Summary

• Jujutsu Kaisen's mangaka, Gege Akutami, remains a mystery with little known about their true identity and personal life.
• Akutami's choice to remain anonymous may be due to a desire to focus on their work and protect themselves from online criticism and harassment.
• Despite the secrecy surrounding Akutami, Jujutsu Kaisen continues to be one of the most popular manga series, gaining acclaim for its darker content and tone.

Art tends to overshadow its creators. It's a somewhat universal rule that applies to many entertainment industries, including manga. Some mangaka may have cult followings among their readers, but the vast majority of people who engage with their work may never know the person behind the story. That type of anonymity suits Jujutsu Kaisen's mangaka Gege Akutami just fine.

Even for a popular mangaka, shockingly little is known about Akutami. For starters, "Gege Akutami" is not even their real name; it's just a pen name. Akutami's manga credits obviously include Jujutsu Kaisen, but they've also created other manga works. Jujutsu Kaisen is easily the biggest of these, but despite the acclaim and renown of the series, its creator has remained one of the manga industry's biggest mysteries.

Updated by Timothy Blake Donohoo on February 15, 2024: Jujutsu Kaisen is currently one of the biggest and most popular anime and manga franchises. Its success has seen it hailed as part of the "Dark Shonen Trio." Despite this popularity, Jujutsu Kaisen author Gege Akutami remains a mystery. There's not much known about the mind behind the popular series, including whether Gege Akutami is a woman or a man. Nevertheless, this sense of anonymity may actually be for the best when it comes to the Jujutsu Kaisen author.

What Is Known About Gege Akutami

Jujutsu Kaisen author Gege Akutami was born in the Tohoku region of Honshu, Japan, in Iwate Prefecture in 1992. Currently in their early thirties, Akutami has been a manga artist since 2014, meaning they got their start when they were just 22 years old. At that time, they were an assistant to Kiss x Death's artist, Yasuhiro Kano, but they published their very own first work, "Kamishiro Sosa" in Jump NEXT! After publishing a handful of one-shots from 2014-2017, Akutami's Jujutsu Kaisen began serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump.

Is Gege Akutami a Woman?

Akutami is popularly referred to using he/him pronouns, but their gender has never been confirmed. Their author notes left at the end of every Jujutsu Kaisen chapter are usually accompanied by a one-eyed cat avatar, but there's actually more to it than that. In a 2015 profile for another of their one-shot manga, No. 9, Akutami drew a self-portrait sans-cat mask, which has led many to believe that the mangaka might be a woman. Jujutsu Kaisen's stellar female cast has also fanned the flames of this rumor, as writing well-rounded female characters is a task male mangaka have had limited success with.

Akutami offers no peek into their personal life either, which is the opposite of how candid other manga can be. Their author notes, while consistent and friendly, reveal no personal information. Akutami instead uses them to shed more light on potentially confusing aspects of the chapter, share amusing anecdotes about their writing process, and even poke fun at some of the characters they've created. There's never any information that would aid in attempting to build a solid profile of the mysterious mangaka.

The Identity of the Jujutsu Kaisen Author Doesn't Matter

Gege Akutami appears married to the idea of anonymity. They even managed to protect their identity while appearing on national television. When Jujutsu Kaisen won the grand prize at the Mando Kobayashi manga variety show (one of JJK's various awards and accomplishments), Akutami showed up for the resulting interview in full cosplay. They'd dressed as the fan-favorite character, Mechamaru, completely obscuring their face and all traces of skin from view. Akutami really does not want to be seen, which leads some fans to wonder why they hide their identity.

There are plenty of reasons for mangaka such as Gege Akutami to disguise their identity from the public. The most obvious reason for this is that they may prefer the focus to remain on their work and not their personal lives. In some instances, female mangaka have been brutally criticized online for their physical appearance, which has nothing to do with the work they've poured their heart and soul into. With no face (or gender) to link manga to mangaka, there's no room to judge the creator on anything but the merits of their work.

Additionally, it's not uncommon for superfans to take things too far, sometimes harassing, or even stalking, manga artists they feel a deep connection with on account of their creations. Removing themselves from the equation by remaining anonymous is a great way to put some distance between themselves and fans who don't understand the need for personal boundaries. They may even have a family to protect, making anonymity an absolute must.

Regardless of the reason for Gege Akutami's choice to keep their real identity hidden, it doesn't change the strides they've taken in creating an outstanding manga. Their work on Jujutsu Kaisen continues to get better every chapter and, if they intend on continuing to preserve their anonymity, that's just something fans need to respect, however curious they might be.

Jujutsu Kaisen Is One of the Most Popular Current Manga

Beginning its run in 2018, the Jujutsu Kaisen manga by Gege Akutami has become one of the most popular manga and anime franchises in circulation. A huge hit among fans of shonen anime and manga, the printed version of the series is one of the best-selling manga of all time. Much of this has to do with its darker content and tone, which has seen it become one of the "Dark Shonen Trio" alongside Hell's Paradise and Chainsaw Man. Likewise, the manga series Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical School was retroactively made into a prequel by the Jujutsu Kaisen author, with Gege Akutami titling it as "Jujutsu Kaisen 0." Both have now become successful anime, though they showcase how Gege Akutami is only now becoming renowned.

Before the JJK author found consistent success, they mainly handled one-shot manga in the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine and the Shonen Jump Next! magazine. These three works were Kamishiro Sousa, No. 9, and Nikai Bongai Barabarujura, which were published in 2014 and 2015. None of these went on to become major hits in any regard, with the title that became Jujutsu Kaisen 0 the biggest hit before the actual main series. This lack of major success for their initial works is likely part of why Gege Akutami has remained so mysterious. After all, the name is likely a mere pseudonym that was created in case the mangaka's creative career didn't take off. That's definitely not the case, however, with the Jujutsu Kaisen author the creative mind behind easily one of the biggest and most influential manga currently being produced.