During a recent panel event for the popular manga and anime series Jujutsu Kaisen, voice actor Yuma Uchida read aloud a message from series creator Gege Akutami.
In this message, Akutami suggested that the long-running supernatural action series, which centers around a young man named Yuji who joins a school for jujutsu sorcerers, may be approaching its conclusion sometime in 2024.
Specifically, Akutami’s message indicated that this year’s 2023 Jump Festa event may be the final time Jujutsu Kaisen makes an appearance there.
Jump Festa is an annual celebration of various Shonen Jump manga series. Akutami’s statement implies he believes the manga storyline is reaching its climax and final arcs.
There are a few reasons Akutami likely feels this way. In the current manga, the primary antagonist, Sukuna, has been fully revived, marking a major shift in the plot.
Additionally, some major characters have recently been killed off. Both of these story developments signal that Akutami is moving into the manga’s endgame.
Jujutsu Kaisen Volume 25 Cover.
Series has reached 90.000.000 copies in circulation with 25 volumes.
Also, Akutami Gege has revealed 'this is likely the last Jump Festa for the series as it may be end in 2024'. pic.twitter.com/vTs6aBz2bv
— Shonen Jump News (@WSJ_manga) December 16, 2023
Of course, conclusions regarding ongoing manga release dates are notoriously difficult to predict accurately.
But based on the current trajectory established by recent pivotal and shocking story events, Akutami seems to believe Jujutsu Kaisen has about one more year of narrative left before he intends to wrap up the mythology and conclude the series sometime in 2024.
Jujutsu Kaisen Manga Is In Its Final Phase
The Jujutsu Kaisen panel event featured several of the anime’s popular voice actors, including those who voice the characters Sukuna, Megumi Fushiguro, and Gojo Satoru.
During the panel, they revealed the cover art for the manga’s 25th volume, showing the villain Sukuna prominently.
Additionally, it was shared that Jujutsu Kaisen has now sold over 90 million manga copies to date globally. This puts it on track to pass 100 million soon, cementing its status as one of the highest-selling manga of all time.
The voice actors also presented a special video teaser of upcoming manga chapters, doing dramatic readings of dialogue exchanges between Gojo and Sukuna as they engage in a climactic battle. This gave fans a sneak peek at major events still to come.
So, while there was a lot of exciting news and celebrations of recent accomplishments, apparently, the panel still ended on a somewhat somber note.
Creator Gege Akutami shared a message reiterating his belief that despite its popularity, the series is likely reaching its final arcs, and he predicts it will conclude at some point in 2024.
So, while fans are eager to see the upcoming fight animations and learn how the conflict with Sukuna will ultimately be resolved, they know the story likely has only about one more year left before its mythos and mysteries wrap up.
Setting the Stage for a Climactic Showdown
While unfortunate for longtime fans, it does logically follow that Jujutsu Kaisen will reach its final clashes and conclusion in 2024.
Creator Gege Akutami has structured the story and lore from the start to build up to an epic confrontation between the protagonists of the jujutsu world and the incredibly powerful cursed spirit Sukuna as the ultimate villain.
Most popular shonen manga and anime follow a similar narrative trajectory, with central heroes strengthening their skills over time in order to prepare for a final showdown against the most significant threat at the very end.
Sukuna has lurked in the background since the early chapters, slowly amassing power. So now that he has fully revived within the body of the main character Yuji, it fits for this to signal the beginning of the endgame.
Of course, some comparable series like Black Clover have extended their run by suddenly introducing new major adversaries just when the central conflict seemed to be resolving.
However, that kind of narrative swerve would probably undermine years of calculated build-up in Jujutsu Kaisen around Sukuna.
He has been clearly established as the pinnacle boss villain to be defeated. Introducing another major demon or curse now would feel redundant from a storytelling perspective.
So, while 2024 feels too soon for some loyal fans to bid farewell, it does follow conventions of the shonen genre for Sukuna and Yuji’s fated duel to prompt the manga’s emotional conclusion after a climactic final saga.
Navigating Uncertain Endings
It’s worth noting that manga creators announcing an imminent end-point for their ongoing series is not always the most reliable predictor.
There are numerous cases of popular manga authors stating they were approaching the finale, only to end up continuing the story for years longer, like Eiichiro Oda with One Piece and Kohei Horikoshi’s My Hero Academia.
So there is certainly a chance Gege Akutami may find there is more narrative left to explore in the rich fantasy world of Jujutsu Kaisen than he currently estimates.
Or he may hit story beats that prompt him to slow down the pacing toward a conclusion over more chapters than intended.
That said, even if the series does indeed wrap up in 2024 as Akutami currently forecasts based on his outlines, that would still likely provide fans with a satisfying and epic saga to properly culminate key character arcs.
Manga enthusiasts certainly hope to enjoy thrilling new adventures with Yuji Itadori, Megumi, and the rest for as long as possible.
Sukuna’s VA Junichi Suwabe + Gojo’s VA Nakamura recorded some lines from their fight in the manga, with Yuji’s VA narrating😭🔥 “You’re the challenger here”, as it’s then followed by Gege sayin this is JJK’s last year at Jump Festa while bein serialized🥀#呪術廻戦 #JujutsuKaisen pic.twitter.com/tOoRKn2gvW
— Masked_saiyan101 (@DbsContents) December 16, 2023
But it is also crucial that whenever Jujutsu Kaisen reaches its finale, it sticks the landing in a way that does justice to the inventive premise and leaves devotees feeling a lasting sense of narrative fulfillment.
So Akutami’s stated 2024 projection, however unreliable, suggests devotees should prepare to potentially say farewell to a beloved series.
But the hope will surely be for a truly spectacular and emotionally resonant swan song.
