Akutami Gege interview (2nd part) with french publisher ki-o

Akutami Gege interview (2nd part) with french publisher ki-oon
translated from french by @Anco#8613

How did you come up with Jujutsu Kaisen story?

I went through a difficult time, making short stories that didn’t really lead anywhere. At the time, many big shot series in Jump were ending, like Naruto, Bleach, etc… It was nerve wracking and I kept wondering what the magazine would become! Thankfully, My Hero Academia made its appearance and my mind was immediately put at ease. The energy was still there! It gave me a motivation boost and made me realize I would need to be more dynamic at the same time. (Laughs)
When I showed my initial project to my editor, he told me it was too dark and wouldn’t suit a shonen magazine. I was about to give up when he suggested that I changed my initial story setting to a school one. I really didn’t want to at first, but I had nothing to lose… And so, the pilot of the series, Jujutsu Kaisen 0, came to be.

Did the fact that the story happens in a school setting change a lot of elements?

That’s correct! These alterations gave me the opportunity to change my way of writing manga and learn to focus more on my characters. Beforehand, I would usually think of stories in terms of plot only. I couldn’t understand at all those manga writers who claimed in their interviews that they felt like their characters were moving by themselves. I always thought: “What the hell are they talking about?” (Laughs)
Talking about myself, I always thought about it in terms of plot at the beginning, in the middle while before I would even think about the characters’ involvement. When I had no choice but to change everything all at once, I had to revise my story board fast while disregarding any preestablished storyline. It changed my way of thinking greatly. From there, I decided to make the other characters evolve around the protagonist, Yuta Okkotsu, and followed suit with developing their interactions. The experience was educational!

Jujutsu Kaisen 0 and Jujutsu Kaisen are both set in the same universe and some characters look alike. Was it difficult to start a new manga with a different protagonist without making it repetitive?

I never thought that this story I made for Jump Giga would end up becoming a long running manga in  Weekly Shonen Jump! Where I was concerned, the manga was ending at four chapters but seeing how none of my other projects seemed to cut it, my editor proposed that I reuse the same concept. This suggestion gave me another opportunity to look closely into the shonen basics. The one thing I knew for certain going in was that I wouldn’t continue Yuta Okkotsu’s story. Instead I wanted a brand-new hero.
I wanted something that new readers would find easier to easier to get into but also a manga which complied with the shonen rules. With that in mind, I revised the story and finally got the green light.

Are there specific rules you had to follow to adapt your manga to Weekly Shonen Jump?

I try to use elements that I liked in popular manga that I’ve read… Looking at it that way, the basic structure of Jujutsu Kaisen first chapter is close to Bleach first chapter, although the rules governing Jujutsu Kaisen world look more similar to the Naruto world. In Bleach, the protagonist gets his powers after meeting a young girl. The events happen in a similar fashion in Jujutsu Kaisen, although this time the main character meets a boy instead. I added my own twists like having the hero swallowing a curse finger to absorb power, for example.
This kind of plotline has been used in manga for a long time now. Already with manga such as Dragon Quest: the adventures of Dai, we had the concept of the young boy with a hidden power inside him. It’s just part of the shonen formula.
When we look at Naruto, the protagonist is discriminated against because of the power of the nine tails which resides in him. On my side, the hero gets his power from a curse it’s impossible to get along with. Now how will Yuji manage his new life with such a horrible curse?

Have you already thought of Jujutsu Kaisen entire story, from start to finish?

While creating the characters from Jujutsu Kaisen 0 was my starting point, I still needed to think of the story in the long term when the time came to adapt my short story into a long running manga for Weekly Shonen Jump. I’m the type of person who worries if they don’t have the faintest idea of what comes next… I need to know what my end goal is in order to set course without hesitation. Consequently, I already know the ending and what will happen to Yuji and the others. That doesn’t mean that everything is set in stone. It’s important to keep your story open, just in case.


You mentioned My Hero Academia as an inspiration earlier…

Yes. It happened at a time where I kept wondering what could be done to revive the shonen formula for both Jump’s and my sake. Thinking that way made me see other popular shonen under a new light. Back then, Attack on titan was making waves and Naruto had just ended. I was wondering where things were going… Then My Hero Academia started in the magazine and I realized then that Jump had the strength to breathe new life into its gears. I also became conscious that I would need to shift gears if I wanted to stand in the same arena (laughs)

Was it yours or your editors’ idea to have a promotional crossover between you and Kohei Horikoshi?

It was our editors’ idea. Honestly, I love mangakas! Just picturing the career in my mind has always been enough to make me daydream and to me mangakas in general have a certain coolness about them. Mr. Horikoshi strikes me particularly. He’s really a representation of the modern writer to me. I respected him a lot already reading his manga, but my admiration increased even more after meeting him in real life. After that, I would always ask my editor if he heard anything about Mr. Horikoshi, every time we met. (Laughs)
Since I wouldn’t stop talking about him, our editors decided to make this promotional marketing project between both manga. Apparently, one of the reasons why Mr. Horikoshi accepted to participate was because he reads Jujutsu Kaisen. That made me very happy!

**His editor, M. Katayama: I was only asking for a commentary for the opening banner but Mr. Horikoshi decided instead to send us illustrations for Jujutsu Kaisen. We did tell him beforehand that he didn’t have to spend too much time on this crossover because of his tight schedule yet he did! **

On top of that, Mr. Horikoshi wasted no time sending in those illustrations and said he didn’t want to disturb the release schedule for this project. Can you imagine? A well-known writer like him not only agreed to promote my work but also showed a lot of modesty. I’m as much a fan of his manga as I am a fan of the man himself!

How would you introduce Yuji Itadori to someone who doesn’t know Jujutsu Kaisen?

I gave him the traits of a shonen protagonist but in my own way. It was hard! I didn’t want him to be one of those ‘super nice’ protagonists because I find that a little annoying. It’s one thing I don’t really like in classic shonen. With Yuji, since I put a part of me in his character, you could say that he’s more like everyone else. A ‘normal person’ in many ways.
It wasn’t easy to create him but in the manga you can really feel his character.

How do you create your characters? What elements particularly feel important to you?

I don’t have any preconceived notion of right or wrong. I don’t believe that justice itself could ever be completely flawless. I mean it’s impossible for people to be 100% right.  For that very reason, every single characters I create has some kind of flaw.  When you look at the curses in the manga, I made them as repulsive as possible because I want them to come off as scary.

The enemy side leaves a strong impression while reading your work. Their words have as much of an impact on the readers as the protagonists’ do. Do you like villains in general?

I mostly like characters with strong ideologies. Like Shinobu Sensui from Yu Yu Hakusho or Stain in My Hero academia. Their ideals become full-fledged dogmas for them. You can easily understand what makes them act the way they do. The one thing you ‘ve got to keep in mind with characters like that is to not make the reasoning behind their actions too abstract for the readers.


Did you learn to draw digitally in university while you were learning about editing software?

Not at all. It happened while I was working as Mr. Kano’s assistant on his manga, Kiss x Death. Mr. Kano himself advocates drawing by hand but since I’m a little bit of a slob, I don’t want to touch someone else’s art board. When the choice was offered to me, I decided to go for digital art just so I would be able to correct the mistakes I knew I would be making.


How is your work schedule during the week? Do you have any assistant?

I have 4 assistants who come in on Thursday, Friday and Saturday to help me with the background and various special effects. They work on the pages I’ve already prepared in advance. I usually drop my draft on Tuesday mornings (apparently, it’s supposed to be dropped earlier). I start preparing the art boards for the next chapter from that moment till the following Thursday. I draw digitally but my assistants can choose whichever method suits them most.

What do you do in your free time?

Usually I go to the movies. I really loved the movie Whiplash from producer Damien Chazelle. I went to see it in the theater and found it very good!

While I work, I usually have movies from Netflix or Amazon playing in the background. I really love American TV shows like Dr House who doesn’t go easy on the main characters.
I used to read a lot of manga in high school and university but since I started Jujutsu Kaisen I haven’t been able to spend much time on reading as before. Right now, I try to read new stuff as often as I can to enrich my thoughts and ideas.

What are some of titles you’re currently reading?

I’m trying to find out more about Yoshiro Togashi (Yu Yu Hakusho) sources of inspiration in general. I’ve heard that he loves Junji Ito’s works. I had previously read his well-known titles only but I’m currently reading everything else he wrote.
I also love reading one-shots, particularly the ones from Tomoko Yamashito or Takako Shimura. I hadn’t read those in quite some time, but I’ve gone back to doing so recently. As I read, I revisit the structure of this kind of story and it’s helpful. I’m scared focusing mostly on longer series is going to make me forget how to finalize a story in one chapter.
I also read anthologies and other collections of short stories from time to time. Unfortunately, since I don’t have a lot of free time, I usually focus on manga.

If you had a power, what would it be?

I feel like I wouldn't be all that talented. (laughs) There are high chances I would die young if I was an exorcist/shaman. Honestly, I don't need to be powerful. I just want a power that helps me survive (Laughs).I would rather not end like a support character, it doesn't look all that thrilling.

Do you have anything to say to the French readers?

My manga will be translated and read overseas. I still can't believe it! My passion for manga is what led me to my career today; I've loved them since childhood. I hope my manga will have an influence on you readers, be it big or small.