In a recent interview conducted by the staff of Crunchyroll, the animation director Shingo Yamashita commented on his participation in the production of the anime’s opening sequences Jujutsu Kaisen. It should be noted that Yamashita had already done previous work as an animation director, including some absolutely timeless sequences such as Naruto’s fight against Pain in Naruto shippuden.
In his introduction, Yamashita commented (It should be noted that it confirms that Gege Akutami is a male): «Directed the first and second opening of Jujutsu Kaisen. I had already directed openings and commercials, so my work has been exhibited at some events. At one such event, there was Gege Akutami, the author of Jujutsu Kaisen. He had copies of the first two volumes with him. He gave them to me and said: “This is what I am drawing. If it’s ever adapted to anime, I want you to do the openings“. And that still had no plans. That’s how we met».
He continued: «Truth be told, I understood that he knew a lot about animators and that he loved key frames of animation, but I never thought I’d meet him that way. After that, it was a couple of years until I heard about the production of the anime. Seshimo contacted me directly from production at MAPPA to offer me the job. And naturally I ended up accepting it».
He later explained how the first opening sequence was created: ‘Regarding the first opening, I wanted to capture the themes of the work, but instead of choosing a particular theme, I focused on Itadori, the protagonist. He wanted to express the world as he sees it along with his circumstances. So that may be the main theme itself».
Then he commented on the second sequence: «My direction for the second opening was more abstract than for the first. There are many fight scenes in this season because the story focuses on the trade event and was intended to reflect it in the second opening. But I didn’t want it to come down to just showing fights and characters. So I tried to give it another theme and include some subtle clues about what was coming in the story in order to show the situation of each character and their development along with scenes full of movement. I think the feeling of mourning was quite an important element. And many people wonder what death they are mourning. Personally, there is no specific answer. It is a very important feeling in the work».
It should be remembered that the video game for smartphones Jujutsu Kaisen: Phantom Parade will be available soon in the catalog of QooApp in this link.
Sinopsis de Jujutsu Kaisen
High school student Yuuji Itadori, idly indulging in baseless paranormal activities with the Occult Club, spends his days in the clubroom or hospital, where he visits his bedridden grandfather. However, this leisurely lifestyle soon takes a turn for the bizarre when he unknowingly comes across a cursed object. Unleashing a chain of supernatural events, Yuuji finds himself suddenly thrust into the world of Curses, terrible beings formed by human malice and negativity, after swallowing said item, which is revealed to be a finger that belongs to the demon Sukuna Ryoumen, the ” King of Curses ”. Yuuji experiences firsthand the threat these curses pose to society when he discovers his own newly acquired powers. Introduced to the Tokyo Metropolitan Technical College of Magic, he begins to walk a path from which he cannot return: the path of a Jujutsu wizard.
Fountain: Crunchyroll
(c) Gege Akutami / Shueisha