JJK's Author Gege Akutami Reveals His Regrets For the Manga

With the current exhibition of Jujutsu Kaisen in Japan, the author of the popular shonen manga gave a very interesting and informative interview. Gege Akutami shared not only a lot of insights into the manga and more information on some of the main characters' futures but also talked about his regrets.

Reflecting on how the events in the manga have unfolded and considering fan feedback, Gege recognized some things he wishes he had done differently. Check out what Gege's regrets about Jujutsu Kaisen's story are!

Jujutsu Kaisen's Timeline 

The Jujutsu Kaisen story is long and sometimes complicated. We follow the stories of multiple characters, which helps us understand how their actions become relevant to the present events in the manga. For instance, after we started following Yuji's journey, we got the origin story of Toji and how he was acquainted with Gojo and Geto. As you know, their interactions really influenced all of them and their destinies.

Additionally, we constantly witness events happening simultaneously in different places or characters revealing details about the story in a non-chronological order. Regarding how he structured the flow of JJK, Gege said the following:

Q. The tie within the story is actually quite complex. How did you plan that out?

Gege: In terms of time, I was fairly rough with it. I was more focused on ensuring the geographical aspects and consistency aligned. It was more like, "Because this person is here, they should be able to meet up at this time...". I regret not having thought more carefully about the temporary aspects. Lesson learned!!! 

The Culling Game Arc

The Culling Game Arc, commonly referred to by fans as the best in the series, is probably the most action-packed and significant for the story. This game was started by Kenjaku with the objective of culling all sorcerers so that no one could stop his plan for The Merger. The game consisted of multiple arenas where sorcerers would battle to the death, and the winners would acquire points that could later be used to add new rules to the game. Sorcerers could add new rules only after earning enough points. When asked about this arc, Gege shared his thoughts about the rules of the game:

In hindsight, I regret not integrating the rule additions more into the battles during the Culling Game Arc. We had discussed using accumulated points to add rules during battles, potentially shifting the situation in one's favor. However, in the end, none of those ideas were utilized at all. 

What caught fans' interest the most were Gege's regrets about the format of the games. He confessed that he now regrets not making it a tournament-style arc. Fans also felt disappointed, knowing how entertaining this would have been

Tsumiki and Hana's Character Development Failure

The main reason Gege wishes he had added a tournament aspect to the games was because of the lost opportunity to integrate better introductions to his characters. The author of JJK has been widely criticized by readers for his lack of character interactions and their background stories, which he also seems to have noticed. Gege specifically mentions Tsumiki and Hana as characters he regrets not fully exploring.

JJK Volume 21 Cover With Kashimo

Another aspect Gege has faced criticism for is the covers he draws for the manga volumes. In the interview, the author spoke about a specific cover he feels he failed to execute well. The illustration for JJK Volume 21, featuring Kashimo, turned out much worse than he had anticipated. He shared that while the initial concept seemed cool in his mind, as he started drawing it, the appeal of the concept diminished.

Make sure to check out our website for more interesting Jujutsu Kaisen content and additional insights from Gege's recent interview!