The Manga Behind the 'Jujutsu Kaisen' Anime Series Is Back From Hiatus
Updated July 19 2021, 5:41 p.m. ET
Even though it currently only has one season out, the anime series Jujutsu Kaisen has already become a big hit. The story of a kid named Yuji Itadori joining a secret society of jujutsu sorcerers after essentially letting a demon live inside him has gained fans all over. People can't seem to get enough and always want more episodes of the show.
Even though fans are loving Jujutsu Kaisen, it's still not clear if we'll be getting a second season of the anime. Some people believe that the show is canceled. But is it? There was a delay in production of the manga behind the series, and the delay didn't have a clear end date at the time.
Is 'Jujutsu Kaisen' canceled?
No, Jujutsu Kaisen isn't canceled, but the manga was on hiatus. On June 9, 2021, Shōnen Jump, the magazine that publishes the series' weekly manga, confirmed the news on Twitter. Translated into English, the tweet says, "Jujutsu Kaisen will be suspended for a while due to the poor physical condition of Mr. Akutami. We would appreciate it if you could also see the handwritten comments from Professor Akutami."
An image of a handwritten note by Gege Akutami, Jujutsu Kaisen's creator, wasn't translated by Shōnen Jump, but other people on Twitter have shared that the note said that he would be taking a break for one month. He apparently said in the note that he wasn't feeling well (but that it wasn't serious, and that his mental health was okay), and that he wanted to get the series done ASAP. He also apologized for the delay.
Gege Akutami didn't confirm exactly what was wrong.
As Polygon notes, Shōnen Jumpalso said on Twitter, "We wish Gege Akutami a restful time off and look forward to the next chapter" — but fans may have expected this news. The latest additions to the Jujutsu Kaisen manga before this were left unfinished without notice.
Akutami didn't announce what exactly has been going on with his health, but another translation of his note in a series of tweets shows that he was apparently asked to take the break by Shōnen Jump's editorial department.
"I have been asked by the editorial department to take a break from the series, but I don’t want to slow down the weekly serialization of Jujutsu Kaisen since I’d like to draw the end of the series as soon as possible, and just put a hold on my answer," Akutami said in the letter, according to this translation.
"The suspension period should be about one month," he also wrote, per the translation. "Even if I say I’m sick, it’s not any serious illness. My mental health is completely fine, so do not worry about it. I’m really sorry I’ll have to keep you waiting. Once I come back, I’ll do my best with the serialization." Fans sent Akutami their love and support on Twitter hoping that he would take as much time as he needed to take care of himself.
When does 'Jujutsu Kaisen' come back?
We've got exciting news! Shōnen Jump has announced that Jujutsu Kaisen will begin being published again. According to a translation of its July 15 tweet, the next installment of the series will be published in the Aug. 2, 2021, issue of the magazine.
Akutami hasn't provided an update to fans about his thoughts on the manga series coming back. Some fans were worried that he may be overworked, but according to Kotaku, requests from Shōnen Jump that he would take a break continued to "pile up" before he ultimately decided to agree.
