This is Akutamige’s first serial work, and the “Weekly Shonen Jump” series started in March 2018.Originally approved by the jump production team, the editorial department unanimously decided to publish the series.Since the anime started on October 3, 2020, the number of fans has increased dramatically.Nowadays, there are many media outlets that use the words “next demon slayer” and “post demon slayer.”This time, I would like to re-examine the appeal of “jujutsu kaisen,” the most notable work in 2021, in the social context of Weekly Shonen Jump.
What is “jujutsu kaisen”?
The “”jujutsu kaisen”” is a dark fantasy cartoon depicting magicians who use magic to exorcise evil spirits and existence embody negative emotions such as resentment and jealousy of humans.
The protagonist is Yuji Itadori, a normal high school student.
One day, a senior member of the occult research club brings out a charm out of curiosity.
The charm is the finger of the evil king, Ryomensukuna, and attracts the evil spirit.
Itadori swallowed his fingers, fused them with spells, and succeeded in controlling them.
The story is about a tiger stick that was found to be a treasure that had not been born for a thousand years, and set foot on the path of a magician.
The total number of comic books published was 8.5 million in October 2020, when anime broadcasting began, but fans who captured the comic books moved to the original and exceeded 15 million on December 16, just two and a half months later.
It became a hot topic on Twitter that “the bookstores ran out of stock.”
The second Cool will be broadcasted on January 15, 2021, and there are expectations for the future development of contents.
Will this be a boom following “demon slayer”?
The “demon slayer” has been accepted by a wide range of age groups.
Not only jump readers and anime fans, but also those who don’t usually watch anime have grown into “all-age content.”
This reason has already been discussed by experts and marketers.
While the simple structure of “demon slayer” and the jumpiness of “”friendship, effort, and victory were the main focus, the dark world view and artistic descriptions of battle were fresh…
It is also pointed out that the spread of video streaming services and the habit of staying home in the corona disaster have made it easier to get used to anime, which is also the cause of modern social events.
Personally, I feel that the combination of the contents of the movie, including animation in the wake of the corona disaster, the completion of the original, and the movie, has accelerated the boom.
In any case, the achievement itself is significant, as it has attracted fans who don’t usually watch jump comics or animations, it has become a national animation.Many fans may have changed the general public’s perception of comic books for boys.
To sum up, “demon slayer” has raised public interest in comic books and anime for boys, raising the expectations of society.
If we look at the “magic war” boom in this context, we can see why it is described as “next demon slayer” or “post demon slayer”
However, the difference from “demon slayer” is noticeable when we look at the literary characteristics of “Jujutsu kaisen” Next, we will consider why “Jujutsu kaisen” fascinates fans as a piece of work.”
The fusion of “jump-like” is firmly supporting jump fans.
Fans feel that “The Magical War” is influenced by Jump’s existing works.The author himself cites “BLEACH” as a reference for his choice of words.
Also, many fans may feel that the four main characters, Yuji Itadori, Megumi Fujiguro, Nobara Kugisaki, and Satoru Gojo, are “NARUTO.”
Furthermore, there is something in common with “Hunter×Hunter,” which is a difficult technique that incorporates physical elements, and the way of fighting that is not left to force or compassion.
Many readers may find it difficult to understand such mechanisms as “Hanten Jutsushiki” and “Jutsushiki Hanten,” which contrast positive and negative energy collisions.
The reason why there are so many explanatory videos on YouTube is understandable.
What is important is that homage to these existing works is linked to the jump-like nature of JuJutsukaisen.
The affinity for the works that Jump readers have become familiar with, the sense of already seen them in a good way, and yet none of them are new enough to win the hearts of fixed fans.
the soil of hits visible to the readers of `jujutsu kaisen’
Here’s some interesting data.There is a discrepancy between the readers of Weekly Shonen Jump and the fans of Jujutsu kaisen.
The following is a quote from the Chunichi Shimbun.
The first issue of Weekly Shonen Jump was released on July 11, 1968.It was originally published twice a month and has been weekly since October 1969.The 1995 record of 6.53 million copies is the highest number of comic books published.1.76 million copies from January to March 2018.
chunichi.co.jp
The actual composition of readers is mainly junior high school students, from elementary school to high school students.70% of those aged 15 or younger and 30% of those aged 16 or older.The ratio of males to females is 8 to 2 (survey conducted in 2012.
What we can see from this is that the readers of Weekly Shonen Jump itself are literally “shonen” in “senior elementary school – high school students.”However, for blockbuster works like Demon layer and Jujutsu kaisen, the rest of them will naturally be introduced.It is said that the ratio of men to women in these works is fifty-fifty for those who purchase monographs.In terms of age, both men and women buy Demon layer, and in terms of Jujutsukaisen, adult cartoon fans are nearly twice as many as teenage fans (about three times as many as teenage fans).This is because “jujutsu kaisen” is more difficult to understand than “demon layer” as mentioned above, and it is more realistic to draw, and they are to the point.
Based on the above, underlying the hit of “jujutsu kaisen” is the “de-boy” trend of manga.
In other words, it is a fundamental departure from the perception that boy cartoons are something that boys read.
Furthermore, let’s take a look at this from the perspectives of two readers.
Dark fantasy and elaborate settings that even adult males find “interesting”
The world’s view deviates from the concept of adventure and youth and the royal image of simple and clear battle settings in boys’ comics, making it easy for adult males to fall in love with it.
1. The boom of so-called “dark fantasy” that is pro-Young Jump and Shonen Magazine
“Demon layer” is very popular among children such as elementary school students, but as you can see from the fact that it started at 23:30, it is a late-night animation frame.”There were grotesque depictions and cruel developments that were true to the original.”Here, we can see that “demon layer” has become a hit on the extension of “original → animated hits” that have been a hot topic for several years, such as “Tokyo Ghoul” and “Attack on Titan”.
Jujutsu kaisen” is no exception.On the world line, “friendship, effort, victory,” which is synonymous with jumping, is forced in a more severe development.Dark Fantasy No. 18 includes the dark fall of the main character, the development of fusion with the enemy, shock that makes the main character willing to die, and the hostile visual and battle scenes of horror touch.
2.The confrontation between right and wrong is often not straightforward.
As the editor in charge of “The Spirits Are Not Complete Evils,” the Spirits are “Created by Man.” Rather, sometimes confrontation with themselves and their peers is created. The main characters in Attack on Titan are human beings, or in Tokyo Ghoul.In “demon slayer, the main character, Kojiro, says, The ogre is not an ugly monster, but an empty creature.
It’s a sad creature” was impressive.Such a setting is a structure that transforms binomial conflict and virtue and morality.
3 “Drop”” the most popular characters.
In the movie “”demon layer,”” the character of the time suddenly became “Anjuro Rengoku,” a leading figure in the role of the master of the main character, who supports the most powerful organization that destroys demons, “Pillar of demons.” Because the movie focuses on this way of life, it attracted as much or more attention as the main character.
On the other hand, in “jujuju kaisen,” there is already a character called “Satoru Gojo,” which is said to be the most popular character.
Satoru Gojo, who is said to be the most powerful magician in the movie, has a gap between his usual flirtatious personality and his character during battle.
If the movie is filmed successfully following the way the original story is dug down, it will attract as many fans as the purgatory boom.
How do you dig into characters and make readers fall in love?
Many fans of Jujutsu kaisen will be expecting that.
Summary: We want to focus on the growth of Jump’s “signage manga”
From this point of view, it can be seen that Jujutsu kaisen is not a work of limited nature such as “post daemon layer” or “next daemon layer,” but rather a work born in the context of ever-changing youth cartoons and animations.To sum up, there are three points: the follow-on of Jump’s existing works, the trend toward the dark fantasy boom, and the social ground created by the historic success of Demon layer.
