Jujutsu Kaisen Anime Expo Panel: Live Blog

It is time for Yuji to take his rightful place at Anime Expo! Following its successful first season, all eyes are on Jujutsu Kaisen following its movie debut and upcoming second season. Now, the series is bringing some special guests to the stage to celebrate our favorite jujutsu sorcerers. And of course, ComicBook is here to bring you all the juicy updates live!

Final Comments

For final messages, the team gives comments on what to expect for the new season of JJK. Manabu takes the microphone first, saying he wants to share everything but he cannot do that much. It is unfortunate! But the CEO says the staff is dong their best and working hard on some very interesting material. The team then speaks to fans here, telling the group at large their appreciation. Manabu says he is really glad to come to the US because it has been a long time. They are in the process of making really interesting material for us, and we will be back next year. 

Seko gives his own message next, saying he’s never attended an event like this but meeting everyone was great. For season two, we are making a variety of things, so please wait for it! It is coming! And finally, Hiroaki is on. The producer is happy to meet everyone here. They are happy to make this show and take the vision of Gege-Sensei. Specifically, he is thankful to be here but plenty who work on the project are back at home. So we also want to convey their thanks and love for the fans!

The team reveals their favorite JJK characters:

Hiroaki: Nanami
Seko: Megumi
Manabu: Toge

The Weight of Popularity With Season 2

Did the fans’ reaction to JJK influence its journey with season two in any way? Manabu is the first to speak, and he says that is not necessarily how it worked. The popularity did not influence the direction but did help get season two get an order from MAPPA. He goes on to say that from the beginning, we considered the reaction of manga fans. Then we go with anime, but now, we want to respond with overseas fans as well now that it is so popular. Seko says his answer is similar. The reaction they have at the studio is to serve all the fans whether in Japan or abroad. So for season two, they are looking forward to even flashier fights. Hiroaki chimes in with his own comment, saying he wants to keep the series exciting and make it even more so with season two.

Jujutsu Kaisen 0’s Reception

The team is asked about the JJK movie and its reception. Manabu is up first once more, saying he was very surprised. It was just a huge hit in Japan and the overseas numbers were impressive as well. And as for Seko, the writer said when movies are released in America, we look at the box office numbers and saw it was a huge hit. It was very surprising to him and his team. Hiroaki says he worked a lot with overseas teams to get an idea of the reaction there, and we were stunned to see it in person here because it encourages us. And the fact that Todo is so popular, we really like that. Hiroaki goes on to say Todo is even popular in Japan, but the fact is more popular than even Gojo, shocked us in a good way.

Breaking Down Jujutsu Kaisen 0

The group is then shown another clip from JJK 0 where Yuta has his final battle with Geto. Manabu is the first to speak on it, saying that the music and action was important here. He credits those two things for impressing fans the most.This scene was not in the original script, Seko admits, but they were able include the original and feels it works well. The writer says his team was given direction from Director Park to be impressive as a climax, and so we were able to do that for him. And for Hiroaki, his memory of this scene was to make sure it was all balanced.

Breaking Down Season One

The team is now looking at specific scenes to discuss animation. We are looking at Yuki at the end of season one while Nobara takes on her own enemy. The pair go wild as we know, so Manabu is asked about the fight in particular. The CEO says the first thing he considered in this scene was the action and music timing. It was difficult because this scene was from the final episode, so we wanted to close out season one with the absolute best action possible.Seko admits as the writer that he had to work with everyone to include the best elements of this fight in terms of dialogue from the manga. And for Hiroaki, the producer says he has to think how the action works out here because the manga does focus a lot on the monologues. He had to work with Seko on how far that moment is moved with words rather than action.

Season 2 News!

A video of the JJK 0 and JJK season one director plays. Director Sunghoo Park says hello and is glad to see the influence it made abroad. Production was a huge challenge, but he is glad to see the great film was loved abroad. He is excited to see how big Todo is with fans abroad. Fans abroad are very passionate about the bromance, and Park is a big fan himself. MAPPA also shared a special video for us. And of course, season two is confirmed to drop in 2023. 

Adapting the Manga Into an Anime

To Seko, he is asked how JJK is adapted from a manga to an anime script. One thing is that when reading a manga, you have the words and images. It is a whole experience when the anime comes in thanks to movement and music. Seko says they have to think how to adapt the work. The manga may have some context the anime does not in a certain chapter or page, so that has to be worked around.And to Hiroaki, the producer is asked about his job. When they make JJK, the team has to consider how to make the anime feel real. And from a marketing POV, how do we market it well and to who. It takes a business sense and creative sense. We are the bridge between Gege-Sensei and the fans.

When asked if they saw JJK and its popularity coming, Manabu says they had an expectation because we knew Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba was huge. He felt there were similarities, but Manabu was very thankful because of the hit’s potential. They were not aiming to make it a hit, but it just became one organically. Seko agrees, saying the success of KNY was wild, and they thought they could do something similar given the market for anime domestically and abroad. The writer also notes JJK was going to be loved abroad but not how much. It made everyone very surprised and very happy.And of course, Hiroaki felt the same as well. They were aiming for a hit because JJK was a hit abroad but even this level surprised them all.

Talking Jujutsu Kaisen’s Success

When asked about the show’s success, the crowd goes wild. And I mean wild! The team is asked how they worked together. Manabu says he helps the whole team come together to blend their roles together into a single product. As for Seko, the writer says he is involved with taking the manga and adapting the script there and into an episode script. Hiroaki is focused on working with the production committee to push the series forward. Specifically, I am on the creative and business side by moving the production forward.Manabu is asked how JJK is for MAPPA. He says before COVID, he went overseas a lot with JJK as a title in JUMP. It impressed him a lot, and then based on the success, he worked on the TV series team to make a whole anime. And here we are.

It Begins!

The panel begins with the host coming out from Crunchyroll. The team promises to share behind-the-scenes content and the studio staff is coming out now. Manabu Otsuka, the CEO of MAPPA, is here along with Hiroshi Seko the scriptwriter. Hiroaki Matsutani, the Toho producer, is also here. And of course, the translators get a huge round of applause.Manabu is up first. He greets the crowd by saying he’s involved with the production of JJK and this is his first trip abroad in a long time so he’s glad to see people. As for Seko, the says he is nervous speaking in front of so many fans, but he is ready to meet us all. And for Hiroki, he is here from Toho and a bit nervous but ultimately ready to go.