It's no secret that Gege Akutami was inspired by both Bleach and Naruto for your work Jujutsu Kaisen – be it the inspiration behind Gojo or even the creation of a trio with Itadori, Megumi and Nobara.

However, the author elaborated further on the influence on Bleach and Naruto in Jujutsu Kaisen. This information came to light in a question and answer catalog that was distributed as part of the Jujutsu Kaisen Exhibition held in Shibuya in July 2024.

According to Akutami, the dynamic between Naruto Uzumaki and the Nine-Tailed Fox Kurama in Naruto served as a model for the relationships between Itadori Yuji and Sukuna, as well as Yuta Okkotsu and Rika Orimoto in JJK.

Both characters harbor a demon within them, and inspiration was taken from Naruto – which made the trope popular and ultra-popular.

However, Akutami decided to step away from the reconciliation that had happened between Naruto and Kurama when it came to Jujutsu Kaisen.

He had Okkotsu reconcile with Rika Orimoto at the end of JJK 0however, the author opted for a more antagonistic portrayal of Sukuna, making sure that his ideals did not align with Itadori's.

Akutami also cited Bleach as a significant influence, particularly in terms of Ichigo's conscious choice to become a soul reaper (shinigami).

Despite being thrown into an unexpected situation involving Rukia, Ichigo chose to become a shinigami of his own free will. Akutami consciously used this theme as a model when he had Itadori ingest Sukuna's finger.

Check out Akutami's full response below (translation credits: Soukatsu on Twitter):

In Naruto, it’s the relationship between the main character Uzumaki Naruto and the Nine-Tailed Fox (Kurama). For Itadori, it’s Sukuna, and for Okkotsu, it’s Rika. In Volume 0, the story ended in reconciliation like in Naruto, but I thought Jujutsu Kaisen needed a different approach, so I tried to portray Sukuna as someone completely incompatible [with Itadori]. For Bleach, it’s the structure of the story. The protagonist Ichigo becomes a shinigami of his own free will after being dragged into an unexpected incident. I was really conscious of the “of his own free will” aspect in Jujutsu Kaisen when Itadori ingests the cursed object.

The exhibition Q&A also revealed that Akutami had initially planned to make Megumi the protagonist of the original draft of Jujutsu Kaisen.

However, the idea was rejected, which led him to choose Itadori, despite the possibility of making the story boring, as the main character of the series.

In Akutami's mind, Fushiguro's character was already defined, thanks to him being the protagonist in the original draft. So when the new draft came, Akutami added some elements of Rukia's role as a senpai and competent professional to the character.

According to the author, this was because Fushiguro needed a different approach to justice than Ichigo. And this was quite evident in Fushiguro's character in Jujutsu Kaisenwho was the exact opposite of Itadori when it came to his ideals.

This was well highlighted in the fearsome arch of the uterus.

At his core, Fushiguro hasn't changed, but unlike Sousen, Kaisen was inspired by the first chapter of Bleach, and I felt that Fushiguro needed a different approach to justice compared to Ichigo, so I added that and other similar elements to Rukia's position as a senpai and competent professional.

Jujutsu Kaisen manga, which began serialization in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump in 2018.

As of July 2024, the manga chapters have been collected into 27 tankobon volumes, with over 90 million copies in circulation.

Source: Jujutsu Kaisen exhibition via Soukatsu