Anime

Jujutsu Kaisen Team Hits Breaking Point Amid Schedule Woes

Jujutsu Kaisen’s animation team seems to be on edge amid scheduling woes from MAPPA Studios.
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Jujutsu Kaisen might look pretty right now, but that doesn’t mean things behind the scenes are looking good. The show is a bonafide hit this season, and as always, Jujutsu Kaisen hype is easy to find online. The fandom’s excitement has risen with the Shibuya arc’s start, but it has also been dampened by a concerning number of posts by its production staffers. For weeks now, Jujutsu Kaisen animators have been critiquing the show on social media, and things are just about to hit a breaking point.

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If you have heard rumblings online about Jujutsu Kaisen season two, well – let’s get down to the bottom of it. There is a lot of heresy and speculation going around about the season given how outspoken some of its staff has become. So for now, we will go through the facts.

Over the past month, at least five animators or directors on Jujutsu Kaisen season two have spoken out about the show’s unacceptable production schedule. These incidents were quick to catch attention from fans, and Jujutsu Kaisen season two has suffered from some dips in quality since the Shibuya arc began. But ahead of episode 17, a number of artists on Jujutsu Kaisen have taken to social media to publicly distance themselves from the anime moving forward.

Arai Kazuto, one of the show’s directors, wrote, “Bad news has come in and I’m very overwhelmed. This is the most boring end I can think of. Ah, the party is over. Yes, let’s disband. Disband.” In a later post, the artist went on to add this ominous note as well: “I’m seriously deflated. Nothing is fun anymore. I can’t stand it.”

Other artists who’ve been working on Jujutsu Kaisen season two also sent out concerning messages this week as episode 17 looms. Amphibi simply posted “the end” on X (Twitter) with a skull emoji while others like Okubo Shunsuke shared sketches of an animator named Shirobako trying to hang themselves while looking absolutely exhausted. As for others, they took a less direct route and simply retweeted posts critiquing the studio behind Jujutsu Kaisen for its hellish work environment.

Perhaps one of the most damning posts from Jujutsu Kaizen’s team comes from Honehone. The artist has blown the whistle on MAPPA Studios previously for its awful expectations, and their most recent post on X (Twitter) highlights this. “The entire staff somehow manages to complete a project on a schedule that would normally be impossible to meet, while raising hell, and then the people above them who only see the results say, ‘What the hell, we can do it!’ and fail to make improvements,” the artist shared.

While there is no denying Jujutsu Kaisen season two has been a visual feast, it is coming at too great a cost. The pressure bubbling behind the show’s second season is rising, and based on these recent staff posts, Jujutsu Kaisen will not be able to sustain itself at this pace for much longer.

What do you think about this Jujutsu Kaisen debacle? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!