Reception
Popularity
Jujutsu Kaisen ranked first on the "Nationwide Bookstore
Employees' Recommended Comics" by the Honya Club website in
2019.[81][82] The series ranked 31st on the 2020 "Book of the Year" list
by Da Vinci magazine;[83] it ranked fourth on the 2021 list;[84] sixth on
the 2022 list;[85] fourteenth on the 2023 list;[86] and it topped the
2024 list.[87] On TV Asahi's Manga Sōsenkyo 2021 poll, in which
150,000 people voted for their top 100 manga series, Jujutsu
Kaisen ranked nineteenth.[88][89] On a 2021 survey conducted by Line
Research asking Japanese high school students what manga series
they are currently into, Jujutsu Kaisen topped the rankings for both
girls and boys.[90] Along with Akuta no Shinigiwa and Shitsugai-ki
Shitsu Chome Tanpenshū, Jujutsu Kaisen ranked thirteenth
on Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! list of best manga of 2025
for male readers.[91]
On Tumblr's 2021 Year in Review, which highlights the largest
communities, fandoms, and trends on the platform throughout the
year, Jujutsu Kaisen ranked second behind My Hero Academia on the
Top Anime & Manga Shows while Satoru Gojo was fifth on the Top
Anime & Manga Characters category.[92] It placed nineteenth on the
annual Twitter Japan's Trend Awards in 2021, based on the social
network's top trending topics of the year.[93]
Sales
The Jujutsu Kaisen manga had 600,000 copies in circulation by
December 2018;[94] 770,000 copies in circulation by February 1,
2019;[95] 1.1 million copies in circulation by February 2019; [96] 2
million copies in circulation by June 2019;[97] 2.5 million copies in
circulation by November 2019;[98] 4.5 million copies in circulation by
May 2020;[99] 6.8 million copies in circulation by September 2020;
[100]
and over 10 million copies in circulation by October 2020,
[c]
having grown 400% in one year, and about 230% in a half year. [101]
[102]
By December 2020, the series had 15 million copies in
circulation.[c][103] By January 13, 2021, the series had over 20 million
copies in circulation,[c][104][105] and increased to 25 million copies in
circulation by January 26.[106][107] By February 2021, the manga had
over 30 million copies in circulation.[c][108][109] By the start of March
2021, the series had over 36 million copies in circulation, [c][110] and
by the end of the month, the manga recorded over 40 million copies
in circulation.[111] By April 2021, the manga had over 45 million
copies in circulation.[c][112][113] By May 2021, the manga had over 50
million copies in circulation.[c][114][115] By October 2021, the manga
had over 55 million copies in circulation.[c][116][117] By December 2021,
the manga had over 60 million copies in circulation. [c][118] By April
2022, the manga had over 65 million copies in circulation. [c][119] By
August 2022, the manga had over 70 million copies in circulation. [c]
[120]
By July 2023, the manga had over 80 million copies in
circulation.[c][121] By January 2024, the manga had over 90 million
copies in circulation.[c][122] By September 2024, the manga had over
100 million copies in circulation.[c][123]
Jujutsu Kaisen was the fifth best-selling manga series in 2020 (from
the period between November 2019 and November 2020), with
6,702,736 copies sold.[124] In January 2021, Jujutsu Kaisen's first
fifteen volumes at the time (including volume 0) took 15 of top 16
spots of Oricon's weekly manga ranking (week of January 11–17),
being only surpassed by Attack on Titan's 33rd volume, which
topped the list.[125] Jujutsu Kaisen was the second best-selling
manga series in the first half of 2021 (period between November
2020 and May 2021), behind Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, with
over 23 million copies sold,[126] while its 16 volumes at the time
(including volume 0), were among the 25 best-selling manga
volumes.[127] It was the best-selling manga series in 2021, with over
30 million copies sold;[128][129] its eighteen volumes at the time
(including volume 0) were among the top 25 best-selling volumes.
[130]
It was the best-selling manga series for second consecutive year
in 2022, with over 12.2 million copies sold;[131] volume 18 was the
best-selling manga volume of the year, while volumes 17, 19 and 20
were among the 30 best-selling manga volumes of the year.[132] It
was the fourth best-selling manga series in the first half of 2023
(period between November 2022 and May 2023), with over 3.7
million copies sold,[133] while volumes 21 and 22 were the second
and third, respectively, best-selling manga volumes from the same
period.[134] Volumes 21–24 were among the best-selling manga
volumes of 2023.[135] Volume 23 was Shueisha's second highest first
print run manga volume of 2023–2024 (period between April 2023
and March 2024), with 1.75 million copies printed; [136] volumes 29
and 30 each had an initial print run of 1.8 million copies, making
them the publisher's second-highest first-print manga volumes of
2024–2025 (period between April 2024 and March 2025). [137]
In North America, the volumes of Jujutsu Kaisen were ranked
on Circana (formerly NPD) BookScan's monthly top 20 adult graphic
novels list since January 2021.[138] They were also ranked on The
New York Times' Graphic Books and Manga bestseller monthly list
since February 2021.[139] According to ICv2, Jujutsu Kaisen was the
seventh best-selling manga franchise for Q4 2021 (September–
December) in the United States, and it was also the sixth "most
efficient manga franchise" for retailer bookshelves, based on the
website's calculations of which manga franchises had the highest
sales per volume.[140] According to NPD BookScan, the first volume
of Jujutsu Kaisen (including volume 0) was ranked among the top 20
highest-selling manga volumes in 2022;[141] four volumes (including
volume 0) were among the top 20 highest-selling manga volumes in
2023.[142]
Critical reception
Leroy Douresseaux of Comic Book Bin gave the first volume a score
of 8.5/10. Douresseaux praised the series for its characters, plots,
settings, and internal mythology, and described it as a "combination
battle manga and horror comic book".[143] Shawn Hacaga of The
Fandom Post, in his review of the first volume, compared the series
to early Bleach and praised it for its world, lore, characters and
artwork, concluding that it is a "solid first volume".[144] Hannah
Collins of CBR found parallels between Yuji and Sukuna and Marvel
Comics characters Eddie Brock and Venom. She also noted
similarities to Bleach, Blue Exorcist and Tokyo Ghoul. Collins
commended the manga and, regarding its then recently announced
anime adaptation, concluded that Jujutsu Kaisen is a "darkly
enjoyable action series that's sure to be one to watch out for in
2020".[145] Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network ranked the
first volume as a C. Silverman praised the series' use of Japanese
folklore and yōkai elements, comparing this and Akutami's art style
to Shigeru Mizuki's GeGeGe no Kitarō, but criticized the story for
being "very generic". She concluded, "It has the potential to be
more as Akutami gets more comfortable with the serialization
process and figures out precisely where the story is going, so it may
be worth a second book to be certain. But as of this one, it's just
okay, making it the kind of series that gets damned with faint
praise".[146] Azusa Takahashi of Real Sound praised its storytelling,
setting and "surprising" story development, also noting similarities
to other works like Bleach, Ushio & Tora or Neon Genesis
Evangelion, stating, however, that the series is not only a homage to
popular works centered on the battle development, but that it has a
"clever composition that sublimates into originality".[147]
Accolades
Jujutsu Kaisen was sixth on the fifth Next Manga Awards in the Print
category in 2018.[148] It won the third annual Tsutaya Comic Award in
2019.[149] In 2019, the manga was nominated for the
65th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category.[150] Jujutsu
Kaisen won the Mandō Kobayashi Manga Grand Prix 2020, created
by comedian and manga enthusiast Kendo Kobayashi, in which each
year's winner is decided based on his personal taste.[151] The manga
was nominated for the 25th annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in
2021.[152]
Novels
Jujutsu Kaisen: Iku Natsu to Kaeru Aki and Jujutsu Kaisen: Yoake no
Ibara Michi were among the best-selling novel series in the first half
of 2021 (period between November 2020 and May 2021), with
235,170 and 206,059 copies sold, respectively,[153] and both novels
were the best-selling-novel volumes in the first half of 2021.[154] Both
novels were the best-selling novels of 2021, collectively selling a
total of 487,434 copies.[155]
