Jujutsu Kaisen (呪術廻戦, “Sorcery Fight”) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Gege Akutami. It has been serialized in Shueisha‘s shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump since March 2018, with its chapters collected and published in 23 tankōbon volumes as of July 2023. The story follows high school student Yuji Itadori as he joins a secret organization of Jujutsu Sorcerers to eliminate a powerful Curse named Ryomen Sukuna, of whom Yuji becomes the host. Jujutsu Kaisen is a sequel to Akutami’s Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical School, serialized in Shueisha’s Jump Giga from April to July 2017, later collected in a tankōbon volume, retroactively titled as Jujutsu Kaisen 0, in December 2018.
Jujutsu Kaisen is licensed for English-language release in North America by Viz Media, which has published the manga in print since December 2019. Shueisha publishes the series in English on the Manga Plus online platform. Two novels, written by Ballad Kitaguni, were published in May 2019 and January 2020, respectively. A 24-episode anime television series adaptation produced by MAPPA, aired on MBS from October 2020 to March 2021; a second season premiered in July 2023. The anime is licensed by Crunchyroll for streaming outside of Asia, which premiered an English dub in November 2020. The anime’s original soundtrack was released in April 2021.
By July 2023, the Jujutsu Kaisen manga had over 80 million copies in circulation, including related novels, digital versions and Jujutsu Kaisen 0, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time.
Yuji Itadori is an unnaturally fit high school student living in Sendai. On his deathbed, his grandfather instils two powerful messages within Yuji: “always help others” and “die surrounded by people.” Yuji’s friends at the Occult Club attract Curses to their school when they unseal a rotten finger talisman. Yuji swallows the finger to protect Jujutsu Sorcerer Megumi Fushiguro, becoming host to a powerful Curse named Ryomen Sukuna. Due to Sukuna’s evil nature, all sorcerers are required to exorcise him (and, by extension, Yuji) immediately. However upon seeing Yuji retaining control over his body, Megumi’s teacher Satoru Gojo brings him to the Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School with a proposal to his superiors: postpone Yuji’s death sentence and train under Gojo until he consumes all 20 of Sukuna’s fingers so the Curse can be eliminated. At the same time, a group of Cursed Spirits plot a multi-layered attack on the world of Jujutsu sorcery, including the Cursed Spirit Mahito and a corrupted sorcerer named Suguru Geto, who was executed by Gojo a year prior.
Gojo partners Yuji and Megumi with fellow first-year Tokyo student Nobara Kugisaki training them to become sorcerers, but during a mission gone wrong, Sukuna gains full control of Yuji’s body, so Yuji allows the both of them to die. Despite this, Sukuna brings Yuji back to life, having grown an interest in Megumi. Aware the Jujutsu high-ups intend to kill Yuji, Gojo keeps his resurrection a secret to continue training him. Yuji meets fellow student Junpei Yoshino, who falls victim to Mahito’s manipulations, leading Yuji to swear vengeance.
Gojo reveals Yuji being alive during the exchange event between the Tokyo and Kyoto Jujutsu schools. The Kyoto school’s principal wants Yuji dead immediately so schemes to get it done, while the Tokyo students help Yuji. During the event, Cursed Spirits attack the schools, but are fought off by Yuji, Gojo, and third-year Kyoto student Aoi Todo, though Mahito steals three “Death Paintings” (half-human half-Curses), and summons them.
After a mission in which Yuji is able to consume several of Sukuna’s fingers and kill two of the Death Paintings with Nobara’s help, the disfigured second-year Kyoto student Kokichi Muta, who controls the Cursed Corpse Mechamaru, is revealed to be a mole working with Geto and Mahito. Muta betrays them to protect his friends, only to be killed by Mahito. On Halloween, the Cursed Spirits unleash their ultimate plan by releasing several barriers over Shibuya, leading many sorcerers to react. Gojo fights and exorcises various Cursed Spirits, but is sealed away by Geto in a special artifact, the Prison Realm. The events also reveal that the current Geto is not the original but rather Geto’s corpse possessed by an ancient sorcerer named Kenjaku.
Yuji and his allies face Kenjaku’s forces in order to rescue Gojo from the Prison Realm. During the chaos, Yuji faces Choso, the third Death Painting sibling, and is defeated, only to be spared due to Choso receiving a vision revealing they are brothers. The Cursed Spirit Jogo force feeds Yuji ten fingers, re-awakening Sukuna, who goes on a rampage that destroys a large portion of Shibuya. Yuji then faces off against Mahito, who mortally wounds Nobara, but with the help of Todo, is able to successfully defeat him for good. However, Kenjaku absorbs Mahito, and using his Cursed Technique, re-awakens thousands of new sorcerers throughout Japan which Kenjaku had been planting for thousands of years, as well as unleashing a slew of Curses on Japan, to usher in chaos and a world of Cursed Spirits reminiscent of the Heian period, the prime period of Jujutsu Sorcerers.
In the aftermath, Yuji and Megumi team up with second-year student Yuta Okkotsu and experienced sorcerer Yuki Tsukumo, with both being special grade Jujutsu Sorcerers, along with Choso and second-year student Maki Zen’in to meet with Master Tengen, an immortal, part-Curse part-human Jujutsu Sorcerer. Tengen reveals Kenjaku’s plan to merge the former’s consciousness with Japan’s human population. The Culling Game, Kenjaku’s all-out war between the sorcerers and Curse users of Japan, then begins. Maki goes to the Zen’in compound to collect Cursed Tools she needs, but is forced to kill her entire clan when they lay a trap for her. Meanwhile, Yuji, Yuta, Megumi, second-year student Panda, and third-year student Kinji Hakari, seek out a mysterious woman named “Angel” who can free Gojo from the Prison Realm, as well as also find a way to rescue Megumi’s step-sister, Tsumiki, from participating in the Games.
The group are able to discover Angel, however during this time, the Culling Game serves its purpose in acquiring a surplus of cursed energy for Kenjaku’s plans, while he also succeeds in killing Yuki and capturing Tengen. When the group attempt to save Tsumiki, they learn she has become a host for a reincarnated sorcerer. Sukuna uses this opportunity to execute his ultimate plan, taking control of Megumi’s body. He succeeds in doing so, killing Tsumiki and regrouping with Kenjaku, however the reunited main group are able to use Angel’s power to free Gojo from the Prison Realm. Gojo, now unsealed, agrees with Sukuna and Kenjaku to fight on the 24th of December. The main group makes plans and gets ready for the ultimate showdown on the day, where Gojo faces off against Sukuna and Megumi’s Ten Shadows.