Been reading JJK since ch 01 released, I iked the art at the beggining but since I was reading weekly kinda didn't realise the changes until I re-read it and, honestly, GeGe artsyle simply became so good i kinda dislike the early on artstyle lol
I like how Gege draws dark clothing and shapes. Also how he uses unique angles to illustrate fights, the rougher linework also makes everything more kinetic and fast. With the clothing aspect, esp for Mahoraga, it reminds me of the soul reaper outfits (mostly their legs tho.)
I think pre Culling Games it was a lot more detailed in certain areas, whereas now it's gotten kinda messier, but I still like it. Plus, during fights, I think it works better.
I think it's pretty clear gege is suffering from burnout, based on how much he takes breaks and how he wants to finish jjk as soon as possible to start a slice of life Manga
@@GSenna37 Yeah I can imagine he's feeling a lot of burnout from the last year or so in this final stage wrapping all the pieces together and excited for whatever he has after JJK.
One thing I’ve noticed that the video didn’t touch on is that character models have gotten much wider since the start of the series. Early JJK and JJK 0 have characters with very lanky builds and thin, long faces, but as the series goes on you start to see a lot smaller, wider faces and builds that appear much more muscular and wider. It’s especially noticeable comparing Megumi and Gojo in their early iterations to their most recent ones. They look almost completely different.
yeah I was going to comment that, with the hiatuses I went to the first chapter again to read it from the start, man Gojo looked like a stick back then, but the characters were way more built even since then
He found a style that works while producing a weekly manga. One Piece had a similar evolution, albeit over a longer period. Chainsaw Man did the same with its art
Lmfao "Chansaw man" that is really funny how it sounds like he's the one carrying the title. I forgot his name too, though. And I've been reading since fire punch
@@LoachAo true, chainsaw man has lost its plot at this point, i liked the feel and horror of chainsaw man more than jjk but jjk is definitely better in storytelling and writing
@@unprovoked99 idk man, I think jjk is written much worse, especially characters that are written terribly, chainsaw man was amazing so far. To be clear, I'm talking about anime
@@mariokempes9517 i respect your opinion, as you said you've only seen the anime, later on in the manga denji is far from the mc in the bigger arcs with the new mc being similar to denji, a hybrid but harboring a completely different devil
Its hard to keep a style consistent long term, and as your deadlines pile up you probably gotta cut corners and make shifts to make it more manageable. I for one like messy but structured art so it works for me. Plus it allows the artist to focus more on story and interactions.
As an artist, everything from the beginning of the Culling games and after looks way better. Gege has really found his style and improved. Especially the anatomy is way more detailed and consistent as well as the insane background work Gege has put out. The line art and choreography is also really good, I mean just look at Hakari vs Kashimo or Gojo vs Sukuna. I'm not saying everything before culling games was trash, in fact I understand people that like the pre Culling games thicker artstyle more, It also has a very special place in my heart as well. However the art has IMPROVED if you think the art has objectively declined then imo you are just wrong. I am not going to let people disrespect an artist that has clearly improved.
the backgrounds are done by his assistants,u will hardly see a mangaka do backgrounds expect if its a scene he really want to draw himself like the kenjaku one where he take yujis friend out the barrier
I love the polygonal look of characters and i don't really see a lot of it in other manga. The squared off fingers are one of my favorite parts of the jjk artstyle and i wish i could see similar things being done more often.
Gege Akutami's artstyle evolution is a really really interesting one, especially when looking at conventional anime art. JJK 0 had a much more conventionally attractive style with small details, things that the current chapters couldn't really get away with without feeling way too out of place or taking too long to create. I think as the story went on, it was easier to add depth and intensity with darker outlines or messy/sketchy images, especially with THIS MUCH combat every chapter. From an artist's perspective, it really shows his ability to depict such violent and fast moving scenes while also growing his understanding of his characters in that physical space (especially considering the quick turnaround times for deadlines and new chapter releases). A few others mentioned how he's making his characters larger or wider, and its definitely noticeable with characters like Gojo and Yuji. Although the art of JJK has definitely made a lot of changes, some of which aren't the best looking (considering the standard for anime art styles being cuter), I think its incredibly unique and befitting of the series. It definitely has some similarities with the style of CSM and Fujimoto's sketchier/messier pieces in recent chapters. Personally, I really like where his Gege's art is going and I can't wait to see how it continues to mature !
Ngl jjk only started looking nice from shibuya onwards Jjk has always had good art but the current art style is the most appealing and generally looks the best Plus the fights look nicer in the current style
as someone that works with his work for edits i can say that the ''flatter aesthetic'' gives a lot of opportunity to work with and let the imagination do its thing
It’s been cool to watch gege’s art evolve and while it’s currently much better than JJK 0, I can’t get over how wonderful shibuya’s incredible stylization and paneling were
Can't get enough videos about jjk's art, probably my favorite topic of discussion with this series. I'd say my favorite period of art for Akutami was during Gojo's past (the "YOU'RE SO RIGHT!" page lives rent free in my head). I think he managed to strike the perfect balance between every aspect that defines his art, both before Hidden Inventory and after, seen in character composition, figure drawing, page layout (Riko's death page is so cruel), expression, dynamism and so on. The scratchy lineart was at it's most natural, being characteristically rough for the story being told, and intelligible enough so that it doesn't look like the page is melting. The current style isn't anything to scoff at, and i really like how dynamic the elements of Akutami's recent draftsmanship make his art look. The color page with the big 4 is so simple, but so clean and cool. And the whole Gojo vs Sukuna fight also has my favorite pages from Gege in recent memory. One of my favorite artists ever, loved the video 👍
It almost seems as if his art style changes with the current events and emotions of the story as it got to it's arguably most dire moments everything became a lot more polygonal and rougher adding to the feeling of the story and arc
bro stop the cope. yall animanga fans are annoying as f with all the excuses. there's no such thing as "oh he found a style that suits the emotions of the arc". it's literally as simple as gege getting tired of drawing weekly. how do we know? • the series is nearing its end • the art style gets rough • too many breaks every other week connect the dots! stop being a blind animanga fans that find excuses for everything! my goodness yall are so braindead. admitting an art style downgrade doesn't make you a hater. it's simply means you're not blindly worshipping 🤣🤣
@@Jayzel617it's because he draws insane amount of action and hand to hand combat on top of that which is insanely hard to draw and it's weekly manga also he's not only the artist but also story writer too he can't just focus on art
Recently, i had seen many people compare art styles. The most recent one i can think of was a comparison between the Undead Unluck and JJK artsyles. Well, if u were to show a non manga reader or a manga reader that hasnt read both the series, they'd most likely say UUs artstyle is prettier, more detailed, and overall cleaner. But the thing is, jjks art style doesn't need to evolve (for ex. how bleach's evolved over the years) or be pretty because it just wouldn't match jjks feel. Jjks artstyle captures the Griddy feeling and aesthetic perfectly. If jjk were drawn in some other art style like UU, it just wouldn't match. It'd feel out of place. Atleast for me. A mangaka chooses their artstyle thatd fit their story perfectly. So i personally think artstyles shouldn't be compared.
I’m a huge fan of the current style and I’m trying to emulate it in the daily. I love how the thick sketchy lines with added detail and quality city geometry give Gege’s art that unmistakable vibe of a master practicing the art of subtraction for readability and a higher effort to output ratio.
Chapter 150 is when the art started to change, Gege had gotten sick and was struggling to finish some pages. He took a month break I believe and came back with making the art style more sketchy, fluid, and free. Lots of lines with strokes After the zenin massacre is when it got progressively sketchier also bc of health. Was a lil weird for a while ngl but he honed it and made it way better than it was before, I like the freedom of it. I also love how easier it is on him
simple answer Gege while creating JJK, Experimented with different artistic choices so throughout the manga it's evolved in a way and I like it having a shift in art style during different arcs can really make them different from each other and give them that extra spice to them that makes them memorable (at least that's my take on it)
Now he looks like he’s in constant motion or similar to a cat when it’s focused 😂 kinda cool seeing him evolve art wise tho skinny playboy to bulk chad
@@7ssavI want the "skinny playboy" tho. There are enough "bulked chad" characters out there. :/ That tall, slim fit body type is one of his iconic, characteristic features, and one of the reasons I came to love him. You can't just change it now all of a sudden, towards the end of the manga. :/ I don't really like the chad type tbh.
Gege got looser and better at conveying the frantic action and gritty feel of the manga over time. His older art was more polished but it was also stiffer, higlighting more of the horror while the Acton felt less impactfull. We see in moments like yuji reacting to Nobara's "death" that thale art gets significantly more scribbly for a bit. I honestly like seeing this happen to long running manga, how the artist refines their craft with concious effort, unconcious habbits, and the restrictions of the craft.
I love this.They're such natural and fitting changes and even though the way the characters are drawn has varied it's amazing how they're still recognizable. It makes me breath easy about 'inconsistency' in my art. I never thought it'd be something I'd appreciate or even a feat.
The art style massively improved My only complaint is choreography,speed lines and the paneling which used to be a bit more creative But otherwise it's so much better
JJK 0 was a one shot work where it gets surveyed whether it’s gonna get serialised or not. At this stage, most mangaka do everything alone, means Gege didnt have assistants to help him draw backgrounds and other stuff that’s why most pages look “generic” as u mentioned. It’s kinda unfair to not justify why JJK 0 looked different than the rest of the series. Only when they get serialised they get assistants as thats when they will have weekly deadlines. JJK 0 did so good with votes that they asked Gege to serialise. It means Gege must create a new manga with the same theme as JJK 0. Gege wrote jjk0 with no plans on serialising it. Also most one shot works are usually put aside and are not canon but for some reason Gege was able to make something new that expanded JJK 0 hence becoming a Canon.
IMO JJK is the one of the few anime/ manga series where the anime just looks better. I’m not shaming the manga I just think that the anime, especially season 2 just adds so much to the already amazing art style.
The anime should look better, and I’m glad it is one of those anime because having a good manga only for the anime to practically ruin the story for anime onlys just sucks. imagine the amount of people who probably didn’t want to go back to berserk because of the horrible adaptation.
I can add Kimetsu no Yaiba & HunterxHunter to this list alongside with JJK where the anime is better "in visual art style" The opposite side where the manga looks better than anime theres...MHA, OPM (clearly because the mangaka has a very unique and detailed art style, and the animators can't keep do it for saving times) The balance side where the Anime & manga looks exactly the same there's... SpyxFamily, Dr. Stone, Naruto, One Piece, Bleach
I vastly prefer hidden inventory in the manga just because of how impactful the panelling were. The way Gojo vs Toji was drawn is something I will never forget, along with all the iconic Gojo panels. Other than hidden inventory, S1 and S2 are equal to the manga. Shoutout to the amazingly done choreography of Sukuna vs Jogo and Mahoraga in the anime though, they were absolutely brilliant.
I definitely agree. I feel like Gege is simplifying his artstyle to make it easier to draw, especially now when the series got a lot more action focused. I don't care much since I just watch the anime and don't really care much for how the manga looks as long as the anime looks good.
Depends on different aspects sometimes the anime just can't compete like with the sukuna malevolant shrine from shibuya they knew they couldn't so the anime changed it
I separated the different arcs art styles, here are my rankings 1. Culling games art style (feels very gritty, fits the arc, and beautiful shading around facial expressions) 2. Hidden inventory art style (idk 😂just looks good to me lmao) 3. Current arc art style (feels like a mixture between culling games and shibuya art style) 4. JJK 0 art style (feels too stiff, looks more so like a horror/manhwa?)
I believe the JJK 0 style was supposed to remember thrill and horror mangas, but honestly I never realized that before, I always thought "man, this is a nice style, wonder where I've seen things kinda like that before", until now, when I notice it really does kinda look like something from a webcomic
I'd also say the facial features have changed. Notice how in the earlier chapters of jjk noses tend to be pointy and sharp and the eyes bigger and cartoonish. As of now, notices are not as pointy, but flatter, which I'd say is a more realistic look for the noses, same with the eyes, they aren't as cartoonish as they used to be in earlier chapters or jjk0, though they're still, of course cartoonish, just not as much as before. I feel Akutami is going for a more slightly realistic style and taking in consideration asian/Japanese facial features while still retaining the anime-manga style.
My guess is that the art style has changed is to accomdate the new darker story then the more typical shouen jump storys. At the start of the manga it was more cartoony but it eventually started getting more and more realistic.
I can’t help but compare the evolution of Jujutsu Kaisen’s art to Tokyo Ghoul. Both felt rough in the beginning but it added the the charm and horror elements. The changes over time were noticeable but never clashed with the tone of the series
Simply put, Gege has stayed true to himself as an artist and continues to improve himself. Through repetition and pressure to meet deadlines, he has paved a very satisfying path for his hard work. All of his art backed by creative ideas and a desire to create cool fights and memories, it was bound for Gege to reach this level and he's only going to get better. A lot of Gege's improvement can be compared to Sui Ishida(Tokyo Ghoul author). Throughout that series, you can see Ishida's vision become clear with his style and what he wanted to present.
another aspect of his art that pops up around the hidden inventory arc up until around the end of the culling games is his more "scratchy" line work as well as the almost traditional looking ink lines (I'm not sure what they're called, but its the type of ink that appear on Hanami). Another point is that around the Gojo vs Sukuna fight onwards, characters are drawn in much less detail and hatching compared to the Culling Games arc. This change can be seen most clearly in Takaba's wifi joke funnily enough.
the first change you notice in the art style is in Artstyle is in the manito arc, Where you can the line art on characters became rougher and looser and a little less stiff
I think the sharp style for shibuya also adds a sense of urgency which definitely fits to the entire arc itself. Afterall the events unfolding in shibuya, in a realistic sense, only i believe 2 hours or less. It makes sense to use sharp edges to give a more 'anxiety' inducing or even hasty feeling.
Idk if anyone noticed but during the Culling Games for some character the artstyle was a bit realistic, the three panels I remember this effect is when they US was talking about ce and they showed a four split page of Gojo, Sukuna, Todo and Nanami, Sukuna’s I’m the fallen panel and Sukuna when he was taking over Megumi but still in Yuji’s body
Publishing weekly must be hell, would take me and entire week to draw just one of the pages, imagine a whole chapter EVERY WEEK, the toll on the body must be insane
i love while it's more efficent, he's upgraded his skill too (efficency is still a hard skill) regarding perspective. the direction and mass of things looks more real, like real 3d space and if you're an artist you know this isnt an easy task not to only keep doing it consistently but keep the "character" of different characters in this more 3d style. its like how you do realism, you have your base for people in general but you ought to shift multiple features just right to reach a specific likeness. i'm not saying his artsyle is perfect now he could still push the features and curves furthermore (idm due to deadlines) but this style still does have a ton of quality and substance behind what it takes to manage it without screwing up.
This reminds me of the Tokyo Ghoul manga’s art style and it’s more fitting here, it shows the seriousness and character, so much growth along the way towards the end of the story.
The lack of shading in the the recent chapters works really well in my opinion, it makes the more detailed panels with bigger moments pop out as your eyes see all the new detailing that wasn't there before
During the time of the airing of shibuya incident, you can tell the downgrade in art is clearly to focus more so on action, hence why it’s the most action packed arc. After the arc finished, a few chapters came out and Gege went on break from chapters, past that you can clearly tell a more focused and accurately lined approach, with Kenjaku vs yuki being the stark contrast, lacking shading, more detailed line art, and clearly a mastery over his art style. Ever since that arc ever chapter followed suit and we now see a gege coming into his art form with more precise artwork comparing to years prior like in shibuya.
I feel like the evolution portrays the world very well as innocence is lost the humor and abstractness of the world is also lost as you become much more aware of the world around you, and during fights the art is a lot more loose and messy which makes the fights feel alive and realistic
As an artist I don’t really like the earlier style of jjkand i’m glad that gege developed and found his style that’s also really amazing artistic wise 😇
I'm pretty much certain there should be a 5th stage starting with Gojo and Sukuna's battle. Pretty noticeably from 236, when we see all those characters back from Hidden Inventory in his current style. He currently pays special care to give characters a sense of tridimensionality and realism. Bodies, objects and surroundings feel much more heavy and solid now. Partly, I think, because Gege has (bear with me) toned up the shutter speed of his "camera". By this I mean that he gives each panel a more "frozen" tempo, in which less dynamism is being show, focusing on the individual millisecond that is being portrayed. It definitely feels much more grounded than early or mid Culling Games imo.
I think that it's a given for ANY artist that their style will change at least a bit overtime. There are also other variables to account for the artstyle change like deadlines for instance, they can easily cause art to be rushed or not as refined, etc. New assistants can also cause a slight change
yk random head cannon the art switches because it goes from yuta's pov in jjk 0 and then to yujis's pov in jjk 1 and on slowly switching back to yuta's pov in post Shibuya
I like to think of mangakas as not human so I put out my own frustration and anger at their work of art that they put their heart into, without feeling an inch of remorse. Idk the art style is cool, reminds me of sketches i did in school. Writing will never be perfect, theres never been a story everyone agrees is perfect. Its just a fun anime/manga that has great fights, and characters.
In regard to details, this goes for all mangas on weekly magazines, but JJK manga tends to get refined on second release (JJK manga book) quite a bit. First release on Shonen Jump Magazine is probably a lot harder for manga artists to keep up with since its weekly release, and a lot of panels get edited or redrawn completely in second release. For people who are reading JJK outside of Japan, idk how you would distinguish which version that you are reading... but if you are reading JJK on a weekly basis the likelihood is that you are reading the magazine and not the book version.
I'm confused as to what you refer to as "cell shading". Most manga would not qualify at all for that term as they don't have "cells" to begin with. Do you mean the hatching? Grey screen tones?
One possibility that you didn't touch is signs of illness/injury. It's just speculation, but i've seen many mangas change their artstyle to more simplistic one in order to "adapt to the weekly schedule" only later confirmed that the mangaka is ill. Wether its herniated disc, palm/metacarpal injury, eyes, nerve and so on. I really hope Gege (and any other mangaka) stays healthy.
I like that as time has gone on, the art has made more use of black. Some character's clothes, hair, and features will be straight up black with grey for the highlights. It's a bold look, but it emphasizes the bold dark roughness of the story
Reading the manga, I didn’t even notice the art style change all that much until I went back to the beginning and realized how different it looked. It became rougher and more all over the place, but in a way it actually works with the series well. With long running series’s like jjk, art style changes can just be bound to happen. I think I did notice most with Gojo though when he came back for a bit. Overall I do like both. They both feel unique and fit the vibe of the series well.
honestly i like the fact it's not like any other anime but rather realistic and good looking i love the visuals and art style idk if anyone can prefer a rounder and more childish while it's a much more serious anime haha
don't demand too much from weekly series. weekly series is so hard that affecting their health, and no one survives. even one piece, JJK, and MHA have "rest" every 2 weeks, it's actually not a rest because they have TONS of other works like goodies, tankobon, and other illustration works.
The way that I describe it to my friends as an artist myself is that it feels like Gege doesn't use many guidelines. Like they no longer do any penciling, just goes straight ink to paper and uses his knowledge of human form and pure muscle memory to draw, which gives it a lot of charm to me. Also his backgrounds are insane in the later stages of the Manga, and it feels like the backgrounds are what take the most time
I suppose you have never read Sakamoto Days. It has the cleanest drawn fight scenes and you can understand everything that's happening, not so messy as in JJK where I can barely understand who is hitting who and with what. Sakamoto Days is peak action
Great video, one small criticism is how the chibi character of yourself doesn't really reflect on how you are speaking and just cycles through different animations. Other than that I think you hit some great points and are well spoken.
I really like her current style now. The characters are a lot better and more fun to draw the more rough they are. I wish more manga had a unique style like Gege.
Feels like the changes from Naruto (land of waves) -> Naruto (Tailed Beasts). Started out with well defined characters and highly detailed rounded expressions and then 500 chapters later, we get much more on model consistent depictions of the characters without much shading. It seems most manga evolve towards very clean efficient flat art that allows the story to keep a timely release, not necessarily worse but definitely more refined/slimmer. Gege seems to have arrived there now too. Fujimoto I think was always quite close to that style from the beginning but he's said before that he is perhaps beyond the point of drawing now -he'd rather write so that his story can come out quicker.
Isn't it just a matter of art style evolvement over a period of time? It's no surprise that an artist's style changes over time, it also doesn't really happen consciously. You can search for Bleach's, Naruto's, One Piece's art style evolution and see how drastic some of them have changed. It's cool to talk about art evolution but there's nothing really ground breaking in it.
incredibly interesting that you're comparing small panels to larger ones. Static characters to dramatic fight scenes. It honestly boils down to the importance of what's being conveyed at the time. I also wouldn't compare copic colored manga covers to* manga panels themself. It is correct to say he's grown as an artist.
I think the messier and scratchier style JJK has now has a real world and narrative reason. Real world Gege can’t dedicate as much time per drawing because of their bad health, but in story the grittiness can be seen as Yuji himself adopting a grittier view on life and because we the readers see primarily through Yuji’s POV, the art gets grittier
How would you describe JJK’s art? How would you compare it to other series?
I compare the scratchyness to dorohedoro
@@jjdrawsYeah. They both have a pretty rough look.
Been reading JJK since ch 01 released, I iked the art at the beggining but since I was reading weekly kinda didn't realise the changes until I re-read it and, honestly, GeGe artsyle simply became so good i kinda dislike the early on artstyle lol
I like how Gege draws dark clothing and shapes. Also how he uses unique angles to illustrate fights, the rougher linework also makes everything more kinetic and fast. With the clothing aspect, esp for Mahoraga, it reminds me of the soul reaper outfits (mostly their legs tho.)
i want to become your editor but am not able to text you anywhere
art style change?
nah. that's the "deadline is near" art style
No replies 😔
No replies 🤨. 🤫🧏
So John romita jr?
Damm....
Gege has said that hunter x hunter is one of his inspirations, hoping to one day be able to mimic it's artstle
I think pre Culling Games it was a lot more detailed in certain areas, whereas now it's gotten kinda messier, but I still like it. Plus, during fights, I think it works better.
Fights aren’t quite as bonkers as before but they definitely have a distinct look to them now.
I think it's pretty clear gege is suffering from burnout, based on how much he takes breaks and how he wants to finish jjk as soon as possible to start a slice of life Manga
@@GSenna37 Yeah I can imagine he's feeling a lot of burnout from the last year or so in this final stage wrapping all the pieces together and excited for whatever he has after JJK.
@@GSenna37
Shibuya had more breaks than the culling games
Nah the fights are kinda bad. The art style became too much of a mess, and it makes it hard to follow what’s going on
To me, the art style represents how jjk slowly got darker aand darker which also reflects Yuji's mental state.
*Gege mental state
@@bowowoy803^
I was about to comment this, I definitely feel the same
It represents how Gege stopped caring about the series and started going through the motions to get things done.
@@placidonetodeassisvieira5358 I like the show/manga but seems like anything goes with this show .
One thing I’ve noticed that the video didn’t touch on is that character models have gotten much wider since the start of the series. Early JJK and JJK 0 have characters with very lanky builds and thin, long faces, but as the series goes on you start to see a lot smaller, wider faces and builds that appear much more muscular and wider. It’s especially noticeable comparing Megumi and Gojo in their early iterations to their most recent ones. They look almost completely different.
yeah I was going to comment that, with the hiatuses I went to the first chapter again to read it from the start, man Gojo looked like a stick back then, but the characters were way more built even since then
Yeah if go to the recent chapters 249 when Sukuna thinks of Jogo you can see how much wider Yujikunas face looks in comparison to Shibuyas one
I miss lanky Gojo
like litertally megumi was a skinny ass boy now in sukunas body he’s literally swole which is bizzare
@@akavakar8593 tbf he got swole before Sukuna took him over, look at him in chapter 200
People don’t talk about how well he draws the color black and how he give it depth
I think people say, It's how they say it that's the bother.
Fr
All JUMP mangakas can do that easily
Nah not as nearly as good as Kubo master of black and white art
@@SemekiIzuiodo you hear yourself? Why are you comparing him to Kubo if he’s the master of b&w art?
He found a style that works while producing a weekly manga. One Piece had a similar evolution, albeit over a longer period. Chainsaw Man did the same with its art
Lmfao "Chansaw man" that is really funny how it sounds like he's the one carrying the title. I forgot his name too, though. And I've been reading since fire punch
@@LoachAo true, chainsaw man has lost its plot at this point, i liked the feel and horror of chainsaw man more than jjk but jjk is definitely better in storytelling and writing
@@unprovoked99 idk man, I think jjk is written much worse, especially characters that are written terribly, chainsaw man was amazing so far. To be clear, I'm talking about anime
@@mariokempes9517 i respect your opinion, as you said you've only seen the anime, later on in the manga denji is far from the mc in the bigger arcs with the new mc being similar to denji, a hybrid but harboring a completely different devil
JOOOOOJOOOOO
Its hard to keep a style consistent long term, and as your deadlines pile up you probably gotta cut corners and make shifts to make it more manageable. I for one like messy but structured art so it works for me. Plus it allows the artist to focus more on story and interactions.
It depends on the artist but Youre right
And that's why I love comics as a cartoon, it's not consistent and I'll never have more of the same.
The story has also gotten worse at this point though
tell that to Masami Kurumada, mf has the same artstyle ever since the 70s lol
As an artist, everything from the beginning of the Culling games and after looks way better. Gege has really found his style and improved. Especially the anatomy is way more detailed and consistent as well as the insane background work Gege has put out. The line art and choreography is also really good, I mean just look at Hakari vs Kashimo or Gojo vs Sukuna.
I'm not saying everything before culling games was trash, in fact I understand people that like the pre Culling games thicker artstyle more, It also has a very special place in my heart as well. However the art has IMPROVED if you think the art has objectively declined then imo you are just wrong. I am not going to let people disrespect an artist that has clearly improved.
the backgrounds are done by his assistants,u will hardly see a mangaka do backgrounds expect if its a scene he really want to draw himself like the kenjaku one where he take yujis friend out the barrier
It has not improved though, fights are too much of a mess to the point it’s more difficult to understand what’s happening
If Greg's art holds a special place in your heart you need to read more manga.
Talk to them
well said
i can't believe you didn't mention the hands! they're possibly the most cool part of akutami's art style to me
100% agree
Probably because it’s been mentioned to death
Yoshikage kira sounding ahh 😭
@@ithoughtso.7016 how did you know?
@@TheWrongRightereverything is a jojo ref. you have to know that.
I love the polygonal look of characters and i don't really see a lot of it in other manga. The squared off fingers are one of my favorite parts of the jjk artstyle and i wish i could see similar things being done more often.
Gege Akutami's artstyle evolution is a really really interesting one, especially when looking at conventional anime art. JJK 0 had a much more conventionally attractive style with small details, things that the current chapters couldn't really get away with without feeling way too out of place or taking too long to create. I think as the story went on, it was easier to add depth and intensity with darker outlines or messy/sketchy images, especially with THIS MUCH combat every chapter. From an artist's perspective, it really shows his ability to depict such violent and fast moving scenes while also growing his understanding of his characters in that physical space (especially considering the quick turnaround times for deadlines and new chapter releases). A few others mentioned how he's making his characters larger or wider, and its definitely noticeable with characters like Gojo and Yuji. Although the art of JJK has definitely made a lot of changes, some of which aren't the best looking (considering the standard for anime art styles being cuter), I think its incredibly unique and befitting of the series. It definitely has some similarities with the style of CSM and Fujimoto's sketchier/messier pieces in recent chapters. Personally, I really like where his Gege's art is going and I can't wait to see how it continues to mature !
It’s been six years .. ofc the art will change over time , it’s bound to happen
it for sure is not a new thing lol. Mangaka and artists in general change their styles of years due improvement.
Me when I say the obvious thing that nobody disagrees with
its so fucking crazy thar jjk is 6 years old
@@matheus91_true
@@matheus91_right?
Ngl jjk only started looking nice from shibuya onwards
Jjk has always had good art but the current art style is the most appealing and generally looks the best
Plus the fights look nicer in the current style
yeah that Sukuna gut punching Yuji after just possesing megumi was crazy ofc Gojo vs Sukuna was very aesthetic
The rough black and white art style kinda reminds me of the Sin City comics. It really reflects how dark, tragic, and desperate their world has become
sin city wasn't made for you
@@micahballs??
@@micahballs Dude what
@@FROEZOEN sin city wasn't made for ya
angels like ya
@@micahballs The effects of lead poisoning are still showing signs I see
as someone that works with his work for edits i can say that the ''flatter aesthetic'' gives a lot of opportunity to work with and let the imagination do its thing
This is a great breakdown. I don’t usually notice these types of things myself so it’s a useful reference for me in the discussion of JJK artstyle(s).
Perfect. That’s exactly what I made the video for. Hopefully it helps things to stand out in future chapters.
It’s been cool to watch gege’s art evolve and while it’s currently much better than JJK 0, I can’t get over how wonderful shibuya’s incredible stylization and paneling were
Can't get enough videos about jjk's art, probably my favorite topic of discussion with this series.
I'd say my favorite period of art for Akutami was during Gojo's past (the "YOU'RE SO RIGHT!" page lives rent free in my head). I think he managed to strike the perfect balance between every aspect that defines his art, both before Hidden Inventory and after, seen in character composition, figure drawing, page layout (Riko's death page is so cruel), expression, dynamism and so on.
The scratchy lineart was at it's most natural, being characteristically rough for the story being told, and intelligible enough so that it doesn't look like the page is melting.
The current style isn't anything to scoff at, and i really like how dynamic the elements of Akutami's recent draftsmanship make his art look. The color page with the big 4 is so simple, but so clean and cool. And the whole Gojo vs Sukuna fight also has my favorite pages from Gege in recent memory.
One of my favorite artists ever, loved the video 👍
Thank you! Really glad you enjoyed it.
It almost seems as if his art style changes with the current events and emotions of the story as it got to it's arguably most dire moments everything became a lot more polygonal and rougher adding to the feeling of the story and arc
bro stop the cope. yall animanga fans are annoying as f with all the excuses. there's no such thing as "oh he found a style that suits the emotions of the arc".
it's literally as simple as gege getting tired of drawing weekly. how do we know?
• the series is nearing its end
• the art style gets rough
• too many breaks every other week
connect the dots! stop being a blind animanga fans that find excuses for everything! my goodness yall are so braindead. admitting an art style downgrade doesn't make you a hater. it's simply means you're not blindly worshipping 🤣🤣
Or it’s almost seems as if gege mental health is declining other the years after that deadline making want to rush his work.
@@Jayzel617isn't his later work much more detailed and polished? Gojo vs sukuna was his peak art
@@JustAsh001 he’s work is inconsistent lol
@@Jayzel617it's because he draws insane amount of action and hand to hand combat on top of that which is insanely hard to draw and it's weekly manga also he's not only the artist but also story writer too he can't just focus on art
Recently, i had seen many people compare art styles. The most recent one i can think of was a comparison between the Undead Unluck and JJK artsyles.
Well, if u were to show a non manga reader or a manga reader that hasnt read both the series, they'd most likely say UUs artstyle is prettier, more detailed, and overall cleaner.
But the thing is, jjks art style doesn't need to evolve (for ex. how bleach's evolved over the years) or be pretty because it just wouldn't match jjks feel. Jjks artstyle captures the Griddy feeling and aesthetic perfectly. If jjk were drawn in some other art style like UU, it just wouldn't match. It'd feel out of place. Atleast for me.
A mangaka chooses their artstyle thatd fit their story perfectly. So i personally think artstyles shouldn't be compared.
"Griddy feeling"
@@enumaelish9193lmao I like to think he meant that
That’s why mob psycho has the best art style
Gritty ❌ Griddy ✅
i'd like to see jjk in tokyo ghoul :re artstyle. since tg :re also looks somewhat rough, has gritty atmosphere and good movement
I’m a huge fan of the current style and I’m trying to emulate it in the daily. I love how the thick sketchy lines with added detail and quality city geometry give Gege’s art that unmistakable vibe of a master practicing the art of subtraction for readability and a higher effort to output ratio.
Chapter 150 is when the art started to change, Gege had gotten sick and was struggling to finish some pages. He took a month break I believe and came back with making the art style more sketchy, fluid, and free. Lots of lines with strokes
After the zenin massacre is when it got progressively sketchier also bc of health. Was a lil weird for a while ngl but he honed it and made it way better than it was before, I like the freedom of it. I also love how easier it is on him
simple answer Gege while creating JJK, Experimented with different artistic choices so throughout the manga it's evolved in a way and I like it having a shift in art style during different arcs can really make them different from each other and give them that extra spice to them that makes them memorable (at least that's my take on it)
I feel that Gojo in the most recent arc doesn’t rlly look like himself. Like almost a whole different character. Maybe it’s just me idk
no its def not just you. its an issue with style changes but its so different here it just doesnt work at all
His nose is almost non visible and his hair is always up, wider chin, and sharper jawline. I think?
He's new design looks better anyway
Now he looks like he’s in constant motion or similar to a cat when it’s focused 😂 kinda cool seeing him evolve art wise tho skinny playboy to bulk chad
@@7ssavI want the "skinny playboy" tho. There are enough "bulked chad" characters out there. :/
That tall, slim fit body type is one of his iconic, characteristic features, and one of the reasons I came to love him. You can't just change it now all of a sudden, towards the end of the manga. :/
I don't really like the chad type tbh.
The messier art definitely helps with production, and it makes those detailed shots hit so much harder
Gege got looser and better at conveying the frantic action and gritty feel of the manga over time. His older art was more polished but it was also stiffer, higlighting more of the horror while the Acton felt less impactfull. We see in moments like yuji reacting to Nobara's "death" that thale art gets significantly more scribbly for a bit. I honestly like seeing this happen to long running manga, how the artist refines their craft with concious effort, unconcious habbits, and the restrictions of the craft.
I love this.They're such natural and fitting changes and even though the way the characters are drawn has varied it's amazing how they're still recognizable. It makes me breath easy about 'inconsistency' in my art. I never thought it'd be something I'd appreciate or even a feat.
The art style massively improved
My only complaint is choreography,speed lines and the paneling which used to be a bit more creative
But otherwise it's so much better
I think the change of art shows how is Itadori Yuji mental state after shibuya incident,because of the traumas he had over the incident of Shibuya.
JJK 0 was a one shot work where it gets surveyed whether it’s gonna get serialised or not. At this stage, most mangaka do everything alone, means Gege didnt have assistants to help him draw backgrounds and other stuff that’s why most pages look “generic” as u mentioned. It’s kinda unfair to not justify why JJK 0 looked different than the rest of the series. Only when they get serialised they get assistants as thats when they will have weekly deadlines.
JJK 0 did so good with votes that they asked Gege to serialise. It means Gege must create a new manga with the same theme as JJK 0. Gege wrote jjk0 with no plans on serialising it. Also most one shot works are usually put aside and are not canon but for some reason Gege was able to make something new that expanded JJK 0 hence becoming a Canon.
IMO JJK is the one of the few anime/ manga series where the anime just looks better. I’m not shaming the manga I just think that the anime, especially season 2 just adds so much to the already amazing art style.
The anime should look better, and I’m glad it is one of those anime because having a good manga only for the anime to practically ruin the story for anime onlys just sucks. imagine the amount of people who probably didn’t want to go back to berserk because of the horrible adaptation.
I can add Kimetsu no Yaiba & HunterxHunter to this list alongside with JJK where the anime is better "in visual art style"
The opposite side where the manga looks better than anime theres...MHA, OPM (clearly because the mangaka has a very unique and detailed art style, and the animators can't keep do it for saving times)
The balance side where the Anime & manga looks exactly the same there's... SpyxFamily, Dr. Stone, Naruto, One Piece, Bleach
I vastly prefer hidden inventory in the manga just because of how impactful the panelling were. The way Gojo vs Toji was drawn is something I will never forget, along with all the iconic Gojo panels. Other than hidden inventory, S1 and S2 are equal to the manga. Shoutout to the amazingly done choreography of Sukuna vs Jogo and Mahoraga in the anime though, they were absolutely brilliant.
I definitely agree. I feel like Gege is simplifying his artstyle to make it easier to draw, especially now when the series got a lot more action focused. I don't care much since I just watch the anime and don't really care much for how the manga looks as long as the anime looks good.
Depends on different aspects sometimes the anime just can't compete like with the sukuna malevolant shrine from shibuya they knew they couldn't so the anime changed it
Tbh I think he is tired of the story and trying to finish it he is rushing. Oda does the same thing it’s really not a problem
Please make this type of art analysis video for other series , I loved this video
Thank you! I might just have to.
@@ShonenOuji the video did get a ton of views so it seems like it is a popular type of video 👀🔥
I separated the different arcs art styles, here are my rankings
1. Culling games art style (feels very gritty, fits the arc, and beautiful shading around facial expressions)
2. Hidden inventory art style (idk 😂just looks good to me lmao)
3. Current arc art style (feels like a mixture between culling games and shibuya art style)
4. JJK 0 art style (feels too stiff, looks more so like a horror/manhwa?)
I believe the JJK 0 style was supposed to remember thrill and horror mangas, but honestly I never realized that before, I always thought "man, this is a nice style, wonder where I've seen things kinda like that before", until now, when I notice it really does kinda look like something from a webcomic
I'd also say the facial features have changed. Notice how in the earlier chapters of jjk noses tend to be pointy and sharp and the eyes bigger and cartoonish. As of now, notices are not as pointy, but flatter, which I'd say is a more realistic look for the noses, same with the eyes, they aren't as cartoonish as they used to be in earlier chapters or jjk0, though they're still, of course cartoonish, just not as much as before.
I feel Akutami is going for a more slightly realistic style and taking in consideration asian/Japanese facial features while still retaining the anime-manga style.
My guess is that the art style has changed is to accomdate the new darker story then the more typical shouen jump storys. At the start of the manga it was more cartoony but it eventually started getting more and more realistic.
I can’t help but compare the evolution of Jujutsu Kaisen’s art to Tokyo Ghoul. Both felt rough in the beginning but it added the the charm and horror elements. The changes over time were noticeable but never clashed with the tone of the series
Simply put, Gege has stayed true to himself as an artist and continues to improve himself. Through repetition and pressure to meet deadlines, he has paved a very satisfying path for his hard work. All of his art backed by creative ideas and a desire to create cool fights and memories, it was bound for Gege to reach this level and he's only going to get better. A lot of Gege's improvement can be compared to Sui Ishida(Tokyo Ghoul author). Throughout that series, you can see Ishida's vision become clear with his style and what he wanted to present.
At 9:45, Gege probably put a lot more detail and time into this panel because it's meant to be an important one
thank you for putting this together. goated video
Thank you! Honestly just made my day.
My favourite panels were in the Maki arc.
S**** t was peak
another aspect of his art that pops up around the hidden inventory arc up until around the end of the culling games is his more "scratchy" line work as well as the almost traditional looking ink lines (I'm not sure what they're called, but its the type of ink that appear on Hanami). Another point is that around the Gojo vs Sukuna fight onwards, characters are drawn in much less detail and hatching compared to the Culling Games arc. This change can be seen most clearly in Takaba's wifi joke funnily enough.
I love how gege does his eyes, they are so intense and hypnotizing especially yuta's when He's in the zone fighting
frog
@kiratwo4u whatever that means
I think the artstyle has changed but Gege is still cooking
the first change you notice in the art style is in Artstyle is in the manito arc,
Where you can the line art on characters became rougher and looser and a little less stiff
A TH-camr I was watching called the Culling Games faces and eyes lizard-like and now I can’t unsee it. 😅
I think the sharp style for shibuya also adds a sense of urgency which definitely fits to the entire arc itself. Afterall the events unfolding in shibuya, in a realistic sense, only i believe 2 hours or less. It makes sense to use sharp edges to give a more 'anxiety' inducing or even hasty feeling.
i love the sharp style of art and its dynamic paneling in JJK it give the series a unique look
Idk if anyone noticed but during the Culling Games for some character the artstyle was a bit realistic, the three panels I remember this effect is when they US was talking about ce and they showed a four split page of Gojo, Sukuna, Todo and Nanami, Sukuna’s I’m the fallen panel and Sukuna when he was taking over Megumi but still in Yuji’s body
Publishing weekly must be hell, would take me and entire week to draw just one of the pages, imagine a whole chapter EVERY WEEK, the toll on the body must be insane
It is common for the art style to chage, not only in jjk but also in other manga. Such things are natural to those who draw.
i love while it's more efficent, he's upgraded his skill too (efficency is still a hard skill) regarding perspective. the direction and mass of things looks more real, like real 3d space and if you're an artist you know this isnt an easy task not to only keep doing it consistently but keep the "character" of different characters in this more 3d style. its like how you do realism, you have your base for people in general but you ought to shift multiple features just right to reach a specific likeness. i'm not saying his artsyle is perfect now he could still push the features and curves furthermore (idm due to deadlines) but this style still does have a ton of quality and substance behind what it takes to manage it without screwing up.
This reminds me of the Tokyo Ghoul manga’s art style and it’s more fitting here, it shows the seriousness and character, so much growth along the way towards the end of the story.
I just feel it slowly changed gradually so much, its like the change from yellow to green
The lack of shading in the the recent chapters works really well in my opinion, it makes the more detailed panels with bigger moments pop out as your eyes see all the new detailing that wasn't there before
During the time of the airing of shibuya incident, you can tell the downgrade in art is clearly to focus more so on action, hence why it’s the most action packed arc. After the arc finished, a few chapters came out and Gege went on break from chapters, past that you can clearly tell a more focused and accurately lined approach, with Kenjaku vs yuki being the stark contrast, lacking shading, more detailed line art, and clearly a mastery over his art style. Ever since that arc ever chapter followed suit and we now see a gege coming into his art form with more precise artwork comparing to years prior like in shibuya.
i love when you recognize an artist from it's art like jojo's, one piece, 20th century boys, jjk ....
I feel like the evolution portrays the world very well as innocence is lost the humor and abstractness of the world is also lost as you become much more aware of the world around you, and during fights the art is a lot more loose and messy which makes the fights feel alive and realistic
As an artist I don’t really like the earlier style of jjkand i’m glad that gege developed and found his style that’s also really amazing artistic wise 😇
I've noticed that the anatomy has gotten a lot better and consistent, even if the strokes are rough the poses and silhouettes are always great
Artists are not robots that are going to maintain the same exact art style for years at a time.
I'm pretty much certain there should be a 5th stage starting with Gojo and Sukuna's battle. Pretty noticeably from 236, when we see all those characters back from Hidden Inventory in his current style. He currently pays special care to give characters a sense of tridimensionality and realism. Bodies, objects and surroundings feel much more heavy and solid now. Partly, I think, because Gege has (bear with me) toned up the shutter speed of his "camera". By this I mean that he gives each panel a more "frozen" tempo, in which less dynamism is being show, focusing on the individual millisecond that is being portrayed. It definitely feels much more grounded than early or mid Culling Games imo.
to answer the title of the video, gege has improved alot.
I think that it's a given for ANY artist that their style will change at least a bit overtime. There are also other variables to account for the artstyle change like deadlines for instance, they can easily cause art to be rushed or not as refined, etc. New assistants can also cause a slight change
It looks like it gets better overtime almost like seeing the artist improve over time
I love the current arc, its really intense with the way it looks now imo
yk random head cannon the art switches because it goes from yuta's pov in jjk 0 and then to yujis's pov in jjk 1 and on slowly switching back to yuta's pov in post Shibuya
I like to think of mangakas as not human so I put out my own frustration and anger at their work of art that they put their heart into, without feeling an inch of remorse.
Idk the art style is cool, reminds me of sketches i did in school. Writing will never be perfect, theres never been a story everyone agrees is perfect. Its just a fun anime/manga that has great fights, and characters.
In regard to details, this goes for all mangas on weekly magazines, but JJK manga tends to get refined on second release (JJK manga book) quite a bit. First release on Shonen Jump Magazine is probably a lot harder for manga artists to keep up with since its weekly release, and a lot of panels get edited or redrawn completely in second release.
For people who are reading JJK outside of Japan, idk how you would distinguish which version that you are reading... but if you are reading JJK on a weekly basis the likelihood is that you are reading the magazine and not the book version.
I'm confused as to what you refer to as "cell shading". Most manga would not qualify at all for that term as they don't have "cells" to begin with. Do you mean the hatching? Grey screen tones?
One possibility that you didn't touch is signs of illness/injury. It's just speculation, but i've seen many mangas change their artstyle to more simplistic one in order to "adapt to the weekly schedule" only later confirmed that the mangaka is ill. Wether its herniated disc, palm/metacarpal injury, eyes, nerve and so on. I really hope Gege (and any other mangaka) stays healthy.
After seeing the latest chapter panel , I see this as a Big W
I like that as time has gone on, the art has made more use of black. Some character's clothes, hair, and features will be straight up black with grey for the highlights. It's a bold look, but it emphasizes the bold dark roughness of the story
Also worth noting half the time you said the detailed stuff was bigger panels than the lesser detail things that are smaller panels
i actually like it, it's more gritty and fits more with the later events
Reading the manga, I didn’t even notice the art style change all that much until I went back to the beginning and realized how different it looked. It became rougher and more all over the place, but in a way it actually works with the series well. With long running series’s like jjk, art style changes can just be bound to happen. I think I did notice most with Gojo though when he came back for a bit. Overall I do like both. They both feel unique and fit the vibe of the series well.
“Students look pretty normal”
*literally shows Panda as that sentence is leaving his mouth*
Hotland theme in the background goes crazy🔥🔥🔥
honestly i like the fact it's not like any other anime but rather realistic and good looking
i love the visuals and art style
idk if anyone can prefer a rounder and more childish while it's a much more serious anime haha
don't demand too much from weekly series. weekly series is so hard that affecting their health, and no one survives.
even one piece, JJK, and MHA have "rest" every 2 weeks, it's actually not a rest because they have TONS of other works like goodies, tankobon, and other illustration works.
Idk how this even got recommended to me but I just like the story it’s pretty good art and all that I’d read it just as is if it was a light novel
Last chapter the art style slightly changed.
Tbh Gege Changing is art style ro make it rough is most likely due to his schedule
The way that I describe it to my friends as an artist myself is that it feels like Gege doesn't use many guidelines. Like they no longer do any penciling, just goes straight ink to paper and uses his knowledge of human form and pure muscle memory to draw, which gives it a lot of charm to me. Also his backgrounds are insane in the later stages of the Manga, and it feels like the backgrounds are what take the most time
I suppose you have never read Sakamoto Days. It has the cleanest drawn fight scenes and you can understand everything that's happening, not so messy as in JJK where I can barely understand who is hitting who and with what. Sakamoto Days is peak action
He switched from a typical “boxy” shonen style to a more Dorohedoro really rough style and I’m all the way in for it, I love it
Great video, one small criticism is how the chibi character of yourself doesn't really reflect on how you are speaking and just cycles through different animations. Other than that I think you hit some great points and are well spoken.
I noticed that gege's artstyle is starting to look similar to yoshihiro togashi's artsyle
I really like her current style now. The characters are a lot better and more fun to draw the more rough they are.
I wish more manga had a unique style like Gege.
Feels like the changes from Naruto (land of waves) -> Naruto (Tailed Beasts). Started out with well defined characters and highly detailed rounded expressions and then 500 chapters later, we get much more on model consistent depictions of the characters without much shading. It seems most manga evolve towards very clean efficient flat art that allows the story to keep a timely release, not necessarily worse but definitely more refined/slimmer. Gege seems to have arrived there now too. Fujimoto I think was always quite close to that style from the beginning but he's said before that he is perhaps beyond the point of drawing now -he'd rather write so that his story can come out quicker.
Hey, I'd also say the art style of the current art we're in is different than the culling games
Also their noses lost the JoJo-style shadow
My favorite artstyle is HI arc〜late shibuya/early culling games but the current art looks good in color.
Absolutely, HI was something real special with the art and the panelling. Gojo's panels are iconic for a reason.
I don’t know if it’s better or worse to most but I like culling games and onward art it looks sharper, more serious. Kinda like the characters grew.
4:13 that shit was mad loud, woke up my dog and even the neightbours dog when i was listening without headphones
Isn't it just a matter of art style evolvement over a period of time? It's no surprise that an artist's style changes over time, it also doesn't really happen consciously. You can search for Bleach's, Naruto's, One Piece's art style evolution and see how drastic some of them have changed. It's cool to talk about art evolution but there's nothing really ground breaking in it.
19.3K sub! I like this.
incredibly interesting that you're comparing small panels to larger ones. Static characters to dramatic fight scenes. It honestly boils down to the importance of what's being conveyed at the time. I also wouldn't compare copic colored manga covers to* manga panels themself. It is correct to say he's grown as an artist.
I think the messier and scratchier style JJK has now has a real world and narrative reason. Real world Gege can’t dedicate as much time per drawing because of their bad health, but in story the grittiness can be seen as Yuji himself adopting a grittier view on life and because we the readers see primarily through Yuji’s POV, the art gets grittier
Looking side by side, i loved the shibuya scratchy rough edges