Gege Akutami, the author of Jujutsu Kaisen manga, revealed in a new message that his health had “broke down” during the final stages of the series’ serialization. He also stated that Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece, provided him with crucial help by introducing him to a hospital.
Akutami had been hospitalized in June 2024 and underwent surgery for an appendectomy. That procedure was cited as the reason for a three-week hiatus after the submission of a nine-page chapter 262. Throughout its final arc, the manga also frequently skipped issues in its weekly release schedule.
According to his new statement, Akutami recovered after visiting the hospital that Oda had suggested. He wanted to find a way to repay Oda for the assistance, ultimately deciding that contributing illustrations to the One Piece franchise would be a suitable expression of his gratitude.
“I’m glad I got to draw Nusjuro. I was taken aback when I received the colour specifications for five characters but the process of putting together colours that I never would have come up with on my own was a novel experience,” Akutami added in his comment about the artwork. The One Piece Card Game is a collectible trading card game produced by Bandai based on Oda’s long-running manga.
Akutami’s health issues have been cited by some fans as a potential reason for their dissatisfaction with the manga’s conclusion. The ending of Jujutsu Kaisen was perceived as rushed by a segment of the readership, with some readers complaining that certain plot points and character arcs were not fully resolved.
The manga ended with chapter 271 in 2024 and hit a milestone of 100 million copies in circulation. It was serialized on Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine since 2018.
Source: Soukatsu on X
