All The Pop Culture References in Jujutsu Kaisen
The original story of Gege Akutami launched its first volume in April 2017, with a prequel that will soon be released in the form of a feature film. The anime has also been very successful.
In a short time, the anime community has seen something that had not been seen in the genre for a long time, and that were one day the essence of successful sagas like Dragon Ball and Naruto.
Above all, because with each new episode, viewers have been able to see references to other anime, movies and video games.
Those who have read Gege Akutami’s manga will know that references to the other hits published in the magazine abound, and that they obviously were seen on screen, surprising those who did not read the manga.
[ATTENTION: SPOILERS]
From this part of the post, we will refer to important events that happened in the Jujutsu Kaisen anime. If you have not yet seen the series in full, we recommend that you not continue reading from this paragraph.
References to other anime
The sixth episode of Jujutsu Kaisen brings back to life the protagonist, Yuji Itadori, who has had to make a pact with Sukuna, the curse that he carries within him, in order to be resurrected.
Following this, his mentor Satoru Gojo trains him to learn how to handle cursed energy. However, the fleeting moment of euphoria for the apprentice was severely cut after the words of his master, which made reference to the fact that the rituals of a sorcerer are innate, and that Yuji lacked that talent. The situation evolved the following comment from Itadori:
The disappointed Itadori mentioned some of the most powerful techniques in anime like the Bankai from Bleach or the Rasengan from Naruto. This little parody was a moment that stuck in the minds of many viewers. Will we continue to receive this type of reference in the future?
It is not the first time that Jujutsu Kaisen has been related to Naruto, there are many viewers who have commented on some of the most direct relationships between the characters and the plot
Video game references
We have already been able to know one of the hobbies that Itadori shares with viewers is his love for manga and anime. However, in another of the episodes we could see his partner Nobara Kugisaki refer to another of the hobbies that many viewers share: video games.
Specifically, she did it with Super Smash Bros, a game that she usually plays in her spare time, upon receiving the news that this first-year student has been invited to participate in an event. To her amazement, she asks what type of event it will be, and she comments on the possibility of having scheduled a Nintendo game tournament, where she says she has no rival.
wait are they legally allowed to just say smash bros out in the open like that pic.twitter.com/ZhoQj1ojal
— TAHK0 ☕️ (@TAHK0) October 31, 2020
In addition, in another of the episodes of the first season, there was a reference to the role-playing genre, serving as an explanation for the young Itadori when it came to seeing for the first time the deployment of a domain extension, an innate ability of sorcerers.
References to movies and popular culture
In the quest to control the cursed energy, Yuji Itadori has to undergo arduous training based on watching movies, recommended by his mentor Gojo.
In some fragments we can see what kind of movies they are, seeing clear references to classic action movies like the ones starring Tom Cruise, where he must defuse a bomb, or the clearest of all, where we see Sam and Frodo, from the Lord of the Rings, chatting.
Another reference happens during a dinner where, to liven up the evening, Itadori decides to do an imitation of one of Tom Hanks’ best-known films; Castaway. However, the most directly named actress has been Jennifer Lawrence, who appeared on a poster that hung the young protagonist in his room, and naming her directly twice in the first season.
All these references have been very fun to see during the 24 episodes of the first season of Jujutsu Kaisen. Surely the author will surprise us with more references in future chapters.
