Anime Expo 2023

ANN’s coverage of Anime Expo 2023 sponsored by Yen Press!

Cheers rang out across the Anime Expo main stage as MAPPA CEO Manabu Ohtsuka, Shueisha editor Ryōta Ikeda, and TOHO Producer Masaya Saitō revealed the first 90 seconds of the second season of Jujutsu Kaisen. Beyond this surprising sneak peek, which hadn’t even aired in Japan, the panel also offered a rare perspective on the process of adapting a popular manga into an anime. With additional messages from Jujutsu Kaisen author, Gege Akutami, and Junya Enoki, the Japanese VA for Yuji Itadori, as well as a trailer for the recently announced Jujutsu Kaisen: Crushed Clash game, it’s clear that JJK fans have plenty to be excited about in the months ahead.

The tone of the JJK season 2 sneak peek was both somber and brief. It opens with a high school-aged Suguru Geto walking through a dilapidated alley, stumbling upon a cursed spirit devouring a corpse. The voiceover suggests it was a “busy summer,” likely due to natural disasters, implying an abundance of cursed spirits. Geto exorcizes the spirit and consumes it; lamenting the taste, vile texture, and how often he has to consume a cursed spirit. The trailer ends with an overhead shot of Geto encountering Satoru Gojo on a busy sidewalk, setting the stage for a potential confrontation between them.

MAPPA CEO Ohtsuka acknowledged that while the sneak peek had a calm opening, it would be followed by some “comical and action-packed scenes as well.” He also hinted at the inclusion of anime-only scenes. Ikeda highlighted how he and Gege Akutami contributed to the second season of the anime, as well as the first season and the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 film. He notes that he and Akutami write scenarios for the anime, examine scenes, and also review scripts and storyboards. He also stated, “MAPPA really honors the original work [the Jujutsu Kaisen manga],” and that the manga team and anime production team have “a clear line of communication.” TOHO producer Masaya Saitō expressed his anticipation for the fan-favorite character Toji Fushiguro to finally appear in the anime. He even mentioned that he was wearing a Toji-focused shirt specifically for this panel.

While not physically present at the panel, excerpts from a Q&A session with Gege Akutami were projected for the attendees. In these slides, Akutami shares his appreciation for Hunter x Hunter and Marvel movies, along with Jennifer Lawrence’s performance in Don’t Look Up. He also noted that he’ll do his best to meet fans’ expectations as he begins to “wrap up” the JJK manga. Ikeda quickly chimed in to clarify that while the manga “isn’t ending anytime soon,” it is beginning to wind down.

Voice actor Junya Enoki‘s pre-recorded message earned just as much cheer from the audience as Akutami’s messages. In his message, Enoki expressed his own excitement for season two and its coverage of the Hidden Inventory and Premature Death story arcs. He also informed attendees that Yuji would be making a return to the series soon, as season two will also adapt the highly anticipated Shibuya Incident arc!

This panel also showcased the trailer for the recently announced Jujutsu Kaisen: Crushed Clash video game. This arena fighter will feature the central Tokyo Jujutsu High students from the first season of the anime as playable characters, including Gojo and Sakuna. The trailer also teases a game mode that allows two sets of characters to simultaneously face off against each other. While this could have been a quirk of the audio system — reverb somewhat distorted Enoki’s video message — the voices in the English dub trailer for Cursed Clash sounded notably different from those in the anime. This possible change follows previous reports that Crunchyroll prevented Tower of God voice actors from reprising their roles for a Tower of God mobile game.

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 premieres on Crunchyroll on July 6th.