Jujutsu Kaisen Just Proved to Be the Most Influential Modern Manga with Three New Shonen Jump Series

• Jujutsu Kaisen's success led to a rise in exorcist series, with Weekly Shōnen Jump featuring five in one magazine.
• New manga artists are inspired by JJK's impact, incorporating their own unique vision and genres into their series.
• Shōnen Jump is actively seeking the next big hit to follow Jujutsu Kaisen, as the series approaches its finale.
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There’s no doubt that Jujutsu Kaisen’s popularity skyrocketed in the latest years, becoming the most popular anime in 2024, according to Record Guiness. This success transferred to manga, making Jujutsu Kaisen the second-best-selling manga of 2023 and the holder of first place so far in 2024. However, JJK’s impact goes beyond its popularity, as it’s changing the game in the manga industry. Even though exorcist series have always been popular, like Mob Psycho 100, D. Gray-Man, and Noragami, there’s been an increasing rise in this trope since Jujutsu Kaisen became a worldwide hit.

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The immense popularity of Jujutsu Kaisen explains why many mangaka would seek to debut a series that emulates a bit of its success. This can be appreciated by the fact that Weekly Shōnen Jump will be debuting three new series starting next week, with two of these series, Kiyoshi The Exorcist and Yokai Buster Murakami, being about exorcists.

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This shows a clear trend in the industry inspired by Gege Akutami manga that confirms that Jujutsu Kaisen is the most influential modern manga.

Certainly, Jujutsu Kaisen has influenced the perception of the potential of manga about exorcists, setting the scene to give similar titles the opportunity to receive attention and be recognized. Weekly Shōnen Jump in the last year has debuted two series that follow Jujutsu Kaisen's same premise of a battle manga with spirits: Nue’s Exorcist and Kyokuto Necromancer. Additionally, the magazine will be publishing in the upcoming weeks two more series about exorcists; Yokai Buster Murakami by Daihin Ihara and Kiyoshi the Exorcist by Usui Shoichi.

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This means that Shōnen Jump will be featuring five exorcist series in the same magazine. Other Jump magazines also have their fair share of exorcist series, with titles like Blue Exorcist, Gokurakugai, Twin Star Exorcist, and Make the Exorcist Fall in Love. Shōnen Jump's decision to green-light two series with similar premises to other serialized manga is unheard of, but it's also the biggest proof of the influence of Jujutsu Kaisen on the new generation of manga artists.

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The new manga may be inspired by JJK’s groundbreaking take on supernatural battles, which added unique powers like curse techniques and domain expansions, but while they share a similar basis, the emerging manga artists always include their personal vision and approach by exploring other popular genres like romantic comedies, harems, and gags to make their series unique.

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