There are good reasons why Jump ShonenNew hit manga by Kagurabachi is being widely compared to its groundbreaking sister publication Jujutsu Kaisen. This is a battle manga with supernatural themes including magic, enchanted swords, and a secret society of witches living among the general population. However, a deeper look into the story reveals some subtle differences that suggest the manga will eventually create its own unique style of witch fighting manga.
Over the past few weeks, Takeru Hokazono’s Kagurabachi has been the talk of the manga world, and much of the attention has been focused on its plot. The story is about teenager Chihiro Rokuhira and his quest to avenge his swordsmith father’s murder by a group of mysterious witches called Hishaku. The presence of a wizarding society has clearly drawn comparisons to Jujutsu Kaisen. Whether on purpose or not, Hokazono helped facilitate this by including several details in the story that resemble Gege Akutami’s best-selling manga, such as the use of ending techniques. Chihiro’s gender or mentor is a man who is super cool, wise, and physically similar to Satoru Gojo.
Kagurabachi doesn’t need to hide the supernatural like Jujutsu Kaisen
In addition to all the Jujutsu Kaisen comparison hype, or maybe because of it, Hokazono added a line in the second chapter suggesting that despite the similarities, Kagurabachi won’t be just another Jujutsu Kaisen clone, but instead which will develop its own memorable plot and storyline. become so interesting. Chihiro’s mentor, Mr. Shiba, points out that most witches operate in big cities, meaning that people living in the countryside are mostly unfamiliar with magic. As Jujutsu Kaisen fans will know, almost every action in the story takes place in Tokyo and Kyoto, the only locations of two Jujutsu Kaisen training academies. However, the majority of the Japanese population is unaware of the existence of Cursed Souls and Cursed Energy, and Jujutsu witches operate as a secret society.
So while Jujutsu Kaisen is built on the general premise that the supernatural elements in the story are unknown or invisible to the majority of people, Kagurabachi takes a different path. “Normal” people are indeed aware of the existence of witches, but since these witches only congregate in large cities, most citizens outside of those places will never come into contact with them. Supernatural. This allowed the series to develop a different style of world-building, in which realism (highlighted by the pseudo-historical setting of early 1900s Japan) coexists with fantastical or supernatural elements. course.
Kagurabachi takes a different approach to realism
More importantly, this framework of parallel coexistence means that when Kagurabachi presents full-blown supernatural battles, it won’t have to rely on plot devices like illusions or barriers to explain how people continue with their lives while the supernatural witches fight on. for them. By chapter #3, the action has shifted to Tokyo, so this setup is put to the test. Obviously Kagurabachi is borrowing heavily from famous predecessors like Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisenand there’s nothing wrong with that, as long as the series continues to show its uniqueness and carve its own path in the Shounen manga world.
