Naruto has always been considered one of the most timeless tales in the world of anime and manga. In the recent ranks, Jujutsu Kaisen and Naruto seem to be butting heads because of the apparent similarities in their character structures. But is one really better or worse than the other? The debate also sparks off with a new-gen anime against old gen anime rivalry and honestly? That does not make sense.
Jujutsu Kaisen and Naruto seem to be giants in the shonen world and all for good reason. The recent streak of comparison seems to have broken out after Jujutsu Kaisen skyrocketed in popularity after the release of Season 1.
About Jujutsu Kaisen and Naruto
Created by Masashi Kishimoto, the manga for Naruto continued from 1999 to 2014. With 700 chapters turned into 72 volumes, the series went ahead to be on to the best-selling Shonen manga of all time. Naruto Uzumaki is a young ninja who hosts the terrifying nine-tailed beast Kurama. Naruto’s dream revolves around being the Hokage of With its immense popularity, Naruto returned with a sequel, the story of Boruto Uzumaki, Naruto’s son.
The plot for Jujutsu Kaisen revolves around Jujutsu Sorcerers in a world where Cursed energy emanates from every living being, rising from negative emotions. Yuki Itadori joins the Occult Research Club of his school. The Occult Club members discover a Special Grade Cursed Relic and in their curiosity, end up breaking the seal. Yuji is confronted but Jujutsu Sorcerer Megumi Fushiguro and in what turns out to be a disaster after unsealing a cursed talisman, Yuji swallows the finger of Ryomen Sukuna, The King of Curses and one of the most terrifying antagonists in the show.
Satoru Gojo, a Jujutsu Sorcerer and also Megumi’s teacher, sets out to help finally bring an end to the terror of Sukuna and keep Yuji alive till Sukuna is killed. The season ended with a “To Be Continued”, breaking in speculations about the release and production of Season 2.
How Do The Anime Manga for the Series Fare?
Naruto is one of the best-selling mangas in history. There is little to argue about its success in that department. Jujutsu Kaisen began serialization in 2018, much after the end of the Naruto Manga that finished its run in 2014 after continuing for 15 years. Jujutsu Kaisen and Naruto fail to compare to each other also owing to the times they became known to the world.
Naruto has 250 million copies in circulation while Jujutsu Kaisen also has 50 million copies sold in just 3 years. Naturally, manga sales are not indicative enough of the weight of these titles but are enough to testify that both series are legendary in their own measures.
Jujutsu Kaisen has a huge viewership as one of the most popular releases of the past few years. It can be gauged from Jujutsu Kaisen ranking 33 in the best anime category of all time. On platforms, it is rated 8.8/10 on IMDb, 4.8/5 on Crunchyroll, 8.77/10 on My Anime List.
Naruto on the other hand released in two parts as Naruto and Naruto Shippuden. The entire anime spanned over 700 episodes and is rated 7.94/10 on My Anime List.
Why The Battle?
New-gen versus old gen anime tends to revolve around a lot of gatekeeping and established ideas of supremacy. Old gen fans and new fans are butting heads over Jujutsu Kaisen and Naruto often arguing that the latter inspired the former.
The reason for this seems to be pretty evident. The protagonist for the series is a young boy how acts as the host for a powerful demon and has a difficult relationship with it. They both have no families and rely on the notion of found families from their institutions. Gojou and Kakashi are similar too – teachers who care dearly for their students, have a complicated past and have ‘an eye thing’.
Nobara is compared with Sakura and perhaps given preferences, but I will take a moment to yet again emphasize that Sakura was not useless as the fans often claimed. And Nobara fits that description in no capacity. Megumi is supposed to be a prodigal child from a famous clan and carries some baggage from his past. If compared with Sasuke, some of it fits while some of it really does not.
Jujutsu Kaisen and Naruto have different points of comparison. While they have similarities in their main cast attributes, there is a huge difference in how the plot development and additional characters play out. Jujutsu Kaisen has managed to flesh out protagonists, antagonists and character quirks to a great level. The development of the plot and complexity of themes in the story is also representative of present-day expectations in terms of good and capturing narratives.
The verdict is not simply that they are different and should not be compared. The comparison is often used established vague arguments to claim copying primacy of one story over another. One of the things new-gen and old-gen clash over is which gen is doing better and has better shows. it lingers on sentiments and often also transgresses into a battle for battle’s sake. And that is what fans must avoid. As stories, Jujutsu Kaisen and Naruto are both stories worth knowing.
Stay tuned for more updates on your favourite anime titles and don’t forget to let us know all you are planning to watch! In the meantime, do check out the best of Summer 2021 releases~
