'Jujutsu Kaisen' Fans Are Noticing the Differences Between the Season 2 Anime and the Manga

The summer of 2023 has seen some beloved anime return for all new seasons and installments, not the least of which is Jujutsu Kaisen. Having premiered back in 2020, the supernatural anime gained massive popularity and acclaim throughout its first season. Its success both in Japan and among international audiences spawned a feature-length movie that was released in theaters in 2021 in a theatrical run that broke box office records for anime films. Now, we're finally diving into Season 2.

New episodes of Jujutsu Kaisen premiered on July 6, 2023 and are being simulcast on Crunchyroll. It continues to adapt the manga by Gege Akutami as it dives into the "Hidden Inventory/Premature Death" arc before diving into the "Shibuya Incident" arc.

The series is on track to animate some of the more iconic scenes from the manga throughout the season. However, some folks have picked up on some differences between the anime and the manga.

Initially, the story of Jujutsu Kaisen revolves around Yuji Itadori, a young high school student who awakens to his abilities as a jujutsu sorcerer after ingesting the finger of a powerful Curse. Yuji later joins the Tokyo Metropolitan Magical Technical College to hone his newfound powers.

In Season 2, however, the series turns back the clock to explore the origins of his teacher, Satoru Gojo, as he himself learns how to become a sorcerer at the Jujutsu Academy.

As the anime continues with new episodes, fans have begun to notice some subtle differences between the anime and the source material of the manga. Namely, viewers have praised the steps that the animation studio at MAPPA took to remain faithful to the characters while distinguishing itself from Gege Akutami's manga.

Toward the end of Season 2, Episode 2, Gojo faces off against curse users at a school while attempting to protect a girl named Riko Amanai. While fending off some of their opponents, Gojo protects Riko by keeping her close to him. However, instead of carrying her with one hand as was done in the manga, Gojo instead keeps hold of her with his Infinity powers. The anime even takes it a step further by having Gojo keep an open hand over her body to hold her in place with his abilities.

Though the change might be small, fans have praised this artistic liberty that MAPPA took to set itself apart from the manga.

In a tweet, one fan called it "a subtle but nice detail that enhances the main visual focus of Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue (one of Gojo's techniques) in this scene."

Even Gege Akutami themself was a fan of the changes made in this episode.

In a statement translated from Japanese, they wrote, "The production team didn't hold back on making full use of all the details in the original manga."

When the original manga author of a highly-popular anime gives you props for adapting their manga, you know you're doing something right.

New episodes of Jujutsu Kaisen premiere every Thursday on Crunchyroll.