of soukatsu_ (tinyurl.com/7bfh4byp) and kaikaikitan (tinyurl.com/4ztezbes) on Twitter
Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu Technical College 1st Year
AGE: 16
BIRTHDAY: August 7th
GRADE: Grade 3 Sorcerer
BIRTHPLACE: Somewhere in Tohoku
ENROLLMENT METHOD: Grandmother’s recommendation (they fought about it though)
CURSED TECHNIQUE: Straw Doll Technique
SKILLS: Straw Doll Technique
Resonance
Hairpin
Some experience with Black Flash
HOBBY: Shopping
FAVORITE FOOD: Trendy foods, watermelon
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Pickled foods
CAUSE OF STRESS: Dehydration
Q: Was Nobara already working as a jujutsu sorcerer in her hometown even before she entered Jujutsu Tech?
A: Sort of. Her grandmother is a jujutsu sorcerer, and she worked for her.
Q: Why did she and her grandmother argue about her enrollment in Jujutsu Tech?
A: It was a conflict of interests between her grandmother's desire to raise her and Nobara’s desire to go to Tokyo.
Q: Is Nobara’s grandmother also a Straw Doll Technique user?
A: Yes. Nobara learned how to use the Straw Doll Technique from her grandmother.
Q: Did she already know about Black Flash?
A: She had some knowledge of it.
Q: Why doesn’t Nobara have an accent if she’s from the countryside?
A: Because her mom didn’t have an accent. Fumi-chan also doesn’t.
Q: What’s the origin of her name?
A: I wanted to give her name a prickly sort of feeling to it.
Q: Is there anything you are particular about when you draw Nobara?
A: She has to at least look like a girl so the readers don’t confuse her with anyone else or go like weeeeellll… that’s all I go for.
Q: Her name or her fighting style, which one did you decide on first?
A: Both happened almost at the same time.
Q: Nobara has a lot of characteristic lines, but I wonder if she’s an easy-to-write character.
A: Out of the three first years, she’s the easiest one (Not including the action part).
Q: What kind of person is her type?
A: Oda Nobunaga.
Q: Was she popular in her hometown?
A: Not at all.
Q: What are Nobara’s favorite clothing brands and preferences?
A: Ba... Balenciaga? … I think? Onitsuka Tiger?? She goes shopping whenever she has free time (Jujutsu Sorcerers are well paid even for students). She enjoys Tokyo in her own way, trying out all sorts of clothing and food (refer to volume 1, page 150).
*TLs courtesy of soukatsu_ (tinyurl.com/zesy5ty6) and kaikaikitan (tinyurl.com/4ztezbes) on Twitter
Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu Technical College 2nd Year
AGE: 17 (he repeated a year)
BIRTHDAY: March 7th
GRADE: Special Grade Sorcerer
BIRTHPLACE: Miyagi
ENROLLMENT METHOD: Scouted
CURSED TECHNIQUE: Rika
SKILLS: Cursed Speech (copy)
Reverse Cursed Technique
HOBBY/SPECIAL SKILL: Good at making kneaded erasers
FAVORITE FOOD: Salted cabbage with sesame oil
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: The fatty part of the steak
CAUSE OF STRESS: Being unable to meet with his classmates
Q: Okkotsu’s hairstyle has changed after Rika’s curse was dispelled, does this indicate some kind of change to his emotional or mental state?
A: I changed it just because it looked too similar to Fushiguro.
Q: Was the Okkotsu created as a character first for volume 0? Or did the story and setting come first?
A: I think the character was done as a set with Rika-chan first.
Q: Please tell us the origin of his name.
A: His surname is just because it sounded cool. As for the given name, the meaning of the kanji is pretty spot-on. (*TN: The kanji for Yu - 憂 means "to grieve" and "melancholy")
Q: At the time of the battle with Geto, Rika immediately understood Okkotsu’s intentions. Did they share battle tactics for the fight in advance?
A: Rika can see what Okkotsu sees and they are able to share images back and forth.
Q: It was established that cursed spirits can’t be born from jujutsu sorcerers, so how could Okkotsu transform Rika into a vengeful spirit?
A: When I said that cursed spirits aren’t born from jujutsu sorcerers, I was referring to the fact that there is practically no excess discharge of cursed energy from sorcerers, so cursed energy can’t accumulate somewhere and cause the creation of a cursed spirit (since their cursed energy can never accumulate in the first place). Jujutsu sorcerers themselves are capable of turning into cursed spirits so, in Rika’s case, Okkotsu unintentionally latched onto Rika’s soul with his own cursed energy. It’s fundamentally impossible to deliberately keep souls of the deceased from passing on but this caused a binding to occur, like a glitch in the system - because Okkotsu was entirely unconscious about doing it (he truly wants her to pass on peacefully) and due to Rika’s strong desire to be with Okkotsu.
Q: Is there a reason why people involved in the jujutsu world didn't pay attention to any incidents involving Rika for 6 years?
A: At the beginning, there wasn’t a lot of trouble (most incidents were related to his family) but the decisive factor happened before the locker-stuffing scene in volume 0, in which a major incident was investigated and later documented. A few of the jujutsu sorcerers in charge of the investigation were killed. It was then Gojo’s turn to deal with this matter.
Q: How’s the relationship between Yuta and his family now?
A: He keeps in touch with his little sister, as normal. It’s a bit more difficult with his parents.
Q: Okkotsu is a descendant of Sugawara no Michizane, so does this mean Okkotsu and his family are part of a larger jujutsu clan?
A: Okkotsu’s family members are all non-sorcerers. Yuta just awakened something long buried in his lineage.
Q: Did Yuta win the Goodwill Event against the Kyoto school by a landslide because he let Rika out? Or was it Yuta’s ability?
A: He didn’t let Rika out, it was like Rika came out on her own. The clean-up afterwards was hard.
Q: Was Okkotsu still a special grade sorcerer after dispelling Rika’s curse?
A: He became a normal Grade 4 sorcerer. That’s why his uniform was black at the end of Volume 0. (White uniforms are for problem children, so they can be spotted easily from a distance) and then he was reinstated as a Special-Grade soon after.
Q: Why does Fushiguro respect Okkotsu?
A: Because Okkotsu doesn’t initiate any ridiculous antics or pranks. He’s ridiculously strong.
Q: Did Okkotsu, as the vessel for Rika, almost get executed by Gakuganji, similarly to Itadori?
A: It hadn’t reached that point yet. Unlike Sukuna, Rika was still a bit of a mystery, so I think the old man was just keeping an eye on them to see how it played out.
Q: Has Okkotsu loved or will he ever love a girl other than Rika-chan?
A: I'm sure he probably will from now on.
*TL courtesy of soukatsu_ (tinyurl.com/y6envhfa) and kaikaikitan (tinyurl.com/4ztezbes) on Twitter
Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu Technical College 2nd Year
AGE: 17
BIRTHDAY: October 23rd
GRADE: Semi-Grade 1 Sorcerer
ENROLLMENT METHOD: Family lineage
CURSED TECHNIQUE: Cursed Speech
HOBBY: Youtube
FAVORITE FOOD: Tuna mayo onigiri
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Cod roe/fish eggs
CAUSE OF STRESS: Morning assembly at school
Q: At what age did he start to speak only in onigiri ingredients, and why?
A: He started doing this for as long as he can remember. I think it's kind of like how bilingual people are.
Q: What’s the origin of his name?
A: It’s from the feeling of “words sticking”.
Q: Does Inumaki always carry throat medicine with him?
A: After what happened in volume 0, he carries a spare one with him at all times.
Q: Is there anything you are particular about for Inumaki’s character design?
A: I changed his hairstyle so he won’t be too similar to Itadori. Maybe that’s why more beautiful male character aspects keep emerging from him… I think Hiramatsu-san*, who’s working on the anime, understands that demand better than I do. (*He’s talking about Tadashi Hiramatsu, who’s a Character Designer at MAPPA.)
Q: How do the cursed speech users in the Inumaki clan communicate?
A: With their hearts.
Q: Why does he cover his mouth?
A: To muffle the volume of his voice.
Q: Are the Inumaki clan members the only cursed speech users left in the world?
A: That’s right. The Inumaki clan are considered outlaws in the jujutsu world, and there is a standing policy to have jujutsu sorcerers die out of the family tree. However, someone like Toge will pop up and be born once in a while.
*TL courtesy of soukatsu_ (tinyurl.com/y6envhfa) and kaikaikitan (tinyurl.com/rwx6sbbj) on Twitter
Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu Technical College 2nd Year
AGE: 16
BIRTHDAY: January 20th
GRADE: Grade 4 Sorcerer
BIRTHPLACE: Kyoto
ENROLLMENT METHOD: Family lineage
CURSED TECHNIQUE: None
HEAVENLY RESTRICTION: Physically Gifted
SPECIAL SKILL: Crushing empty cans
FAVORITE FOOD: Junk food
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Vegetarian food
CAUSE OF STRESS: Any formalities involving the Zenin family
Q: Are all the cursed tools used by Maki owned by the technical college?
A: She has her own personal tools, but the tools like Playful Cloud are owned by the Gojo family. The cursed weapons storeroom at the technical college is a bit complicated because all 3 families of the Three Noble Houses have a vested-interest in it. I'm uncertain how the storeroom was handled before Maki came along.
Q: We saw her using aikido during the Goodwill Exchange Event, but is the foundation of Maki’s close-quarters combat based on aikido?
A: It’s based on Chinese martial arts with many other different styles mixed in.
Q: Toji was said to be the “perfected version of Maki”, but is there a way for Maki to also achieve Toji’s level of physicality?
A: Yes, there is. Maki’s challenge in the future will be to find a way to get closer to that level. Maki’s way of thinking in the past was to compensate for her non-existent cursed energy with her powerful physical strength. After seeing Toji, she shifted her mindset to think about what she does and doesn’t need to discard.
Q: Has Maki's image of Okkotsu changed at all since the first time they met?
A: He went from being an annoying bean sprout to an incredible bean sprout.
Q: Why did she change to black-framed eyeglasses when she became a 2nd year?
A: It was crushed in the volume 0 battle with Geto.
Q: Why does Maki only address Todo by his surname?
A: If the person she’s addressing can’t tell she’s referring to them unless she uses their surname, then she’ll use their surname. Any other instance is just my writing mistake.
*TL courtesy of soukatsu_ (tinyurl.com/tcvxdr5s) and palaboras (tinyurl.com/397wdj6a) on Twitter.
Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu Technical College 2nd Year
BIRTHDAY: March 5th
GRADE: Semi-Grade 2 Sorcerer
ENROLLMENT METHOD: Principal Yaga applied for him
SKILLS: Panda Core
Gorilla Core: Drumming Beat
HOBBIES: Collecting panda merch
FAVORITE FOOD: Calpas (*TN: カルパス - a type of dried sausage snack in Japan. Fun fact, the company Yagai sells Calpas with a Panda as a mascot on the box)
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Bamboo leaves
CAUSE OF STRESS: When animals other than pandas are doted upon
Q: Why didn’t anyone give Panda a name?
A: Because there is only one panda in the school.
Q: How did you come up with this character?
A: It started off as a joke
Q: Do Panda's hands work on touch screens? How do they feel?
A: Yes, and they feel panda-like.
Q: Is Panda paid as a jujutsu sorcerer even though he's a cursed corpse?
A: Yes, but the money is transferred to Yaga and he gives it to Panda as allowance.
Q: Did Yaga give Panda the "I ♥ PANDA" armband he wore in volume 2?
A: Yaga put it on him to hide the marks from Panda's arm being ripped off in volume 0. Panda took it off after his arm was fully healed.
Q: Was Panda created under the premise that it would contain 3 cores?
A: Not so much under a premise, but more like Panda was created because it has 3 cores. It was a mutation after all.
Q: Panda seems to have a good grasp of his brother and sister’s personalities but how do they interact with each other?
A: There isn’t any sort of communication between them. Or maybe one day there will be.
Q: Does Panda’s personality change when he switches cores or do his siblings have no individual consciousness.
A: No, it doesn’t [change].
Q: Does Panda call Yaga “Dad” etc?
A: Masamichi.
*TL courtesy of soukatsu_ (tinyurl.com/4urvm2cy), palaboras (tinyurl.com/kvrzh2u4) and cylverzx (tinyurl.com/76h7n9s9) on Twitter.
Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu Technical College 3rd Year
Q: Please tell us Hakari's full name. Also, what is its meaning?
A: It is Hakari Kinji. He's a gambler.
Q: He looks a bit old, did he repeat a year?
A: He did not.
Q: Is there only one 3rd year student?
A: Currently, I am thinking there are 2. That might change.
Q: Please share anything you can.
A: During the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons, he was sent to Kyoto. He got into a conflict with a conservative*. Beat the shit out of him. Got expelled. (*TN: Conservative probably means someone who sides and thinks the way the higher ups do.)
KYOTO JUJUTSU TECHNICAL COLLEGE STUDENTS
Kyoto Prefectural Jujutsu Technical College 1st Year
AGE: 16
HOBBY/SPECIAL SKILL: Skilled organizer/manager
FAVORITE FOOD: Nanbanzuke (marinated fried fish)
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Any type of mushroom
CAUSE OF STRESS: Being ordered too much by his older sister
Q: He mistakenly thought Itadori was Todo’s younger brother, but isn’t the information about Sukuna’s vessel disseminated within the technical college?
A: Todo always goes Brother this, Brother that so Nitta is left wondering if Itadori is his little brother. Todo’s disinformation is already awful to begin with but it’s also pretty much the first time Nitta has ever worked with Todo. Even if he knew that Itadori is Sukuna’s vessel, he’d probably still think they had a complicated family with different surnames or something, maybe.
Q: Since he’s Nitta Akari’s little brother, does that mean the Nitta family is a family of jujutsu sorcerers?
A: No, the two of them just happened to have the aptitude for it. His big sister was concerned about her little brother so she joined the technical college.
Q: On that topic, does Akari have a cursed technique?
A: She doesn’t. She’s only just barely able to see [curses] so Akari came to the technical college on track to be an assistant director from the beginning. She might have received minimal combat training, but she can’t act in place of a jujutsu sorcerer.
Q: Were he and Mechamaru close?
A: I think Mechamaru looked after him as much as anyone else did.
*TL courtesy of soukatsu_ on Twitter (tinyurl.com/4htxh7fr)
Kyoto Prefectural Jujutsu Technical College 2nd Year
AGE: 16
BIRTHDAY: January 20th
GRADE: Grade 3 Sorcerer
BIRTHPLACE: Kyoto
ENROLLMENT METHOD: Family lineage
CURSED TECHNIQUE: Construction
HOBBY: Cactus
FAVORITE FOOD: Junk food
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Vegetarian cuisine
CAUSE OF STRESS: Todo
Q: What is the meaning of her name?
A: It’s exactly what the kanji means. It’s a contrast with Maki. (*TN: Both Mai and Maki's name contain the kanji 真 - ma meaning “genuine”. Mai's name ends with the kanji 依 - i meaning "rely on", while Maki’s name ends with the kanji 希 - ki meaning "hope")
Q: She can’t build walls with the construction technique, so what can she build?
A: Kinkeshi at best. (One bullet a day is all she can do) (*TN: Kinkeshi are erasers shaped like wrestlers, specifically from the Kinnikuman series)
Q: What kind of pistol does she use?
A: Her usual pistol is probably the same one that Saeba* uses. I’d like her to use a sniper rifle sometime soon. (*TN: Ryo Saeba is the protagonist of the City Hunter series. He uses a Colt Python .357 Magnum)
Q: Wasn’t it cheating for her to shoot from so far away at Nobara, who was just using a squeaky hammer?
A: It wasn’t a real bullet, so it wasn’t cheating. I mean, she’s a sorcerer, so even if she wins by cheating, it’s still a win.
Q: Does she usually have beautiful skin with closed pores?
A: I don’t think her pores were open even then. Kugisaki won by saying it. (*TN: The last part is the Japanese proverb “言ったもん勝ち” roughly meaning “The one who speaks up wins”)
Q: Is she popular (with the boys)?
A: I'd love to see a scene where she gets confessed to, says yes, then rejects them the very next day... she might've been really popular if she hadn't gone to Jujutsu Tech!
Q: Who was Mai's first love?
A: Maybe Fushiguro. The runner-up is a stranger. Maybe Maki, but low chance.
*Some TLs courtesy of palaboras on Twitter (tinyurl.com/36xdx3sn)
Kyoto Prefectural Jujutsu Technical College 2nd Year
AGE: 17
BIRTHDAY: April 4th
BIRTHPLACE: Tokyo
ENROLLMENT METHOD: Scouted
CURSED TECHNIQUE: None
SKILLS: New Shadow Style: Simple Domain (Batto Sword Drawing)
SPECIAL SKILL: Saving money
FAVORITE FOOD: Hotpot
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Coriander
CAUSE OF STRESS: None
Q: How did Miwa Kasumi's character come to be
A: I wanted a girl character who was normal and liked to keep up with current trends.
Q: So if the Miwa in her name comes from being a trend follower (ミーハー), where did Kasumi come from?
A: From an old classmate whose name I thought looked really nice.
Q: How did Miwa get a part-time job as a junior high-school student?
A: It’s actually without permission.
Q: Why was she scouted to be a jujutsu sorcerer?
A: Her hair. Because she can see curses.
Q: Being a jujutsu sorcerer while remaining "pure" is considered pretty unheard of, so what is it about Miwa that allows her to keep that sense of purity?
A: It'd be because her sense of values is pretty down to earth, wouldn't it?
Q: Did she know even a little bit of Mechamaru's feelings towards her?
A: Not sure~
*TL courtesy of soukatsu_ on Twitter (tinyurl.com/2pes7ynh)
Kyoto Prefectural Jujutsu Technical College 2nd Year
AGE OF DEATH: 17
BIRTHDAY: October 4
GRADE: Semi-Grade 1 Sorcerer
ENROLLMENT METHOD: He was in custody of the technical college when he was young. He enrolled when he reached the age of a high school student.
CURSED TECHNIQUE: Puppet Manipulation
SKILLS: New Shadow Style: Simple Domain
Ultimate Mechamaru
Sword Option
Boost On
Ultra Spin
Ultra Cannon
Mode: Albatross (Ultimate Cannon)
Sword Option: Ultra Shield
Ultimate Mechamaru Mode: Absolute
One Year Charge - Ultra Cannon
Two Year Charge - Miracle Cannon
Five Year Charge - Vision Viola
HEAVENLY RESTRICTION: Extensive range of techniques and cursed energy output beyond measure
SPECIAL SKILL: Group Action (*TN: Group Action = synchronized marching and actions)
FAVORITE FOOD: Flavorful food
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Raw food
CAUSE OF STRESS: He's always stressed
Q: What is the origin of his name?
A: It’s exactly as the kanji sounds. (*TN: Kokichi is composed of the kanji 幸 - kō meaning "good luck/fortune" and "happiness", and 吉 - kichi meaning "good luck")
Q: How did you come up with Kokichi as a character?
A: It’s because I wanted to do a huge robot later on.
Q: Why does he have his hair up in a topknot?
A: Because he can't go to the barber to get his haircut. His fringe is fine, though.
Q: Is Kokichi on good terms with his parents?
A: His parents think that he died long before he was killed by Mahito. It’s what Kokichi wished for. His parents are non-sorcerers.
Q: Who took care of him/his surroundings?
A: The Mechamarus.
Q: Where did he change clothes after being cured by Idle Transfiguration and before fighting Mahito?
A: Inside the Absolute Mode of Ultimate Mechamaru
Q: Are his memories still inside mini Mechamaru?
A: They're there but I guess it's more accurate to call it information, not memories. The real person is long gone. Please think of it as extremely well-delivered final words.
*Some TLs courtesy of kaikaikitan (tinyurl.com/m5wzrzr5), palaboras (tinyurl.com/3t445zad) and soukatsu_ (tinyurl.com/4dvjyncs) on Twitter
Kyoto Prefectural Jujutsu Technical College 3rd Year
AGE: 18
BIRTHDAY: June 5th
GRADE: Semi-Grade 1 Sorcerer
BIRTHPLACE: Kyoto
ENROLLMENT METHOD: Family lineage
CURSED TECHNIQUE: Blood Manipulation
SKILLS: Flowing Red Scale
Crimson Binding
Slicing Exorcism
Convergence
Piercing Blood
HOBBY/SPECIAL SKILL: Studying (He's trying to get a 900+ score on the TOEIC)
FAVORITE FOOD: Coffee
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Southeast Asian food (*TN: エスニック literally means ethnic food but in Japan that just usually means SEA cuisine.)
CAUSE OF STRESS: Todo
Q: What is the origin of his name?
A: I wanted it to have an onmyoji feel to it. (*TN: Like Kamo no Yasunori, one of the most famous onmyoji in Japan's history. You can read more about the onmyoji here)
Q: Is it necessary for Noritoshi, the next head of the Kamo family, to attend a technical college?
A: It is not necessary for someone from the Big Three Families to attend a technical college. But Noritoshi tends to be very strict on himself. He left home to attend Jujutsu Tech in order to please his mother by getting recognition of his competency from not only the Three Families but also the technical college organization.
Q: What did Kamo say was his type [of person] that disappointed Todo so much?
A: He didn't give an answer so Todo tutted and then kicked his ass.
Q: Is there any meaning to the blood markings that appear when using Flowing Red Scale?
A: There is no meaning to it.
*Some TLs courtesy of soukatsu_ (tinyurl.com/d9fyx4w) and kaikaikitan (tinyurl.com/s53v5zr7) on Twitter
Kyoto Prefectural Jujutsu Technical College 3rd Year
AGE: 18
BIRTHDAY: September 23
GRADE: Grade 1 Sorcerer
ENROLLMENT METHOD: Scouted
CURSED TECHNIQUE: Boogie Woogie
SKILLS: Has experienced Black Flash
HOBBY: Takada-chan
FAVORITE FOOD: Skirt steak
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: None
CAUSE OF STRESS: Boredom
Q: What is the origin of his name?
A: I wanted a name that was incongruent with the typical image of a macho man. And it had to sound nice.
Q: How did you come up with this character?
A: He's my version of Zaraki Kenpachi (from Bleach), because I felt like Gojo wasn't really Zaraki Kenpachi.
Q: Please tell us the background behind his enrollment.
A: Tsukumo’s recommendation.
Q: Is Tsukumo, who is tall, Todo's ideal type?
A: I think it's more accurate to say that Tsukumo was the origin of that preference.
Q: When and how did he get the scar on his face?
A: It’s because of Tsukumo’s extreme training.
Q: Did Takada-chan recognize him?
A: He was recognized.
Q: Other than Yuji and Mahito, who knows the details of his technique?
A: His master Tsukumo. I think a few others.
Q: What kind of otaku is he during live performances?
A: The "boyfriend that stands at the back" type. (*TN: The term used [後方彼氏面 - kouhou kareshi-men] refers to idol fans who want to seem cool during shows and stand in the back looking serious and don't get too excited.)
*Some TLs courtesy of kaikaikitan on Twitter (tinyurl.com/m5wzrzr5) remaining questions were translated from the official PT-BR version of the fanbook by anon.
Kyoto Prefectural Jujutsu Technical College 3rd Year
AGE: 18
BIRTHDAY: July 7
ENROLLMENT METHOD: Family Lineage
CURSED TECHNIQUE: Tool Manipulation
SPECIAL SKILL: Food plating
FAVORITE FOOD: Fresh Cream
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Crab
CAUSE OF STRESS: Todo
Q: How did you come up with Nishimiya Momo?
A: I wanted a character with an easily recognizable silhouette.
Q: Where does her name come from?
A: Witches come from the west.
Q: Does she come from a family of sorcerers?
A: Her American dad is a sorcerer. This is a rare case.
Q: She's bilingual then?
A: Probably.
Q: The three Kyoto School girls are good friends. If Kugisaki also went to the Kyoto School, would they be friends?
A: Yes.
Q: Is flying her cursed technique? Or does she use a cursed tool?
A: She can't fly without the broom, but controlling the broom is part of her technique.
*TL courtesy of alachat_ on Twitter (tinyurl.com/2r77ffp2)
JUJUTSU TECHNICAL COLLEGE PERSONNEL
Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu Technical College 1st Year Teacher
AGE: 28
BIRTHDAY: December 7th
GRADE: Special Grade Sorcerer
ENROLLMENT METHOD: Family lineage
CURSED TECHNIQUE: Limitless
SKILLS: Cursed Technique Reversal: Red
Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue
Hollow Purple
Domain Expansion: Unlimited Void
Reverse Cursed Technique
Some experience with Black Flash
HOBBY/SPECIAL SKILL: None (Because he can do practically anything he attempts)
FAVORITE FOOD: Any kind of sweet food
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Alcohol
CAUSE OF STRESS: Interacting with the higher-ups
Q: How did you come up with his character?
A: I wanted an uncomplicated power-ceiling/pinnacle.
Q: What was his first impression when he first met Geto?
A: Bangs.
Q: What are you particular about when you draw him?
A: By about halfway through the story, I started properly trying to draw him as handsomely as possible.
Q: Back when he was a student, he used to say “It’s exhausting having to look after the weak”, but how does he feel about that now?
A: I suppose it’s still exhausting, even if it’s not as exhausting as it used to be.
Q: He once entered such a state of mind where he would say “Should we kill these people? I probably wouldn’t feel anything, with the way I am right now” as he stood in front of the members of the Star Religious Group, but there’s no sign of that mindset now - is it because he has grown up?
A: Rather than growing up, at that time, Gojo was using Geto’s moral judgment as a gauge for what was right and wrong, as his own principles.
Q: Did he have a rough time after Geto became a curse user?
A: He seems to have pulled himself together after that.
Q: Are the members of the Gojo family alive and well?
A: Maybe.
Q: Are his grades in subjects like general education, etc, any good?
A: His grades in the science subjects would be good I think… My grades were like... not good so he’s… like that...
Q: Is he actually able to teach anything other than jujutsu as a teacher?
A: He sort of can, but he doesn’t seem to have any kind of teaching license. The general subjects are covered by the assistant directors and the windows.
Q: How much sleep does he get?
A: Seems like not much.
Q: He seems to be aware that he’s super handsome, but doesn’t he want a lover?
A: I can’t imagine Gojo being faithful to any particular woman.
Q: He usually wears a blindfold, but can he see?
A: The Six-Eyes essentially is "eyes that see cursed energy extremely clearly". Even covering his eyes, it is like he has high definition infrared vision. Even objects that have no cursed energy can be made out by the remnants of cursed energy or the flow of cursed energy around them. So if he is not covering his eyes, even while he uses Reverse Curse Technique to keep his brain fresh, its a bit tiring for him. If a normal person wore Gojo's sunglasses, it would be completely black and they would be unable to see through them.
Q: Why did he go to meet Megumi after hearing about him from Toji?
A: To recruit a talented individual.
Q: Why did he offer to help problem children like Okkotsu and Itadori?
A: Because they’re powerful, so he doesn’t care about the other details.
Q: Why did he teach Itadori how to defeat shikigami users?
A: As Sukuna has sort of mentioned, there are a lot of shikigami users out there.
Q: Why does he address his students by their first names?
A: I haven’t thought of a particular reason why. Otaku like me are the ones to think about what it means to call someone by their first name, and Gojo doesn’t seem to think along those lines.
*TL courtesy of soukatsu_ on Twitter (tinyurl.com/544sjjcu)
Kyoto Prefectural Jujutsu Technical College Principal
AGE: 76
HOBBY/SPECIAL SKILL: Guitar (He can do all kinds of light music instruments) (*TN: This can be anything from guitars to drums, bass, synths, etc.)
FAVORITE FOOD: Tempura
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Horse meat
CAUSE OF STRESS: Gojo
Q: What is the origin of his name?
A: Gakki gakki! Something like that. (*TN: Gakuganji sounds like "gakki" [楽器], which means "musical instruments".)
Q: Why did he try to kill Itadori at the Exchange Event when Itadori himself agreed to be executed after collecting all of Sukuna’s fingers?
A: Because Gojo’s ego pushed him over the edge. Not everyone agreed with it. (*Note: Meaning not everyone agreed with letting Itadori consume all 20 fingers before being executed.)
Q: Please tell us about his character design.
A: I wavered between Chairman Netero (from Hunter x Hunter) and Captain-Commander Yamamoto (from Bleach), and this was the result.
Q: How is his relationship with Principal Yaga of the Tokyo College?
A: Not bad.
Q: How is his relationship with the Big 3 Families?
A: Conservatives are good friends with the Kamo family.
Q: It said he's recruiting a drummer but what about other band members?
A: They all died.
*Some TLs courtesy of palaboras on Twitter (tinyurl.com/54363t47)
Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu Technical College Principal
AGE: 47
GRADE: Grade 1 Sorcerer
CURSED TECHNIQUE: Puppet Manipulation
HOBBY: Collecting sunglasses, cute things
FAVORITE FOOD: Smoked daikon pickles
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Sweet liquor
CAUSE OF STRESS: Giving Gojo direct orders in person
Q: Do tell us the origin of his name.
A: It's a blend of various different things. (*TN: The kanji 夜 - ya means "night" and 蛾 - ga means "moth", while the kanji for Masamichi - 正道 means "the right path/path of righteousness")
Q: He's known Gojo since he was a student, right? Are they on good terms?
A: Yes. He's one of the few people who understands Gojo.
Q: Has there ever been any applicants that he didn’t admit, even though they had the talent, depending on the answer for the interview?
A: Itadori was just an exception, that’s usually done after the admission.
Q: What sort of relationship do Yaga and Panda have when they're communicating with each other?
A: They're like father and son.
Q: He wasn’t wearing sunglasses in the Hidden Inventory arc, when did he start wearing them?
A: When he became the principal.
*TL courtesy of palaboras (tinyurl.com/sxwnkh29) and cylverzx (tinyurl.com/76h7n9s9) on Twitter.
Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu Technical College 2nd Year Teacher
GRADE: Grade 1 Sorcerer
CURSED TECHNIQUE: None
SKILLS: New Shadow Style: Batto Sword Drawing
Evening Moon Sword Drawing
HOBBY/SPECIAL SKILL: Fishing
FAVORITE FOOD: Torotaku-maki (fatty tuna and pickled radish roll)
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Tuna eyeballs
CAUSE OF STRESS: All missions
Q: Where does he get his name?
A: From a certain actor.
Q: Does he like lollipops?
A: It's because he quit smoking.
Q: Is it possible for a jujutsu sorcerer like Kusakabe, who doesn't possess any cursed techniques, to teach lessons about jujutsu?
A: It's possible. Having a cursed technique doesn't put anyone at an advantage when it comes to teaching unless you're teaching someone with the same technique.
Q: Since he is a conservative, did Kusakabe put up any resistance to becoming the homeroom teacher of the (former) problem child Okkotsu?
A: Kusakabe isn't so much a conservative as he just finds most things to be a pain in the ass to do, so he does it with the mindset that if he can get paid to teach (= no risk to his life), then that way is easiest.
Q: How did he become able to use New Shadow Style?
A: He had to learn in order to live as a jujutsu sorcerer, since he didn't have an innate technique. I don't think he achieved it on his own with a very positive mindset.
*TL courtesy of soukatsu_ on Twitter (tinyurl.com/w98z4t5c)
Kyoto Prefectural Jujutsu Technical College Teacher
AGE: 31
BIRTHDAY: February 18th
GRADE: Semi-Grade 1 Sorcerer
HOBBY/SPECIAL SKILL: Watching sports games, karaoke
FAVORITE FOOD: Alcohol (Beer)
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Sweet things
CAUSE OF STRESS: Gojo
Q: What is the origin of her name?
A: Just like, a song!
Q: So is Utahime good at singing?
A: She's great at it. It's a huge part of her cursed technique.
Q: When did the teasing from Gojo start?
A: Utahime's "You should respect your seniors" vs Gojo's "Doesn't matter to me~~" After that, it became a reflex.
Q: Do the students at Kyoto Jujutsu Tech like Utahime?
A: They all love their Utahime-sensei.
Q: Does Utahime have any favorite teams since she likes watching sports?
A: Sanfrecce Hiroshima (football), Saitama Seibu Lions (baseball).
*TL courtesy of soukatsu_ on Twitter (tinyurl.com/pwx47en5)
Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu Technical College Doctor
AGE: 28
BIRTHDAY: November 7
SKILLS: Reverse Cursed Technique
HOBBY/SPECIAL SKILL: Alcohol
FAVORITE FOOD: Alcohol
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Sweet things
CAUSE OF STRESS: Night shift
Q: How did you come up with her and her character design?
A: I love House M.D. (the TV series), hence the name (*TN: Ieiri is composed of the characters for "house" 家 and "enter" 入). Her design is a mixture of Okkotsu and Rika.
Q: What does she think about Geto becoming a curse user?
A: "What an idiot~"
Q: Did she drink more after she stopped smoking 5 years ago?
A: She already drank a lot before she quit smoking. She's a heavy drinker. She drinks like a fish.
Q: Is she on Gojo's side (against the higher-ups)?
A: She doesn't care. But she leans towards those she's close to.
Q: After graduating from the technical college, she cheated her way to a doctor's license. How?
A: She did take the national examination properly, but she faked documents to meet the exam eligibility requirements.
Q: Is Reversed Cursed Technique her only skill?
A: Yes. At this point in time, only Ieiri, Okkotsu and Sukuna can heal other people by using the positive energy that is released by the Reverse Cursed Technique.
Q: Since (Geto defected), has her personality changed?
A: Since she has been working more with her juniors, she's become more flexible in how she works.
Q: She didn't have dark under-eye circles back then. Has she been working too much recently?
A: Those with injuries that require a lot of attention are usually brought to Ieiri-san, so she's very busy.
*TL courtesy of alachat_ on Twitter (tinyurl.com/z58rwdfw)
Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu Technical College Assistant Director
AGE: 27
BIRTHDAY: April 20
CURSED TECHNIQUE: None
SPECIAL SKILL: Microsoft Excel
FAVORITE FOOD: Udon
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Spicy food
CAUSE OF STRESS: Gojo
Q: What is the origin of his name?
A: Please Google Asian Kung-Fu Generation/Drummer… I’ve already been caught by him… (*TN: The drummer’s name is Kiyoshi Ijichi)
Q: How did you come up with Ijichi Kiyotaka as a character?
A: I wanted a decent guy.
Q: Why did he change his goal from being a sorcerer to being an assistant director?
A: It’s because his mentality is not suited for it.
Q: He’s an assistant director, but did he do missions with other people when he was a student?
A: He did. Some students want to become assistant directors from the beginning.
Q: If he's in a situation where he has to fight, what level of cursed spirit can he defeat?
A: 3rd Grade.
Q: Is he thought of very highly amongst the other assistant directors?
A: He's extremely well-respected. If anyone is ever troubled by Gojo, they run to Ijichi to cry about it.
*Some TLs courtesy of palaboras on Twitter (tinyurl.com/34c8sks3)
Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu Technical College Assistant Director
CURSED TECHNIQUE: None
HOBBY: Car Customization
FAVORITE FOOD: Yakisoba Noodles with thick sauce (preferably mustard)
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Monkfish liver
CAUSE OF STRESS: When her little brother doesn’t listen to her
Q: Is she performing well as an assistant director?
A: She’s pretty new to the job. She’s only getting started!
Q: How did you come up with her name and her character?
A: I wanted a radiant character.
Q: Did Nitta become assistant director after graduating from the technical college?
A: She aspired to be an assistant director from the very start. It was so that she could keep an eye on her little brother. She graduated from Kyoto Jujutsu Tech, by the way.
Q: What is the reason or influence behind why she ends all her sentences with -ssu?
A: To portray a casual but respectful way of speaking while downplaying her Kansai accent. She’s an ex-delinquent.
Q: How much contact does she have with Ijichi? From what we can assume about her age, is she in the same year as Ino?
A: Ijichi is a senior whom she respects. Ino is another story.
*TL courtesy of soukatsu_ on Twitter (tinyurl.com/4htxh7fr)
SORCERERS
The 26th Head of the Zenin Family
AGE: 71
GRADE: Special Grade 1 Sorcerer
CURSED TECHNIQUE: Projection Sorcery
SKILLS: Falling Blossom Emotion
HOBBY/SPECIAL SKILL: Anime
FAVORITE FOOD: Alcohol (Japanese rice wine)
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Pounded Fish Cake
STRESS SOURCE: The Gojo Family
Q: Is there anything you're particular about when drawing him?
A: Dalí. (*TN: As in, the surrealist artist Salvador Dalí)
Q: Why didn’t Naobito make a move at all even during the Shibuya Incident emergency?
A: He doesn’t get along with the Gojo family. He’s not interested in ordinary people.
Q: What is the origin of his name?
A: I wanted to create an atmosphere of strength.
Q: He lives in Kyoto right? Why did he come all the way to Tokyo Shibuya to fight?
A: Special Grade 1 sorcerer refers to those outside of the technical school system (ungraded active sorcerers) whose power is considered Grade 1. So Naobito often comes to Tokyo to help out. (The paychecks are huge)
Q: How did Naobito become the Zenin family’s head?
A: Simply because he’s a strong sorcerer. If it's only based on strength then Toji is also the same, but without cursed tools Toji can only fight against humans.
Q: Looking at Projection Sorcery, he seems to be quite well-versed in animation production?
A: It's both Naobito and Gege's personal hobby. The technique is about image media, born at the same time with cameras. When it got to Naobito's era, it evolved once more with 24fps animation.
*Some TLs courtesy of kaikaikitan on Twitter (tinyurl.com/m5wzrzr5)
Jujutsu Sorcerer
AGE: 28
BIRTHDAY: July 3rd
GRADE: Grade 1 Sorcerer
ENROLLMENT METHOD: Scouted
CURSED TECHNIQUE: 7:3 Ratio Technique
SKILLS: Ratio Technique: Collapse
Has experience with Black Flash
HOBBY/SPECIAL SKILL: Drinking, cooking for himself
FAVORITE FOOD: Bread, ajillo
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Flat noodles
CAUSE OF STRESS: Overtime work
Q: How did Nanami’s character come into being? Did you use a model?
A: I created his character as a symbol of the corporate dropout. There wasn’t any particular model. I actually envisioned him as an enemy character at the beginning.
Q: What is the origin of his name?
A: The 7:3 ratio side part hairstyle.
Q: Which came first, his name or his technique?
A: Probably both at the same time, because he was a character I decided on pretty early on.
Q: Who was he fighting when he managed the four consecutive Black Flashes?
A: When he took on several Grade 1 cursed spirits during the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons in Kyoto.
Q: Does he ever want to get married?
A: Not while he’s working as a jujutsu sorcerer, it seems.
Q: Why did you choose to make his grandfather Danish?
A: I imagined they have a strong sense towards others’ welfare. Nanami does. (I’ve never been overseas.)
Q: What did he think of Geto becoming a curse user?
A: He can’t say he blames him for switching.
Q: What are the disadvantages of his Overtime Binding Vow, in terms of it being a binding vow?
A: Okay but overtime work is a downside of life, you know! But by limiting himself to 80-90% while on the clock, he can reach 110-120% output during overtime with his binding vow. Of course, he can always overcome the limit and get to 100% while on shift, but then he’d probably only get 101% during overtime.
Q: What does he usually do after he leaves work on time?
A: He eats, drinks, and reads. He mostly stays at home.
Q: Does Nanami still visit that one bakery?
A: He hasn’t been back there since (the flashback). But it isn’t because he was avoiding it.
Q: When did you decide on Nanami’s ending in the Shibuya arc?
A: When I first decided I’d do the Shibuya arc. I honestly like Nanami as a character and he’s easy to maneuver in the story, but in terms of his role in the plot and which characters had to move on, I knew this was the only way.
*TL courtesy of soukatsu_ on Twitter (tinyurl.com/4rd6rxvp)
Jujutsu Sorcerer
AGE: 21
GRADE: Grade 2 Sorcerer
ENROLLMENT METHOD: Family lineage
CURSED TECHNIQUE: Séance Technique
SKILLS: Auspicious Beasts Summon:
(1) Kaichi
(2) Reiki
(3) Kirin
(4) Ryuu
HOBBY: Nomikai (Drinking parties)
FAVORITE FOOD: Aji fry (Deep-fried horse mackerel)
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Sunomono (*TN: Basically a side dish of cucumber marinated in vinegar)
CAUSE OF STRESS: None
Q: How did Ino’s character come to be?
A: I wanted to introduce [to the story] a guy with really strong kouhai energy.
Q: Why did you reveal his profile so early on in the volume?
A: His profile was really easy to come up with.
Q: What is the origin of his name?
A: From one of my high school classmates, Itou Takuma. He [Ino] doesn’t look like him much now in recent chapters but his face when he first appeared in the manga looked a bit like Takuma [Itou].
*TL courtesy of soukatsu_ on Twitter (tinyurl.com/kw8wk66t)
Jujutsu Sorcerer
GRADE: Grade 1 Sorcerer
ENROLLMENT METHOD: Family lineage
CURSED TECHNIQUE: Black Bird Manipulation
SKILLS: Black Bird Manipulation: Bird Strike
HOBBY/SPECIAL SKILL: High speed cash counting
FAVORITE FOOD: Bak Kut Teh (a type of Malaysian soup, lit. meat bone tea)
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: None
CAUSE OF STRESS: Taxes
Q: When did she become a freelance jujutsu sorcerer?
A: Immediately after graduating from the technical college.
Q: How much money does she have saved up?
A: Almost enough to do the Surpassing the Leader challenge. (*TN: It's a reference to Usogui. Gege's saying that she almost has enough money to do the Surpassing the Leader challenge, which requires 50 billion yen as one of its conditions.)
Q: Is that her real name?
A: It’s an alias.
Q: Why does she hoard money?
A: I feel like she just enjoys the game of saving money, rather than doing anything underhanded with it.
Q: Has she ever used Bird Strike on Gojo?
A: Gojo asked her to do it as an experiment, in the aftermath of his battle with Toji.
*TL courtesy of soukatsu_ on Twitter (tinyurl.com/yyn4c7vc)
Jujutsu Sorcerer
SKILLS: New Shadow Style: Simple Domain
HOBBY/SPECIAL SKILL: Managing his older sister's schedule
FAVORITE FOOD: Pisan Goreng (type of Indonesian fried banana)
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: None, because he doesn't leave food uneaten in front of his sister
STRESS SOURCE: Not being with his sister
Q: Is he Mei Mei’s real younger brother? Is Mei Mei his only sibling?
A: He’s her real little brother. They don’t have any other siblings.
Q: If he’s able to carry his sister’s ax, does that mean that Ui Ui has really high physical ability? Are there many jujutsu sorcerers his age?
A: He’s a jujutsu sorcerer so carrying that ax isn’t an issue. I don’t think there are very many his age.
Q: Is there a reason for the restriction on Ui Ui using jujutsu since it seems he requires Mei Mei’s “permission” before he can use a jujutsu technique?
A: A binding vow. Stemmed from Ui Ui’s own wish to belong to his elder sister.
*TL courtesy of soukatsu_ on Twitter (tinyurl.com/yyn4c7vc)
Jujutsu Sorcerer
GRADE: Special Grade Sorcerer
HOBBIES/SPECIAL SKILL: Motorcycles
FAVORITE FOOD: Chicken burrito
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Anything related to seaweed
CAUSE OF STRESS: Missions
Q: In the Hidden Inventory arc, did Yuki go to the technical college to meet Geto?
A: Not Geto, but Gojo.
Q: How come she hasn't been fired from the technical college if she's traveling around the world without taking on missions?
A: Because she's a Special Grade Sorcerer. I think maybe her salary payments were frozen though.
Q: Did Yuki meet 3rd-grader Todo by accident? Or did she go to see him on purpose?
A: It happened by chance.
* TL courtesy of soukatsu_ on Twitter (tinyurl.com/4hxpktvy)
Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu Technical College 2nd Year (At that time)
AGE OF DEATH: 17
HOBBY/SPECIAL SKILL: Healthy appetite
FAVORITE FOOD: Rice
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: None
CAUSE OF STRESS: None
Q: If still alive, what would Haibara think of Geto violating jujutsu regulations?
A: "That's bananas" (*TN: Gege made a food pun that's hard to translate. He said "そんなバナナ - son'na banana" which is just banana instead of "バカナ - bakana")
Q: How did he come to worship Geto? Did he also worship Gojo?
A: He basically sees the best in people, so he respects everyone.
Q: Did Haibara get along with Nanami? There were only 2 of them in the class right?
A: They were good friends. Since it was just the two of them, Nanami was alone after he died.
*TL courtesy of kaikaikitan (tinyurl.com/3b4k7xuu) and soukatsu_ (tinyurl.com/f42tktwv) on Twitter
CURSE USERS
Curse User
AGE: 27 (*Note: 26 in the fanbook was a typo)
BIRTHDAY: February 3rd (*Note: Setsubun, a day where you drive out evil spirits to bring in good luck. )
GRADE: Special-Grade Curse User
ENROLLMENT METHOD: Scouted
CURSED TECHNIQUE: Cursed Spirit Manipulation
SKILLS: Maximum: Uzumaki
Special-Grade Vengeful Spirit: Tamamo-No-Mae
Rainbow Dragon
The Scissor Woman, and others
HOBBY/SPECIAL SKILL: Martial arts
FAVORITE FOOD: Cold soba (zaru soba) (*TN: This is probably a pun since zaru sounds similar to saru, which means "monkey")
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: None
CAUSE OF STRESS: Ingesting cursed spirits
Q: How did his character come to be?
A: I wanted to draw a guy with a bias.
Q: What is the origin of his name?
A: The Geto Kogen Ski Resort.
Q: What are you particular about regarding Geto’s character design?
A: Bangs.
Q: Does Geto know of Ijichi?
A: Geto was already spiraling by the time Ijichi enrolled in the school so I don’t think they ever interacted.
Q: Can the Cursed Spirit Manipulation technique reassemble or combine cursed spirits?
A: It can but there’d be no point in doing so because it’s much more difficult to use the cursed technique of more powerful cursed spirits. It’s better and more powerful to go for quantity, hence Maximum Uzumaki. Uzumaki actually has a side effect that can be unlocked when used but… we’ll get to that soon.
Q: Did he actually go eat crepes with Mimiko and Nanako on Takeshita Street?
A: He only ate what Mimiko and Nanako recommended to him. After his defection, Geto did as much as he could to obtain food, clothing and shelter without involving non-jujutsu sorcerers. But he didn’t force the other members of his family to do the same.
Q: Gojo seems to be popular with women but is Geto the same?
A: Geto is even more popular.
Q: Does he keep track of each and every cursed spirit he’s ever ingested?
A: He does.
Q: How does he find such powerful vengeful spirits and cursed spirits to use as pawns?
A: Think of it like "How do you like Wednesday?" (*TN: How do you like Wednesday? 水曜どうでしょう is a famous TV series in Japan that started in 1996. It basically means that Geto went on expeditions to find the cursed spirits and capture them)
Q: Does his monkey comment regarding non-jujutsu sorcerers come from Fushiguro Toji’s “Monkeys like me who can’t even use cursed energy” line?
A: That sounds right. But Geto was asleep at the time so… sleep-learning.
Q: What did the cursed spirit that can store objects say (to Geto)?
A: I think it was "Mom”.
Q: Does his personality change between his time as a student at Jujutsu Tech and the Night Parade of 100 Demons?
A: Quite a bit. He’s been reiterating to himself that he despises non-sorcerers ever since that time [that he defected].
Q: Fake Geto’s hand moved on its own (after Gojo said "How are you gonna let yourself get used like that... Suguru?") during the Shibuya Incident. How much of Geto’s will still remains?
A: Not much. It’s like when a dragonfly can still move a bit when its head is ripped off.
*TL courtesy of soukatsu_ on Twitter (tinyurl.com/36kdvjuw)
Curse User
Q: Was there a way to have prevented Fake Geto from taking over Geto’s body after his death?
A: If Gojo had cremated him on the spot.
Q: Why’d doesn’t he heal the scar on his forehead?
A: It’s a binding vow. As you can probably guess, he could just use Reverse Cursed Technique.
Q: Is the “brain” in his head its true form?
A: The brain is part of the physical body of the curse user that has taken over Geto’s body. So it’s visible even to ordinary people. It’s a cursed technique that allows for body switching, like Orochimaru does. I imagine the brain can have two cursed techniques - his own, and the original cursed technique of the hijacked body. When the brain takes over, the original cursed technique should disappear but it has different ways to get around that.
Q: Do the curses know that fake Geto is actually just someone who took over his body?
A: They don't. They think he's a curse user that just happens to be knowledgeable about various things. Only Choso is... More about this to come in the future
Q: He seems to look down on the cursed spirits he’s conspiring with, but aren’t they aware of that?
A: There’s no issue since the feeling goes both ways. It’s a strictly business-like relationship.
Q: Would he be able to use the Cursed Spirit Manipulation technique to control Jogo or Hanami, or even Mahito if he wanted to?
A: If they were one-on-one fights. But I think he’d have a really hard time with Jogo and Mahito.
Q: Did he ever consider taking over Gojo Satoru or Fushiguro Toji?
A: Gojo is impossible. To put it simply, you can’t kill him. Toji wouldn’t be impossible to take over but there’s a risk of Toji’s Heavenly Restriction and Fake Geto’s own cursed technique clashing when he takes over the body, and causing some kind of malfunction; so taking over either of those two doesn’t make much sense.
*TL courtesy of soukatsu_ (tinyurl.com/36kdvjuw) and _zanzou_ (tinyurl.com/cx4hjm3p) on Twitter
Curse Users
Q: Did Geto Suguru raise Nanako and Mimiko ever since the day he saved them?
A: Yep. Papa Geto.
Q: What is their family name?
A: Hasaba.
Q: What is the relationship between them?
A: Twins. One is liked by otakus, the other is avoided by otakus.
*Some TLs courtesy of soukatsu_ on Twitter (tinyurl.com/7tmy6uby)
Curse User
Q: Why did he become a curse user in Japan?
A: It’s not that he became one in Japan, but rather he came to Japan because Geto scouted him from overseas.
Q: We have seen Miguel with Okkotsu on volume 4 page 155, did he get caught by the technical college?
A: He was caught by Gojo and was forced to take in Okkotsu.
Q: Is there any new information about Miguel?
A: He’s strong.
*Some TLs courtesy of _maihor (tinyurl.com/khde23n4) and kaikaikitan (tinyurl.com/m5wzrzr5) on Twitter
Curse User
Q: What’s her reason for joining Geto?
A: Oh! A handsome man!
Q: Do you have any new information about her?
A: She's older than Geto.
Curse User
Q: What’s his reason for joining Geto?
A: Oh! A handsome man!
Q: Do you have any new information about him?
A: He's the same age as Geto.
Curse User
Q: What’s his reason for joining Geto?
A: His situation was about the same as Mimiko and Nanako.
Q: Do you have any new information about him?
A: He's not so strong.
Curse User
Q: Why does Juzo always want to make objects out of people?
A: He also makes objects out of other things.
Q: What is the origin of his name?
A: Assemble! That’s it~~!! (*TN: Kumiya has the kanji 組 which means “to assemble [things]”)
Q: Did he really agree to work with Getwo just because he wanted to make a hanger rack?
A: Yes, he did. The materials were too good [to pass up]. It felt like Monster Hunter.
Curse User
Q: Why did he become a sorcerer?
A: He could be an errand boy, but he’s not the type of person that can follow rules.
Curse Users
AGE: 87
CURSED TECHNIQUE: Necromancy
Q: What is Granny Ogami’s real name?
A: Granny Ogami is Granny Ogami!
Curse User
AGE: 61
CURSED TECHNIQUE: Inverse
Q: What is the motif for his character design?
A: It’s an upside-down painting motif.
Curse User
Q: Is the cursed spirit that accompanies him a pet?
A: It's a stray that he captured.
Curse Users
Q: What is the origin of their codenames?
A: Sausages. (*TN: From the Japanese sausage brands "Koukun" and "The Grand Altbayern".)
Q: What happened to them after they were captured by Gojo and Geto (in volume 8)?
A: Depending on the case, it's possible that they were killed.
Curse User
Q: How long has Uraume been with Sukuna?
A: For a thousand years, faithfully. They can cook delicious meals, so they were allowed to stand with Sukuna. And of course, they are a sorcerer.
Q: So Uraume is a cook?
A: Sukuna also eats people, but it's hard to cook people. And among the already small pool of people with that experience, Uraume was gifted with that talent... something like that.
FUSHIGURO TOJI
Sorcerer Killer
BIRTHDAY: December 31st
CURSED TECHNIQUE: None
HEAVENLY RESTRICTION: Physically Gifted
HOBBY: Gambling
FAVORITE FOOD: Meat and animal organs (Liver, heart etc)
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Alcohol (Because he can’t get drunk at all)
CAUSE OF STRESS: The Zenin family
Q: What is the origin of his name?
A: It’s exactly what the kanji means. (*TN: The kanji in Toji means "tremendous/gifted" 甚, and "second" 爾)
Q: How long was he a part of the Zenin family, and what kind of harassment was he subjected to for the time he was there?
A: Since he was a child. He was thrown into a swarm of cursed spirits. The scar at the bottom corner of his mouth is from that time.
Q: How is he blood-related to Naobito, Maki and Mai?
A: Toji is the son of Naobito’s elder brother; Maki and Mai are the daughters of Naobito’s younger brother. Toji, Maki and Mai don’t know each other
Q: Would he be considered the equivalent of a Special-Grade jujutsu sorcerer?
A: The jujutsu society has no intention of issuing a classification for those with a Physically Gifted Heavenly Restriction.
Q: How did he get his hands on such expensive Special-Grade cursed tools when he had no money?
A: After he left his family, he took on personal commissions from individuals.
Q: How did he manage to establish a master-servant relationship with a cursed spirit that could store weapons?
A: He just trained it, like with a dog or a cat. He was able to become its master, but it’s not a relationship of trust like with a pet.
Q: If he hadn’t killed himself during the Shibuya Incident, would he have come back to life the way he was at the moment?
A: If he hadn’t killed himself, he might have stayed that way but he was in a glitched state so I honestly have no idea what would have happened. I don’t think Toji holds much interest in the world in the first place. Personally, I think that [resurrected] Toji is nothing more than an entity overwritten with Toji’s information, so it wasn’t an actual resurrection.
*TL courtesy of soukatsu_ on Twitter (tinyurl.com/4k6ekhyk)
Former Detective
BIRTHPLACE: South Korea
HOBBY/SPECIAL SKILL: Tropical fish
FAVORITE FOOD: Tobacco, cheese
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Black beans
CAUSE OF STRESS: Business entertainment (*TN: Basically, wining and dining business clients)
Q: Please tell us the origin of his name.
A: From Ping Pong character China. (*TN: Ping Pong is a manga series from 1996, China’s name is Kong Wenge)
Q: Why does he look like this?
A: I feel like he’s a thinner version of Ma Dong-seok/Don Lee.
Q: He seems to know who Megumi is, but does Megumi remember him?
A: He (Megumi) doesn’t remember. He only met him when he was little. It was after Megumi’s mother died, when Toji had to take care of baby Megumi and Kon Shiu visited them.
Q: Does he have a cursed technique?
A: He doesn’t. He can see curses.
Q: For how long has he known Toji?
A: For a long time. Over 10 years?
Q: Is there a reason for making his nationality Korean?
A: It’s Akutami’s hobby. I like Korean movies, and recently I was addicted to Nizi Project* (and through that JYP). My favorite Korean movies, aside from Bong Joon-ho’s works, are The Man From Nowhere and A Hard Day. (*TN: Nizi Project is an idol debut survival show)
YOSHINO JUNPEI
Satozakura High 2nd Year
AGE OF DEATH: 17
BIRTHPLACE: Kanagawa
TECHNIQUES: Shikigami: Moon Dregs
HOBBY/SPECIAL SKILL: Watching movies
FAVORITE FOOD: Crab omelet on rice
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Herring roe (Kazunoko)
CAUSE OF STRESS: School
Q: What is the origin of his name?
A: A feeling of normalcy. I wanted to give it the impression of an ordinary person.
Q: Was he able to see cursed spirits from an early age?
A: Somehow he started to see them before the incident [at the movie theater], but it became clearer after being exposed to the Special Grade (Mahito).
Q: What happened to his father?
A: A normal divorce. He’s not dead.
Q: What is his favorite movie genre?
A: Horror.
Q: I know they decided to say that he moved, but why did they deal with the situation in this way?
A: There were too many victims in the incident (and residents of that neighborhood had to be evacuated) and, since it was going to be really difficult to avoid questions about the many fatalities, they decided to handle it like that. To be honest, except for the cursed spirits, it's a fact that Yoshino was the main culprit of the incident at the school. The Yoshino family is not particularly close. His relatives weren't even notified.
YOSHINO NAGI
Q: What is the origin of her name?
A: It’s exactly what the kanji means. (*TN: The kanji for nagi 凪 means "calm" specifically in relation to the weather)
Q: What kind of work did she do?
A: Part-time, and helping a friend with her design business at home.
Q: Was she aware that Junpei was being bullied?
A: I’m sure she was aware of it since he stopped going to school, but she didn’t think that it was going that far. Junpei also did his best to hide it.
DEATH PAINTINGS
Cursed Womb: Death Painting No. 1
CURSED TECHNIQUE: Blood Manipulation
SKILLS: Slicing Exorcism
Convergence
Piercing Blood
Supernova
Flowing Red Scale
Flowing Red Scale: Stack
Blood Meteorite
Blood Edge
LIKES: His younger brothers
DISLIKES: Kamo Noritoshi
Q: Please tell us about his character design.
A: It’s exactly like a fashion model I saw before.
Q: From where do the Death Paintings get their general knowledge?
A: To some extent, it comes from the brains of the human vessels. Sukuna also got it from Itadori.
Q: Why was Choso so unmotivated during the Shibuya Incident?
A: He cooperated, but there was no reason to risk his life in order to seal Gojo.
Q: Does the appearance of the Death Paintings depend on the vessel?
A: The more resistant the vessel is to curses, the less transformation. The death paintings don't have any remnants of their vessel's looks. Since they were fetuses until recently they just thought: "So this is what we look like~”.
Q: Is Choso’s blood as poisonous as his younger brothers’ Rot and Decay techniques?
A: Yes, Itadori was ok because he’s a vessel for Sukuna and therefore resistant to poisons. Aside from Itadori, it will be very painful to be hit by the blood in the Piercing Blood attack. I’m still not sure if I’ll use this setting or not.
Cursed Womb: Death Painting No. 2
CURSED TECHNIQUE: Rot
TECHNIQUES: Maximum: Decay
Maximum: Wing King
LIKES: His brothers
DISLIKES: Being seen from behind, Kamo Noritoshi
Q: Nobara said “What is this smell?” [in chapter 57] Does he smell bad?
A: It’s because his back is always purulent (*TN: Basically infected and discharging pus. No wonder he doesn’t want anyone to see his back).
Q: Please tell us how the 3 characters were created.
A: Because I like the relationship between brothers, so I decided to do that properly.
Cursed Womb: Death Painting No. 3
LIKES: His brothers
DISLIKES: Kamo Noritoshi
Q: He has two mouths, but does the smaller one work at all?
A: The upper face is leftovers from the vessel's appearance because Kechizu's power as a cursed object is weaker than the other two's.
Q: How were Eso and Kechizu dealt with after they were defeated by Itadori?
A: Nitta called the processing team from the technical college.
Q: Kechizu calls Eso "anija" (*TN: 兄者, a more outdated way of saying older brother), but what does he call Choso?
A: Anija as well. It’s like the Three Billy Goats Gruff (*TN: This is a Norwegian fairy tale about 3 goats that need to outsmart a troll in order to cross a bridge. Each goat is bigger than the other, and the biggest goat is the one that ultimately challenges and wins against the troll.)
CURSED SPIRITS
Cursed Spirit
GRADE: Special Grade Cursed Spirit
ORIGIN: Human
CURSED TECHNIQUE: Idle Transfiguration
SKILLS: Idle Transfiguration: Soul Multiplicity
Body Repel
Polymorphic Soul Isomer
Instant Spirit Body of Distorted Killing
Domain Expansion: Self-Embodiment of Perfection
HOBBY: Annoying others, humans
DISLIKES: Humans
Q: What is the origin of his character?
A: There’s no reason, I wanted to draw a character with a bad personality.
Q: Why is Mahito so handsome even though he’s a cursed spirit?
A: Is this discrimination against cursed spirits!?
Q: Does Mahito have “that thing” that only men can have?
A: He doesn’t, cursed spirits do not have reproductive capability. (The thing with the Death Paintings is a little different from reproduction.)
Q: How did he meet Geto?
A: Through Jogo. Geto initially contacted Jogo.
Q: Does Mahito get impressed/emotional from watching movies and reading poems?
A: I’m sure it’d be something like “How interesting~”
Q: Is it possible to manipulate a transfigured human’s brain in order to “remove restrictions on cursed energy and forcing suicide” like Mei Mei? (*TN: This refers to Mei Mei’s Bird Strike attack)
A: Mahito is not “manipulating” the transfigured human beings, but rather “making them into a shape that can be commanded”, so it’s not impossible, but it’s going to be tricky. Polymorphic Soul Isomer mixes two souls and increases their power but shortens their lifespan, so I’ve already done something similar.
*Some TLs courtesy of riyalise and km600504 (tinyurl.com/vp82jnv7) and kaikaikitan (tinyurl.com/m5wzrzr5) on Twitter
Cursed Spirit
GRADE: Special Grade Cursed Spirit
ORIGIN: Earth
SKILLS: Ember Insects
Maximum: Meteor
Domain Amplification
Domain Expansion: Coffin of the Iron Mountain
HOBBY/INTERESTS: Collecting cursed tools
DISLIKES: Humans, especially Gojo
Q: Please tell us the origin of his name.
A: Maybe it means something like greed is leaking out. (*TN: Jogo’s name has the kanji 漏 meaning to leak or to escape)
Q: Is Jogo’s head based on Mount Fuji, like Itadori said?
A: Mount Fuji, or rather a volcano. I couldn’t settle on the design at all, so I tried to follow a concept and proceeded with fire (earth), grass (forest) and water (sea) like Pokémon.
Q: He doesn’t seem to have poor physical abilities, but why does he carry a cane?
A: It’s one of the things that Jogo collects, so you can think of it as a kind of fashion statement.
Q: He didn’t go to the Kyoto Exchange Event, what was he doing at that time?
A: He was still recovering. His head wasn't destroyed, so he was able to get by, but he was really close to dying during the battle with Gojo.
Q: What did he feel when Hanami was exorcized by Gojo?
A: Seriously—!!
Cursed Spirit
GRADE: Special Grade Cursed Spirit
ORIGIN: Forest
SKILLS: Domain Amplification
Domain Expansion: 朶頤光海 (だいこうかい)
HOBBY/INTERESTS: Delicious air!
DISLIKES: Humans
Q: Why is Hanami not considered a cursed spirit, but a (regular) spirit?
A: I think of them as "spirits among cursed spirits." It's like a genus of spirits in the family of curse spirits. When fear and guilt of the sacred are piled on top of each other in the midst of negative emotions, a horticultural manager type like Hanami is born.
Q: Are there any aspects of the character design that you are particular about?
A: I try to make the body pattern follow the flow of the muscles as much as possible.
Q: If you can materialize plants with cursed energy, can you also materialize tree branches inside the heart or other parts of the body if the enemy doesn't move?
A: It's impossible. The inside of the body is like a domain, so you'd have to rip it open to enter it like what happened with Fushiguro. Also, Hanami can use two different types of trees, one is materialized from scratch and the other is a real tree that is strengthened and manipulated.
Q: Will they kill people who are kind to the earth and nature without any room for discussion? Can they think of anything other than the annihilation of humans?
A: A long time ago, I saw a simulation video of Earth after the extinction of humans. It seems that when humans disappeared, the environment was restored. Dr. Stone is like that too. Hanami comprehends this firsthand, so there's nothing they can do about it. (*TN: “Hanami comprehends this firsthand” can more literally be translated as “understands this in their flesh” meaning it’s something natural they inherently comprehend, so it can’t be avoided.)
Q: In Volume 2, page 168, what did Hanami say to Geto?
A: Please play the audio of the anime backwards. (*Note: Watch here)
Q: Is there something like a sense of camaraderie between Hanami, Jogo, and Mahito?
A: Definitely yes, but maybe kind of no.
Cursed Spirit
GRADE: Special Grade Cursed Spirit
ORIGIN: Water
SKILLS: Cursed Technique Release: Death Swarm
Domain Expansion: Horizon of the Captivating Skandha
HOBBY/INTERESTS: Swimming, Hanami
DISLIKES: Humans
Q: He seems to be able to eat human beings, but how are they digested and absorbed?
A: To put it simply, they are transformed into cursed energy. I have no intention of giving a reason for the difference in mass between Dagon and the humans he ate, but if I did, they are digested and absorbed as cursed energy. He vomited bones, but I guess it was being digested. If a little more time had passed, the bones might have dissolved.
Q: Dagon is a type of cursed womb that can undergo metamorphosis. How many confirmed stages of development exist for cursed spirits?
A: There aren't many others aside from metamorphosis (metamorphosis itself is already very rare). A cursed spirit's potential for development is established from the moment it's born, so I think that each case depends on how much can be extracted from that potential. As for cursed wombs, there are circumstances in which their best option is to advance a growth stage in order to better establish their own shape. Basically, if a cursed spirit is not extremely feared, it's very unlikely that it will evolve.
*Translated from the official PT-BR version of the fanbook by anon.
Cursed Spirit
Q: Why did you decide to depict a locust plague?
A: I thought it would be kind of mandatory for there to be a cockroach cursed spirit, but after thinking of more options besides that, I ended up coming up with KO-GUY.
Q: Why is he so obsessed with intelligence?
A: Because humans use the word "insect" in a derogatory way... something like that.
Q: What's the difference in taste between humans and transfigured humans?
A: Transfigured humans are like GMOs.
Q: Why did KO-GUY Show up in Shibuya?
A: He was brought by Mahito and the others. By the way, Mahito came up with the name KO-GUY.
*Translated from the official PT-BR version of the fanbook by anon.
Vengeful Spirit
AGE OF DEATH: 11
GRADE: Special Grade Vengeful Spirit
BIRTHPLACE: Miyagi
LIKES: Yuta
DISLIKES: Humans other than Yuta (Especially if they're female or older males)
When she was 5, her mother died suddenly from an unknown cause. 2 days before she was to enter elementary school, her father took her hiking and they both disappeared. 1 week later, in a small shelter near the mountain summit, Rika was discovered and taken into custody.
Then, she was taken to a hospital for examination, where she met Yuta who had been admitted for pneumonia. She would then return to school. Her father would remain undiscovered, unknown whether he was alive or dead.
MURDERED BY RIKA
Self-aware of her appearance, Rika was noticed to sometimes manipulate even adults with her words. Her grandmother, who had taken in Rika, strongly believed that Rika had killed her son and his wife.
While alive, she had forged a friendship with Yuta's younger sister, but after becoming a vengeful spirit, she became very aggressive and became the reason Yuta would have to separate from his family. The ring she gave Yuta was something she snuck out of her grandmother's chest. The ring was her mother's wedding ring (Which is why it was simple).
(From vol. 0, page 58)
Q: What is the origin of her name?
A: When thinking of a name that a girl would be represented by, the one that felt most right was 'Rika'. (*TN: "be represented by" in this case is how we see Rika as a monster, so he needed a name that was more than a name, it would have to be a name that conjured up the image of a girl.)
Q: Why does she not like her grandmother's boiled eggplants?
A: Eggplant -20 points, Boiled -10 points, Grandmother -100 points, Total -130 points
Q: Who's stronger, awakened Rika or Sukuna in his prime?
A: Sukuna.
Q: While she was a vengeful spirit, how much of Rika's mind/personality was left?
A: Not much. She passed her time as if in a hazy dream-state seeing Yuta.
Q: Was she strongly possessive even in life? Also, why does she dislike older males?
A: She was incredibly possessive, but she was nice and gentle to Yuta's sister in a calculating way. She didn't have any particular trauma or anything, it's simply that on every level of her being she won't accept any male other than Yuta.
SPECIAL GRADE CURSED OBJECT
Cursed Object
RANKING: Special Grade Cursed Object
SKILLS: ■
Dismantle
Cleave
Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine
Reverse Cursed Technique
HOBBIES: Eating
DISLIKES: Nothing in particular (He really doesn't care about anything other than himself)
Q: It's mentioned that Sukuna was a human who actually existed in this world. When he was alive, was he a curse user?
A: You could say he’s a curse user. But I think he’s closer to being a natural disaster.
Q: Does he have memories of being a human?
A: He does. But whether Sukuna himself or those around him perceived him as "human" is unclear.
Q: When he was a human, was he as feared as Gojo is today?
A: It can't be compared to Gojo. That's not to say he wasn't feared, but in the past, both sorcerers and curses were more vicious than they are today. It's like it gradually calmed down and then started to heat up again after Gojo burst onto the scene.
Q: When he was a human, how was he treated by the people around him?
A: They were terrified of him. Before and after becoming a cursed object, he was always known as the "King of Curses."
Q: What is Sukuna's great pleasure?
A: To eat.
Q: What do the fingers taste like?
A: They are grave wax, so something like soap...
Q: If a cursed spirit eats a Sukuna finger, does Sukuna's mind take over?
A: No. Cursed spirits cannot be vessels.
Q: When Itadori died, was there any effect on Sukuna inside of him?
A: No. It was still within the realm of Sukuna resurrecting him with Reverse Cursed Technique. However, if too much time passed, then Sukuna would have died as well.
Q: Does his vision connect to not just Itadori, but to the curses that have also eaten fingers?
A: If a finger is sealed or eaten by a cursed spirit, then there is almost no information that can be gleaned. He can only sense that they are close or not. If a finger is not sealed, he has a general sense of its surroundings. That's why he commented "That's good" to Fushiguro at the Yasohachi Bridge.
Q: How much do human beings know about Sukuna's Cursed Technique?
A: If they did their reading, they should be able to figure out some details about his slashing technique. It's possible they don't have any idea about the flames.
Q: In some places, Ryomen Sukuna is considered a great being or the face of local specialty products in some areas. Will such background be reflected in your work?
A: No. The Sukuna character in Jujutsu Kaisen is called Sukuna because he resembles and is powerful like Sukuna.
Q: Did Sukuna have a wife and children when he was alive?
A: No. Uraume was his servant/minion.
Q: Gojo said that "Itadori is also a detector to search for Sukuna's fingers." Was his statement accurate?
A: The only thing he was wrong about was predicting that Sukuna was trying to regain his power by gathering other fingers.
Q: Did you plan on introducing "Ryomen Sukuna" when you made vol. 0?
A: Nope!
OTHER CHARACTERS
Star Plasma Vessel
AGE OF DEATH: 14?
HOBBY/SPECIAL SKILL: Badminton
FAVORITE FOOD: Pot-au-feu (beef stew) made by Kuroi
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Bitter melon
CAUSE OF STRESS: Being unable to go to school
Q: Please tell us the origin of her name.
A: The sky! That’s it! Ora~~!!
Q: Do you pay more attention to a particular aspect of her character design?
A: Other than the headband, it's the "braids carelessly drawn by a man". But I was embarrassed about that later.
Q: Why does she speak in such a haughty way, like using 'warawa'? (*TN: "warawa" was what she was using for "I" instead of "watashi". You usually hear princesses or royalty using that.)
A: It's Chuunibyou. (*TN: Lit. translated to "Middle School 2nd Year Syndrome", chuunibyou is a colloquial term to describe early teens who think they are know-it-alls and have special powers/abilities that put them above others. It's generally used to describe childish behavior.)
Q: When did she become aware of being the Star Plasma Vessel?
A: Right after she was born, Tengen-sama sensed her, and the technical college staff informed her.
Q: What does she do in school with her friends during breaks/recess?
A: Takenoko takenoko nyokkikki!! (*TN: A children’s game that essentially involves chanting and counting. Takenoko means “bamboo shoot”. You can see an example of it here.)
Kuroi Family - Star Plasma Vessel Arc
AGE: 31 (as of 2007)
HOBBY/SPECIAL SKILL: Mario Kart
FAVORITE FOOD: Watermelon
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Mantis shrimp
CAUSE OF STRESS: Tengen-sama related talk
Q: Please tell us about the connection between the Kuroi family and the Star Plasma Vessel.
A: The family has a connection to Tengen, and has been entrusted with the care of the Star Plasma Vessel for generations.
Q: If it weren’t for Riko, what kind of career would she be trying to pursue?
A: School nurse.
Q: She was ashamed that she was beaten by a non-sorcerer. Is she a sorcerer? Does she have a technique?
A: She doesn’t have a technique. However, in order to protect the Star Plasma Vessel, she has learned basic cursed energy manipulation and taijutsu.
Yuji's Grandfather
Q: What was his cause of death?
A: Lung cancer. Smoked too many cigarettes. There was no connection to sorcery.
Q: Did his wife pass away already?
A: I feel like they divorced. Grandpa had a number of problems, but I do like the idea of the one person who understood him passing away. I haven't really given this much thought.
Q: Why was he so distant from those around him?
A: His rough attitude. I don't think he had any violent instances or anything. He had friends, but they may no longer be alive.
Yuji's Former Classmate
Q. Please tell us how Ozawa Yuko appeared.
A. The editor told me that I should draw a story where the protagonist (Itadori) becomes popular someday. So I thought I should do it in a rest chapter. (*TN: A rest chapter is literally called "to rest the chopsticks" 箸休め which refers to side dishes served as palate-cleansers between courses, and is used to describe a chapter that's inserted as a break/cooldown in action between arcs.)
Q: Is she still on good terms with Kugisaki after that?
A: I think they keep in touch once in a while. It hasn’t been that long in the main story, though.
Megumi's Sister
Q: What is the meaning of her name?
A: Building block toys. (*TN: It's a pun, basically. "Tsumiki" is what those building blocks for babies are called in Japanese.)
Q: If you have any new information, please tell me.
A: Akutami called Tsumiki's hairstyle 'stag beetle'.
Nobara's Admired Person/Role Model
Q: Was she already ostracized when she met Nobara?
A: Yes. As such, she was always at home. The two met just how it was shown in the anime. There was no real reason, just by chance.
Nobara's Hometown Friend
Q: Did she know about Nobara being a sorcerer?
A: She had no idea. She just thought that Nobara had a weird grandma. I feel like Nobara also didn't have any reason to tell her. She would have hated it if she got Fumi involved and gotten her messed up mentally.
Q: What's Takada-chan's real name and where did it come from?
A: Takada Nobuko. Because she is very tall. (*TN: The kanji "taka" - 高 means "tall")
Q: Is she based on someone?
A: Kumai-chan. (Kumai Yurina, a member of Hello! Project, who is 1 . 81m)
Q: Is Taka-tan Takada-chan's nickname?
A: Takada-chan is the nickname. Taka-tan beam is a special move whose name is based on tantakatan. (*TN: Tantakatan is a kind of shochu from Hokkaido.)
*TL courtesy of alachat_ on Twitter (tinyurl.com/2muj3zpv)
Q: How was this character created?
A: As a punch line.
Q: What is he doing now, after he quit his part-time job in volume 2?
A: Part-time work outside of the service industry.
GENERAL Q&A
Q: Who is the most popular* male and female? (*Romantically, within the JJK world)
A: Geto, Miwa.
Q: Among the school employees, sorcerers, and curse users, is anyone married?
A: Yaga Masamichi, divorced.
Heavy drinker: Ieiri Shoko, followed by Nanami Kento
Bad drunk: Iori Utahime, followed by Zenin Naobito
Doesn't drink: Gojo Satoru (excluding all underaged charcters)
Q: Do Itadori and the first years hang out together a lot on their days off? (Karaoke, Chinatown, Tachikawa)
A: I feel like they do hang out a lot, but (including the second years) they tend to split up by males/females.
Q: Itadori is the best at cooking amongst the first years, but who is better at cooking between Fushiguro and Kugisaki?
A: About the same. They can both cook to a certain degree.
*TL courtesy of colleen, and _zanzou_ on Twitter (tinyurl.com/ysmdney2)
JUJUTSU TECHNICAL COLLEGE STUDENT SKILLS
DK GRAY = Jujutsu Sense
LT GRAY = Classroom Learning (Academics)
BLACK = Reflexes (Motor skills without cursed energy)
*TL courtesy of soukatsu_ on Twitter (tinyurl . com/wme2yb58)
MAIN CHARACTERS' ROUGH HEIGHT COMPARISON CHART
Todo is the tallest student at Kyoto Jujutsu Tech and about the same height as Gojo. Nishimiya, at just under 150cm, is the shortest.
Geto and Mahito may look about the same height but Geto is slightly taller.
There appears to be no difference in height between Itadori and Fushiguro, but Fushiguro looks taller because of his hair!
Nanami is 5cm shorter than Gojo but out of the entire group, Nanami is about the 4th or 5th tallest.
Panda is actually over 190cm tall! He looks shorter than his actual height due to how he hunches over.
*TL courtesy of soukatsu_ on Twitter (tinyurl . com/wme2yb58)
TELL US MORE! SUMMARY OF QUESTIONS FOR AKUTAMI-SENSEI
Here you can read all the questions and trivia that Akutami-sensei has answered in the past! “Singing ability?” “Is there a definite ending?” Let’s cover all of the 60 answers.
ITADORI YUJI
Q: Itadori said he’s “not popular with girls” in volume 4, but what is the reason for that?
A: It seems that the girls who fell in love with Itadori weren’t the type to talk about their feelings to the people around them. Not even to Itadori himself, of course.
(From Jump Festa 2019 Character Book — JF2019最速キャラブック)
Q: He went to a karaoke in the Volume 2 Juju Sanpo, but I wonder what he sang. I also want you to tell me the singing ability of each character.
A: Itadori is the best [at singing]. This is because of Akutami’s prejudice that people who are good at impersonations are also good at singing.
(From Jump Festa 2019 WJ Stage — JF2019 WJステージ)
Q: In chapter 34, he made the statement “What if I became even more stupid?” Is he not good at studying?
A: He’s not good at math (arithmetics?) He’s fairly normal with memorization subjects.
(From Jump GIGA 2019 Kyoto Exchange Event Character Book — ジャンプGIGA 2019 京都交流会編キャラブック)
FUSHIGURO MEGUMI
Q: When did Fushiguro and Gojo get to know each other?
A: Quite a while ago. Fushiguro is related to the Zenin family, and the Zenin family is related to the Gojo family and the Technical College. That’s the connection.
(From Jump Festa 2019 Character Book — JF2019最速キャラブック)
Q: Fushiguro often touches his left shoulder, is there something wrong with his left shoulder?
A: It’s just a habit. Maybe it’s because of the prequel series’ rough draft.
(From Jump GIGA 2019 Kyoto Exchange Event Character Book — ジャンプGIGA 2019 京都交流会編キャラブック)
Q: Fushiguro uses shikigami through shadows, but how does he learn which shadow puppet animals to make with his hands?
A: There are ten kinds [of shikigami], excluding the extension technique.
(From Jump GIGA 2019 Kyoto Exchange Event Character Book — ジャンプGIGA 2019 京都交流会編キャラブック)
Q: Why is Fushiguro’s father resistant to curses if he has no cursed energy?
A: Papaguro’s [heavenly] restriction is stronger than Maki’s. While Maki has as much cursed energy as an ordinary person, Papaguro has absolutely 0 cursed energy. The reason Maki is not resistant to curses but Papaguro is, is because his [heavenly] restriction has strengthened him so much that his eyesight is extremely sharp and his stomach is extremely strong. He can see curses, and he’ll be fine even if he puts a cursed spirit in his stomach. By completely abandoning his cursed energy, Papaguro has become resistant to curses. Among the rare ones who possess a Heavenly Restriction, his existence is even rarer.
(From Weekly Shonen Jump Issue 41/2019 — WJ高専だより)
KUGISAKI NOBARA
Q: Is there any meaning to the heart engraved on her hammer?
A: There isn’t. She carved it by herself when she was little and was starting to regret it. It broke in chapter 7.
(From Jump Festa 2019 Character Book — JF2019 最速キャラブック)
Q: Nobara’s technique uses a piece of its target, is there a limit to the attack range?
A: The range limit is somewhat loose. The size and value of the piece of the target is more important.
(From Jump GIGA 2019 Kyoto Exchange Event Character Book — ジャンプGIGA 2019 京都交流会編キャラブック)
OKKOTSU YUTA
Q: What is Okkotsu doing overseas?
A: It’s a secret. But those who know certain people saw that he appeared together with them in the cover page of a certain chapter.
(From Jump Festa 2019 Character Book — JF2019最速キャラブック)
Q: Is Okkotsu included in the 4 Special Grade sorcerers？
A: He’s included.
(From Jump Festa 2019 WJ Stage — JF2019 WJステージ)
Q: Will Okkotsu-senpai appear in the main story in the future? I want to see how he interacts with the first years. I want to see him do more!
A: He will appear.
(From Jump Festa 2019 WJ Stage — JF2019 WJステージ)
INUMAKI TOGE
Q: I’m wondering when the idea of Inumaki speaking in rice-ball ingredients came up.
A: A long time ago, I thought it would be funny to have a character who loses their temper while shouting “tuna mayonnaise!”
(From Jump GIGA 2019 Kyoto Exchange Event Character Book — ジャンプGIGA 2019 京都交流会編キャラブック)
ZENIN MAKI
Q: She doesn’t only use swords, but also Aikido. Is there a school [of martial arts] behind Maki’s fighting style?
A: It's a mix of all kinds of things. Compared to Miwa, the way she uses swords is more kung fu-like.
(From Jump GIGA 2019 Kyoto Exchange Event Character Book — ジャンプGIGA 2019 京都交流会編キャラブック)
PANDA
Q: What does Panda do when it comes to being seen by the general public?
A: If he’s in public view, like when he’s on the move, he pretends to be a doll and has people carry him around, or he pretends to be wearing a costume and sneaks around.
(From Jump Festa 2019 Character Book — JF2019最速キャラブック)
Q: Did Panda go to a nursery or other school that specializes in sorcerers?
A: He didn’t. That’s the room the principal built for Panda. (*TN: He’s talking about the room baby Panda is shown in a flashback in ch. 39)
(From Jump GIGA 2019 Kyoto Exchange Event Character Book — ジャンプGIGA 2019 京都交流会編キャラブック)
Q: Does Panda-senpai po0p?
A: He doesn’t. When he was little, the principal made him wear diapers (because it’s cute).
(From Jump GIGA 2019 Kyoto Exchange Event Character Book — ジャンプGIGA 2019 京都交流会編キャラブック)
ZENIN MAI
Q: Mai's hairstyle changed, is there a special reason for this?
A: Because it didn’t look right to Akutami. I might change it again.
(From Jump GIGA 2019 Kyoto Exchange Event Character Book — ジャンプGIGA 2019 京都交流会編キャラブック)
MIWA KASUMI
Q: What does Miwa like about Gojo?
A: She’s just the type of person that follows trends because they’re popular*. That’s why I named her Miwa. (*TN: The JP term for this is ミーハー which has a negative connotation.)
(From Jump Festa 2019 Character Book — JF2019最速キャラブック)
NORITOSHI KAMO
Q: Does Kamo usually keep his eyes closed?
A: He just has narrow eyes.
(From Jump GIGA 2019 Kyoto Exchange Event Character Book — ジャンプGIGA 2019 京都交流会編キャラブック)
TODO AOI
Q: How many close friends does Todo have?
A: He only has Itadori as a close friend. He has a few other friends here and there (it’s all one-sided though).
(From Jump GIGA 2019 Kyoto Exchange Event Character Book — ジャンプGIGA 2019 京都交流会編キャラブック)
NISHIMIYA MOMO
Q: Why does Nishimiya look like she’s barefoot/doesn’t have any shoes on?
A: I feel like Kiki was like that. (*TN: From the Ghibli movie Kiki’s Delivery Service)
(From Jump GIGA 2019 Kyoto Exchange Event Character Book — ジャンプGIGA 2019 京都交流会編キャラブック)
GOJO SATORU
Q: Who is the strongest character that has appeared so far?
A: It’s Gojo.
(From Jump Festa 2019 Character Book — JF2019最速キャラブック)
Q: What business trip was Gojo on when Itadori and the others were sent [on the mission] to the Juvenile Detention Center?
A: It was a domestic business trip. One of the Grade 1 sorcerers went missing during the mission, so he went there to clean up the mess.
(From Jump Festa 2019 Character Book — JF2019最速キャラブック)
Q: Why does Gojo Satoru sometimes wear sunglasses and sometimes a blindfold?
A: Depends on his mood. He might wear sunglasses when he meets girls.
(From Jump Festa 2019 Character Book — JF2019最速キャラブック)
Q: I can't imagine Gojo-sensei as a student, so I'd like to hear at least some anecdotes on Gojo and Geto’s youth!
A: I will do it soon. (*TN: Keep in mind this answer is from Dec 2018, before the start of the Hidden Inventory arc.)
(From Jump Festa 2019 Character Book — JF2019最速キャラブック)
Q: Is Gojo aware that Iori [Utahime] doesn't like him?
A: He’s not. He thinks that her bad attitude is a joke.
(From Jump GIGA 2019 Kyoto Exchange Event Character Book — ジャンプGIGA 2019 京都交流会編キャラブック)
Q: Can Gojo do household chores, such as cooking?
A: He can. Since many sorcerers are single, they have a lot of practical life skills.
(From Jump GIGA 2019 Kyoto Exchange Event Character Book — ジャンプGIGA 2019 京都交流会編キャラブック)
Q: In Volume 0, Geto told Gojo, “You should at least curse me at the end." Will Gojo’s lines be revealed someday?
A: He says it in volume 0.
(From Jump GIGA 2019 Kyoto Exchange Event Character Book — ジャンプGIGA 2019 京都交流会編キャラブック)
MASAMICHI YAGA
Q: Does Yaga like cute things?
A: He likes them. He also likes animals. I think he has a dog.
(From Jump Festa 2019 Character Book — JF2019最速キャラブック)
IEIRI SHOKO
Q: What was Ieiri trying to learn by dissecting Itadori’s corpse?
A: She was trying to find out why Itadori was able to withstand Sukuna’s poison (curse).
(From Jump Festa 2019 Character Book — JF2019最速キャラブック)
JUJUTSU TECHNICAL COLLEGE
It seems that technical colleges often refer to currently enrolled students as 学生 - gakusei rather than 生徒 - seito. However, Gojo seems to call them “seito” for some reason, so I'm using “seito.” If any other characters say “seito” it's my mistake, so please correct it in your own minds. (*TN: In Japan, 学生 - gakusei is commonly used to refer to college/university students, while 生徒 - seito refers to elementary or junior high school students.)
(From Weekly Shonen Jump Issue 51/2018 — WJ高専だより)
Auxiliary managers such as Ijichi also have classes with other jujutsu sorcerers during their time at the Technical College. So in the past, there was a hell where Ijichi, Nanami, Ieiri, Geto and Gojo were all in school at the same time (training sometimes together, sometimes separately). Ijichi and Nanami’s attitude towards Gojo is quite understandable, and Principal Yaga is a real hard worker.
(From Weekly Shonen Jump Issue 26/2019 — WJ高専だより)
NANAMI KENTO
Q: In chapter 26, Nanami summoned Ino, but are they close?
A: He is rather close to him, but if anything, Ino idolizes him.
(From Jump Festa 2019 Character Book — JF2019最速キャラブック)
INO TAKUMA
Ino is among the Semi-Grade 1 or higher sorcerers who is summoned in the story of Volume 0. So at first he was supposed to be a Semi-Grade 1 sorcerer, but I thought it would be just like him to show up without a care in the world even though he’s a Grade 2 sorcerer, so I kept it that way.
(From Weekly Shonen Jump Issue 52/2018 — WJ高専だより)
GETO’S GROUP
Q: What is Geto’s group doing now?
A: They’ve separated. Because they were all people who were just following Geto.
(From Jump Festa 2019 Character Book — JF2019最速キャラブック)
YOSHINO JUNPEI
Q: Why was Yoshino Junpei immediately able to use shikigami?
A: It’s Mahito’s power. It's as if he had adjusted the brain into the shape of a sorcerer’s brain and unearthed the original technique that was already there.
(From Jump Festa 2019 Character Book — JF2019最速キャラブック)
MAHITO
Q: What was Mahito doing at the movie theater? Does he like movies?
A: He’s trying to learn about his roots, which is “human beings”, through movies and books. He didn’t pay the entrance fee since he has no manners.
(From Jump Festa 2019 Character Book — JF2019最速キャラブック)
HANAMI
Q: Please tell us as much as you can about the mysterious Hanami, including his personality!
A: Probably the most amiable of the curses. Hanami is a curse, but it’s a little different from a cursed spirit.
(From Jump Festa 2019 Character Book — JF2019最速キャラブック)
RYOMEN SUKUNA
Q: What does Sukuna do when he's inside Itadori?
A: He spaces out. He's a master at killing time, since he's spent a thousand years doing that.
(From Jump Festa 2019 Character Book — JF2019最速キャラブック)
Q: Why does Sukuna look like Itadori, even inside his own domain?
A: Since he has incarnated, Sukuna's current form is the same as Itadori's.
(From Jump GIGA 2019 Kyoto Exchange Event Character Book — ジャンプGIGA 2019 京都交流会編キャラブック)
Q: When he's not out, does he share Itadori's eyesight? If so, do they watch movies together?
A: Yes. And no.
(From Jump GIGA 2019 Kyoto Exchange Event Character Book — ジャンプGIGA 2019 京都交流会編キャラブック)
AKUTAMI-SENSEI
Q: What is Akutami-sensei's favorite food?
A: Lightly fried food (like fried chicken with shiso leaves). Other than food, it's hot springs, scalp massages and hair removal.
(From Jump Festa 2019 Character Book — JF2019最速キャラブック)
Q: What are your hobbies and skills?
A: I really don't have any hobbies that aren't related to work. My athletic ability is below average and I have no special skills. If I had to say, my arms are a little longer than other people's, so I can grab things that are far away.
(From Jump Festa 2019 Character Book — JF2019最速キャラブック)
Q: Do you have a favorite comedian?
A: The ones that do radio shows. From my generation, I like the ones that debuted in the TV show "Arabikidan".
(From Jump Festa 2019 Character Book — JF2019最速キャラブック)
Q: Who's your favorite actor?
A: I usually like the ones who portray characters that have a lot of dialogue, like Hiroki Hasegawa and Masato Sakai.
(From Jump Festa 2019 Character Book — JF2019最速キャラブック)
Q: Who are your favorite characters from a Jump series?
A: Izumi, Kageura and Azuma, from "World Trigger"; Tendou, from "Haikyuu!!"; Overhaul and Stain, from "My Hero Academia".
(From Jump Festa 2019 Character Book — JF2019最速キャラブック)
Q: What works influenced you?
A: I can't even count the number of mangaka that influenced me because there are so many. I think my readers must experience déjà vu often, both in a good and bad way, especially since Jujutsu Kaisen aims to follow a very traditional formula [for shonen manga]. Try to look out for that in the series when you have free time. As for anime, I really like the works and attitude of Hideaki Anno, Kenichi Kutsuna, and Shingo Yamashita.
(From Jump Festa 2019 Character Book — JF2019最速キャラブック)
Q: Who are your favorite characters in Jujutsu Kaisen?
A: I don't have a favorite character, but I want Nanami and Miwa to be popular. They're sensible.
(From Jump Festa 2019 Character Book — JF2019最速キャラブック)
Q: Has the end of the series already been decided?
A: The last chapter and key points of the ending have been decided, but there are many parts of the narrative until then that still haven't been defined. Fushiguro's ending is set, but not Itadori's. I take care to not project myself onto the characters and, among them, Itadori is the one that least resembles me because of his kindness.
(From Jump Festa 2019 Character Book — JF2019最速キャラブック)
Q: Akutami-sensei, what is your favorite onigiri filling?
A: Mentaiko.
(From Jump Festa 2019 Character Book — JF2019最速キャラブック)
Q: How should I abbreviate the name "Jujutsu Kaisen"?
A: I call it "Jujutsu". But you can call it whatever you want.
(From Jump Festa 2019 WJ Stage — JF2019 WJステージ)
Q: Who are your favorite characters?
A: I like Nanami a bit more than the others. The rest are just normal.
(From Jump Festa 2019 WJ Stage — JF2019 WJステージ)
Q: Do you get along with your editor?
A: I think so. I mean, I am very grateful for his help.
(From Jump Festa 2019 WJ Stage — JF2019 WJステージ)
Q: What are your aspirations for the coming year (2019)?
A: To be more careful (about various things).
(From Jump Festa 2019 WJ Stage — JF2019 WJステージ)
Q: Please tell us what you like about Daisuke Ashihara-sensei's manga.
A: He shows us that a kind of unknown fun still exists in the modern-day Jump magazine.
(From Jump Festa 2019 WJ Stage — JF2019 WJステージ)
Q: Where did you get the inspiration for your pseudonym? Or is that your real name!? (laughs)
A: My real name is Ageage Akutami. (*TN: Gege just flipped their name from 'down' to 'up' as a joke. The reading's different, but 下々 can mean people of a low status while 上々 means the best — Thanks to _maihor for the explanation tinyurl.com/ycxzzc62)
(From Jump Festa 2019 WJ Stage — JF2019 WJステージ)
Q: Is there a character that best represents you? Is that character gonna appear a lot?
A: He doesn't exist. I did everything possible so that no character would resemble me (and I'll keep doing that in the future).
(From Jump GIGA 2019 Kyoto Exchange Event Character Book — ジャンプGIGA 2019 京都交流会編キャラブック)
Q: Is there a mangaka currently being published in Jump that you'd consider a rival?
A: If my series gets canceled it won't be because other series are more interesting, but because my manga became boring. So I don't see other mangaka as rivals. However, since Gotouge-sensei and I debuted around the same time, I consider their work as a goal to be achieved.
(From Jump GIGA 2019 Kyoto Exchange Event Character Book — ジャンプGIGA 2019 京都交流会編キャラブック)
Q: Were you influenced by the works of Yoshihiro Togashi-sensei?
A: A lot, but I think the biggest influence is in how I approach visual expression through a temporal perspective and how it's applied in the manga (the layout of the panels).
(From Jump GIGA 2019 Kyoto Exchange Event Character Book — ジャンプGIGA 2019 京都交流会編キャラブック)
*Translated from the official PT-BR version of the fanbook by anon.
A CLOSER LOOK AT AKUTAMI GEGE’S ORIGINS!
AKUTAMI SENSEI’S BIBLE — MOVIE EDITION
In this corner, we asked Akutami-sensei to talk about his roots and favorite things. Let’s begin with the movie edition!
I like any film as long as it’s really interesting, regardless of the genre.
I never thought about my favorite film directors until Fujimoto Tatsuki-sensei introduced “My Top 3 Film Directors” at the end of a Weekly Shonen Jump issue.
If I had to choose, aside from anime, the first one that comes to mind is Quentin Tarantino. I can watch Pulp Fiction (1994) forever. The thing that I like best about this movie is, when composing the storyline, I can easily pick the key point where the story starts to roll. So I never get bored of watching it. For the same reason, I recently watched Django Unchained (2012), which is very good.
The next one is Christopher Nolan. I especially like Interstellar (2014). I am fascinated by his strong will, which I don’t have, regarding his stance on CG and modern culture in daily life.
I also like film director Guillermo del Toro very much. For horror films, recently Ari Aster won’t let you down. I also like Little Miss Sunshine (2006), but the director and screenwriter are not the same person, so I can’t make a comment on who has more influence on the film… Don't you think that all movies in which the actor Matthew McConaughey appears are interesting?
For action films, The Raid.
When I was a student, the Indonesian action film The Raid (2011) was popular. In the film, I learned a martial art named Silat, which originated from South East Asia. After that I sometimes refer to Silat when I want to illustrate an attractive action scene.
A while ago, Fujimoto Tatsuki-sensei did something inspired by The Raid in Chainsaw Man. When I saw it I thought “How nice, I’ll do that too!!” The fight scene between Choso and Yuji (in chapter 104) in the Shibuya Incident was inspired by The Raid 2 (2014).
Panel caption: Choso vs. Itadori in the Shibuya Incident. The close-range battle takes place in the confined space of a restroom in the Shibuya Station. (Volume 12, chapter 104)
Akutami-sensei discovered a new interest when he watched “A Taxing Woman” again before paying homage to it. This series is also sensei’s favorite. (*Note: Mei Mei’s cover in ch. 102 is a homage to the 1987 Japanese movie A Taxing Woman. See comparison here.)
FAVORITE JAPANESE MOVIES
Director: Kazuhiko Hasegawa
FAVORITE KOREAN MOVIES
Director: Bong Joon-ho
Director: Lee Jeong-beom
Director: Kim Seong-hun
THE COMPLETE MANUAL TO CURSES
CURSES
Born together with the creation of humankind, we will talk about the "curses" that continue to infest this world.
PHENOMENAE
Mysteries and threats originate from negative feelings.
Every year, around ten thousand mysterious deaths and disappearances occur in Japan. Most of them are caused by "curses" - negative emotions that have escaped the human body. In other words, a curse is "stress". Because of that, they have existed since the creation of humankind.
CURSES ACCUMULATE IN PLACES FULL OF MEMORIES — Schools and hospitals are locations where many people's memories remain. Whenever a person has a "bad memory," these places become a receptacle of emotions, and curses accumulate there. It’s common to place powerful cursed objects in such locations in order to ward off evil.
SEALS
Using talismans to control curses.
Sealing is an alternative for containing powerful curses that can't be exorcized. Usually, a talisman infused with cursed energy is used, but the seal weakens with the passage of time and the object starts to attract curses in order to feed off of them.
Panel caption: Ryomen Sukuna's finger seems to have been sealed using the secret buddhist sutra "Method for Eliminating Enemies (摧魔怨敵法)", also known as "The Setting in Motion of the Wheel of the Dharma" or "Promulgation of the Law (転法輪法)".
RESIDUALS
Traces of cursed energy attached to objects.
Storing a cursed object for a long period of time or using a cursed technique that releases cursed energy always leaves a trace. Usually, when a sorcerer says there's an "aroma similar to Jujutsu" in the area, they're referring to "cursed energy residuals". Unlike cursed spirits, which are an accumulation of curses, a residual has very faint traces of cursed energy. Normal people are unable to notice it and, depending on the intensity of the cursed energy, even sorcerers might not notice it if they're not paying attention.
It's possible to trace the emitter of the cursed energy through the residuals that were left behind. Following that trail is a basic investigative activity for sorcerers and leads to the exorcism of many curses.
Panel caption: The box in which Ryomen Sukuna's finger was sealed was full of cursed energy residuals.
EXORCISMS
Forms of suppression applied only to curses.
Curses are an accumulation of negative emotions from human beings. There are three ways of dealing with them and avoiding a disaster. The first one is to exorcize them using negative energy. The second method, which was shown earlier, involves sealing them. The third consists of the curse being broken by the person responsible for creating it.
*Translated from the official PT-BR edition of the fanbook by anon.
Wielders of unique supernatural abilities who make a living through exorcizing curses. This traces the history of jujutsu sorcerers.
THE HISTORY
Of those who protect the weak, keep curses in check, and make a living from exorcisms.
The “curses” created by humans with the acquisition of the ego had always caused widespread torment and damage. However, a group of people who hunted curses with systematic use of jujutsu eventually emerged. This was the birth of the jujutsu sorcerer. They protected non-jujutsu sorcerers and acted in the shadows during history’s darkest moments.
A little over 1000 years ago, during the Heian period when jujutsu sorcery was at its peak, a group of families rose to prominence among jujutsu sorcerers. They were called the Three Noble Houses and have remained the most prominent families in jujutsu society to the present day. The Gojo family descended from Sugawara no Michizane, one of the three great vengeful spirits of Japan. The Gojo family, who passed down the cursed technique Limitless, finally acquired the Six Eyes again for the first time in approximately 400 years with the birth of Gojo Satoru, the current head of the clan and the strongest jujutsu sorcerer in modern times.
Panel caption: Gojo Satoru, a rare prodigy also blessed with the Six Eyes. The Six Eyes allows the wielder to see cursed energy and for incredibly fine control of cursed energy. Those who possess it are rare even in the history of the Gojo clan.
Panel caption: The Gojo clan operates almost entirely through Gojo Satoru alone. The fate of the jujutsu world rests on his shoulders.
ZENIN FAMILY
“You are not a jujutsu sorcerer if you are not from the Zenin clan. You are not human if you are not a jujutsu sorcerer.”
As the satirical words of a certain Heian era aristocrat suggests, this is a clan that has gained an unshakeable position in history by taking in and bringing together jujutsu sorcerers with powerful techniques into their family. That is the Zenin Family. Therefore, the strength of this family lies in their multiple inherited techniques, such as Projection Sorcery and the Ten Shadows Technique. On the other hand, those who do not inherit the inherited technique are treated as an outcast, even if they are blood relatives.
(*Note: "You are not a jujutsu sorcerer if you are not from the Zenin clan. You are not human if you are not a jujutsu sorcerer." The quote is based on "You are not human if you do not belong to the Taira clan" from the Tale of the Heike.)
KAMO FAMILY
The ancient and historically pure onmyoji bloodline.
They're the onmyoji who rose to prominence in the Heian period and made their name well known as jujutsu sorcerers. The Kamo family is very traditional and orthodox. It is considered the most prestigious family of the Three Noble Houses, and is the most involved with the higher-ups of the jujutsu world.
The Kamo family held in high-esteem the traditions and social standing of the jujutsu world, as well as their family lineage and inherited techniques, for generations. The Blood Manipulation technique, which involves manipulating one's own blood and anything it comes in contact with, is suitably appropriate for the Kamo family.
However, the history book of the Kamo family is the only one to be stained. In the early Meiji period, the Kamo family produced the most evil sorcerer in history. It was his uncontrollable and dark intellectual curiosity about jujutsu that led him to committing heinous acts on a woman with a singularly unique body composition, the results of which are still preserved as special grade cursed objects to this day.
VALUE OF BLOODLINES AND TECHNIQUES AMONG THE THREE NOBLE HOUSES — There are only two things that make the Three Noble Houses the most prestigious families. The first is bloodline, which carries their family name. The second, more important factor is their cursed techniques, which carries their power on.
Panel caption: Kamo Noritoshi was active during the early Meiji era. He toyed with the body of a woman who possessed a unique body composition and created the Cursed Womb Death Paintings. There has been no sign or news of him thereafter.
*TL courtesy of soukatsu_ (tinyurl.com/xe8464sv) and _maihor (tinyurl.com/342b84xy) on Twitter
A world of jujutsu sorcery that has protected humanity from the shadows since ancient times. This will reveal insights on parts of it.
DEN OF VICE
The upper echelons of modern day jujutsu society, long tied to tradition, go hand-in-hand with shady wrongdoing.
Long ago jujutsu sorcerers were born to protect people for a living, using jujutsu as a means to exorcise curses spreading rampantly.
There was however, a limit to how long they as individuals could continue to exorcize curses as they grew in number and power, in direct proportion to the growing human population. Eventually, the jujutsu sorcerers joined forces. This is the current world of jujutsu sorcerers today.
However, even the noblest foundational principles can decay over time. The upper echelons of modern jujutsu society became a den of vice interested only in self-preservation, brought about by long periods of dominance [over jujutsu society] and the families bound by their own obsession with maintaining power through bloodline succession.
Panel caption: The higher ups are the elderly men who hold absolute authority and control over the jujutsu world. They peer down at the world from their pedestals, busying themselves with concocting scenarios.
JUJUTSU REGULATIONS
The laws of jujutsu society that must be upheld to protect non-jujutsu sorcerers.
In the world of jujutsu, in which the protection of non-sorcerers is of the utmost importance, the practice of jujutsu and contact with curses demands compliance with many regulations. If a jujutsu sorcerer violates these regulations, immediate action is taken at the discretion of the higher-ups.
JUJUTSU REGULATIONS CURRENTLY DISCLOSED — ARTICLE 9 [Partial excerpt]: A jujutsu sorcerer who intentionally kills a non-sorcerer by invoking a cursed technique is considered a curse user and subject to immediate execution.
TENGEN
Possesses a cursed technique of immortality and is the cornerstone of the barriers protecting Japan.
Japan is a country of jujutsu sorcerers that had been quite protected since ancient times by barriers spread over the key points of the country. The jujutsu sorcerer who continues to be the cornerstone of these massive protective barriers with his own cursed technique of immortality is Tengen.
Although Tengen is immortal, he does not possess eternal youth. Therefore, after a certain amount of aging, he will cease being a person whose body is being remade by his cursed technique, and will evolve into a higher being. Tengen’s will would disappear in the process of that evolution.
All the major protective barriers in Japan, including the one around Jujutsu Tech and even many of the warding techniques are all strengthened by Tengen’s power, so if his power is lost due to his loss of will, all the protections related to jujutsu in Japan would no longer function.
Panel caption: The higher ups of jujutsu society can contact Tengen. In some cases, Tengen himself will appoint those he deems suitable personnel for his missions.
THE FATE OF TENGEN’S STAR PLASMA VESSEL — For the sake of the continued existence of the jujutsu world, Tengen rewrites his physical information once every 500 years, merging with a Star Plasma Vessel whose human body is compatible with him. If his body is completely restored, the effects of his cursed technique will start over and the evolution will not occur.
Panel caption: The Star Plasma Vessel is raised as a person of great importance from birth in order to fulfill their mission. The higher-ups do also prepare for unforeseen circumstances though…
*TL courtesy of soukatsu_ on Twitter (tinyurl.com/444jmseb)
An institution of education within Japan dedicated to cultivating young and powerful jujutsu sorcerers. This is a breakdown of the Jujutsu Technical College system.
ESTABLISHMENT
The two jujutsu technical colleges in Japan that find and cultivate talents of jujutsu sorcerers.
The advancement of the systemization of jujutsu over the course of history has made it possible to cultivate jujutsu sorcerers of new blood by educating those with cursed energy that are not members of the Three Noble Houses or jujutsu sorcerer families.
The resulting jujutsu school system became the Jujutsu Technical College. To the public, it is a system of religious schools whose expenses are paid for by the national and metropolitan (or prefectural) governments as highly classified expenditures. The metropolitan government covers part of the costs since the magnitude of curses is significantly different from that of rural areas.
Even after graduation from the technical college, many jujutsu sorcerers will continue to use the school as a base of operations as it acts as an intermediary and provides mission support.
COUNTERMEASURES
Protecting the future of jujutsu sorcerers from the lure of evil wrongdoing.
As mentioned previously, there are humans with potent cursed energy other than those born into the Three Noble Houses or a family of jujutsu sorcerers.
However, for those who don’t know what cursed energy is, a life in which curses are visible is a living hell. And that is not all. Even if they are able to utilize their cursed energy, to possess a power that is seen as different from others increases the risk of being pulled onto a path of wrongdoing.
Thus the establishment of the jujutsu technical colleges also functions effectively as a strategy to counter the outbreak of curse users.
Panel caption: Yoshino Junpei - The younger someone is fascinated with power, the more easily they can be ed adrift. There will be times when even a jujutsu sorcerer will not be enough to save them.
ADMISSIONS
There are a wide variety of circumstances that lead to enrollment, regardless of whether a student recommended themselves or otherwise.
There are many situations in which a student would be admitted into the technical college, such as those coming from a family of jujutsu sorcerers or those who were scouted because of their hidden cursed energy.
Although there is no particular obligation to enroll students from the Three Noble Houses whose families can facilitate a well-rounded training environment, some enroll to prove their abilities, while others enroll with ulterior motives.
Panel caption: The talented individuals who will someday bear the weight of the jujutsu world’s future with the abilities they’ve discovered, are gathered at the Jujutsu Technical College. All tuition fees are waived, by the way.
THE BARRIER
The essence of Jujutsu in Japan, hidden behind virtual images.
Although it’s located somewhere within the Tokyo metropolitan area, it’s hard to believe the foothills of Mt. Mushiro are so deep in a metropolitan area. As you pass through the mountains, you will be spellbound by the magnificent temples and shrines that line the bases of the two massive mountains. This is the site of the Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu Technical College.
However, most of those temples and shrines are simply facades, and Tengen shuffles their arrangement with his Barrier Technique daily. A single door, out of more than a thousand of the entrances to the false temples and shrines that are rearranged daily, leads to the Vault of Taboo, where highly dangerous cursed objects are stored, and to the elevator that descends to the very bottom of the technical college.
Upon arrival at the lowest level, there is a visiting path to the Tomb of the Star, which is the foundation of all the major barriers protecting Japan, and where Tengen kneels. By passing through the correct (righteous) path, one can finally find their way and reach the main inner shrine. At the center of the main shrine, a sacred tree rooted deeply in the ground towers above all.
After passing through the final gate of the bottom floor, there is a special barrier that only those permitted by Tengen himself are allowed to enter where Tengen is enshrined, which is different from the barrier that envelops the technical college.
Panel caption: A sacred tree that holds the final barrier ascends as if it’s piercing through Mt. Mushiro from deep underground.
*TL courtesy of soukatsu_ on Twitter (tinyurl.com/juesff8)
Continuing with the young jujutsu sorcerer’s jujutsu technical college. Next, we’ll share new information from a different angle.
MISSIONS
Students go out into the field filled with curses as jujutsu sorcerers.
Students who are granted classifications are also considered jujutsu sorcerers. They are assigned missions according to their skill level, conduct exorcisms, and are also paid.
EXCHANGE
The annual sister school exchange gathering.
Avoiding the busy season for jujutsu sorcerers during the summertime. The Tokyo and Kyoto technical colleges host a sister school exchange event. The event is meant to be a “two-day competition consisting of competitive trials decided by the principals of the two schools''; but in reality, every year for the last few years it’s been a jujutsu competition between students representing each school, with a team competition on the first day and individual competitions on the second day. In 2018, the first day of the competition was the Spirit Bash Race. It was interrupted by an attack by a cursed spirit and curse users. On the second day, they continued by hosting a baseball game and the Tokyo school emerged victorious.
SCHOOL REGULATIONS
The student’s main job is to learn about curses.
Students of the Jujutsu Technical College are required to register their cursed energy, and are prohibited from using cursed techniques within the protective boundaries of the technical college without prior declaration of intent to do so. Additionally, if use of unregistered cursed energy occurs within the protective barriers, an alert will go off.
UNIFORMS
Battle attire that makes the most of their individual personalities.
Uniforms are provided to students upon their admission to the school. The designs remain the same throughout the summer and winter terms. Tailoring is done by a tailor acting as a purveyor to jujutsu society, and uniforms are made of materials that are more resistant to cursed energy than ordinary clothing.
Panel caption: Uniforms can be customized to a certain extent. Gojo custom-ordered the hoodie uniform for Itadori.
DORMITORIES
A roost protected by barriers for the students.
Most of the students live in dormitories protected by Tengen’s barriers, on the grounds of the technical college. Basically, students are free to come and go as they please, and there is a dorm mother who is a non-sorcerer. Meals will be provided if you notify the school in advance. Faculty members can also live in the dorms if they choose to do so.
CONTRACTED TRADERS
A small number of contractors handle the facilities.
Contractors involved with handling any facilities on the technical college grounds, from plumbing to installing vending machines, are all carefully vetted. In some cases, alumni of the technical college or windows will act as intermediaries.
JUJUTSU SORCERER CLASSIFICATIONS — The highest possible jujutsu sorcerer classification is Grade 1, and Special Grades (特級 - tokkyu) are considered atypical circumstances. Although they don’t follow any of the technical college’s official operating procedures, jujutsu sorcerers who collaborate [with the school] will be granted a Special (特別 - tokubetsu) grade. (*TN: Please note this last part is specifically referring to Special-Grade 1 sorcerers like Naobito, and not Special Grades like Gojo)
REVIEW FOR PROMOTION — Following a recommendation for promotion by two or more jujutsu sorcerers ranked Grade 1 or higher, the sorcerers will be promoted to the specified classification if they show the appropriate aptitude after undertaking several missions.
TECHNICAL COLLEGE PERSONNEL
*Some TLs courtesy of soukatsu_ on Twitter (tinyurl.com/y8mfyd7x)
Enemies of jujutsu sorcerers, those who incite curses and act for the sake of their own self-interests. The following is an overview of curse users.
HUNGER
The enemies of sorcerers, who make a living by killing using curses.
If those who utilize their aptitude with cursed energy to protect non-sorcerers are considered jujutsu sorcerers, then there have been many since ancient times who did the exact opposite - cursed and murdered non-sorcerers in the pursuit of their own desires and pleasure. Within jujutsu society, they are collectively known as curse users, and should be regarded with caution.
IDEALS
To carry out their ideals by killing non-jujutsu sorcerers with their own hands.
While many curse users indulge in their twisted desires and the pleasure of destroying curses, there are some who turn against the jujutsu world with a resolve that sets them apart from the rest. Geto Suguru - the mastermind behind the Night Parade of 100 Demons Shinjuku-Tokyo jujutsu terrorist attack in 2017. He was an extremely talented sorcerer during his days as a student at the Tokyo Jujutsu Technical College. However, following a certain incident, he began to waver between his disdain for the non-sorcerers that jujutsu sorcerers are sworn to protect, and his own ideal of it. He made his “choice” in August of 2007. Since then, he has been paving the pathway and leading curse users with the dream of eradicating non-jujutsu sorcerers.
*TL courtesy of soukatsu_ on Twitter
ECONOMY
Business involving Jujutsu… for a life of self-indulgence.
Using jujutsu, which is invisible to the eyes of a non-sorcerer, allows for the execution of perfect crimes that can't be judged by the laws of normal society. Because of that, many curse users carry out killings in exchange for money. In addition, intermediaries have taken advantage of the situation and become mediators in the negotiations between clients and criminals. Despite not being sorcerers, they've proven to be skilled at creating a relationship of coexistence with curse users. In the past, an exceptional individual by the name of Fushiguro Toji (formerly surnamed Zenin) acted as a sorcerer killer.
Panel caption: Using clandestine websites, curse users can also become bounty hunters.
SATORU GOJO BURSTS ONTO THE SCENE — With each passing year, there was an increase in activity from cursed spirits, and curse users enjoyed their freedom. But their days of glory ended with the birth of Satoru Gojo.
FACTIONS
Curse users form organizations in order to increase their strength.
Those who are persecuted for having cursed energy end up banding together and building a sort of family, since they share the same experiences. There are also many curse users who create factions because they share the same ideals. Despite their origins, they're all just outcasts and, in most cases, are eliminated as soon as they're identified by the Big Three Families, who take pride in their powerful cursed energy and cursed techniques. Historically, curse user organizations have a very brief existence.
Panel caption: Curse users may form organizations, but each member keeps their own interests a secret.
*Translated from the official PT-BR edition of the fanbook by anon.
An accumulation of negative energy leaked from within a person. A curse that has taken form is called a "cursed spirit.
GRADES
The hierarchical rank of cursed spirits as classified by sorcerers.
Cursed spirits are also divided into grades by Jujutsu Tech. Since that effort is the result of the observations and reports made by windows and sorcerers, the classification of lower grades is quite ambiguous, but cursed spirits that can speak human language rank much higher. The ability to use jujutsu (or lack thereof) is a decisive factor that separates Grade 2 from Semi-Grade 1.
CLASSIFICATION OF CURSES AND SORCERERS — The ability to exorcize a cursed spirit of Grade 4 or lower is what distinguishes a sorcerer from a non-sorcerer.
Sorcerers at Grade 1 or lower possess a clear difference in power compared to curses of the same grade, and are about one grade above them.
SPECIAL GRADE
Cursed spirits that pose an immeasurable threat receive the highest grade classification.
Cursed spirits that can use cursed techniques and possess extraordinary combat abilities are classified as Special Grade. Until 2017, 16 of them were registered. However, it's possible that there are huge disparities in strength between cursed spirits of the same grade.
Panel caption: Ryomen Sukuna and a newly born curse. Both are Special Grade, but the difference in strength between them is evident.
CURSED WOMB (呪胎 - jutai)
Curses that accumulate a lot of cursed energy can become Special Grade cursed spirits.
There are instances in which a cursed spirit born from the accumulation of negative emotions takes the form of a cursed womb. Some cursed wombs can undergo metamorphosis, and many of them are expected to become equivalent to a Special Grade. Because of that, they are already registered and treated as Special Grade Imaginary Vengeful Spirits (特級仮想怨霊) during the observation stage.
IMAGINARY (仮想 - kasō)
The materialization of mysteries that originate from rumors.
Urban legends, famous ghost stories and yokai, and other objects of fear that anyone can think of, even if they do not exist, form images and manifest as cursed spirits of a grade proportional to the strength of people's images of them. These types of curses are registered as “imaginary vengeful spirits" in the world of jujutsu.
Panel caption: An image of the fear is reflected in the attack of the cursed spirit.
VENGEFUL (過呪 - ka ju)
Special grade vengeful spirits that possess boundless cursed energy and can’t be exorcized.
A curse that is fixated on a specific individual and manifests on the condition of harming others is called a “vengeful spirit”. Orimoto Rika, who was once bound to Okkotsu Yuta, was classified as a "special grade vengeful spirit" due to her boundless cursed energy.
IDENTIFICATION
Cursed spirits with a determined origin.
Diseases and their names, which have inflicted such extensive damage that they are etched in the history of humankind, remain the objects of many people’s fears, even those who were not directly affected by them. Curses that originated from the fear of diseases that can be identified by name are called “special grade disease curses (特定疾病呪霊 - tokutei shippei jurei)”.
Panel caption: The fear of smallpox gave shape to the Smallpox Deity.
INCARNATION (受肉 - juniku)
An ancient curse that materialized after obtaining a physical body.
Cursed objects that have been sealed and stored in the Jujutsu Tech Cursed Warehouse possess powerful cursed energy and are indestructible. If by chance one of them is swallowed by a person, the owner of the cursed energy sealed within the object will then be able to control the mind and body of its vessel, and can even change its appearance. This phenomenon is called “incarnation”.
*Translated from the official PT-BR edition of the fanbook by anon.
We will present, according to their respective classification, the many cursed spirits that infest this world.
LOWER-GRADE CURSED SPIRITS (Below Grade 3)
Insignificant cursed spirits born from negative emotions.
Cursed spirits of a lower grade. They don’t have much cursed energy and don’t pose much of a threat, but there are some that can pass through walls.
HIGHER-GRADE CURSED SPIRITS (Above Semi-Grade 2)
With a high level of cursed energy and strength, some are very intelligent.
Compared to the lower grades, these cursed spirits possess a lot of cursed energy. They must be exorcized by experienced sorcerers of a higher grade, since some of them have a high level of intelligence. Cursed spirits at Semi-Grade 1 or higher can use techniques and attacks with cursed energy, which in turn makes exorcizing them even more dangerous.
Hapina Shopping Center Cursed Spirit (Vol. 0, Ch. 2): Equivalent to Semi-Grade 1
Sugisawa Third High School Cursed Spirit (Vol. 1, Ch. 1): Equivalent to Grade 2
Cursed spirit released by Gakuganji (Vol. 5, Ch. 43): Semi-Grade 1
Local Deity (Vol. 9, Ch. 77): Equivalent to Grade 1
Grasshopper Curse/G.U.Y. (Vol. 10, Ch. 86): Grade 2
THOSE THAT LOOK LIKE CURSED SPIRITS
At first glance, they appear to be cursed spirits, but in essence they’re different. Although they behave in a similar way, the major difference is that they possess physical bodies and are visible even to people who don’t have cursed energy.
TRANSFIGURED HUMANS
Those that had the shape of their soul altered by Idle Transfiguration, Mahito’s technique. Their conscience becomes muddled, and there’s no way for them to become human again.
Panel caption: It even looks like a lower-grade cursed spirit. The words it mutters make no sense.
INCARNATED
The state in which a cursed object acquires a physical body by using a human being as a vessel. The conscience of the vessel is lost and the cursed object takes full control.
Panel caption: The appearance after incarnating changes according to the amount of cursed energy possessed by the cursed object.
CURSED SPIRITS OF UNKNOWN GRADE
Cursed spirits whose classification has not been divulged.
We will present the cursed spirits that have not had their classification revealed in the series. Usually, Jujutsu Tech will classify them according to reports made by windows and other people related to the jujutsu world. If unexpected abilities are discovered after the report, their classification might be updated.
Yasohachi Bridge Curse (Vol. 7, Ch. 56)
Kuchisake-Onna (Vol. 9, Ch. 73)
Rainbow Dragon (Vol. 9, Ch. 73)
SPECIAL-GRADE CURSED SPIRITS
Cursed spirits with the highest classification who spread terror among humankind.
They’re the most dangerous cursed spirits. Many possess a level of intelligence that’s equal to or higher than a human being’s and can use cursed techniques. In the world of jujutsu, those with a classification superior to Grade 1 are considered Special Grade, but the individuals within this category present very varied combat abilities. A sorcerer must be Special Grade or at the very least Grade 1 in order to exorcize a Special Grade cursed spirit.
Orimoto Rika (Vol. 0, Ch. 1)
Tamamo-no-Mae Incarnate (Vol. 0, Ch. 4)
Cursed Womb at Eishu Detention Center (Vol. 1, Ch. 5)
Finger Bearer at Eishu Detention Center (Vol. 1, Ch. 6)
Jogo (Vol. 2, Ch. 10)
Mahito (Vol. 2, Ch. 16)
Hanami (Vol. 2, Ch. 16)
Smallpox Deity (Vol. 12, Ch. 101)
Dagon as a Cursed Womb (Vol. 12, Ch. 106)
Dagon (Vol. 12, Ch. 109)
*Translated from the official PT-BR edition of the fanbook by anon.
“To control a curse with a curse” — we approach the essence of “jujutsu”, which has been practiced since ancient times.
CURSED ENERGY (呪力 - juryoku)
Negative emotions manifest curses.
"Cursed energy“ is the energy that leaks out from the negative emotions of human beings. Sorcerers voluntarily generate cursed energy, as if they were generating their own electricity, and make full use of it in order to activate a variety of techniques. Since negative emotions like anger, hatred, envy, and jealousy are the triggers for cursed energy, all sorcerers are trained to generate cursed energy from the slightest spark of emotion. This training is also useful to avoid wasting cursed energy when emotions are greatly shaken.
THE INNATE DOMAIN (生得領域 - shōtoku ryōiki) ESTABLISHES THE FOUNDATION OF A TECHNIQUE — The "innate domain" is the space that we are born with, which can be called a "mental landscape" that embodies our inner heart. This includes not only sorcerers, but also non-sorcerers.
TALISMANS (呪符 - jufu)
Tags that have curse energy channeled in them, and have great utility in their usage.
A talisman is a note filled with curse energy or a curse technique beforehand, and can have various effects. There are various ways to use it such as "stick it on the target" or "channel cursed energy into it". And there are a great variety of uses such as summoning shikigami or activating easy barrier techniques, or even sealing or supervising powerful cursed items. It has such great utility, that as long as cursed energy is channeled into it, even non-sorcerers can provide assistance with them.
Panel caption: Low ranked sorcerers using it to summon shikigami.
Panel caption: Even the Kyoto Goodwill Event used talismans.
SHIKIGAMI (式神)
Otherworldly Demon-Gods* used by sorcerers.
Age-old creations that gave Onmyodo its origins, these are demon-gods or servant-gods that are unable to be seen by non-sorcerers. Using mediums like talismans, they are summoned through a variety of sorcery techniques. And by being tamed, will be subordinate to a sorcerer.
(*TN: Bear in mind, "demon god" is clearly just flowery language here. It's not actually gods of demons. Demon-God/Kishin, interestingly, is what Choso called Yuji in ch 139 when they were hunting cursed spirits. Just take it to mean monstrous creatures.)
Panel caption: The Ten Shadows Technique summons shikigami from the shadows.
Let’s expand deeper into the domain and talk about the “jujutsu” used by sorcerers and spirits.
TECHNIQUE (術式 - jutsushiki)
The act of pouring out cursed energy and activating it.
A technique is activated when cursed energy is poured into it, and this is called “jujutsu.” Most sorcerers are born with an innate technique engraved into them, and the techniques they can use are fixed.
A TECHNIQUE IS ACTIVATED BY A BASIC “FORWARD ROTATION” (順転 - junten) — Cursed energy is basically negative energy that is rotated forward and released. Therefore, an innate technique is also activated through a forward rotation. Negative energy is suitable for attacking, but not suitable for recovery.
(*TN: Junten is translated as lapse by Viz, but literally means to rotate something forward)
REVERSE (反転 - hanten)
Reverse Cursed Technique produces “positive” energy
Multiplying negative cursed energy with negative cursed energy produces positive cursed energy. This is called Reverse Cursed Technique, and enables physical recovery.
However, it requires an extremely delicate ability to manipulate cursed energy, so there are only a few sorcerers who can use it.
Panel caption: Satoru Gojo made use of Reversed Cursed Technique to reach a divine state with the Limitless Technique.
INHERITED (相伝 - sōden)
Traditional techniques from the ancestors of the Big Three Families.
Innate techniques tend to be passed on to those of the same bloodline. The three families have maintained their authority and prestige by passing down powerful techniques to their descendants. Therefore, a sorcerer who has been engraved with an inherited technique is guaranteed an important position in the family.
EXTENSION (拡張 - kakuchō)
An original technique that applies the innate cursed technique.
An innate cursed technique cannot be changed, but an original jujutsu technique that applies the innate technique can be activated.
The extension technique is established by expanding on the interpretation of a cursed technique, for example, it is possible to cover a large area by confining the cursed energy (technique) to the material you touch. (*Note: This example refers to Nanami’s Collapse, which is an extension of his innate Ratio Technique)
EXPANSION (展開 - tenkai)
The culmination of a jujutsu battle by expanding a domain.
Domain expansion… an innate domain imbued with a cursed technique, it is the act of embodying with cursed energy. After deployment, the cursed technique will have a sure-hit effect, and the user’s attributes also increase. It is called the “culmination of a jujutsu battle” because it can be said that a domain expansion = the end.
However, it consumes an enormous amount of cursed energy, so there are some disadvantages such as difficulty in using a technique after deployment.
AMPLIFICATION (展延 - ten’en)
Wrapping oneself in a domain like “water”.
The act of expanding a domain thinly, like a film, over one’s own body is called Domain Amplification. When Domain Amplification is activated, it can neutralize the sure-hit effects of a Domain Expansion.
It can also neutralize the technique of any target that is touched, and has the great merit of allowing the user to act freely even while it is activated.
However, while using Domain Amplification the innate technique cannot be activated, so the user is limited to employing physical attacks.
Panel caption: “Neutralizing jujutsu through Domain Amplification” This means that the attack will hit a sorcerer no matter what technique they have.
(*TN: Amplification is the official Viz translation for ten’en. Ten’en, tenkai and kakuchō are all difficult to translate to English accurately because they all literally mean expansion with small changes in nuance. Ten’en can be more literally translated as a “small-range expansion” while tenkai is a "wide-range expansion", and kakuchō is a more general term for expansion such as "expand your knowledge")
The “jujutsu” used by sorcerers. We will go deeper and deeper into the abyss.
MANIPULATION (操作 - sōsa)
Cursed energy manipulation is the foundation for all jujutsu.
The theory is that cursed energy “flows” from the navel to the chest, shoulders, arms and fists. Controlling cursed energy is the first step towards becoming a jujutsu sorcerer.
Panel caption: A training scene at Jujutsu Technical College. Students learn about the importance of cursed energy manipulation on a daily basis.
TAIJUTSU (体術)
A sorcerer’s taijutsu (lit. body technique) unleashes their cursed energy.
Proficiency in taijutsu is essential for any sorcerer, regardless of whether or not they have an innate technique. Blows that are unleashed with cursed energy become weapons for exorcizing cursed spirits, and when combined with a cursed technique, they have the power to deal inevitable punishment.
Panel caption: An attack using a fist loaded with cursed energy. It’s very effective not only against cursed spirits, but also in PvP battles.
SECRET ART (秘伝 - hiden)
Unique domain countermeasures inherited by the Big Three Families
With a history of around a thousand years, the Big Three Sorcerer Families have accumulated and kept secret the skills for dealing with the techniques of cursed spirits and curse users.
The secret art Falling Blossom Emotion is an anti-domain technique that protects you by releasing your own cursed energy the moment you are touched by a sure-hit technique activated by your opponent.
SCHOOL OF THOUGHT (流派 - ryūha)
“New Shadow Style” gave birth to the “domain” for the weak.
Sadatsuna Ashiya, the founder of the New Shadow Style during the Heian period, devised a Simple Domain to protect his students from vicious curse users and cursed spirits. A binding vow forbids the technique from being deliberately transmitted to the outside. However, it seems that “seeing and stealing” was not included in the binding vow.
BLACK FLASH (黒閃 - kokusen)
A black flash of light that approaches the essence of cursed energy.
The moment when cursed energy is applied within 0.000001 seconds of a physical hit, space is distorted and that cursed energy sparks black. This phenomenon is called Black Flash in the world of jujutsu. It’s a “critical hit of cursed energy”, which means the attack hits the most vulnerable points of the opponent. Its destructive power is equal to a normal hit to the power of 2.5, and a sorcerer capable of unleashing it intentionally does not exist.
However, there is an immeasurable difference in the understanding of the essence of cursed energy between sorcerers who have experienced Black Flash and those who haven’t. Those who have experienced it are said to stand on a different level.
We will present the main cursed techniques and taijutsu moves used by sorcerers in fights.
*This section was translated from the official PT-BR edition of the fanbook by anon, unless otherwise stated.
MOON DREGS (澱月 - orizuki)
Lethal poison released by the tentacles of a shikigami.
A technique that summons a jellyfish-like shikigami that secretes, through its tentacles, poison refined by cursed energy. That substance invades the body of the victim until it completely takes over.
When faced with an adversary capable of neutralizing the poison, the shikigami acts as a shield that protects the user from physical hits and can attack using sharp spikes.
Panel caption: It’s possible to adjust the size of the shikigami and the potency of the poison, so that it terrorizes the target as it slowly spreads through their body.
PUPPET MANIPULATION (傀儡操術 - kairai sōjutsu)
Remote manipulation of cursed corpses at will, as if they were a part of the user.
A technique that allows for the control of high-performance puppets through cursed energy, being able to perform precise movements. The user shares sight, hearing, etc. with the puppet, and conversation is also possible. In order to achieve high cursed energy output like with Mechamaru, the user needs to be near the puppet.
Panel caption: All of Mechamaru’s techniques are exceptionally powerful. Kokichi Muta, the sorcerer who controls him, has a high output and a vast cursed technique range thanks to his Heavenly Restriction
ULTIMATE MECHAMARU - MODE: ABSOLUTE
Armored Puppet Mechamaru Prototype No. 0
Years of restriction generated an enormous amount of cursed energy.
As a trump card, Kokichi Muta used a gigantic armored puppet that he could control from the inside. The huge output he uses to operate the puppet was obtained by converting the years that he lived bound by a Heavenly Restriction into cursed energy.
Panel caption: The amount of cursed energy output is determined by how many years are used in the conversion. Because the energy is finite, this method is risky but also immensely powerful.
DIVERGENT FIST (逕庭拳 - keitei ken)
Double the impact with just one strike! An unusual attack that tricks the opponent.
A taijutsu technique that was born from Itadori’s superhuman agility. Usually, a strike and the cursed energy infused in it will hit the target at the same time, but in Itadori’s case, the flow of cursed energy can’t keep up with the high-speed blow, causing a lag between the two impacts. The result is an accidental two-stage attack. The first strike doesn’t have much cursed energy and won’t be as powerful, but Itadori compensates for it with his physical strength.
Panel caption: The technique was born by accident, but the cursed energy that comes after the first impact is hard to evade.
CONSTRUCTION (構築術式 - kōchiku jutsushiki)
Using cursed energy to create cursed objects.
A technique that allows for the creation of an object from scratch using cursed energy. The most distinctive feature of this technique is that once the object is created, it remains even after the technique is deactivated. Although it consumes an enormous amount of cursed energy and is a heavy burden on the user’s body, the ability to create anything with cursed energy has many practical applications.
Panel caption: Mai pretended to have used all of her revolver's ammunition in order to catch her sister off guard with Construction.
SÉANCE TECHNIQUE (降霊術 - kōrei jutsu)
Taking in the information of the body and soul of the dead into a new vessel.
A technique for invoking the dead, using oneself or another person as a substitute (*TN: The JP word for substitute here is “yorishiro 依代” which, in Shinto terminology, refers to an object capable of attracting spirits and giving them a physical space to occupy.) To use this technique, a part of the body of the person that will be invoked is required. There is also the risk that the sorcerer will be vulnerable until the technique is activated.
Panel caption: Since they are defenseless until the cursed technique is activated, it is essential to have someone to protect the sorcerer.
The degree of reproduction is perfect, and the techniques [the person being invoked had] while alive can be used without any restrictions. If the soul is invoked, it may resist the will of the medium and the sorcerer and become uncontrollable, so Granny Ogami invokes the “physical information only.”
Panel caption: Granny Ogami séances only the physical information of Zenin Toji to her grandchild. The superhuman physical abilities of the Heavenly Restriction were recreated.
BLACK BIRD MANIPULATION (黒鳥操術 - kokuchō sōjutsu)
A flock of black birds that offer their sight and lives to their master.
A technique that manipulates crows and allows for a large quantity of them to be controlled at the same time. The birds can also share their vision with the user, which is useful for missions involving infiltration and surveillance. Additionally, Mei Mei can use a binding vow that puts her own life at risk, which in exchange removes the crow’s inherently weak cursed energy limit and forces them to do a suicide attack by striking the opponent with their body. This move is called Bird Strike.
Panel caption: A life-threatening binding vow removes the bird’s cursed energy limitation and increases its attack ability.
Panel caption: This technique allows for the manipulation of many crows at the same time. All of them can be used for Bird Strike.
CURSED SPEECH (呪言 - jugon)
Words* infused with cursed energy.
An inherited technique of the Inumaki clan, it allows for words to be infused with cursed energy and released onto an opponent. Due to the nature of the technique, daily conversation is limited, but the offensive power is tremendous. It’s a powerful technique, capable of crushing enemies just by saying “Crush”.
Words are effective even when transmitted through an electronic device.
This technique can also be used from a distance, when the enemy is far away from the reach of the user’s voice. Cursed Speech still has an effect even when amplified through a loudspeaker or a telephone.
Panel caption: Toge used a loudspeaker to manipulate many people using Cursed Speech.
Panel caption: Even a whisper through the phone has an immediate effect.
Powerful words come with a heavy price.
The more powerful the Cursed Speech used, the greater the damage to the user’s throat. Also, if the target is of a higher grade, the sorcerer might get injured.
(*TN: Translated as simply “words”, the original JP uses the term “kotodama 言霊” which is essentially impossible to translate to EN in a concise way. You can read more about it here.)
● MAIN CURSES USED BY INUMAKI TOGE
“Explode” ..................... Explodes the target
“Get twisted” ............... Twists the target
“Get crushed” .............. Crushes the target
“Crumble away” .......... Presses the target to the ground, as if they were being crushed by gravity
“Don’t move” ............... Paralyzes the target
“Sleep” ......................... Makes the target fall asleep
“Run away” .................. Forces the target to flee
“Stop” ........................... Suspends the target’s movements (not limited to living beings)
“Blast away” ................. Blows away the target
● OKKOTSU’S COPY OF INUMAKI’S CURSED SPEECH
“Die” ............................ Steals the life of the target
CURSED SPIRIT MANIPULATION (呪霊操術 - jurei sōjutsu)
Taking in cursed spirits and using them as servants.
A technique that allows the user to freely manipulate the cursed spirits they’ve tamed and absorbed. It does not require a medium, and the cursed energy of the captured cursed spirits can be used to activate a cursed technique. There’s also no limitation to the number of cursed spirits that can be absorbed, and Geto had over 4000.
Panel caption: The strength of cursed spirit manipulation lies in the large quantity of moves that can be used.
Panel caption: If the difference in grade is two levels or more, the sorcerer can absorb the cursed spirit almost unconditionally, without having to tame it first.
ROT TECHNIQUE (蝕爛腐術 - shokuran fujutsu)
A countdown to corrosion begins as soon as the blood invades the body.
This technique is activated when the blood infused with cursed energy enters the body of the opponent through the mucous membranes or wounds. Once inside the body, the blood begins to decompose at the point of entry, poisoning the flesh and causing it to decay. It’s a terrifying technique that paralyzes the victim due to the pain caused by the poison, killing them within 10 to 15 minutes.
Panel caption: With the Maximum technique “Wing King”, the deadly blood takes the shape of wings and can be launched.
Panel caption: Once the target is exposed to blood, Decay is activated and decomposition begins.
STRAW DOLL TECHNIQUE (芻霊呪法 - sūrei juhō)
The force of the curse that strikes the doll spreads to the target.
Through nails, a hammer, and a straw doll, cursed energy is poured into the target’s body. The condition to activate the technique is to obtain a part of the target’s body, stuff it into the straw doll, and drive a nail infused with cursed energy into it. As long as these conditions are met, even long-distance opponents will be affected.
Panel caption: It’s possible to activate the technique using a strand of hair or blood from the opponent as a medium. The strength of the technique also increases when the medium used is a rare body part, such as an internal organ or hands and feet.
Pouring cursed energy into the target’s body by piercing it with a nail.
“Hairpin” is a technique that allows for a cursed energy attack without using a straw doll. The target is destroyed by having cursed energy poured into their body after being directly pierced with cursed energy infused nails. Since the time between the nail being inserted and the cursed energy pouring in can be freely adjusted by the sorcerer, it is possible to intentionally delay the attack. Along with “Resonance”, it is a conventional attack of the Straw Doll technique.
Panel caption: If a Black Flash occurs at the moment the nail pierces the target, the destructive power of Hairpin greatly increases.
BLOOD MANIPULATION (赤血操術 - sekketsu sōjutsu)
The Kamo clan’s inherited technique of manipulating blood.
A technique that allows the user to manipulate and attack with blood reinforced with cursed energy. It’s possible to create a myriad of moves by combining techniques from Blood Manipulation, like Piercing Blood, which takes the blood that was compressed using Convergence, and then launches it at the opponent at supersonic speeds.
Panel caption: The greater the pressure exerted by Convergence, the greater the speed and strength of Piercing Blood will be.
A variety of long and short range attacks are possible.
There’s a wide variety of attacks that can be easily applied in battle. For example, Supernova launches the compressed blood in all directions, like a buckshot, and Flowing Red Scale increases the user’s physical ability during combat.
Panel caption: By attaching blood to a weapon, the sorcerer can freely manipulate the trajectory of the arrow.
Panel caption: Physical ability is increased by manipulating blood components.
Panel caption: With a rope made out of blood, the user can instantly bind the opponent. (*Note: Referencing Crimson Binding, which Kamo uses on Nue in ch. 44)
Overcoming the weaknesses of Blood Manipulation.
The user of this technique can do whatever they please as long as they have blood available, but they’ll be defenseless if they run out or if the technique is interfered with. However, because it’s an inherited technique, and its weak points are well-known, it’s necessary to take precautionary measures
Panel caption: Noritoshi Kamo always carries blood bags.
Panel caption: Choso completes Blood Manipulation inside his own body, in response to being unable to use his technique due to the outside environment.
PROJECTION SORCERY (投射呪法 - tōsha juhō)
Naobito divides 1 second into 24 frames and freezes his field of view for 1 second, which allows him to produce movements in advance. If the opponent does not follow the 1/24 rule and doesn‘t abide by the laws of nature, they get frozen. So if Naobito succeeds in performing the predetermined set of movements, it feels as if only a second has passed.
Naobito practiced high speed combat with this technique and because of it became known as the fastest sorcerer. After the set of movements is determined, Naobito produces his movements in advance, the same way an animation would. It allows him to trace these movements earlier, and at high speeds.
RATIO TECHNIQUE (十劃呪法 - tōkaku juhō)
Divides the target into a 7:3 ratio, forcibly creating a weak spot.
A technique that forcibly creates a weak spot. The length of the opponent is divided into 10 lines, and the ratio point of 7:3 turns into a weak spot. Any attack that hits this spot will be a critical hit.
Panel caption: It can easily damage stronger opponents, and easily activates Black Flash.
Panel caption: In order to attack a larger area, he aims and shoots at the weak spot of the target of destruction.
EXTENSION TECHNIQUE: COLLAPSE — An extension technique that applies cursed energy to an object destroyed by the Ratio Technique. If something like a wall is destroyed, the resulting rubble becomes a weapon, allowing a wide area to be attacked at once.
TEN SHADOWS TECHNIQUE
Manipulating ten kinds of shikigami using shadows as a medium.
An inherited technique of the Zenin family that uses shadows as a medium in order to summon shikigami with various prearranged abilities. In total there are ten kinds of shikigami, but the first shikigami that is granted are Divine Dogs White and Black.
Panel caption: The first shikigami, Divine Dogs, are very convenient and possess high agility as well as excellent sensing and searching abilities.
For the others, the sorcerer must perform an exorcism ritual (調伏の儀 chobuku) in order to subdue the shikigami. Once a shikigami is subdued, it can be summoned at will. If a shikigami is completely destroyed, it can’t be summoned again, but the techniques and powers left behind by the destroyed shikigami will be passed on to the others.
Panel caption: By taking the power of the destroyed White Divine Dog, Black Divine Dog power-ups into Totality.
Currently, there are 6 types of shikigami that have already been subdued by Megumi, aside from Totality (and excluding the extension technique.) There are 3 other kinds of shikigami, excluding the yet-to-be-subdued Mahoraga.
EIGHT-HANDLED SWORD DIVERGENT SILA DIVINE GENERAL MAHORAGA — This is a shikigami that has not yet been subdued by any of the past Ten Shadows Technique users. It analyzes enemy attacks in order to gain resistance and land effective hits.
EXTENSION TECHNIQUE: THE WELL’S UNKNOWN ABYSS — Shikigami created by combining Nue and Toad through an extension technique. Because of that, it can be summoned again even if it is destroyed.
DOMAIN EXPANSION: CHIMERA SHADOW GARDEN — A swamp of shadows is created throughout the entire domain, where the Ten Shadows Technique can be used to its fullest by quickly manifesting shikigamis and clones (*bunshin no seisei 分身の精製 lit. refined alter egos).
BOOGIE WOOGIE (不義遊戯)
A technique activated with applause that swaps the position of the target.
A technique that swaps the place of the user with their target, with only a clap of the hands being needed to activate it. It seems simple, but it proves to be efficient in confusing the opponent, who won’t know which object or person will be swapped. Also, the user can clap without necessarily activating the technique, ensuring that the opponent will be even more confused.
Panel caption: It doesn’t have to be a person. Anything that has enough cursed energy and is within the technique’s range can be swapped.
Panel caption: Who will have their position swapped? Me or my opponent’s ally…? Once stuck in that train-of-thought, the opponent is unable to escape.
MANJI KICK (卍蹴り - manji geri)
A fluid, high-level Taido kicking technique, executed from a blind spot.
By applying hizanuki (膝抜き), an ancient Japanese martial arts technique that relaxes the knees, the attacker slides towards the opponent’s feet, as if falling down, and executes the kick from a low position. That way, the opponent gets the impression that their attacker has suddenly disappeared and, immediately after, the kick strikes them from a blind spot.
Panel caption: In addition to the knees, the hips and shoulders are also relaxed in order to achieve faster and smoother movements.
Panel caption: Taking advantage of the momentum of the downwards movement, the user puts all the weight of their body into the attack. A strike that gains momentum by shifting the body's center of gravity is very powerful.
IDLE TRANSFIGURATION (無為転変 - mui tenpen)
Changes the shape of the soul of those who are touched by the hands of the user.
A technique that modifies the soul of the target through the touch of a hand. Since sorcerers are not used to protecting their own souls with cursed energy, the outcome of the fight has already been decided as soon as the technique user touches an ordinary sorcerer. Since his technique boasts a deadly power, Mahito’s fighting style is mainly based on finding an opening in the opponent's defense in order to touch them. He does this by using transfigured humans who were modified with Idle Transfiguration.
Panel caption: Mahito keeps a stockpile of humans that have been shrunk to the smallest possible size, so that he can use them however he wants.
Panel caption: The original human’s mass is irrelevant to the transformation process.
By changing the shape of your own soul, it’s possible to freely transform your appearance.
In the same way he reshapes the soul of his opponents, Mahito can also modify his own soul, and such a transformation also affects his physical body. As a result, he can have hooves for feet in order to run faster or cover himself with hardened armor-like skin, among other things.
Panel caption: He possesses many attacks, such as changing his own shape and Soul Multiplicity, which mixes two or more souls.
DOMAIN EXPANSION: SELF-EMBODIMENT OF PERFECTION — Inside Mahito’s domain, Idle Transfiguration affects the target even if he hasn’t touched them. Death is certain to those who don’t possess anti-domain techniques.
INSTANT SPIRIT BODY OF DISTORTED KILLING — Mahito’s true form, after understanding the “essence of the soul” (魂の本質).
LIMITLESS TECHNIQUE (無下限呪術 - mukagen jujutsu)
An absolutely inviolable space created with the power of “infinity”
Under the Limitless technique, anything that tries to approach the user will continue “converging” eternally. The Gojo clan’s inherited technique is a barrier that manifests infinity and prevents any contact.
Panel caption: The effect of the activated technique can be chosen automatically, depending on the mass and level of danger of the approaching object.
Panel caption: The approaching object will become slower and slower the closer it gets to the sorcerer. The two will not be able to touch.
THE SIX EYES
The Six Eyes make the Limitless Technique even more powerful.
A peculiarity of the Gojo clan, which allows them to see through the target’s cursed technique and detect cursed energy. It’s a rare characteristic even among the generations of the clan, but it allows for the precise manipulation of cursed energy. It’s a natural talent that is indispensable in order to use the Limitless Technique to its fullest.
DOMAIN EXPANSION: UNLIMITED VOID — Gojo Satoru’s domain expansion, which brings the target inside the Limitless and forces them to endlessly perform life activities, like perception and communication. The target is inundated with an infinite amount of information and gently guided towards death.
CURSED TECHNIQUE LAPSE: BLUE — When the Limitless technique is reinforced with negative energy, it becomes a force that attracts the target.
CURSED TECHNIQUE REVERSAL: RED — The “power to repel” is the positive energy created by Reverse Cursed Technique that is channeled through the Limitless technique.
HOLLOW PURPLE — The collision of Lapse and Reversal of Infinity results in an imaginary mass that is launched towards the target.
AUSPICIOUS BEASTS SUMMON (来訪瑞獣 - raihō zuishū)
Acting as a medium, the user invokes four types of auspicious beasts.
The innate technique of Grade 2 sorcerer Takuma Ino. By covering his face with a mask, he becomes a medium and can use the abilities of four kinds of auspicious beasts (sacred beasts 霊獣).
AUSPICIOUS BEAST NO. 1: KAICHI (獬豸)
Launches the horn of the one-horned sheep Kaichi. After being launched, the horn follows the target.
AUSPICIOUS BEAST NO. 2: REIKI (霊亀)
Envelops the user with cursed energy water and uses its elasticity for defense. When used on the feet, this ability allows for unique footwork.
AUSPICIOUS BEAST NO. 3: KIRIN (麒麟)
Secretes a drug directly into the sorcerer’s brain, blocking the sensation of pain.
AUSPICIOUS BEAST NO. 4: RYU (竜)
Nobody has ever seen Ryu and lived to tell the tale…..… (According to Ino).
MAXIMUM (極ノ番 - goku no ban)
Sorcerers fundamentally only have one type of innate technique. However, every technique can be expanded on through creativity, giving sorcerers their own original moves. With inherited techniques, sorcerers of the past pass on the original moves they create. Within all that, barring Domain Expansion, every technique has an ultimate move called the Maximum. Additionally, moves that are not Maximum that use the maximum output of curse energy are called Stack (載 - sai).
INVERSE (あべこべ - abekobe)
A technique that inverts the intensity of an attack.
With this ability, a weak blow becomes strong, and vice versa. When the technique is activated, the attacks that hit the user have their intensity inverted. Because of that, even falling down a 41-story skyscraper will not cause much damage.
Panel caption: While Inverse is activated, attacks and techniques are practically annulled, with the exception of nonstandard techniques, like Limitless. The only way to overcome the technique is to attack with both strong and weak strikes at the same time.
Panel caption: Usually, he uses his technique to evade the opponent’s deadly blows, and attacks whenever there’s an opening.
TOOL MANIPULATION (付喪操術 - tsukumo sōjutsu)
Allows for high-speed aerial combat by creating winds of cursed energy.
It is said that deities (付喪神 - tsukumogami) inhabit old objects. With this technique, the sorcerer can use their favorite cursed energy infused broom to create gusts of wind and fly at high speeds. They can manipulate it with ease, as if a soul inhabited it.
Panel caption: She uses her broom for steering, controlling it with prowess. She can also hover in the air. Her basic strategy is to fly at a high speed in order to distract the opponent and then launch a gust of wind from their blind spot.
GAKUGANJI YOSHINOBU’S TECHNIQUE
A cursed melody that uses the sorcerer as an amplifier.
A technique that amplifies the melody created by playing an electric guitar, converts it into cursed energy and launches it at the opponent. It’s ideal for mid-range combat. The cursed energy that’s released becomes a shockwave that crawls across the ground and attacks the enemy.
Panel caption: The sorcerer’s own body works like an amplifier, reverberating the sound of the fight like in a concert. Aside from the cursed energy of the user, this rare technique also requires skill in playing a musical instrument.
SHIGEMO HARUTA’S TECHNIQUE
Evading danger by storing everyday miracles.
A technique that collects miracles, erasing these small bouts of luck that happened throughout the day from the sorcerer’s mind. When the sorcerer is threatened with extreme danger, the accumulated miracles are automatically expended and the crisis is averted.
Panel caption: The amount of stored miracles appear as “patterns” under the sorcerer’s eyes. Every time they are faced with extreme danger, the number of patterns decreases.
JOGO’S TECHNIQUE
A scorching hellfire born from the wrath of the earth.
From a crater set in his palm, the ground, or a wall, he spews out high-temperature flames and magma, burning his target in an instant. In addition, he also possesses a powerful technique called Maximum: Meteor, which drops a huge meteorite that turns a whole town, in all four directions, into ashes and dust.
DOMAIN EXPANSION: COFFIN OF THE IRON MOUNTAIN — Expanding into a scorching domain, just like the inside of an active volcano’s crater. Even before the sure-hit effect, the space is so dangerous that an ordinary sorcerer would be burned to death upon entering the domain. The domain's user can also launch a fatal blow with a single finger. If this flaming attack hits the target head-on, there will be nothing left.
DAGON’S TECHNIQUE
The countless shikigami that spring up endlessly from the sea, the source of life.
It is a technique that is connected to the sea, and manipulates large amounts of water and shikigami shaped like marine creatures. With a tsunami that takes away the enemy's freedom of movement, and a water barrier that prevents attacks, it is excellent at both offense and defense. When his trump card, Death Swarm, is activated, an infinite stream of shikigami will bare their fangs in overwhelming volume.
DOMAIN EXPANSION: HORIZON OF THE CAPTIVATING SKANDHA — A tropical paradise-like realm where the calm sea soothes the soul. The attack strength is especially strong, and Death Swarm becomes a sure-hit.
TENGEN’S TECHNIQUE
Tengen’s immortality technique is the key to the country’s major barriers.
A technique that makes the sorcerer “immortal.” As the aging process progresses beyond a certain level, the cursed technique reshapes the body and evolves into a higher existence, but in exchange the sorcerer’s “will” is completely erased. Therefore, once every 500 years, Tengen merges with the Star Plasma Vessel, and preserves his ego by periodically updating his physical information.
Panel caption: The Star Plasma Vessel is a person who is compatible with Tengen. If the body is renewed, the cursed technique’s effect will be reset*, and it will be possible to maintain the “will” for about 500 years. (*TN: The term used here [初期化 - shoki-ka] is commonly used to refer to a factory reset or formatting a hard drive)
NANAKO'S TECHNIQUE
Affects the subject captured by the camera.
A technique that uses the camera in smartphones. The details of the technique are unknown. But it is thought that when using the camera to take a picture of the target, there is some effect on the photographed target. The camera can be used offensively and defensively, and for a variety of uses.
Panel caption: Taking a picture of herself and her ally. Through the activated effect, they escaped from Jogo's high-powered attack.
HANAMI’S TECHNIQUE
Transforms the vast life force of plants into cursed energy, which is then turned into an armor.
A technique that freely manipulates and manifests plants, such as trees and flowers. Its use is varied, ranging from attacks with sharp branches or extending roots to create a foothold. It also has a peculiar sneak attack called Cursed Bud, which grows by absorbing the opponent’s cursed energy.
Panel caption: The left arm takes the life force of plants and converts it into cursed energy to feed the Flower Offering (供花) on the left shoulder. The accumulated cursed energy is launched from the center of the flower.
PANDA’S TECHNIQUE
Transforms the body when changing between cores.
A technique unique to Panda, who is an Abrupt Mutated Cursed Corpse with three cores. Even if damaged to the point of being incapacitated, he can substitute his active core so that his body transforms and he can continue fighting.
Panel caption: When he changes cores, his strength and abilities also change. In Gorilla Mode, he consumes more cursed energy, but he can also use Unblockable Drumming Beat, a powerful attack that is indefensible.
SMALLPOX DEITY’S TECHNIQUE
If you don’t escape, death from illness is instant: the terrifying combined attack of confinement and burial.
As soon as the domain expansion is activated, the opponent is trapped inside a coffin, the gravestone drops and they’re buried in the ground, which triggers a countdown. Up to this point, the technique is unavoidable. If the target does not escape before the count of 3, they contract a grave disease and die.
Panel caption: Even if the victim manages to escape once, the coffin will imprison them again. The damage caused by the gravestone colliding with the coffin also weakens the target, which makes it more difficult to escape.
MIMIKO’S TECHNIQUE
An ability that hangs the target and hits them in vital spots.
A technique that uses a doll similar to the Teru Teru Bozu (てるてる坊主) amulets to tie and hang the victims from a rope. What the user does with the doll will reflect on the target, with the most common form of attack being hanging the victim by the neck with a rope. The condition to activate the technique is unknown, but, once active, it’s possible to use it to attack the vital points of the victim.
Panel caption: The victims of the technique are hung and exposed, as if they were criminals sentenced to death, which terrorizes enemies.
SUKUNA’S TECHNIQUE
Released by the King of Curses himself, it’s a slashing hellfire of slaughter.
Cursed techniques commonly only have one characteristic, but Sukuna’s technique has been confirmed to have at least two - slashing and flames - which makes it exceptionally powerful. Once it’s activated, it will destroy the enemy in an instant, tearing them apart and burning them down to their bone marrow.
Only a few people are able to fight this technique even for a moment, and most are reduced to nothing before they can resist.
解 - Kai (Dismantle), 捌 - Hachi (Cleave), ■ (?)
Sukuna’s slashing technique is Dismantle, which he uses normally, and the other is Cleave, which is able to be adjusted to the amount of cursed energy and strength of his opponent. When he releases the flames, Sukuna says “Open” (fugue)
Panel caption: It turns out that the three types of attacks have their own uses. Sukuna combines them depending on the situation in order to cleverly beat his opponent.
DOMAIN EXPANSION: MALEVOLENT SHRINE
After the domain is deployed, within the range of its effect, anything with cursed energy will be continuously slashed with Cleave, while anything without cursed energy will be continuously cut with Dismantle.
Panel caption: Sukuna expands a domain with a barrier that is not closed, just like a god. The range of effects is also vast.
*TL courtesy of tempenensis on Tumblr (tinyurl.com/34vrj4zw)
CURSE USER’S TECHNIQUE*
A cloning technique that lets the user constantly change between 5 bodies.
A technique that creates clones (分身体) identical to the main body. These clones are not shikigami. The user can create up to 5 clones, including the main body, and freely alternate between them. It’s also possible to use this technique as an insurance, leaving one of the clones in a safe area as a precaution and replacing it with the main body if there’s any danger.
Panel caption: The clones possess the same physical abilities as the main body, and any information obtained by a clone is conveniently fed back to the main body in an instant.
(*Refers to the curse user who wears a paper bag over their head and fights teen Gojo in ch. 69)
???'S TECHNIQUE
By using this technique, he can control the body. It’s a taboo technique with a lot of mysteries.
A technique that can take over the body by swapping the brain. In addition to the original innate technique of the user, the innate technique engraved in the altered body can also be accessed. The memory of the body is also inherited. By changing into a number of bodies from time to time, he can continue to live for millennia. It’s a technique that exceeds biological reasoning.
Panel caption: The precision of the technique is high, even if one is to use the Six Eyes, they can’t recognize that the body is taken over by another person.
*TL courtesy of tempenensis on Tumblr (tinyurl.com/x4jbbc7)
Cursed Tools, Cursed Corpses, Cursed Objects… we will unravel the many inorganic substances that are tainted by curses.
A sorcerer’s tool imbued with a cursed technique.
A tool used by a sorcerer, imbued with cursed energy and a technique. Tools that slaughter powerful sorcerers and cursed spirits alike. Weapons for serial murder. These tools are created through a terrifying process. They are collectively called cursed tools.
Panel caption: By combining different cursed tools, you can activate different techniques.
THE DARK TRADE OF SPECIAL-GRADE CURSED TOOLS
High-grade cursed tools are imbued with advanced cursed techniques. Some tools can be handled by non-sorcerers, making it possible to kill without being judged by the law. Therefore, even among the general public, they become the subject of transactions involving huge amounts of money.
CURSED CORPSE (呪骸 - jugai)
An independent inanimate object containing a core inside.
Inanimate objects that contain a curse and can become independent, rather than being manipulated, are collectively called Cursed Corpses.
In particular, man-made cursed corpses have a built-in “core”, which is like a human heart, and if this core is destroyed, the cursed corpse will no longer be independent, just like an inorganic substance.
Panel caption: A cursed corpse that changes its behavior depending on the presence or absence of its holder’s cursed energy. This is the work of Yaga Masamichi.
YAGA MASAMICHI’S PUPPET SORCERY — Putting a curse into a substance and making it move. The use of “cursed corpses” originated in the Heian period and branched out, eventually sublimating* into “puppet sorcery.” Currently, the leading figure [in this field] is Yaga Masamichi, and when Panda was born, it became a sensational topic.
(*TN: Sublimating imo is not a commonly used word but is what the original JP used. In psychoanalytic theory, to sublimate means to divert or modify [an instinctual impulse] into a culturally higher or socially more acceptable activity. This seems to imply that puppet sorcery was previously seen as a taboo technique.)
Panel caption: Referred to as a cursed corpse mutation, Panda is Yaga’s masterpiece.
CURSED CORPSE (呪骸 - jugai) AND PUPPET (傀儡 - kairai): SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT REMOTE JUJUTSU
If a cursed corpse is “independence through cursed energy contained within”, then a puppet is “remote control through cursed energy.” This is a method of manipulating a puppet without a core by channeling cursed energy into it and using a technique, which requires a huge amount of cursed energy and talent for manipulating cursed energy. Therefore, do not confuse puppets with cursed corpses.
CURSED OBJECT (呪物 - jubutsu)
Items with a shady history that should be avoided.
“Items with a shady history” embedded with curses, with the exception of weapons… such items are generally classified as cursed objects. Cursed objects are graded in the same way as cursed tools, according to the strength of the curse embedded in each.
Panel caption: Many of the special-grade cursed objects are kept in the Cursed Warehouse at Jujutsu Tech.
SPECIAL-GRADE CURSED OBJECTS ARE INDESTRUCTIBLE
Special-grade cursed objects can’t be destroyed, and their existence is guaranteed under the binding* that they “cease to live and do no harm to others”. In addition, even the binding of super-powerful cursed objects loosen over time and attract curses.
(*TN: So… Viz originally translated this as “constraint” in ch. 55. However, the JP uses the term shibari [縛り] which is the exact same term used for a binding vow. Not to mention the JP word for “binding vow” actually just means “binding” and there’s no “vow” in there at all. While I prefer to keep terms consistent with the Viz translations to avoid confusion, I kept just “binding” here because the second sentence makes more sense, since apparently a binding can loosen over time. Basically, anytime you see the term binding, binding vow or constraint in the manga they all mean the exact same thing.)
We will show you cursed tools, weapons infused with cursed energy used by sorcerers and curse users.
CURSED TOOLS (呪具 - jugu) OF UNKNOWN GRADE
Weapons with cursed energy used to fight curses.
There are two main types of cursed tools: those that became cursed with use, and those that possess a dark history.
Maki Zenin’s Spear (Vol. 0, Ch. 1)
Maki Zenin’s Glasses (Vol. 0, Ch. 1)
Yuta Okkotsu’s Sword (Vol. 0, Ch. 2)
Mimiko’s Rope (Vol. 0, Ch. 4)
Nanako’s Cellphone (Vol. 0, Ch. 4)
Slaughter Demon (Vol. 1, Ch. 4)
Nobara Kugisaki’s Hammer and Nails (Vol. 1, Ch. 4)
Mai Zenin’s Revolver (Vol. 3, Ch. 17)
Kento Nanami’s Machete (Vol. 3, Ch. 19)
Kasumi Miwa’s Sword (Vol. 5, Ch. 36)
Megumi Fushiguro’s Sword (Vol. 6, Ch. 45)
Yoshinobu Gakuganji’s Guitar (Vol. 6, Ch. 46)
Haruta Shigemo’s Sword (Vol. 6, Ch. 52)
Toji Fushiguro’s Sword (Vol. 9, Ch. 71)
Boasting special effects and immense power.
Tools that possess extremely rare special effects. In terms of money, they are like gems worth no less than several hundred million yen. The Inverted Spear of Heaven can forcibly release any activated cursed technique, and is extremely useful in jujutsu battles. Playful Cloud has no special effects, but it boasts the ability to maximize its user’s physical strength.
Playful Cloud (Vol. 6, Ch. 51)
Inverted Spear of Heaven (Vol. 9, Ch. 71)
Chain of a Thousand Miles (Vol. 9, Ch. 75)
COMPARABLE TO SPECIAL GRADE CURSED TOOLS
Here we will present cursed tools with an unknown grade, but that possess cursed techniques with effects equivalent to that of special grade cursed tools. Miguel’s rope is capable of disturbing even Satoru Gojo’s technique, while the Sword of Extermination instantly pulverizes any cursed spirit. They are weapons with such powerful effects that they can be considered “divine instruments” (神具 - shingu).
MIGUEL’S ROPE (Vol. 0, Ch. 4)
A rare tool that takes decades to craft by the sorcerers from Miguel’s homeland. The rope disturbs the opponent’s cursed technique, but its length also shortens with every use.
SWORD OF EXTERMINATION (Vol. 14, Ch. 118)
The sword of shikigami Mahoraga specializes in destroying cursed spirits. The blade is enveloped with the same positive energy as Reverse Cursed Technique and is capable of obliterating a cursed spirit with a single blow. Instead of using positive energy, it can also attack using cursed energy.
*Translated from the official PT-BR edition of the fanbook by anon.
We will discuss the cursed corpses and cursed objects (of special grade) that appear in the series.
CURSED CORPSES
Autonomous inanimate bodies that contain a curse.
They are inanimate objects, such as puppets, that have become autonomous by housing a curse inside them. They also possess a core in place of their heart.
Panda (Abrupt-Mutated Cursed Corpse) (Vol. 0, Ch. 1)
Cathy (Vol. 1, Ch. 3)
Cursed corpse at the abandoned building (Vol. 1, Ch. 5)
Tsukamoto (Vol. 2, Ch. 13)
CURSED OBJECTS
Items with a shady history infused with a curse.
With the exception of weapons, objects that contain cursed energy are called “cursed objects”. Particularly dangerous items, such as Sukuna’s fingers, are called “Special Grade Cursed Objects”. Usually, sealed special grade objects are used as amulets to ward off curses, using the logic of “fighting fire with fire” (In JP 毒で毒を制す lit. “control poison with poison”).
Volume 1, Chapter 2
Special Grade Cursed Object: Ryomen Sukuna (Fingers)
The fingers of Ryomen Sukuna, the “King of Curses (呪いの王)” who existed over a thousand years ago. He was a demon of legend (仮想の鬼神) with 2 faces and 4 arms, and 20 fingers in total. They are indestructible, and a single finger possesses cursed energy equivalent to that of a special grade cursed spirit. With the loosening of the seal, they’ve started to attract curses.
Volume 2, Chapter 11
Special Grade Cursed Object: Prison Realm
A living barrier. It’s a shadow of what Genshin once was, transformed into a cursed object. If the conditions are met, there is nothing that can’t be sealed inside the Prison Realm. The condition is that the target must remain within the effective sealing area (a radius of approximately 4 meters) for one minute after the gate has opened. This one minute refers to the time inside the target’s mind.
Volume 7, Chapter 60
Special Grade Cursed Object: Death Painting Wombs
Like Sukuna’s fingers, Cursed Wombs number 1 to 3, out of the existing 9, were stored inside the cursed warehouse at Jujutsu Tech. They were created after a young woman with a peculiar constitution, which allowed her to become pregnant from a cursed spirit, had 9 pregnancies and 9 abortions. After the death of the fetuses, they became cursed objects. The source of their cursed energy is unknown.
*Translated from the official PT-BR edition of the fanbook by anon.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE ORIGINS OF AKUTAMI GEGE!
AKUTAMI-SENSEI’S BIBLE — MANGA EDITION
The manga version of the corner where Akutami-sensei tells us about his favorite things!
The only manga I bought during my high-school days…
If you’ve read my work, you’ve probably sensed my enthusiasm for Jump works, so this time I’ll spare you.
If I had to name the most memorable manga outside of Jump, I'd have to say ABARA by Tsutomu Nihei, and Imperial Guards drawn by Yu Ito and written by Daisuke Sato, both published by Shueisha. When I was a high school student who didn't have enough money to buy a lot of manga, I re-read these two works over and over and over again.
To tell the truth, I don't often like the main characters in manga, but Imperial Guards is one of the few manga that I can say "I love the main character!” with all my might. Looking back, I feel that it was a really great experience to be able to read and re-read these works in high school.
Because of these three people I can keep my cool.
There are many manga artists that I like, but if I had to pick three, I would say that they are Minoru Furuya, Hiroaki Samura, and Mohiro Kito. I consider Furuya-sensei’s Ping-Pong Club, Green Hill, and Boku to Issho (all published by Kodansha) his "Gag Trilogy", and I especially like Green Hill.
Every time I read Samura-sensei’s Blade of the Immortal (Kodansha) and his short stories, I am keenly aware of how clichéd my dialogue is.
I've always loved Kito-sensei's works because of the unusual way in which he creates atmosphere and fills the setting. Bokurano: Ours (Kodansha) had a tremendous impact on me. Among the many works that deal with the subject [of God], the line "God is nothing more than a formula. Just a part of some law of physics that we have yet to understand” (from Bokurano: Ours vol 11, ch 65) really struck me as a completely new approach to "God”.
Thanks to these 3 sensei, I think I can keep my cool when I write manga.
I'm really jealous of authors who can make things interesting no matter what they write.
I like to read stories by Tomoko Yamashita and Takako Shimura, which are filled with episodes that only women know about. It’s very stimulating to come into contact with an unknown feeling and be like “I see, is that so?”
Yamashita-sensei has published a lot of short stories, and there isn’t even one that is not interesting. When The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window (published by Libre Inc.), which is a genre that hasn’t been drawn much up until now, was released, I was convinced that “this person is interesting no matter what she draws!”
I think that Wayama Yama, who wrote Ushiro no Nikaido (compiled in Muchuu sa, Kimi ni and published by Kadokawa) and Fujimoto Tatsuki are the same type of people. Whenever I read their works, I feel jealous of them and think, "Oh no no, they exist! There are people like this who are interesting no matter what they write.” Above all, I think their readers can read with peace of mind knowing that “this person’s work is absolutely interesting.” To be honest, I am awfully jealous of them.
I’m sorry, Mikoto Aso-Sensei!!
When Akutami-sensei re-read the shojo manga GO! Hiromi GO! (published by Hakusensha), which he loved when he was in elementary school, he noticed that the main characters Hiromi and Kugisaki Nobara were similar to the point that he broke into a cold sweat. The reasons for moving to Tokyo and their personalities are exactly the same… and even though it was done unconsciously, Akutami-sensei is currently doing his best to reflect on this and wants to apologize directly to Aso-sensei someday.
CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER COMMENTARY
*This section was translated from the official PT-BR edition of the fanbook by Rebno, unless otherwise stated.
THE CURSED CHILD
I was so worn out at the time that I was unable to get back the motivation I had found while reading “Hinomaru Sumo” and “My Hero Academia”. The reason for that was, above all, my own lack of skill. But even now, when I think about this time, what comes to mind are my own personal criticisms towards my first editor, Yamanaka, so let's forget about that and move on.
"I'll do what I want and, if it doesn't work out, I'll give up!" — the storyboard of a horror manga made out of desperation was the prototype for the first chapter. There are no changes to Okkotsu and Rika-chan's composition as characters; the proposed plot was about going to haunted places and finding vengeful spirits that could overpower Rika and exorcize her, in order to stop her from killing Okkotsu's relatives (especially his younger sister) out of jealousy.
To maintain public safety, there was a secret government agency responsible for exorcizing spirits in various places by using people like Okkotsu. After being recruited by someone from that agency, Okkotsu would begin his journey to eliminate Rika-chan (and the person that would show up to recruit him would be Maki). I'll admit that, even now, I still prefer this version. That's because I feel like I would be able to continue it in a consistent way, even after finishing the first chapter.
It was then that I got a call from Yamanaka: "I read your storyboard. It's interesting". I was no longer such an innocent person at that time, so a compliment like that wasn't going to really move me. He went on: "It's interesting... but..." — You see?!! I was already sick of that kind of talk that sets your expectations really high just to kill them right after, but nowadays I understand that it was an effort on his part to not discourage a newbie with uncertain abilities. I'm sorry, ok? To sum up my first editor's opinion, he said it was an interesting premise, but the story was stale and too dark. He suggested that I rewrite the narrative into a school setting. Honestly, at the time I thought: "This guy is senseless! He's gonna make me write a school-life story!!". But because of the desperation I mentioned earlier and the low expectations I had for myself, I started to redraw the outline and thought: "Well, if this doesn't work out, it'll be the end for us... right?".
I finished the storyboard of the first chapter of volume 0 and was asked to put it up for discussion at the publication meeting for Jump GIGA (a special edition that's published 4 times a year). I'm sorry, I'm really, really sorry. I was presumptuous and must have said something like: "Other than weird kids that want to become mangakas, who is going to read a series that is only published in a special edition?! I want the main magazine!!!" (Back then, subscribers to the digital version of Weekly Shonen Jump didn't have free access to Jump GIGA. They didn't, right?) But then I remember that, before "Jujutsu", a really fun series by Miki Yuu-sensei called "Ginata Shiki (ぎなた式)" was published in Jump GIGA. It was then that I thought: "If a work like that was published in a special edition magazine, I should also give it a try...", and so, I sent my script to the meeting. It was all good up until then, but Yamanaka started to nitpick my storyboard: "Isn't it better to take out Rika-chan? I think it would be easier to understand if you used a more well-known violent figure, like Oda Nobunaga...". Disconnect. Mental disconnect. To be honest, I don't want to criticize the editors, you know? It seems like you're blaming others for being boring. Having said that, these criticisms are all for my first editor, and the Jump editorial department is unrelated.
I got a call from Yamanaka about the result of the discussion: “The story was approved. Chapter 1 will be the opening chapter of the magazine and have a color page”. I thought: "Yeaaaaahhh!! You see?!! From now on you have to do everything I say, right?! Right?!". He went on: "I'm transferring departments. I'll stay on until the last revision of the first chapter". So I said: "Oh, really...? When is the deadline?".
Yamanaka was transferred. And with that invaluable sacrifice, chapter 1 was completed.
*Translated from the official PT-BR edition of the fanbook by anon.
VOLUME 0, CHAPTER 2*
BLACKER AND BLACKER
I really like director Anno Hideaki (There is a very cute side of Akutami where he cries when watching a video of director Miyazaki and director Anno talking). The cross-examination scene at the beginning of the chapter is literally SEELE. SEELE but with paper doors (shoji)?
My school’s clubs didn’t have any kind of hierarchical seniority system, so I wasn’t forced to go through any physical or emotional difficulties in order to get recognition for my extracurricular activities, which ended up becoming a sort of complex of mine (I’m not saying I agree with this system, ok?). For that reason, I wanted the characters in the manga to have a hard time. It would be unbearable to draw a protagonist like me, someone who has never done anything, but somehow still has an active role in the story, as if it was natural. So, even if there weren’t many, I ended up inserting a few training scenes in the series. The dirty jokes were a desperate attempt to create a junior high atmosphere in the story.
I based Ijichi and Yaga on famous people and thought it was natural to do this without making it known, but as mentioned in the afterword of Volume 0, I was not planning on taking Jujutsu Kaisen to Weekly Shonen Jump, so with the mindset of “only around 5 people will see this!” I used a name and design that is clearly recognizable. I am very sorry.
Rika’s concept is that of a girl which seems to be quite ordinary at first sight, but if you think about it, she is actually dangerous. She refers to herself in the third person (in Japanese)… How cool. In the beginning, Rika’s Vengeful Spirit design had the top of the head open with the brain exposed, to show where the car hit her in the accident, but I noticed that it ended up looking exactly like Nomu (from “My Hero Academia”) and I ended up redoing it.
One of the hanging scrolls behind Geto is a line by Calder (a character from Tite Kubo’s manga Zombiepowder).
Inumaki has thoroughly gone against the direction for use for the medicine, what do you all think about this?
For the development of chapter 3 and 4, it was what I originally had in mind for the climax of “No.9”, in case one day it became a long-term serialization. However, it ended up being a one shot. This may sound bad, but I’m sure that it would’ve been much more interesting if this narrative had been used for “No. 9” instead of “Jujutsu Kaisen”. In the end, I decided it would be better to go ahead with that plot, because I thought it could be the last time I had the chance to publish a story. I thought to myself: “Instead of hoarding this concept for later, I need to focus on coming up with new ideas!” and ended up using it in “Jujutsu”.
VOLUME 0, CHAPTER 3*
PUNISHMENT FOR THE WEAK
In chapter 3, I made one big mistake: there are too many jujutsu sorcerers that are above semi-grade 1. This was not the right thing to do as I wrote the story on the premise that jujutsu sorcerers are a small minority. (Yet Ino is casually there as a Grade 2. I felt like it was just like him to do that.) So please just think of this as a gathering for someone’s birthday.
When Maki says "Don't go thinking you've been recognized or something" she appears to cry a little in the storyboard. But I felt like that was too much, so I'll fix it in the draft! And the storyboard was sent like that. And then! Katayama (new editor) said "I felt like the crying was too forced here." He understands!! This person understands!! As I said before I often send corrections in the storyboard, but I'm relieved when an editor points it out. Yamanaka!! Ora!!!
If you look at the manga “Kenka Shōbai”, when a fight starts there are a lot of scenes which convey to the reader the feeling of the characters saying “I’m gonna kill you!” to each other. I liked this so much that sharing the premise of “a fight to the death” with the reader was very important, and that is what the last page of chapter 3 does.
* Special thanks to Sky for translating from the Korean edition of the fanbook.
VOLUME 0, CHAPTER 4
BRIGHT DARKNESS
My initial idea was to have Rika grow stronger as she became closer with Yuta. That way, as their relationship progressed from “hand holding” to “hugging”, for example, Rika would gradually get more powerful. However, due to length constraints, the excessively vulgar tone that the idea ended up having, and my desire to wrap up the manga properly among other circumstances, I settled for something else.
I have changed the term “lingering scent” from chapter 3 into “residuals” in order to avoid embarrassing connotations, so there were quite a lot of adjustments made to the volume release’s dialogue in order to keep the terminology consistent with the main series – especially so for this chapter. Those who have kept the magazine release may find it interesting to compare the two of them.
The part where Sugawara no Michizane is mentioned was included as a parting gift to the late Yamanaka-san. He kept telling me non-stop for the longest time that “a non-fictional figure should be added to the story”.
The reason why Okkotsu wore a white uniform is the same reason why problematic students are forced to sit in the easiest-to-spot seats in class. After Rika’s curse is undone at the end, he starts wearing a dark uniform – just like everybody else. It will be white again when he comes back to the main series, so, for the already existing Okkotsu fans out there: I would be very happy if you could look forward to it.
I'm planning on saying it in the actual manga as well but if Geto hadn't dispersed his fighting strength (cursed spirits) between Shinjuku and Kyoto, the one to win would have been Geto.
VOLUME 1, CHAPTER 1*
RYOMEN SUKUNA
The first draft was like the first chapter of Bleach. I often pondered: “If it were me, how would I approach Naruto’s Nine-Tailed Fox?” I thought it would be fun to make a person you can never get along with, and this is how I created Sukuna.
Truthfully, the idea was rejected at a serialization meeting once. It used volume 0 as a base too heavily and broke away from a typical first chapter of a shounen manga. Since before submission, I received that kind of comment from Katayama-san, and I myself thought that was true. But because of the slight success received from the GIGA serialization, I thought “Well, it’ll be okay right?!” and before the meeting Katayama-san also said “Well, it should be okay right?!” and of course it was rejected, and later we thought “What part of this did we think was okay?”
That is how we arrived at our current form. If I were to draw the storyboard now, I would combine elements of the hospital with the school, and I would probably leave it to the grandfather to explain about the occult.
*Special thanks to Sky for translating from the Korean edition of the fanbook.
VOLUME 1, CHAPTER 2*
SECRET EXECUTION
I often hear people say that it’s cool that Gojo Satoru has powers like Kakashi-sensei but all I can say is that he’s not really on the same level as Kakashi-sensei.
As for Gojo’s character design, it was actually influenced more by the proctor wearing the bandages and blindfold on his head during the second phase of the Chuunin Exams, rather than Kakashi-sensei. The character design left a massive impression on me back then but when I finally met Kishimoto-sensei and asked about it, he said “Was there a guy like that…?”
*TL courtesy of soukatsu_ on Twitter (tinyurl.com/3vsmm423)
VOLUME 1, CHAPTER 3*
FOR MYSELF
At the publication meeting I submitted chapter 4 as chapter 3 but was told that “the development is too fast, we don't understand" so, I made some alterations.
When we help someone, we usually think that we're doing it for the sake of that person's wellbeing. But it's easy to feel betrayed when the individual that received the help doesn't react according to your expectation, which can be dangerous... It was from that concept that I created this chapter.
“On the surface, a private religious school” might be difficult to understand. A strange place where Buddhist temples are being operated through public expenses, it just means that if a person asking troublesome questions appears, you can lie by saying “It's private! It's religion!”
VOLUME 1, CHAPTER 4*
GIRL OF STEEL
This is the chapter where Kugisaki appears for the first time. When I’m writing the story, she’s always the one that has the best flow among the three protagonists, which helps me a lot.
In this chapter, a model scout is shown approaching a girl and saying: “Excuse me!” - an acquaintance told me that, whether it’s with flirting or scouting, people get straight to the point, so I failed in being realistic here.
The Roppongi matter was a parody of the manga “Shizukanaru Don – Yakuza Side Story (静かなるドン)”, but I’ve never seen anyone talk about it.
VOLUME 1, CHAPTER 5*
START
I watched an interview with My Hero Academia’s Horikoshi-sensei (on a program presented by comedian and actor Kendo Kobayashi) and I learned about the importance of preparing the climax (in other words, the tension) of the story right after the first chapter. In Jujutsu, this starts in chapter 6, “Fearsome Womb”. It’s a fact that the result of the manga’s popularity poll up to chapter 4 was worse than I expected, so I realized that I couldn’t fool around and decided to create an anticlimax that was more intense than I had originally planned. I was told that an anticlimax that was too somber could have the opposite effect and end up with fewer positive reviews, but I felt that I would regret it if I didn’t start heating up the storyline at this point, so I submitted the outlines without making any revisions.
VOLUME 1, CHAPTER 6*
FEARSOME WOMB
Even though the chapter takes place in a Juvenile Detention Center, it would be practically impossible for me to visit one in real life to get some reference materials, so that’s why I decided to have the fight take place inside an incomplete domain (a ridiculously wide maze that doesn't have a techniques or a sure-hit effect).
The scene where the protagonists have a disagreement was very fun to draw.
VOLUME 1, CHAPTER 7*
FEARSOME WOMB, PART 2
According to the original plan, Itadori would have the realization about his purpose here, but since this ended up happening in chapter 3, I made some changes and reached this format.
I thought it would be interesting to leave Kugisaki’s life or death situation unresolved until the end of the episode, but I realized that I wouldn’t be able to maintain the suspense for a whole chapter, so she was rescued straight away. Up until here, popular opinion about the series was still unstable.
*Translated from the official PT-BR edition of the fanbook by anon.
VOLUME 2, CHAPTER 8
FEARSOME WOMB, PART 3
I don’t really have anything special to say about this one. For the first time since serialization began, I felt that both the storyboards and the manuscript were fun to draw… no, that can’t be right. I don’t think I ever had fun while drawing the manuscript. This is the point where I finally started to have some hope for the survey results.
VOLUME 3, CHAPTER 9
FEARSOME WOMB, PART 4
Even though I had already come up with the line “The only thing that is fair about life is how unfair it is to everyone'' to highlight Fushiguro’s character beforehand, I feel like I only came to truly grasp it when I ultimately put it into the manga.
After I did it, he felt so unintentionally similar to Mikumo-kun from “World Trigger” that I broke out in a cold sweat.
I was worried that the line “Live a long life, okay?” would be laughed at because it sounds like something that the actor Gajiro Satoh-san would say, but I guess it was fine since no one said anything about it from the storyboarding process up to the publication date.
I personally had a stronger reaction towards chapter 8 instead, but it was here at chapter 9 that the survey results finally went up, even if just for a little while, and became stable afterwards.
VOLUME 2 CHAPTER 10
AFTER THE RAIN
If I'm not mistaken, right before this chapter there was a publication meeting (in which it's decided which new series will begin and which will be axed), and I thought to myself: "If they cancel my series, Itadori will stay dead." It's a good thing that didn't happen, right, Itadori?
At some point, I set for myself the goal of becoming strong enough to challenge traditional shonen manga standards but, in the end, it all happened much faster than I imagined.
For Jogo’s design, I feel like I tried to incorporate “clarity/readability” principles, like those seen on Mr. 3 from “One Piece”.
VOLUME 2 CHAPTER 11
A DREAM
The fight atop the bones near the beginning of the chapter was one of the hardest to draw in the series. How regretful.
I think it was around this time that I had my first break (during Obon). I remember that as soon as my holiday started I got a fever and I cried out of frustration. I thought: "Damn it! I did hear that this often happens to mangakas!"
In "Dragon Ball", Vegeta has a line that I really like where he mentions a "bargain sale of super saiyans". That inspired me to create Gojo's line (*TN: This line was not included in the official EN translation. But in ch. 11 when Gojo describes the higher-ups as "Selfish idiots. Bloodline idiots, proud idiots - just plain idiots." he goes on to say "It's a bargain sale of rotten tangerines." which is the line Gege is referring to here. You can read more about it here).
VOLUME 2 CHAPTER 12
PUSHING FORWARD
The fleeing part-timer’s lines were completely different at first, but it was pointed out to me that “it might leave too strong of an impression on the readers”, so I kept the drawings as is and changed the text.
Maybe it was a little cruel having Fushiguro confess to the prisoner's mother that he had no intention of saving him, but I thought it would be dishonest to have him apologize while hiding this fact. Actually, if I was Fushiguro, I would've said that I tried my best. I'm the worst.
VOLUME 2 CHAPTER 13
WATCHING MOVIES
Katayama-san once said that if you’re going to do a training arc, you should either give it everything you got or not do it at all. Following his advice, I decided to not do one at all.
Considering that I didn’t intend to improve Itadori’s battle score that much at the time, I figured that having him grow stronger through many defeats would be convincing enough for the readers even though he didn’t have a training arc. The “Watching movies!” part was done in the same manner as Kakashi-sensei’s “Climbing trees!”, although the latter is decidedly more manga-like due to the proper way it conveys all that physical exertion.
VOLUME 2 CHAPTER 14
ASSAULT
If I remember correctly, the Detective Conan movie had just come out at the time (the one with Amuro-san). I remember getting fired up and saying “That’s right, I’m going to draw a cool looking guy too!”, but then a self-proclaimed “Amuro’s girlfriend” said “You better choose who you’re gonna mess with more carefully, moron!”. I mean, Jojo looks pretty cool too, doesn’t he?
VOLUME 2 CHAPTER 15
DOMAIN
The movie I intended to reference with the cries for “Sam! Saaam!” coming out of the TV was “I am Legend”, but it ended up as “Lord of the Rings” in the anime. I usually check the anime scenes with the director-in-charge during the storyboarding process and, after that, I leave everything to the production team! Even so, I find these kinds of different interpretations quite fascinating, so unless it’s something really important, I will just let it through.
Jogo’s line “The average Jujutsu Sorcerer would have burned up just entering my domain.” is about the debuff effect, on account of him being extremely strong.
Was Itadori fine in there thanks to Sukuna, thanks to Gojo or thanks to him being no ordinary person himself? Please, choose whichever you like best.
The rock Gojo suddenly smashed inside the domain was a “Meteor” unleashed by Jogo as a testing measure and it didn’t have any sure-hit effect.
VOLUME 2, CHAPTER 16
AFFECTION
The first color page since those from chapter 1 and 2! I went with a quiet picture for this occasion.
Looking back now, Mahito seems quite the handsome guy. Did he always look this charming?
VOLUME 3, CHAPTER 17
BORING
To tell you the truth, for the entirety of this chapter up to the opening page of the next, I forgot to draw that bit of Kugisaki’s hair near the parting… What is it called again? Side hair? Anyway, I noticed it halfway through and said to myself: “Forget about it~”.
I believe that having Todo ask for people's preferences was an excellent way to set up his character, although I get a little worried that it might be quoted in a bad way. I feel like I should have supplemented that section a little bit more instead of having them throw insults at each other for the entire time.
VOLUME 3, CHAPTER 18
BOTTOM
A battle between instigators! Even when I come up with good lines for scenes like this, sometimes I still get hung up on the dialogue while thinking to myself “Would this character really say something like that?”. This happens very often with Itadori. Mai, on the other hand, is really helpful in this aspect, since her dialogue flows very easily.
It was not my intention to make Miwa so cute back then, but she charmed me over by the time I introduced her into the story, so I have been going into this direction wholeheartedly ever since.
I’m a big fan of the Sakamichi idol groups myself, but since I’m a TV-only fan, I have never been to a handshake event. The details for the handshake session were obtained from a Hello! Project otaku that lived in Wakayama and was also a Magnolia Factory follower.
I asked a doctor who I was acquainted with for the cause of death of the three high-school boys and they explained to me that it was caused by “an increase in intracranial pressure”. After some time, they clarified that “rather than just an increase it was more of an accelerated/too much of an increase”. Why didn’t you say so from the beginning!!?
VOLUME 3, CHAPTER 19
YOUNG FISH AND REVERSE PUNISHMENT
Yoshino’s introduction. The initial plan for “Young Fish and Reverse Punishment” was to showcase, similarly to Kanae Misato-sensei’s book “Confessions”, a story where “thoughtful children are met with a painful end” – which indeed actually happens, but... I completely failed at showing Yoshino as a character. I myself was progressing the story while directing towards him something akin to the emotions Yagami from Death Note had for Misa. I wanted to think "Yoshino, don't diiiiiie!! Join theeeeem!!" but it was my lack of skill.*
Alternatively, I have taken such a liking to Nanami that I deliberately believe that, without his presence, the series would have probably been canceled by the end of the arc.
Did anyone notice the “Bobobo” (short for Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, the manga) reference with the transfigured human?
*TL courtesy of _zanzou_ on Twitter (tinyurl.com/2zj6h7us)
VOLUME 3, CHAPTER 20
YOUNG FISH AND REVERSE PUNISHMENT, PART 2
I had been thinking about Nanami’s technique since before I even started making plans for Jujutsu Kaisen, so I was genuinely happy when I finally managed to bring it into the series. Itadori’s Divergent Fist on the other hand was… well… you know. Like that.
The “binding” that increases the technique’s effectiveness by disclosing information about it works in the same way as the restrictions and pledges from HUNTERxHUNTER. I’m often praised for this idea, but all I did was present it out loud. Togashi-sensei, who can do it without externalizing anything, does it in a much more elegant manner.
Topics such as the manifestation of Imaginary Vengeful Spirits (仮想怨霊), Jogo’s ideals and the deep-seated contradictions in the mechanism from which cursed spirits spring forth should be further explained in self-supplementary sections (perhaps in their own separate pages).
VOLUME 3, CHAPTER 21
YOUNG FISH AND REVERSE PUNISHMENT, PART 3
If I’m being honest, it was rather painful to reread the parts Yoshino's in, and even more painful to hear his lines being voiced in the anime. I’m sorry Yamaya-san!!
The “Yoshino” surname was actually just a placeholder that I chose during the storyboarding process. My real plan was to use “Kaneda” (金田), but I accidentally forgot to change it and thought to myself: “Well, it looks kind of plant-related, so it might end up just fooling someone”, so I adopted it after all. I have a friend with the same surname still going strong to this day: he carries this bulky camera strapped to his shoulder everywhere and goes to photoshoots of erotic ladies from the internet. So, if there’s any Yoshino fans still suffering from Yoshino-loss out there, I hope the real Yoshino-kun’s existence can make up for it.
VOLUME 3, CHAPTER 22
YOUNG FISH AND REVERSE PUNISHMENT, PART 4
The action piece at the beginning is a homage to that one scene animated by Yutaka Nakamura-san in “Sword of the Stranger”.
By the way, Mahito’s technique was taken from a central idea that I had prepared just in case my “No. 9” oneshot got a serialization. Maybe it will become very important to “Jujutsu” as well in the future… Probably…
I don’t draw fat characters very often, so Tonomura-sensei ended up bigger than I expected on screen.
VOLUME 3, CHAPTER 23
YOUNG FISH AND REVERSE PUNISHMENT, PART 5
I don’t think I have explained what a Technique Extension (拡張術式) is after all… have I? A Technique Extension is like an original move – something that the sorcerer came up with thanks to an expanded interpretation of their own innate technique.
For example, “Ratio Technique’s” ability to deliver a critical hit onto the 7:3 point out of a 10 points line division is Nanami’s innate technique, while Collapse’s secondary barrage of destroyed pieces filled with cursed energy is Nanami’s Technique Extension.
I’m a big fan of animator Gosei Oda-san’s work and Collapse’s excellent animation with the large, soft movements gave me a strong Shingo Yamashita-san-esque sort of feel, someone whom some of you might be familiar with from the OP.
VOLUME 3, CHAPTER 24*
YOUNG FISH AND REVERSE PUNISHMENT, PART 6
Because I get self-conscious I don't want to talk about real-life movies in the manga. I don't want to give off the "I'm watching all those different things" vibe so in that sense I found Yoshino difficult to draw.
Itadori's "I'm afraid of the choice to kill finding its way into my life once I kill a person" is something I thought of very strongly when watching Breaking Bad. "Yo!! Are you listening, teacher!!"
*TL courtesy of _zanzou_ on Twitter (tinyurl.com/yy9wmmmu and tinyurl.com/2nffx86u)
VOLUME 3, CHAPTER 25
NARROW-MINDED
Since I don’t have much confidence in my writing skills, I try to refrain myself from adding narration bits, but I ended up doing it in chapter 25 after all. It was fine this time considering it can be read as a Jujutsu Tech report, but as it happens again and again in future battle scene descriptions, so does the rope steadily tighten around my neck.
I’m looking for someone to supervise my writing. I have caught myself thinking “Huh? Didn’t I use this line before already?” very often recently. I guess my vocabulary is just poor.
I like to use names that sound real because it helps to convey a certain sense of realism into the story, although it may have been a bad idea for this chapter. I’d like to apologize to all the Shota Itos from across the country.
Every time I do a scene where a gathering of ordinary people experience a curtain or cursed spirit sighting, I draw both those who can and those who cannot see them. Did you notice?
VOLUME 4, CHAPTER 26
TO YOU SOMEDAY
I have a friend called Takuma Itou. He asked me to include him in Jujutsu, so I changed his name a bit and put him there. In the panel the character first appears, with his full name beside it, his face looked really similar to my friend’s. After that, I started drawing him in my own style. Look, Ino fans throughout the country!! He really exists, got it?!! (?)
The most common mediums used to summon shikigami are talismans or hair strands. Yoshino is the type that uses hair strands.
The title of this chapter refers to this line by Itadori: “Everything you just said, it might sound good, but you’re just trying to convince yourself.” I came up with it because I was considering the possibility of someone wanting to stab an otaku like me someday.
VOLUME 4, CHAPTER 27
WHAT IF
Personally, I have the impression that this chapter's voltage started to rise here. Took long enough?!! When I was drawing the Junpei transfiguration scene, I remember the popular song “U.S.A.” by “DA PUMP” (which I had not listened to at the time) coming on autoplay. The upbeat rhythm was so catchy that I got carried away. I’m sorry Yoshino.
When Mahito said “but you overthink things when you should act, which puts you into some pretty bad spots”, the point being made is that thinking too much about things can be detrimental at times. I’m the type of person who can’t make any split second decisions myself, so it doubles as a self-admonishing note. I have a friend who, on one occasion where his part-time job’s manager gathered a clique to bully another part-timer, did not hesitate even for a second before hitting them with a folding chair. I wanna be like that. Except for the hitting part, violence is no good. Well, I hope you get what I mean by split second decisions…
In the meeting for the laughing spread I said "Let's do 3 spreads in six pages!? Itadori's going to cry! Both of them will point and laugh at him crying!!" but by the time I finished the storyboard, I returned to my senses.
VOLUME 4, CHAPTER 28
I'M GONNA KILL YOU!
After chapter 1, this was the first time I got to do a color page for the magazine’s opening! I remember being relieved that it happened just as I hit the action in the story.
To be honest, I wanted to make Itadori go even crazier, but I ended up halting the scene at a strange point.
I drew Mahito’s substitution-double on one of the panels’ corners, so please look for it!
VOLUME 4, CHAPTER 29
GROWTH
When Nanami said “There are people who just can’t be helped”* in the previous volume, he was talking about two kinds of people: “those who are helplessly evil” and “those you can’t really do anything for anymore, except to kill them”. In this chapter, Itadori has killed the latter. I also think that it’s hard to say whether the Death Paintings would fall into the former category or not.
*translated as “Some people really are rotten” in the official english release.
VOLUME 4, CHAPTER 30
SELFISHNESS
As you may have already noticed, Nanami has poor affinity towards barrier techniques.
The bakery shown in his flashback was based on a cake shop picked from a handbook, so when I asked for my assistant to draw it, I said: “This is going to be a bakery, so please change the sign into a more suitable one if you can”. I remember laughing when I got the drawing back and saw the “Bakery Bakery Bakery”. The tension I felt leading up to it was just like something out of an improv-comedy bit’s second half. I thought it was funny, so I left it that way.
I had fun drawing Nanami’s awful boss. I wonder if we will have more guys like him in the future.
I really thought that Nanami’s story would end right here, but thanks to each characters’ different actions, the plot was steered into another outcome.
It was truly ecstatic to be able to experience the phenomenon where “the character moves beyond their scripted role”, something I had only heard very often before starting this series.
VOLUME 4, CHAPTER 31
TOMORROW
I had already decided early on that cursed techniques would become unusable for a short period of time following Domain Expansions, but I ended up changing the specific wording from “impossible to use” to “difficult to use” in the process of finishing up this chapter’s storyboard. That’s why Mahito seems to be in pain at the end.
Since I found Itadori’s “way-of-the-proper death” to be a little bit arrogant, I was very happy to see him getting hesitant about what it should mean. I thought Nanami’s thoughtful response was excellent as well.
I was relieved that I got to show that part where Tonomura-sensei acts (or doesn’t) like a proper teacher.
VOLUME 4, CHAPTER 32
INTROSPECTION
I remember using a fashion magazine as a reference for the opening color page because I wanted to draw “clothes you don’t see that often in everyday life”, but then I got to one of the captions and it read “well-coordinated casual looks!”. I was like: “Huh!? Surely I must’ve heard something about “casual clothing” at the meeting. Report, contact, consult.
The part about multilateral “bindings” should come up again in a separate page.
At this point, I had already become a junkie towards the feeling of having your characters move beyond their scripted roles. I had hit the “One more time!! Let me feel it once more!! Please!!” stage. That’s why I have peppered the Goodwill Event with so many variables. In fact, the Kyoto members make for a good deal of them.
By the way, I admire Yoshio Kojima-san (a comedian) a lot. (Because he is macho, speaks english, and is funny.)
VOLUME 4, CHAPTER 33
KYOTO SISTER GOODWILL EVENT – TEAM BATTLE, PART 0
When Maki said “Inumaki’s technique is on a different level”, she was of course talking about how effective the technique is, but the main idea I also wanted to express was that “everybody knows about it because it’s so famous”.
Slaughter Demon was one of the few cursed tools rightfully owned by Maki, so what Gojo did to her was rather cruel.
When I was drawing the strategy meeting I kept thinking to myself: “World Trigger really is amazing~”. If I remember right, there were team competitions taking place in both “World Trigger” and “My Hero Academia” at the time too, and it was… how can I say it… it was really something!!
VOLUME 4, CHAPTER 34
KYOTO SISTER GOODWILL EVENT – TEAM BATTLE, PART 1
Tokyo team’s initial plan was to fight against Todo with either Panda, who could just barely compete against him physically, or Fushiguro, who had a lot of different moves and good reflexes. Well, it was.
I think I’m rather fond of using “seriously? ( マジ か)” as a line.
VOLUME 5, CHAPTER 35
KYOTO SISTER GOODWILL EVENT – TEAM BATTLE, PART 2
I was very happy when I heard my manga mentor say that they “laughed” at the part with the memory of a past event that never happened.
When I was drawing the team competition, an issue with the method of communication between participants came up. I did not want to dwell on it for too long so, considering how barriers and and the like – curtains in this instance – can have a disrupting effect on radio communications, I thought to myself “I guess they wouldn’t bring a radio device or anything special with them, right?~~” and forcibly appropriated it as a justification to settle on the use of cell phones. Kugisaki explains it for me a little later on.
Even though Todo usually avoids using his cursed technique, it might have been a bit illogical to have the other 2 third-year students not to know anything about it.
That reminds me! In the magazine release Itadori said “a beam!?” when he saw Mechamaru charging his Ultra Cannon. My editor pointed it out to me by saying that another writer had asked them “if it was fine that Itadori knew about it”, so I thought to myself “it would definitely be too good of a guess! ” and changed it to just “what–!?” for the volume release.
VOLUME 5, CHAPTER 36
KYOTO SISTER GOODWILL EVENT – TEAM BATTLE, PART 3
I think it was around this time that I started to pay more attention to what my editor was always saying: “I want Itadori to have a special move…”
As a result, he does show his special move later on, albeit one not exclusive to him…
There’s not much to be said about Todo for now except that he looks very excited, doesn’t he?
VOLUME 5, CHAPTER 37
KYOTO SISTER GOODWILL EVENT – TEAM BATTLE, PART 4
Yes! Todo is very excited!!
VOLUME 5, CHAPTER 38
KYOTO SISTER GOODWILL EVENT – TEAM BATTLE, PART 5
When I started Goodwill, I heard some rumors about how “chapters with battles that drift away from the protagonist are more likely to fall off in the surveys”. However, I do remember Mechamaru vs Panda doing surprisingly well when it came out – probably because it had such a clear-cut resolution.
The thing Panda wore on his fists… what’s it called again, a brass knuckle? Anyways, since it looks sort of all wound up along his fists, it may have given people the wrong impression that those were just iron plates. It was careless of me…
VOLUME 5, CHAPTER 39
KYOTO SISTER GOODWILL EVENT – TEAM BATTLE, PART 6
I’ve only noticed it now, but this is the point where I started drawing Yaga’s eyebrows. He didn’t have them at first…
I usually pay close attention to certain lines such as this chapter’s “just because someone’s been through a lot doesn’t mean they’re right” and chapter 5’s “well.. everyone has their reasons…”. As a rule, I try to place them into smaller panels so that it may not come off as too preachy.
VOLUME 5, CHAPTER 40
KYOTO SISTER GOODWILL EVENT – TEAM BATTLE, PART 7
Maki’s reveal chapter. She even got praised by Mei-san, there you go!!
Speaking of Mei-san, she’s the kind of character that I really like, so I wish I could’ve spent more time working on her cover for volume 12. The regret of not being able to get an illustration of a character you really like just right will linger on! (Especially so for a volume cover, something that will last forever.)
VOLUME 5, CHAPTER 41
KYOTO SISTER GOODWILL EVENT – TEAM BATTLE, PART 8
I’ve been worried that my series’ content might have become a little too contemporary ever since last chapter’s closing hook. It seemed like it was bound for misinterpretations somehow.
Once, in the author’s comments section of the magazine, I touched upon an issue stemming from the cognitive distortion (?) of what actresses and female doctors “should be like”. Even so, I don't really have much confidence in my judgment of right and wrong – at least when it comes to this aspect –, so I am a bit scared of touching contemporary topics such as these.
Usually, the result of a battle has little to do with the arguments used by each of the participants, but I would be happy if those who don’t understand why Kugisaki could not win this particular fight could please give it a little more thought.
With all that said, I hope that you don’t end up expecting too much from Akutami just because he has written things like these. Akutami makes a lot of mistakes and is basically a loser.
The reason why Kugisaki chose the squeaky hammer is because “it had the lowest lethal capability among all her cursed energy compatible hammers”. I think she hints at it in one of the pages.
I thought it was nice that the phone conversation between Mai and Nishimiya had such a provocative atmosphere.
VOLUME 5, CHAPTER 42
KYOTO SISTER GOODWILL EVENT – TEAM BATTLE, PART 9
In the volume release, there’s an illustration that I got from Horikoshi-sensei right here!! It’s seriously cool!! The way he hid Gojo’s face by having him look down like that… that’s some aesthetic sense!! Uaaah!!
Itadori’s comments on Maki’s poise at the beginning of the chapter were based on my own personal experiences with a senior who used to wrestle on the nationals back in my school days. He told me all sorts of martial art stories and showed me a ton of videos. He was the model used for Todo, by the way. So, for the Todo fans from all over the country: Todo is real!!
To tell you the truth, I think Maki catching a bullet might have been a bit too much, but… Well, it’s fine!
VOLUME 5, CHAPTER 43
KYOTO SISTER GOODWILL EVENT – TEAM BATTLE, PART 10
I was very pleased with my idea for “Flowing Red Scale”. I believe I have successfully managed to capture the essence of such a classic ability like “manipulating one’s blood” and spin it into something more “Jujutsu-ish”.
In the scene where Inumaki has both Mechamaru's cell phone retrieved by Divine Dog and the arm used for the fingerprint identification lock, do you think that Mechamaru having actual fingerprints is too absurd of a fact?
It was a relief to be able to place Hanami invading the school at the end of the volume.
VOLUME 6, CHAPTER 44
KYOTO SISTER GOODWILL EVENT – TEAM BATTLE, PART 11
What do you, the readers, think about the fact that there’s been almost no single Shikigami user that’s actually weak in close combat so far? (Was Yoshino the only one?)
The tags seen on the blood packets carried by Kamo are the pentagram from Onmyōdō and the longevity-preservation talisman from Taoism (something that I have misappropriated as to suggest that it’s what’s being used to keep the blood fresh).
VOLUME 6, CHAPTER 45
SAGE
Yaga’s eyebrows are gone!!
It’s the first chapter in which Hanami is talking. When I told the anime production team that I’ve always pictured him with a feminine voice, they told me it was “unexpected”. In order to describe what kind of voice actress I had in mind for him, I said that “he should sound like a persuasive woman, so someone like Atsuko Tanaka…”. Later on, when they told me that they ended up deciding on Atsuko Tanaka after all, I was incredibly surprised. I felt like a preschooler with a nuclear detonator in their hands. It was like an episode where my ghost comes from the future to warn me that I should be more careful with my requests, because even the passing ones could sometimes end up being fulfilled. Motokooo!!!!
Hanami’s lines were based on a documentary I saw on TV a long time ago that simulated mankind’s extinction. If you read “Dr. Stone”, you can get a good idea of what he’s talking about as well.
VOLUME 6, CHAPTER 46
TIME
There’s this commercial from long ago for a milk consumption campaign that had “Consult with milk” (牛乳に相談だ) as its tagline…
I don’t have much to say about this one either.
I felt bad about Miwa’s sword being handled like a dull blade when away from its owner.
VOLUME 6, CHAPTER 47
CURSED TOOLS
It happened here!! Both “Divine Dog: Totality” (渾 is read as kon), and Aki’s “kon” from “Chainsaw Man'' were unveiled at this same issue!! Though the one in Chainsaw Man was a hundred million times cooler. Fujimoto-senseeei!!
Since I liked it so much, the tag-team dynamic will be returning very often for future battles.
VOLUME 6, CHAPTER 48
BLACK FLASH
The starting point for Todo as a character was the question “what would Kenpachi Zaraki be like in Jujutsu”. After all, Gojo may be the strongest – but he’s no Kenpachi.
I used Kenpachi’s “if this guy’s around, you won’t die (because he’s strong)” aura as a model and twisted it into “if this guy’s around, you won’t die (because it would turn into a gag)” for Todo. It's quite rare that a character turns out exactly what I meant they to be like this, so I was pleased.
As for the chapter itself, I think it was based on that part from “Kenka Shoubai” where Bun-san teaches the “kongou” technique to Jubei.
VOLUME 6, CHAPTER 49
CONSTRAINED
Todo is excited again, so I don’t have much to say about this chapter either.
When Todo said “Excellent!” (重畳), it reminded me of Manji-san, who’s always saying it in “Blade of the Immortal”.
VOLUME 6, CHAPTER 50
FEELING
I remember that I earnestly enjoyed drawing the storyboards for this chapter.
I think Todo’s technique was named “Fruits Basket” at first. I’m glad I changed it.
I got very happy when I heard from my editor that one of my senior writers had praised me for the “can’t escape” double page spread… However! I think my editor began to figure me out at this point, saying stuff like “this guy looks happier when I tell him that ○○-san has praised him than when I praise him myself…”, so I might have been too enthusiastic about it.
It was amusing to see Nanami talking like Baki (from Baki the Grappler).
VOLUME 6, CHAPTER 51
A FLOWER OFFERING
The double page spread where Hanami is about to unleash his Solar Beam-like attack was reworked for the volume release. The one in the magazine looked weak.
Speaking of “Pokémon”, I had a lot of confidence in these 3 initial form designs that I came up with just for fun, but they weren’t received very well. It seems like my pokémon are essentially “too disgusting”.
Korakku (コーラック) → Ueking (ウエキング) → Iedon (イェドン)
Norumi (ノルミー) → Jakoko (ジャココ) → Gorestar (グロスター)
Alumin (アルミン) → Petton (ペットン) → Suiton (スイトーン)
Mebuka (メブカ) → Kakuremi (カクレミ) → Cthulun (クトゥルン)
VOLUME 6, CHAPTER 52
NONSTANDARD
Considering the future developments the series has now gone through, I regret not killing Hanami right here. Since Todo had come this far already, I should’ve kept the spotlight on the two of them while Gojo handled everything else. I think I was hoping to experience “the characters moving beyond their scripted roles” again…! This volume was written by a true “wait-and-see” junkie.
VOLUME 7, CHAPTER 53
COMPLETION
An “all’s well that ends well” (?) sort of chapter. Not much else to be said about it.
I was told that the fight between Maki and Mai and the exchange between Todo and Itadori felt very “Bleach-like”. Very much so!! I apologize for the embarrassing unintentional homage!!
VOLUME 7, CHAPTER 54
JUJUTSU KOSHIEN
I was happy to hear from my editor that I got praise from a senior writer once again. This chapter was like a break session that follows a serious arc. I usually don’t care that much about the survey results when I do these kinds of chapters, but I remember this one doing pretty well at the time. It did earn me some praise, after all.
It was my first time drawing a sports scene (I don’t know if I can even say that), and it convinced me that drawing a sports series is something that I absolutely would never be able to do. There’s so much to go over.
Nishimiya’s baseball cap looked very cute, it was just like Nagasawa-kun’s (from Chibi Maruko-chan).
VOLUME 7, CHAPTER 55
THE ORIGIN OF OBEDIENCE
I started this arc because I wanted to draw an introduction in the same style as short story horror. Like always, it starts off very slowly. It would be nice if I could hit a big climax right after the introduction for once!!
The model for the Yasohachi bridge is a place widely known to Sendai citizens.
VOLUME 7, CHAPTER 56
THE ORIGIN OF OBEDIENCE, PART 2
The bridge used as a model for Yasohachi is a so-called “suicide spot” and has made an appearance in a horror short story written by Yumeaki Hirayama too. In the short story, it seems like the real danger lies in looking at it from below rather than looking down from its top (at least going from my faint recollection!!!). I made this chapter with that in mind. Now that I’ve come to think of it, what’s the short story’s title again…? Maybe it’s in the Cho: Kowai Hanashi (「超」怖い話) anthology?
VOLUME 7, CHAPTER 57
THE ORIGIN OF OBEDIENCE, PART 3
I have always wanted to make a character’s entrance really showy (Eso’s). I really liked the suspense as well.
VOLUME 7, CHAPTER 58
THE ORIGIN OF OBEDIENCE, PART 4
Since Itadori had just pulled ahead with his Black Flash, I was thinking about what to do with the rest of the trio. I figured that the same technique would not suit Fushiguro very well, so I gave him a Domain. I sort of like the flashback scene where Gojo talks about the baseball game.
VOLUME 7, CHAPTER 59
THE ORIGIN OF OBEDIENCE, PART 5
The part where Sukuna goes “Good!” looks like a cut-in animation that’s shown when you hit gold in a pachinko machine.
Tsumiki’s classmate is both fierce and cute.
Eso starts getting more into it at this point.
VOLUME 7, CHAPTER 60
THE ORIGIN OF OBEDIENCE, PART 6
The tension finally starts to rise in this chapter. Late!!!!!
I believe some stuff may have been a little difficult to understand, so let me explain. Eso’s blood has the capacity to dissolve things, just like acid, so it can easily enter the body just by coming in contact with it. Kechizu’s blood, on the other hand, does not have the same dissolving properties, so it has to be taken in through the eyes, mouth, or open wounds. From then on, “Decay” can be activated and it will work no matter whether the blood taken in comes from Eso or Kechizu.
I remember having a hard time trying to write a satisfying narration bit about Noritoshi Kamo.
Kugisaki’s maleficent look at the end of the chapter was great!
VOLUME 7, CHAPTER 61
THE ORIGIN OF OBEDIENCE, PART 7
This is, in my personal opinion, “Jujutsu Kaisen’s” best bout. To be able to have both Kugisaki and Itadori coming out on top while the Death Painting brothers were being showcased as characters at the same time was truly satisfying.
Once again, Kugisaki’s maleficent look at the end of the chapter was great!
VOLUME 8, CHAPTER 62
THE ORIGIN OF OBEDIENCE, PART 8
The second half of the best bout. Since Kugisaki’s technique is not very direct, it’s always satisfying when it hits. I really like the chapter’s opening illustration.
VOLUME 8, CHAPTER 63
ACCOMPLICES
Even though the tension was low, the mix with all the different types of complicity present here – as suggested by the title – made for a very enjoyable chapter.
VOLUME 8, CHAPTER 64
IT’S LIKE THAT
The “As long as Sukuna is not cooperating, he (Itadori) will need to be assigned more dangerous missions in order to increase the likelihood of encountering fingers.” bit said by Todo (in order to justify why Itadori should accept his recommendation and become a Grade 1 Sorcerer) was supposed to be delivered by Gojo as a guideline at the end of the chapters centered around the Juvenile Detention Center. This was a serious mistake by Akutami. I believe the reading experience would have been completely different if things were done that way. I shall repent.
My editor had been telling me for quite a while that “he wanted the main character to be popular”, so I decided to make this chapter as a break session that follows the Death Painting arc. When I was drawing it, I felt once again that Kugisaki was the easiest to move among the trio (at least when it comes to dialogue. When it comes to action, she’s the hardest). The fact that Itadori was attracted to Ozawa’s good manners instead of her looks may indeed point towards him being a good guy, but I don’t think his view is necessarily correct if you consider that those strengths may only have been acquired due to the environment she lived in.
I’m glad that I was able to draw Fushiguro talking about love interests in an interesting manner.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE ORIGINS OF AKUTAMI GEGE!
AKUTAMI-SENSEI’S BIBLE — ANIME EDITION
In this last section of the corner, Akutami-sensei talks about his favorite anime! His love for anime bursts forth!!
I first became aware of the existence of animators in elementary school.
The very first pictures I have ever been fascinated by while thinking to myself “Wow, this picture is incredible!” were drawn by Koji Morimoto-san, from Studio 4 °C. I was in elementary school at the time and when I saw a copy of “0range/Koji Morimoto/Scrapbook” (0レンジ~森本晃司作品集~, published by Asukashinsha) at a bookstore, I was briefly taken aback. I used all the money I had back then to get my hands on it and I remember gazing at it all day long. That’s when I first became aware of the existence of animators. I can say, without a doubt, that Morimoto-san is the one who has fundamentally influenced me the most whenever I draw manga. With that said, I can’t help but think that “if you were already aware of what an animator is from such an early stage in life, you should probably have been better at drawing by now, Akutami!”
To be able to watch Birdy the Mighty as it aired was an invaluable experience.
Another work that felt very impactful to me in terms of animation was “Birdy the Mighty: Decode” ( 鉄腕バーディーDECODE). It was made by a team of remarkably talented veteran animators such as Ryo-timo-san, Kenichi Kutsuna-san, Tomoyuki Niho-san, and others. Moreover, it was also my first introduction to Shingo Yamashita-san’s work, who was part of that very same team. To be able to watch this anime as it aired on TV was an invaluable experience to me.
After that there’s “Den-noh Coil” (電脳コイル), a brilliant “sci-fi flavored” TV anime directed by Mitsuo Iso. Iso, who is an absurdly amazing animator in his own right, was joined in this project by other skilled professionals such as Toshiyuki Inoue-san and Takeshi Honda-san, making up what I consider to be a perfect dream-team. I think that Yoshimi Itazu-san and Kiyotaka Oshiyama-san might have been younger at that time than I am today. Well, I don’t really want to think about it too much. It was a really unique experience for me to be able to marvel at such precious images through my TV screen for the entirety of two cours.
And then, finally, there’s the “Naruto” (ナルト) anime episodes, something of indispensable importance to my generation. I think of them as the starting point from which I structure the composition and development of my battle scenes. Animated TV series are really hard to make, so it's only natural that the animation quality in each episode might be uneven. That’s why a good deal of openings and endings, which are played every week, are so carefully crafted – as a compensation. In that regard, Toshiyuki Tsuru-san’s work for “Naruto” has never failed to move me. (Even though my favorite anime opening is “Hitori no Yoru” from Great Teacher Onizuka).
Respect for director Hideaki Anno
I hold an incredible amount of respect for director Hideaki Anno. The way in which the setting and worldview in “Neon Genesis Evangelion” (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン, the original TV anime) are never explained excessively, leaving a lot of room for the viewers imagination to fill in and the way in which the show is structured primarily for entertainment are all influences on me. There’s also director Anno’s editing. “Shin Godzilla (シン·ゴジラ, released in 2016) is truly remarkable, but the director’s “editing power” (?) really is very strong isn’t it? It’s all thanks to director Anno’s set stance that, even though I’m still stuck on “Eva”, I am now able to work on my own writing with the thought of “graduating from Eva” in mind
I like people who try to make “films” out of animation
I am drawn to people who, rather than just making “animation”, attempt to make “films'' out of it. In addition to director Anno, Hayao Miyazaki, Mamoru Oshii and Satoshi Kon are good examples of that. I’ll forever hold their stance regarding animation as a method expression with the utmost respect. In an old interview, when asked about the creative qualities of the famous “Hayao Miyazaki” as well as the themes incorporated in his works, director Miyazaki answered the question with “I’m just trying to make entertainment”. That answer left a deep impression on me. Even though he could have talked deeply about authorship and the works he created if he wanted to, the way he expressed his primary focus on entertainment moved me. I would like to become someone able to say something like this in the future.
Since I grew up with the original “Digimon” (デジモン) series, also known as “Digimon Adventure”, I ended up watching the “Digimon Adventure: Our War Game!” (デジモンアドベンチャー ぼくらのウォーゲーム!, released in 2000) as many times as humanly possible when it came out. It’s my favorite movie out of all of director Mamoru Hosoda’s works. I hope he does some more original work in the future!
Robot/Mecha anime’s big three!
Among robot anime, the three I have watched the most are “Eva” (the old and new versions, including the TV anime and the theatrical release), “Code Geass” (コードギアス, the TV anime), and “Eureka Seven” (交響詩篇エウレカセブン, the tv anime). As I mentioned earlier, I love Anno’s editing in “Eva”, so much so that I could watch it over and over again.
Regarding “Eureka Seven”, the fact that director Tomoki Kyoda is a big fan of director Anno as well has made it a very comfortable watch for me.
I think “Code Geass” is director Goro Taniguchi’s masterpiece, and to be able to watch it as it aired is something of considerable importance to me. The way the story was structured seems like the perfect formula for a weekly release. Every week the episode would close on a strong hook just like the american TV series “Prison Break” and the story remained consistent to the very end. I love the way “Geass” lines always end on big implications. It’s something I try to replicate fairly often in “Jujutsu Kaisen” with stuff like “Nevertheless!”.
Kinoku Nasu-sensei’s influence on the way I construct my settings
“Fate/Zero” is an indispensable part of my list when it comes to anime influences. Kinoku Nasu-sensei’s (cofounder of Type-Moon) writing style when it comes to settings has influenced me immensely as well. The original story of “Fate/Zero was written by Gen Urobushi-sensei, so it may be a little different, but I like the way the complex story’s structure remained entertaining even though some of the explanations for the setting and terminology were skipped, just like in “Eva”. If there’s something you don’t understand, look it up later yourself – or something like that. Gilgamesh is my favorite character from the series. Watching him at his most stern and self-righteous in “Fate/Zero” made me happy, in a sense.
The best OVAs from that time! Insanely good image quality!
Alien 9 (エイリアン9)
An OVA based on the popular manga by Hitoshi Tomizawa that depicts girls confronting aliens at a school.
Akutami: It’s like putting “Eva” and “Digimon” together and forgetting to divide by 2 afterwards. Really scary. It has this unique atmosphere with a lingering sense of restlessness where you feel that all the children could be wiped out in 3 seconds, which I really like.
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 3: Stardust Crusaders (ジョジョの奇妙な冒険第3部 スターダストクルセイダース)
An OVA based on the popular manga by Hirohiko Araki that has gained a tremendous amount of support from the fans.
Akutami: It adapts the latter half of the manga and the animation is very impressive. I remember feeling very overwhelmed by the scenes crafted by director Hiroyuki Kitakubo and director Satoshi Kon. I really like the scene where Dio caresses the car emblem. The voice casting is wonderful and each actor sounds extremely harsh and uniquely profound at the same time.
*Special thanks to Rebno for translating from the official PT-BR edition of the fanbook.
AFTERWORD
Whenever I would tell others that I am a mangaka, the question I was asked the most was if I searched for my own name online. There have been instances where I had a bit of a laugh by answering: "No, of course I don't do that" all the while typing my name in the search bar, but today I believe that's unnecessary.
Firstly because it's hard to gather opinions about such a huge media vehicle like Jump. And, even if I don't look it up, these topics frequently end up reaching me, either through my editor, friends, work colleagues or people involved in the production of the anime.
Lately, many people have started conversations with me by saying things like: "You seem to be really ■■■, right?". They were probably influenced by some of the rumors that popped up online
Since my patience has a limit of 1 deciliter, I've stopped telling others what I do for a living and I now say I inherited my family's produce shop (I've worked part-time there before).
What I mean to say is that a produce shop specializes in vegetables, so, please forgive me if in the future I make a mistake in the manga.
Please have several deciliters worth of patience with me, dear readers.
Thank you for reading this fanbook until the end.
It's late, so I'm going to sleep. Good night.
Gege Akutami
*Translated from the official PT-BR edition of the fanbook by anon.