Highlights:
* Below we’ve listed the top anime inspirations behind Jujutsu Kaisen.
* Naruto and Bleach are from the Big 3 of Shonen Jump that have inspired JJK.
* Yu Yu Hakusho and Shaman King are some of the old classics that have inspired JJK.
Jujutsu Kaisen is a new-gen Shonen staple and is even considered one of the successors of the Big 3 from the Golden Era of Shonen Jump. It should come as no surprise that a lot of classic anime has served as its inspiration. In the following article, we’ll discuss the top 3 popular anime inspirations behind Jujutsu Kaisen.
The Key Anime Inspirations Behind Jujutsu Kaisen
Jujutsu Kaisen follows a tried and tested shonen formula with a main trio, a big bad, a cool overpowered mentor, and so on. Gege has acknowledged the anime inspirations behind Jujutsu Kaisen so let’s take a look at the top 3 key and popular anime inspirations behind Jujutsu Kaisen.
Naruto
| Release Date | October 3, 2002 |
| Creator | Masashi Kishimoto |
One can readily see the inspiration behind Gojo’s design to be Kakashi Hatake and Gege has acknowledged this. That aside, the complex Cursed Energy system resembles the Chakra system of Naruto- while both might seem simplistic at the surface level, we learn their nuances alongside the main characters as we move further into the story. Both series are led by a trio of characters with one edgy dude, one happy-go-lucky protagonist, and one token girl for gender equality.
Bleach
| Release Date | October 5, 2004 |
| Creator | Tite Kubo |
There are many similarities between the Hollows of Bleach and the Curses of Jujutsu Kaisen. For starters, they are both invisible to ordinary people. Both are born from negative emotions one way or another. Hollows and Curses can only be defeated using spiritual energy or attacks. JJK seems to have taken direct inspiration in its worldbuilding from Bleach and you can’t miss the clean and edgy character designs in JJK which also resemble Tite Kubo’s slick character designs.
Yu Yu Hakusho
| Release Date | October 10, 1992 |
| Creator | Yoshihiro Togashi |
This one precedes Naruto or Bleach but once you’ve seen this classic, you’ll instantly start to make connections with JJK. It’s considered one of the anime inspirations behind Jujutsu Kaisen because of its similar premise. The presence of Curses and Demons alongside a group of main characters with edgy but diverse powers and an intricate power system is what makes Togashi’s manga and anime a clear inspiration behind JJK.
Shaman King
| Release Date | July 4, 2001 |
| Creator | Hiroyuki Takei |
The final villains of both Shaman King and Jujutsu Kaisen hail from the Heian Era. That alone should solidify the historical connections shared by these two series. Both Sukuna and Hao are also regarded as the epitome of evil and both Yoh and Yuji are in one way or another related to the big bad of their own series. Shaman King’s supernatural world and a power system heavily reliant on emotional state might also be one of the anime inspirations behind Jujutsu Kaisen.
If you’ve read or watched the above anime you’d know how they are some of the obvious anime inspirations behind Jujutsu Kaisen. But while all of them are clear inspirations to JJK, not all of them can be called anime like Jujutsu Kaisen because there’s another manga and anime coming out alongside JJK that also resembles it- and you can click on the link to find out which one.
