After receiving complaints from fans of Jujutsu Kaisen on X, MAPPA studio animator Hokuto Sadamoto posted an apology for the quality of the latest episode — but many fans came to his defense and blamed the problem on MAPPA’s working conditions.
Initially, Sadamoto had hoped to avoid attention by not being credited as an animator in Season 2, Episode 14. However, a leak revealed his involvement and thus made people fans criticized his work in the episode. Sadamoto tweeted his apology on X (formerly Twitter) shortly after the episode was released on Thursday. The translated tweet reads: “I did a job that no one appreciated and I’m sure I will continue to do so. Sorry. I was very angry about the leak, but from the beginning I was just a coward.” Because I tried to escape by pretending to have no credit, I’m sorry.”
MAPPA Working Conditions in the Anime Industry
Sadamoto revealed on This incident is the latest in a long list of employee mistreatment in the animation industry, and MAPPA is no exception. The studio has previously faced similar allegations surrounding the working conditions of animators working on Attack on Titan. While the initial backlash directly affected Sadamoto, many in responsible for the huge amount of work assigned to its employees.
Jujutsu Kaisen is one of MAPPA’s biggest hits along with the extremely popular Attack on Titan. The first season of the series, adapted from the manga by Gege Akutami, was released from October 3, 2020 to March 27, 2021. It tells the story of Yuji Itadori, an ordinary high school student who becomes a Frenchman. Jujutsu master after a series of events leads him to become the host of the dangerous cursed spirit, Ryomen Sukuna.
The anime series became an instant favorite in the anime community, and its popularity only increased with the release of Jujutsu Kaisen 0, a film that takes place before the events of Part 1 and tells the story by Yuta Okkotsu, a boy haunted by his own cursed soul. childhood friend, Rika Orimoto, who died in a tragic car accident. The second season of the main Jujutsu Kaisen anime series premiered on August 31, 2023 and continues to release new episodes every Thursday.
Jujutsu Kaisen is now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Source: X (formerly Twitter), IGN India